My Kitchen by Chef Chris Guarantees Happy Tummies

(Slow-roasted lamb ribs with garlic and rosemary rub are succulent and tender to the bite. The dish is served with braised lentils, olive fried potatoes, and Italian style broccoli.)

THE first time I met the Swiss-born chef Chris Locher and was introduced to his famous panizza—his own version of the pizza—was back in February 2007. He was still chef patron of C’ Italian Dining in Clark, Angeles, Pampanga and back then, it was known among expat bankers as the “best Italian restaurant in the country.”

I remember urging Chef Chris to open a branch in Manila so my foodie friends and I could gorge on his sumptuous dishes more frequently, but he dismissed this by saying that he wasn’t too keen on the city’s traffic jam, noise, and pollution.

Flash forward five years later, Chef Chris has left his old employ, and has continued his culinary career in Manila, setting up My Kitchen by Chef Chris in Paco. (He is also executive chef at The Continental at the exclusive Tower Club in Makati, creating gastronomic delights for its well-heeled members.)

With the chef’s old regulars like myself, and a growing new crop of fans, My Kitchen has become the newest dining hotspot in the metropolis. Many historians-foodies have noted, the restaurant’s presence has given life to Paco itself, whose historical significance became obscured by the district having become a haven of parked trailers and trucks.

What I love about My Kitchen and Chef’s Chris’ creations is that they are always consistently superb, and the portions are always large enough to share with family and friends. So it’s not unusual to see loads of families heading to the restaurant after Sunday Mass at the Paco Park Church. (The rest in InterAksyon.com, June 11, 2012. Copyright to these photos are owned by this blogger.)

(The Kristina panizza is a meat-lover’s favorite made with bacon and ham, plus caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms.)

(Lemon lime cheesecake - A baked cheese cake with almond crust, finely crusted with sugar crust sweet lemon lime sauce, almond and cream. A perfect balance of zest and sweetness.)

One rainy evening at the Tower Club (UPDATED)

The brilliant Chef Chris Locher of C' Italian Dining, now on limited engagement at the Tower Club in Makati. (Photo courtesy C' Italian Dining.)

FANS of Chris Locher, Chef Patron of C’ Italian Dining in Angeles, Pampanga, are hereby advised that the irrepressible culinary genius is here in Manila whipping up his magic in the kitchen of Tower Club in Makati. (And shame on you if you still haven’t had a taste of the chef’s famous panizzas and pastas from his restaurant!)

Of course, the catch is, one must be a member of the posh exclusive club to be able to partake of Chef Chris’ sumptuous dishes, or at least, fortunate enough like me, to know a member willing to lend me her dining privilege for a night. (Thank you, oh Great Generous One!)

At the Pinot Room at the Continental Restaurant, the lamon gang and I feasted on a special menu Chef Chris prepared for us one rainy Friday evening.

While waiting for the rest of our dining companions to arrive, Chef Chris served us our favorite panizzas – his trademark rectangular thin crust pizzas – using fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and basil. As is the usual, these were served with arugula leaves and alfalfa on the side, which one deftly places in each strip of panizza before rolling them up to eat.

Crispy- thin Panizza Margarita for starters.

Although not normally on C’s menu, Chef Chris acceded to our request for some gambas using medium-sized succulent prawns. Unlike the gambas served in other restaurants, Chef Chris’s version was just lightly touched by olive oil and garlic, allowing the freshness and sweetness of the prawns to shine through. He also served us a deli platter with a variety of sliced meats, with sweet and crunchy olives dotting the plate.

For the dinner proper, our simple but hearty meal began with Tuna Ceviche with avocado, red onions, and fresh cucumber on roasted pepper salsa. It was like a bright ray of sunshine amid the gloomy rainy weather. Very light and summery.

We also had a very rustic classic tomato soup served in a demitasse, which kept to the theme of simplicity and lightness. The sweet-sour creamy blend gently warmed our tummies, in preparation for the other dishes to come.

Tuna Ceviche - like a bright ray of sunshine amid the heavy rain.

For our main entrees – I had a mini-crisis of sorts as I carefully pondered our choices – Grilled sirloin steak with herb butter sauce on pumpkin and carrot mash, with golden fried potatoes; Pink-roasted lamb loin with red wine reduction served with golden bramata cake and buttered green asparagus; or Pan-roasted Sea Bass fillet with Pernod butter sauce on a bed of mushroom risotto and greens.

