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Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Cross Overs
By Keith Aparri Bacalso
A few whisks later, a 1920s Buster Keaton silent film was on two projectors, playful lights traipsed the floor as non-intrusive African music primed succeeding conversations.
A quick cursory question was answered, “Tapas are Spanish dishes, customarily served with drinks,” Stephan Zenz, formerly of Switzerland, was now talking. Think pika-pika, as Alex Badayos would put it. Pulutan, Stephan said, closer to home.
Mojito, a Cuban concoction of rum, lime, mint, brown sugar and soda water was for starters – mildly sweet and acidic while crushed leaves left a bit of cool bitter for the tongue. Our tapas were served in gamas – French for painters color palette, connoting a bit of this dish and that.
Gama de Mariscos provided a sampling of mango salsa shrimps on tofu, mussels topped with béchamel, and buñuelos de sardinas. At first bite, it’s mostly the tofu when the shrimps spring your taste for a little spicy surprise.
The mussels, which the three of us knew to be the often-baked tahong – dry, are hereby fried, preserving the moisture of the butter and cream white sauce.
Gama de favoritos was a taster for squid vinaigrette, pimientos, and Jamón. A cold tapas, the vinegar flavored with spices and other seasonings was a perfect foil to the fresh squid ringlets. The Jamón remains a sweet favorite, even with hundreds of kilograms sold over the December holidays.
Chicken Liver Paté was a twist to the French taste for goose liver paste while the Tostas with Kesong Puti Salsa brought us back home. Delicious carabao cheese topped the toasted bread flavored with garlic and olive oil.
All told, we weren’t done yet. A trio of desserts provided closure for the Spanish-French-Filipino cross over tastes.
But both the smooth crème brulée with mango layers and Banana Jubilation with toasted cinnamon bread were eclipsed by the sinfully sweet Decadent Chocolate Cake coated with butterscotch.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 22, 2006 issue)
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