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Thursday, September 22, 2005
Magsaysay: Ginza, a marvelous East-West mix
By Jo Magsaysay
Whatever
Ginza has been reinvented into a marvelous mix of Eastern mystique and Western pizzazz. Not that I expected a thematic kitsch of cherry blossom pagodas, paper lanterns and Mt. Fuji for a backdrop nor a razzle-dazzle of neon lights, steel and glass skyscrapers. This recreation is completely a state of the art.
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A huge block of granite, naturally sculpted by the elements, its ponderous presence on a bed of sun-bleached sand, invites tranquil meditation upon entry into the restaurant. Behind a carved screen, a sampan resurrected from John Young’s fishing paraphernalia has been converted into a dining table where one may sit on one’s heels, Japanese style, squat on one’s haunches, inviting locked knees and instant immobility, and enjoy the ministrations of blue-robed waiters noiselessly shuffling on the carpet.
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Brass cylinders, suspended from the high beams providing brilliant illumination, give Ginza a bright and cheery ambiance where once before it had a dim and shadowy atmosphere shrouded in mystery. The face-lift and makeover have been a long time coming; 1980, was it when Ginza first opened its beautifully carved doors for a unique and exotic dining experience for Cebuanos. Soon busloads of Japanese tourists flowed into this Mecca to dine endlessly, luxuriously and yes, expensively on food prepared as only the Japanese can, with infinite delicacy, the exciting treasures from the ocean deep which abound in our own waters: cuttlefish and octopus, blue marlin and tuna, scallops and stingrays, seaweeds, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, blow fish and jellyfish, lobsters, prawns, shellfish and crabs (a giant crab, really humongous, reportedly cost about P10,000 had enough meat for eight people to feast upon!). Exotica to the uninitiated, pure and simple pleasure to the connoisseur.
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Guests at the reopening of the reinvented Ginza couldn’t seem to get enough of the appetizers, which were demolished as fast as they were served; they were so good! Neither could any one guest seem to get enough time to chit-chat with Elena Chiongbian Young, the matrix, so to speak, the origin from which came every good and wonderful thing about Ginza, to congratulate her. Typically, she was giving credit to everyone. . . to Maya Franco (no relation to Hernie and Fe Villarica’s exquisite Maia), an architect and interior decorator from Manila who made over Ginza . . . to her chef who has been the lord of the kitchen since day one . . . to the taipans and celestials, the relatives and friends who honored her just by being there . . . to her ebullient son, Johann (named, to his great surprise when his mother made the revelation just then, after Strauss, the Viennese composer of waltzes), who is named also as manager of Ginza.
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One guest in particular rendered me senseless. She was so stunning I failed to recognize her! Remarkably pretty, casually dressed, her finely chiseled face devoid of any make-up, she was always a warm and familiar presence at the Patio Isabel that I have been frequenting over the years. So when Liza Young, fashionably dressed in figure-hugging black, her face superbly but barely made over, came with a warm greeting, I stared, stunned, and froze. Oh wow! For once, I was dumbfounded. I did not know this lovely stranger! (Sorry about that, Liza.) I’d know Tamsin Jackson Booth anywhere anytime: she exudes such vitality, such joy of living, she touches everyone with her radiance. Few women are as rarely blessed as Tamsin who thrives in pregnancy and is as exuberant about motherhood as she is. She’ll be having her sixth baby next month, a boy (the fourth). And though Bob may grouse and growl about having six boisterous children in the house, he actually is proud of them as much as he is about Tamsin whose every whim he indulges, including her latest passion - soufflé at Café Adriatico.
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Make mine mangosteen juice, or so those who attended the Health and Wellness presentation are saying after hearing the endorsements and testimonials on the latest miracle care, juice extracted from the "Royal Fruit" also touted as the "Queen of Fruits or the Fruit of the Gods." Having gone through the whole range of natural cure-alls, the taheebo tea, noni juice, intra, lacto bacilli, and urine therapy, now comes mangosteen juice which fights infection, controls fever and aids many other health conditions. Dr. J. Frederic Templeman, who has 20 years in medical practice, states, “. . . Many conditions are unsatisfactorily treated with prescription drugs . . . I cannot express the relief I feel as a physician knowing there is a safe, efficacious, natural alternative (to prescription drugs) . . . Do not stop your medication but add this mangosteen beverage to your need . . . My experience has proven to be more efficacious than prescription medicine in conditions ranging from arthritis, fatigue, eczema and sleep disorder . . .”
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The dinner presentation at the Casino Español was organized by my colleague, Chinggay Utzurrum, who introduced the hosts, a good-looking couple, Winnie and Ben Pijuan. He formerly worked with Cebu Engineering and is brother to beauty queen Aurora Pijuan. Winnie, his wife, gave her own testimonial to mangosteen juice. Seems this lady has been afflicted by all manner of aches and pains ranging from Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, allergies, hypertension but after months of taking a daily dose of mangosteen juice, she is now a perfect picture of health. As an afterthought, she told her listeners that she had been frigid but now her love life has become remarkable!
Better and safer than Viagra, kuno. Whatever. Several of Chinggay’s friends soon after that revelation lined up to buy a bottle of mangosteen juice, hah!
Someone said something about urine therapy, which is not an aphrodisiac but is definitely a recipe for health and wellness. I know a friend who takes a tablespoon of her own urine every morning and ever since she has never more known a sick day in her life, she swears. Like they say: One man’s medicine is another man’s poison!!
(September 22, 2005 issue)
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