They all sounded so delicious but I finally settled on the fish, primarily because I haven’t had mushroom risotto in a while – in fact, the last time I had it was at C’, and this was many many moons ago! As expected, the fish meat was just luscious and velvety soft as it gently melted in my mouth. And the mushroom risotto was creamy and cooked al dente - it was a nice contrasting earthy tone with a few crispy notes to complement the fish.

For the rustic touch- a creamy classic Tomato soup.

Not missing a beat, I took a slice of sirloin steak from one friend, and a slice of lamb from another, and I was blown through the roof with the tenderness of both. Not having tasted the other dishes in their entirety though, I am constrained to write about them further. But trust Chef Chris to serve the tenderest meats in town – he has not failed me yet. (One of his more sublime creations at C’ is his Slow roasted lamb ribs in aromatic spice rub, served with braised lentils, garlic glazed rapini and olive oil fried potatoes.)

For dessert, we had a very straightforward frothy zabaglione (or sabayon) which was scooped warm over – surprise! ice cold homemade vanilla ice cream. If it sounds very sweet, it wasn’t at all. Chef Chris gave it a nice kick by using some mint leaves and lemon rind. And the white wine incorporated within gave it an extra zing. What a smashing end to a great meal.

My main course - a tender and almost flaky Chilean Sea Bass fillet with Pernod butter sauce over a bed of creamy mushroom risotto and greens.

For the special menu, we were charged P1,850 per head for 10 persons – which I thought was very reasonably priced considering the fancy venue. For movers and shakers who like to hold their meetings or press conferences at the club, a special menu like this would definitely be excellent value.

A lunch buffet is also available at the Continental at P900++, following a daily theme: Monday is Italian, Tuesday-modern Filipino, Wednesday-Carvings (meats), Thursday-Curry Tiffin (Indian), and Friday-Seafood. The themed lunch buffet will last until the end of the year.

Meanwhile, a separate lunch menu featuring Chef Chris' special dishes are also available to diners.

MEMO to members: Chef Chris Locher’s stint as guest chef is only until end-August, so hustle up and treat yourselves (and your families and friends) to the awesome kitchen creations of this brilliant chef. RUSH.

For dessert, a zabaglione scooped warm over home-made vanilla ice cream with mint and lemon.

*For reservations – members only – please call tel. no. 885-7085. Tower Club is at the 33rd and 34th floors of the Philamlife Tower, 8767 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City.

(UPDATE): According to Chef Chris, he has just been appointed as chef consultant to the Tower Club. So expect to see him cooking his excellent dishes for its members for quite some time. Also, other projects are upcoming w/ Chef Chris leading the way in the kitchen of some establishments in Manila and Q.C. I am not yet at liberty to say what these are but yes, Chef Chris/C' fans - totoong-totoo na 'to! So keep reading this blog for future announcements of his projects.

(This blog entry later appeared as a published piece in the BusinessMirror food page, Life section, Aug. 26, 2011.)

Unforgettable, favorite Christmas gifts

FREQUENT readers of this space will probably know the answer to this. My favorite Christmas gift was a talking Barbie given to me by my Mama. It wasn’t the gift per se, but how I got it.

I was probably 7 or 8 years old then, and was tagging along with my Mama in Cartimar, Pasay, where Filipinos used to go to for their PX goods. Yes, I am a child of America, what can I say? Hahaha.

I saw my Mama looking over the Barbie which was in a fuchsia box (then everybody still called it “hot pink”), and I pestered her who she was buying it for. She wouldn’t answer me but I kept on nagging her about it, because I was so incensed that I, her bunso, wouldn’t be getting any gorgeous thing like that doll for Christmas.

She silenced me with that “wag kang makulit” look, and I shut up. (Yup, back then, kids were nakukuha sa tingin.) But I was seething inside, so jealous of that little girl—probably one of my Mama’s godchildren—who would get that Barbie for Christmas. I earnestly hoped and wished that I would get a Barbie as a present, too.

Of course, when Christmas midnight came, I excitedly opened all my gifts, and lo and behold! I got the very same Barbie! I couldn’t contain my joy over my new precious doll, and kept on pulling on the string behind her neck to make her “talk”. I thought then that my Mama probably got me the same gift as her inaanak just to pacify me. Silly me, I still thought she had given the doll she had earlier bought to another lucky kid, hahaha. Ay tanga.

But it made me realize then, which I still believe holds true today, if you deserve the present you have been hoping to get, you will receive it. The Secret? No. Just an eternal belief in how the universe just works for everyone’s benefit, and we all get what we deserve.

(DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo with his wife, Lovely, and their grandchildren.)

So for my Christmas and New Year columns this year, I asked several well-known personalities in government and industry what were their most unforgettable or favorite Christmas gifts of all time. Their answers, as usual, are heartwarming, a few terribly funny yet endearing, and give an honest insight into each person’s character.

Let me wish one and all a Happy Christmas with your loved ones, and peace and prosperity for all in the New Year.

(Antonio Moncupa, President, East-West Bank)

Secretary Alberto Romulo, Department of Foreign Affairs

All the gifts my grandchildren give me are unforgettable, whether it be a handmade card, a painting or sketch they made themselves, or a book they bought because they felt I would enjoy it—all of these are my favorites.

Antonio Moncupa, President, East-West Bank

In my grade-school years, I always looked forward to Christmas because it was the only other time (the other one was birthdays) when my parents would buy us a new set of nice clothes outside the simple T-shirts and short pants for daily public-school attire. While I thought they could afford to buy clothes more often, our parents always told us they needed to save for the bigger expenses for high school and college. It must have been hard to manage a brood of nine children for a couple who only reached second-year high school and who started with practically nothing.

(Bianca Gonzalez, TV host and model. Photo from her blog.)

While those clothes were not presented as gifts but a normal course for the season, I treasured those “gifts” the most. Although my parents wanted to be frugal, they also could not bear to see us without new clothes like other children. As I got older, it acquired a bigger meaning for me. I learned to appreciate the values it represented. It helped me realize what vision, firm resolve, and love could do to achieve an objective.

Bianca Gonzalez, TV host and model

My brother JC, who I love most and who hasn’t been home in five years, is coming home for Christmas. Nothing material can ever beat being with family during the holidays.

Teodoro “Teddyboy” Locsin Jr., Writer and pundit, former congressman of Makati City

My most unforgettable Christmas gift was the model of the German battleship Bismarck which I specifically pointed out to my parents. I was trying to rebuild the Nazi fleet. Instead, I got an American battleship, the USS Missouri I think, which so enraged me that I stomped all over the box which had a picture of the wrong ship and tried to kick the Christmas tree down, but it stood on a wide X and couldn’t be shaken. At such a young and impressionable age, to expose me to such disappointment. Anyway, I never cared for any Christmas gift after that.

But the best Christmas gift I ever got was the long-distance phone call of Cory Aquino just before Christmas 1985, that I return home from San Francisco to join her in the snap-election campaign. I like fights and this looked like a good one. The gift package itself came a little over a month later, around the 25th of the month, when she turned to me upon being told by the US ambassador that Marcos had taken off on a plane for Hawaii—and smiled. I had almost forgotten that gift because joy is not as instantly recallable as disappointment. But it was the best gift ever. I hope to get the gift of another great fight because that is the only time I am happy. Several more would be nice.

Chef Chris Locher, C’ Italian Dining

As a kid, my most favorite gift must have been my Carrera racing track received sometime in 1975. Most sporting goods gifts were usually reserved for Easter. Also, my first sky blue bike “Flipper” in 1974 would be among the top favorite gifts I received.

As time went on, material things became less important. I love giving gifts as much as receiving them. I do love them even more if some thought was placed by the gift-giver. But today, a joyful and noisy evening with my loved ones, some great home-cooked food, and a glass of wine spell perfection.

Annabella S. Wiesniewski, President of Raintree Partners Inc.

My favorite unforgettable Christmas gifts have been from our boys. For example, when Martin was six years old, he made a “GC” with scribblings of a car, entitling me to three free personalized car washes! Andrej gave me a down duvet when he was about 14, and that was an enormous amount to save from a paper route. He had been hearing how I wanted a real fluffy down duvet but could not afford it! I guess what made them memorable most of all was that they truly came from the heart.

(Conclusion on Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. Photos courtesy of the interviewees.)

The big birthday bash

(YATS Chef Philip Golding gives me a cleaver to slice our delectable birthday cake. Photo by Dudubel)

I turned another year older last Saturday, and as expected, it didn't turn out to be a quiet walk towards impending senility.

The gang and I motored over to the Clark free port over the weekend and engaged in a few days of mayhem. It was actually a joint birthday celebration for a number of us, starting with Mago and Dudubel in January, and me in February, along with Buntis who celebrates her natal day on Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, Buntis couldn't join us due to a previous appointment...achuus.

