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Saturday, April 08, 2006
Good food among strangers
By Leticia Suarez-Orendain
Being a single-minded, mom-and-pop diner devotee, I found the European-sounding menu of an uptown restaurant an exciting prospect even in the Lenten season.
But as a first-timer to dine in Olio, located at the Crossroads in Banilad, and to do so with strangers from fine society, gave me mixed feelings on how I should conduct myself between maneuvering a dinner knife and joining in the repartee sure to ensue during the leisurely meal.
Then as the conversation bounced back and forth—from growing bromeliads to landscaping and on to personal tragedies—I learned that good food opens the door of acceptance among strangers.
Some people say Olio is pricey, but when you want someone to feel special you will go the whole nine yards to show it. Do it with a salad, a main dish and a drink, and you have your feast.
Lunchtime is quiet out here, ideal for intimate twosomes or a convivial party of four. Evenings are more stimulating, with the happy hour kicking off at 5:30 p.m. onwards to 8:30 p.m. which attracts the yuppie crowd. Each month, Girlie Lim and Gladys Lim Uy, who own the business, go into themes, but for now, let’s talk lunch.
For this delight, we were told the meal had been chartered in the way it should go, except for the main course. We were given a free hand in that.
Since Olio has a good list of fruits of the sea (lapu-lapu, Chilean sea bass, oysters, scallops, shrimps and more), most of us dined happy to know that abstaining from meat can be a delicious option. This is the place to go if you want seafood and still follow Lenten food traditions.
It was tough being faced with the menu that strives for something uncommon without being weird, and authentic without fuss.
Translation: the food isn’t hidden by the presentation, and every dish is a careful study of texture, aroma, color and taste.
You have not dined well until, as they say, your tongue has touched a good risotto but that’s part of the main dish, much later.
We started with the spanakopita, or phyllo pockets stuffed with chopped spinach and feta, a lip smacking pairing. Paper thin and flaky, the pockets burst with juicy goodness. I’ve never had this before, so I call it a revelation of what you can do to a homely vegetable.
Since Olio has a tank with aerators for its oysters, the bivalves that followed were truly fresh. The oyster Rockefeller was just done for the natural juices to still fill the mouth. A sensuous treat we rinsed off with the quieter next plate, the salad with balsamic dressing.
The Meselun (arugula with its peppery taste; Bibb lettuce with its buttery flavor) had tart wedged tomatoes balanced by the twist of sweetness in cubed cantaloupe and red grapes.
Then the moment of truth came: main course. Our individual choices: seafoods fettucine (in cream sauce); blue penne (with gorgonzola cheese and porcini mushrooms); lapu-lapu (one in blanc sauce and mushroom risotto and the other, in spinach with tomato garlic linguini); Chilean seabass (in mushroom broth with mashed potato); salmon (in orange chardonnay sauce with potato); and prime beef tenderloin (in madiera sauce with potato).
Mine was the Chilean seabass in black truffle sauce. The fish, translucent and with skin crispy, sat on top of risotto, my first real one. It was notable. I was urged to try the salmon since it is normally an odorous fish. Olio’s was satisfactory.
Between this and dessert, we heard of fire hitting the Lim house and how the tragedy taught the family to count only what matters.
It was a glimpse into those among us whom we consider as privileged. They, too, get hurt and like us, learn to cherish what counts. The dessert was anti-climactic, really, for by then I had my taste of sweetness already just meeting people from the other side of my fence.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 8, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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