An Extraordinary and Liberating Meal

By MA. GLAIZA LEE

Meji Illones al Horno (Photo by RUDY LIWANAG)

MANILA, Philippines -- When a Filipino wants to eat authentic Pinoy dishes, he goes home to Mama or Nanay and lets her magic sandok do the tango, whipping up just about every comfort food that her stove can manage.

At home, the authentic vestige of Filipino cuisine is still a breathing reality. Every dish is prepared in the traditional manner, without skimping or shortcut, and definitely no substitution of ingredients.

Even when one is already grown-up, he never outgrows Nanay’s lutong bahay. Every bite offers a spoonful of memories. As the aroma of sautéed onion and garlic wafts through the air, an image of your Nanay cooking in the kitchen fills you with happiness and longing. As you hear the soft boiling sound coming from the cauldron, you see her lovingly and patiently stirring that pot of bulalo.

Familiarity is solid and comforting, especially in a rapidly changing world. This is quite resounding when you’re a Filipino spending most of your life in the Philippines, or an OFW living far away from home.

Every now and then, you’ll have foreign guests you want to entertain and serve with the best Filipino cuisine. For those who have the luxury of time, they can always cook for their guests. Luxury of time, because we Filipinos don’t do it half-way, we do our cooking with fireworks. We cook for guests the same way we would when we’re celebrating a fiesta.

But that would be too much work, especially for someone who works eight hours a day for six days and if you always have guests arriving all the time.

Sandee and Andrew Masigan know this all too well. While the couple loves to entertain guests and cook for them as much as possible, running several businesses sometimes don’t allow them to. One solution is to find a good restaurant that serves authentic Filipino food.

But they found out that there are just a few restaurants in the metro that serve authentic Filipino cuisine, and those which serve Filipino dishes put too much twist into it that the authenticity and identity vanish.

The couple decided to venture into the restaurant business and established XO46 Bistro Filipino in the heart of Makati.

“XO” is for extraordinary, and “46” came from July 4, 1946 which was the declaration date of Philippine independence from the American occupation. The couple believes that this is the true Independence Day of the Philippines. “Filipinos are extraordinary after the July 4 liberation,” says Andrew.

The restaurant is a culmination of the things and dishes the couple loves. All the dishes in their menu are food that the couple often cook at home and their personal favorites. Others are dishes that they have learned from their parents and grandparents.

“We serve Filipino-Spanish cuisine. We have been colonized by the Spaniards for over 300 years that we can’t separate Filipino food from Spanish cuisine,” says Andrew.

A young lady in baro’t saya welcomes the guests at the doorway. The interiors feature contemporary pieces of furniture, embellished with old-fashioned accent pieces such as carved banister and banquettes. All are done in brown with wooden finish, giving a cozy and homey ambience to the place.

As the diners enter the cozy place, they are greeted by original Filipino music which is seldom played nowadays. The waitress serves soft and sticky puto (made from galapong), with sweet butter and aligue butter on the side, as an appetizer.

What comes next is still a happy medley of appetizers -  Mejillones al Horno, which are New Zealand mussels sautéed in white wine and herbs, or the Chupitos al Ajillo, baby squid in garlic and olive oil reduced in Spanish sherry. For soup, there’s Sopa de Mariscos, a bisque of mixed seafood covered with pastry puff.

Most of the main dishes in XO46 are “slow-cooked, resembling the village-type of home cooking,” as how Andrew describes them.

Take the Rabo de Toro, for example. The ox tail is stewed in wine and beef broth and spiced with rosemary. The slow cooking process creates a tender, fall-off-the bone meat that is quite savory.

Another is the Callos a la Madrilenos. They cook it a little longer to ensure that the ox tripe is so tender yet easy to chew. They slow-cook and stew the ox tripe overnight, before adding the chick peas, chorizos, and pork hok.  Definitely, a real labor of love.

While everything is cooked in a traditional manner, the restaurant’s chef CK Kalaw puts a creative take on the dishes without taking the authenticity out of the equation. Take for instance, the Kare-kareng Crispy Tadyang. It is cooked in a classic manner, but it is served with the sauce separate from the meat which is crispy beef belly laid out in slices on a platter.

Then, there’s the all-time favorite sisig. Unlike the typical sisig served in most restaurants in the metro, XO46’s version is made from chopped Cebu Lechon which is a special creation by Chef CK. Another must-try is the Tinuktok, minced pork with fermented shrimp wrapped in gabi leaves and cooked in gata, and often served wrapped in banana leaves.

For dessert, try the traditional Filipino kakanin. The restaurant serves Sapin-Sapin, five-layered sticky rice cake topped with toasted coconut flakes and served with Spanish liquer. Don’t forget to try the Manticado, butter ice cream served with ube-leche flan cubes.

While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is Filipino food, we should take pride in our culinary heritage because we certainly have a unique flavor profile.

Xo46 Bistro Filipino is located at the G/F Le Grand Tower, 130 Valero Street, Salcedo Village Makati. For reservations, call 553-6632.

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