While the resort we stayed at was clearly a shadow of its former self, we still managed to enjoy ourselves mainly because of the really super nice people we met in several establishments, and the fun activities we had. Some played the slots at the casino, while the others stayed in the villa for some card games. It turned out to be a mighty profitable weekend for some of us hehe.

(The gang at play poses for a 'beauty shot'.)

We had a surprisingly inexpensive lunch at the YATS Wine Club co-owned by Chef Philip Golding who served as vintage beer for starters, some Chianti to go with our main course of salmon, steak and risotto, and port to close our meal. Advised earlier of the dietary restrictions of a few in the group, Golding served us some delectable sugar-free white chocolates, and thereafter gifted us with oh-so-heavenly sugar-free cheese cake. The cake was so good even the non-diabetics in the gang devoured it when there were three other sugar-rich cakes just waiting to be eaten. Ang kapal nyo ha!

Philip showed us his extensive collection of wines and two of his wine "cellars", which were actually not cellars but temperature-controlled rooms chockfull of absolutely gorgeous vinos from everywhere imaginable. I asked if I could live in his cellar where I would be very happy just drinking all the good stuff. The wines don't come cheap, of course, and he proudly showed off his P1-million wine, a bottle from Chateau Margaux. There was also another Chateau Margaux bottled in 1803 (P125,000), and I asked Philip what it would taste like considering it was really old and that it had probably been subjected to massive temperature fluctuations before it finally landed in his hands. He said he was dying to find out, and I of course had the temerity to rain on his parade by saying that he could have also ended up with a rather expensive bottle of vinegar! Hahaha!


(I'm not very partial to carbonara, but this version at C' is lusciously creamy with some earthy notes.)

Aside from the casinos and the indoor card games, some of us managed to do a bit of shopping and I for one, finally found Aquafresh Extreme Clean at Puregold, and rather inexpensive Carnation Hazelnut Coffee Creamer in larger containers unlike those sold here in Manila. Duty-free shopping of course is not what it used to be in Clark, and the goods are no longer as inexpensive and varied as before. Time was when I used to buy all my toilet paper at Clark (or Subic) because they were imported and more reasonably priced than our local brands, and what's more they were thick and absorbent. Okay, so I have a thing for plush toilet paper...shoot me.

But it wasn't just fun and games for us over the weekend as we were able to sit down and chat with Chicos Luciano, president of the Clark International Airport Corp. who gave us a rundown of the exciting new developments in the aviation field in Clark. For a government official, Luciano is one heck of a regular guy. He drove himself from Quezon City on a Sunday, without any bodyguards in tow, just to meet with us. He is so amiable and kind, constantly giving in to snickers at our antics, but he definitely knew his stuff. He rattled off facts and figures like they lived in his head and was generous with the information we needed for our slew of Clark stories. If all government officials were like Mr. Luciano, we would have one heck of a super efficient bureaucracy.

(Oooh, panizza! Yum!)

Luciano thereafter treated us to an ultra-sumptuous meal at the "C" Italian restaurant on Fields Ave., said to be a favorite of my favorite presidentita GMA, Imee Marcos, Luli Arroyo, Sharon Cuneta, and a few other celebrities, as well as CEO expats now living in Clark. Some of its fans actually drive to Clark (now a very fast one hour drive on the repaved NCLEX) from Manila just to have a meal there.

Its best seller is the panizza, the creation of its Swiss-born "Chef Patron" Chris Locher, which is really a super-thin crust pizza sliced diagonally, and which you can top with alfalfa sprouts and arugula. Chris tells us that a few times in a month, when the presidentita has her "cravings", PSG guards would turn up at "C" to take out panizza for the madam. Our meal last Sunday consisted of deliciously creamy risotto, very tender slices of angus beef, a different take on Pasta Amatriciana, and yummy yummy flavors of gelato. The strawberry and lemon-mandarin gelatos are really to die for.

Too bad that Chef Locher doesn't want to put up a branch in Manila. He tells me that while he has been with the Philippines for quite awhile, he absolutely abhors Manila. So grab your cars people and take a trip down to Clark soon if you want to have a taste of Chef Locher's brilliant dishes, designed to please every foodie bone in your body.

Props goes to publicist Mike Marasigan (my ex-boss at BusinessWorld, imagine that!) who was able to facilitate the great getaway, along with Clark Development Corp. tourism officer, the ever cheerful Noemi Garcia. Thanks guys! We really had a blast!