Kare-kare

There’s a boutique hotel and commercial complex under development on the corner of Legaspi St. and Rizal in Davao City called Legaspi Suites which highlights a beautiful postwar ancestral home in their courtyard. Surrounding the complex is an arcade of shops and one of its occupants is a quaint café called Kusina Selera that just opened and is on dry run.

I would usually let time pass before I visit and review a restaurant to let the staff bloom to their full efficiency. But curiosity did take the better of me, after I had gone and checked out the menu. The place which had Old World but chic interiors based on clean and cheerful lines was as well lit and as cordial as its staff and owner.

Peeping through the servings placed on the tables of the diners, I saw that the kitchen, based on a speedy “eyeball” judgment, seemed to know and care about the very straightforward Filipino classics and some creative house specialties they were serving.

Having made a mental note of this visit, it was decided that we would come back after three days. But the intrigue was just too much and I found myself there the next evening. And again, I found myself ordering too much to the surprise of our waiter, Dexter who seemed baffled at how a normal dinner date could pack so much in. (Little did he know that over ordering seems to be the reason why this column is thriving.)

Anyway, our waiter and all the other wait staff seemed to know their menu items well, enough to recommend dishes. I didn’t order from the appetizer menu, as I found the starters, which the management states are temporary, to be lacking in luster. The items seemed to be what “everybody” likes or what you will find in almost every restaurant in Davao.

However, I did go for a Tuna Sisig, which although is stereotypically overplayed, is a dish that many restaurants and bars would get high ratings for, if it were a review on cat food.

Kusina Selera’s Tuna Sisig in my list takes great marks. It was creamy, lightly, sweetish and moist with just the right amount of chili heat for the beer guzzler or the rice eater. It started dinner on a correct note, as we also ordered a Pomelo Salad to start with. The salad was anointed with a fish sauce dressing topped with peanuts and had shreds of orange pink semi-ripe papaya and sliced deseeded tomatoes that refreshed and prepared us for the next round of dishes.

The Kare Kare in this establishment can be a benchmark on how well the owners and the kitchen take to Filipino cuisine. The tripe and oxtail are simmered to tenderness while the vegetables are timed to be served at their prime and not limp state. The sauce is not over and sickeningly peanutty but subtle and truly goes in the classification of homey, comfort food.

Our vegetable dish is what they called Sigasig, short for sitao, gabi and sigadillas. This simple dish of vegetables tossed in a thick, spicy coconut cream again showed the kitchen’s competence in serving vegetables. The sitao or yard beans with the sigadillas or winged beans were pristine, green and crunchy while the gabi or taro was “to the bite” with a light, sliding mouthfeel coming from its starch.

Our other dish, which was tempting and seemed to appeal to more primeval instincts, was the Crispy Beef Rib. I mentioned it as singular because it literally was a hefty 10-inch crispy rib serving on your plate. It seemed to give off the same primitive appeal as when one orders a prime rib or porterhouse. The crisp fat and outer areas of beef on this rib, eaten simply with rice and dipped in their sweetish chili soy dip, was ethereal with the creamy crunchy layers of fat and crunchy meat ripped from its bone.

Dessert seemed to be a creative area with this restaurant. We ordered a flight of three desserts and all were petite enders, perhaps in anticipation of bigger courses. The sweetness of the desserts was also pleasantly controlled and not changing at all.

Tres leches was a creamy maja blanca topped with corn for texture, crisp dessicated coconut, and rough shaved cheese as a salty foil to the sweetness and as a second milk type to the coconut cream and cream mix in the dessert. The result was a workable interplay of tastes and texture that are Filipino yet modern in character.

Similar to this modern Filipino style was the Caramel Tapioca sweetened with raw brown sugar or panocha gelled together. This was topped with homemade chocnut ice cream which gave richness to a somewhat plebeian concept of sago.

Last and worthy of mention, was the Buchitaw, which was a concept between buchi (fried mochi) and palitaw. This poached rice dumpling stuffed with light bean paste was rolled half in roasted sesame seeds and desiccated coconut. In true spirit, this was very Asian and I felt that the concept should be pursued more. A little more bean paste would probably highlight this delightful meal ender. This restaurant should get top marks because you have to start fresh with making this dessert which requires lots of kneading and hard work.

Overall, Kusina Solera, I believe (having sampled a worthy representation of what the kitchen have to offer), deserves several more visits as their menu promises other forthcoming dishes. But next time, I’m bringing a group for sharing and not over ordering for two again. My dinner companion had gone home early, and I was kept guessing as to the reason why.