VILLA CAFÉ: Babi Rocks!

by Twinkle

When Chef Jam Melchor of Villa Café posed the question “What’s your favorite cuisine?”, I was ready with my usual repertoire of world delights: Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Korean. But before I could answer he said, “Di ba people usually say Mexican, Italian, para sosyal? Bakit hindi Filipino?” (Don't people usually say Mexican, Italian, to sound sophisticated? Why not Filipino?)

Hmmm… he did have a point.

Whether for a power lunch or liesurely dinner, expect classic Kapampangan recipes
 given a contemporary culinary makeover

Say hello to Filipino food that even your lola would approve of.  They say that Kapampangans are the ones to beat when it comes to Filipino cuisine.  Both hailing from the famous culinary capital of the Philippines, Chef Sau del Rosario and Chef Jam Melchor have dug up their treasured family recipes and used them as the foundation for their new venture – Villa Café.

“This is authentic Filipino cuisine sans the palayok,” says Chef Jam Melchor
who, together with fellow Kapampangan chef, Sau del Rosario, runs VILLA Cafe.

The first thing I saw as I walked through the doors was the pastry showcase right across the room.  Before I knew it, I was headed straight to the desserts! As I peered into the display of Filipino-inspired temptations – chocolate dulce de leche cake, dulce de tsokulate, tsokonut sansrival, etc. - I made a mental note of which items I wanted to try -- except I realized I wanted to try each one!  If they put this much thought into the desserts, I wondered, I had every right to be excited with the Villa's menu.

Our journey through the Kapampangan food wonderland began with their buro with mustasa (P195) -- a colorful array of fresh local ingredients served side by side with crispy hito (catfish) flakes, and Pampanga’s famous buro (fermented shrimp and rice).  Dig in by making your own wraps.  Slap some buro on the mustasa leaf, then put a bit of everything on it before rolling it up.  Get ready for one big bite!

The Kapampangan food experience wouldn't be complete without a taste of their famous buro.  

The slightly bitter leaves of the mustasa give way to the juicy baby tomatoes, bits of native onions, red egg, buro and crispy hito. The interplay of crunchy, salty, sweet, and bitter combined with the surprisingly creamy tang of the buro melded so well that the flavors seamlessly danced across my palate. The last mustasa leaf, (a.k.a. the diyahe piece), caused a stare down for ownership between Ryan and yours truly, which was only broken by the arrival of more appetizers.

Tasty bites of suso.  It actually crossed my mind to have this with rice. 

The tinapa (smoked fish) pate was so flavorful you can’t deny its ‘tinapa-ness’.  It was followed by spicy garlic suso (snails) with lemon grass which where were simply a labor of love (P250), each one shelled by hand and served ready to eat.  The dominant spicy tomato flavors that dress the earthy bites of suso are complimented by olives and capers. Picture a kaldereta dish sans the thick sauce. Although it is not an overwhelmingly big serving, these interesting bites are definitely meant for sharing.

With the open kitchen nearby, the irresistible scents took me back to my own lola’s kitchen.  I couldn’t help but ask Chef Jam how loyal their dishes were to the heirloom recipes they were based on.

“We improve on the presentation, and stay true to the flavors,” he proudly said.

I’ve always been weary of restaurants that describe their fare as ‘modernized’ or as ‘fusion’, then serve a pretty plate in front of me. I’m all for the pretty, but sometimes the dish drowns in all the froufrou that I forget it’s supposed to be comfort food.  At the end of the day I’d still go for comfort food - the type that you randomly crave for at odd hours; where thoughts of it linger in your mind until you finally have that first bite.

Chief of Stuffed: Villa Cafe's bangus relleno

My worries were put to rest as they served the kare-kare crispy pata and the villa relleno (P375). As promised, the dishes emerged in post-makeover fashion with no palayoks in sight.  Although it was prettier than the traditional serving style, the dishes were still recognizable and good to share.

The relleno had that homey feel to it that made me feel like I was having Sunday dinner with family.  The chunky big bites of fish (instead of the indiscernible flakes) carried with it a strong guisado flavor which made me abandon the traditional banana-ketchup-and-relleno pairing.

On the left:  Villa's crispy pata with kare-kare sauce.
On the right:  The sisig sausage with greens tossed in Japanese dressing.

My heart skipped a beat as we dug into Villa’s crispy pata (P495). The marinated pork knuckles were studded with whole peppercorns and served with kare-kare sauce (although I prefer the thick richer version, their kare-kare sauce is perfect for those that like it light) on the side.  A bite of it’s tender meat, and crisp skin would make any crispy pata fan (me) happy.

The last minute addition – the sisig sausage – was welcome with open arms.  The spicy pork sausage is served with a crisp salad tossed with a light Japanese dressing – all I needed was a bottle of ice-cold beer.  To sum it all up, I’ll have to agree with Anthony Bourdain’s love of Philippine pork - babi rocks!

The desire to serve hearty Kapampangan comfort food drives Villa Cafe's dedicated staff

 Against the protests of our already full bellies, we followed our heart, ordered dessert, then walked around a bit to make space for the grand finale.  How can you say no to a generous slice of rich chocolate dulce de leche cake anyway? This simple dessert was a pleasure to have with a cup of freshly brewed coffee.  To the rest of the desserts showcased at the counter here's what I'd say: “I shall return”.

Ms.Lori got it right - desserts do come first!
In photo above: a chocolate cake with dulce de leche.

Villa Café is a pleasant addition to my where-do-I-take-foreign-guests-for-Filipino-food list.  If I could only take them to just one Filipino restaurant, why not win them over with food from the culinary capital?  

Villa Cafe

7427 Glory Building, Yakal St., San Antonio Village, Makati

Contact (63) 917 4343143

Visit www.villacafe.biz

Posted in: cake, Chef Jam Melchor, Chef Sau del Rosario, comfort food, crispy pata, cuisine, dessert, filipino food, food, Kapampangan Cuisine, Pampanga, Pampanga Cuisine, pinoy food, Villa Cafe, yakal st.