The Demo Site

AFTER a quarter of a century, exporter and designer Rene Alcala finally got to apply what he learned in college.

Alcala majored in Tourism, Hotel and Restaurant Management at University of Santo Tomas, but by a twist of fate, he ended up designing mirrors that are exported to the West.

As a sideline, he and his enterprising friends decided to invest in a little restaurant, Oma, a hole in the wall in Scout Fuentebella off T. Morato, Quezon City. Originally a beer joint whose focal point was a billiards table, the nook was transformed by design consultant Jim Tan into a cozy place – exotic hardwoods contrasting with reflections of Alcala’s mosaic mirrors with blacklip shells.

The bar is a montage of mirrors and mollusk surfaces, balanced by large mirror frames of the same materials on the opposite wall. But Alcala didn’t want Oma to look like his showroom. He insists the star is the food, created by the chef, Kristina Benipayo.

Oma means “grandmother” in German. Alcala claims the cuisine is Pinoy food with a twist – popular restaurant dishes with local touches.

Personal stamp

Benipayo studied at the International School for Culinary Arts and Hotel Management and has worked in a restaurant and resort. She puts her personal stamp in Oma by combining contemporary cuisine with family recipes.

For Caesar salad and pasta carbonara, Benipayo substitutes adobo flakes for bacon, for added crunch. Assorted green vegetable salads with potatoes and carrots are laced with crisp flaps of luncheon meat chunks, tender mango bits and matching mango dressing for tartness.

The much-vaunted malunggay is used in the breads and pesto sauce without the bitterness. It is combined with cream cheese as dip for the baked mussels, or made into pesto butter for the Chicken a la Kiev.

Benipayo pays homage to her Bicolano heritage with fried adobo drenched in coconut milk, a local interpretation of chicken roulade stuffed with longganisa, or native sausage slathered in rosemary cream sauce.

The grilled pork is smothered with laing sauce, prepared the traditional way with thoroughly cleaned taro leaves simmered in coconut milk. She uses the second extraction of the milk, which has been drained of excess oil. Another heirloom recipe is lechon kawali with shrimp paste, tomato and garlic, modernized by the plating.

In the nasi goreng, the Indonesian dish made of fish and shrimps topped with fried egg, Benipayo replaces the topping with scrambled egg and fried sardines.

Oma is proud of its Philippine wagyu beef, sourced from Bukidnon, which costs only P1,900, as well as the Batangas tenderloin. Instead of baked potato, the siding is baked kamote or local tuber, which is sweet and dry.

Noodles with olive oil and white wine sauce are topped with local mussels, fried eggplant adobo or mixed with the garlicky Lucban longganisa and the sweet and hefty Lucban sausage.

The simple pesto pasta is rendered with malunggay sauce and made flamboyant with grilled chicken breast. Another Pinoy comfort food, corned beef, is simmered to get its texture and tossed with the noodles. The paella pasta is a medley of chorizo, chicken, squid, clams and shrimps in white wine sauce.

Alcala, Benipayo and other investors – Leo Tiopes and Marina Martinez, who work at San Miguel Corporation’s Information Technology Service, and Tina Templo who works at a BPO – still go through regular food tests to fine-tune Oma’s signature taste: modern, clean-tasting with a touch of rustic.

Oma is at 85 Scout Fuentebella, QC; tel. 3325690.


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http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20090930-227718/Malunggay-with-cream-cheese-grilled-pork-with-laing-sauce