VISITS to a beautifully restored colonial-era house turned restaurant still feel new when never-before-tasted items are invented in its kitchen. By “never-before-tasted,” I do mean that you will not find the exact same food in any other restaurant. The dishes at Circa 1900 are creatively designed by owners Eya Shrimski and her chef-husband Steve.
In conceptualizing the new items recently introduced on the menu at Circa 1900, the Shrimskis wanted to highlight tablea, an ingredient they feel can be used beyond the usual beverage and sweets, but with savory dishes as well. “We wanted to use it in dishes which locals can appreciate and that foreigners can relate to,” said Eya.
For starters is crusty bruschetta with pine nuts, raisin, olive, tomato and eggplant caponata, topped off with a delicate tablea tuile that you’d normally find in dessert. Appetizers include the fresh ube lumpia with ubod, shrimp and pork; char-grilled gambas prawns on crispy camote fritters; and tablea chicken wings tossed in five-spice and cinnamon. The hot new dishes are the seared Asian duck slow braised with ponkan and tamarind on almond raisin and yogurt braised rice; snapper fillet and grilled asparagus with lemony herb, egg and pine nut salsa; smoky grilled grouper with tablea herb-infused malakit risotto; and slow seared tablea pork asado, pumpkin puree and sautéed chorizo with cannellini beans. Dessert is something I feel that Circa 1900 does particularly well; new to try are the Spanish chocolate tres leche with leche flan and chocolate mousse; pumpkin cheesecake on a tablea biscuit base with salted caramel glaze; and gluten-free peach, kiwi and yogurt cheesecake pudding.
One may notice that the menu items don’t focus on fried or battered cooking methods—everything is prepared fresh, grilled, or seared. And, although butter does make everything taste good, the Shrimskis don’t depend on it to add flavor to their food. As Eya said, “Food should not only be visually appealing and tasty, but must contribute to the health and well-being of the guest. It is about influencing our customers to make better choices with their food.”