Friday, November 24, 2006
Revisiting Balbis
By Marie Katherine Villalon
AN UNFORGETTABLE part of my childhood is when my mom would often bring me and my siblings to St. Elizabeth Center for eye check-up at Dr. Alianza's clinic. While we await our eyeglasses, we would eat at Balbis, a small restaurant just across the clinic.
There, we would order our fare of palabok and spaghetti. While the girls in the family enjoyed these, the males were feasting on Balbis's famous dinuguan and puto.
Balbis's palabok and spaghetti were the best I've ever tasted. Even my friends in elementary and high school mentioned how they would often go back there to have their gastronomic filling.
Through the years, this humble restaurant has stood and survived amid the emergence of huge fast food chains.
According to its manager, Ador Apuan, Balbis officially opened its store in 1960 but as early as 1958, they were already cooking for people. "It was not palabok at first. They were serving dishes like Arroz Valenciana, Chicken Galantina, ensaymada and cheese roll. That's when they decided to open the store," Apuan said.
Its first location was in the St. Elizabeth Bowling Alley, behind the residence of Monsignore Cuenco, in front of St. Paul's Hospital in Gen. Luna Street. After the bishop's palace was bought by the Rosaleses, the bowling alley was moved to St. Elizabeth Center in Valeria Street, where Balbis is now located.
It is owned by Balbina Zaldarriaga, whose photo with Apuan is presently hung at the restaurant. Apuan is married to Marisa Montelibano, grand daughter of Zaldarriaga. Apuan has vast experience in the food business, making him the likely candidate in managing Balbis when he went home from the United States two years ago. "I was the manager of Almon Marina, a specialty shop in Manila that was converted into a sandwich bar. When I went to the United States and worked as a paralegal there, I wanted to go back to the food business. So I enrolled in a culinary school, the Orange County School of Culinary Arts. It took me almost two years to finish there. I was going to school in the evenings," he said.
A year after he went home to the Philippines, Apuan decided to manage Balbis. "Earlier than that, I planned to open a restaurant. I studied the market here and realized that many restaurants opened but closed after several years. So, I said, 'why start with something that has no name?' Balbis has a name already," he said.
Under Apuan's management, Balbis has expanded its food offerings. The palabok, dinuguan, ensaymada and cheese rolls are still the best-sellers. "Our dinuguan makes use of lean pork and we don't use organ meat. We also use quality blood, which we filter and cure before cooking."
Balbis's cheese roll and ensaymada make use of butter and sugar. "They have the same consistency though the cheese roll is softer and smaller. We also have butter toast, garlic toast, which is a good match to palabok, cheese pimiento sandwich, biscocho, siopao, chicken pie and puto.
To cater to the employees of the offices located near the restaurant, he offers daily lunch. "We have a variety of food for lunch. The most famous now is the Pork Binagoongan and Bistek Tagalog," he said.
"Occasionally, we make food for foreign students, like Kalbichin, a Korean Beef Stew and Tonkatsu, breaded pork chop served with lots of onions and egg. We also have Spanish Omelette, which one can enjoy during breakfast. This has egg, ground chicken and lots of bell pepper," he explained.
"We also make Thai Beef that's cooked in coconut milk and it's spicy. We also make Ginger Pork, which is cooked in sliced ginger and black beans."
Balbis is now air-conditioned and the dining area is wider after it underwent renovation in August this year. Its peak hours are from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at 4 p.m. until closing time, 6 p.m.
Apuan revealed that Balbis will soon have another branch in an area that is accessible to more people, especially to students. When asked if he plans to open more branches like any other food chain, he said, "I just want maybe another one. My idea is that the people that know Balbis, one by one, have gone abroad. The younger generation does not know about us because we are no visible from the street. It's about time that we should be seen. I don't have any intention to open many branches. One or two would be enough."
The interview was capped with the Balbis Special treat -- ensaymada that's stuffed with jelly and cheese and then grilled to perfection. Yummy!
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao.
(November 24, 2006 issue)
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