They say that a good cook doesn’t follow recipes...he invents them!
Well, that’s if you have the talent, guts and the palate for good food the way Tita Cely does!
Regarded by food critics as the doyenne of Filipino cuisine, Cecilia "Tita Cely" Villanueva Kalaw set the Pinoy tastebuds on fire with her "invention"... a fiery dish popularly known as Bicol Express.
Contrary to popular belief, Bicol Express didn’t originate in Bicol. It was a labor of love of two siblings who shared a passion for all things spicy and yummy!
As the story goes, Tita Cely and her brother Demetrio "Kuya Etring" Kalaw had opened a hole–in-the-wall eatery on Oregon St., Malate, Manila, which they called "The Grove — Luto ni Inay." This was way back in the 1960s.
There were only a few tables and chairs and no waiters but immediately the eatery was swamped with foodies hungry for good homecooking! This prompted Tita Cely and Kuya Etring to move to a bigger place on M.H. del Pilar St., in Ermita.
The Grove became famous for its buffet which offered 54 kinds of Filipino dishes.
"I was the first one to put up a Filipino buffet. At that time, it only cost R7.50 per head. It was such a big hit! Over the years, the price of the buffet went to as high as R175/head," recalls Tita Cely.
Tita Cely’s regular customers included the late food writer and critic Doreen Fernandez, journalist Jullie Yap Daza and former senator Francisco Kit Tatad.
These people just couldn’t have enough of Tita Cely’s laing, served quite spicy.
"But Doreen told me that some of our ‘sosyal’ customers who wanted to eat laing, could not tolerate the chili in it. So, I told my brother Etring that we should come up with a tamer version of the dish," narrates Tita Cely.
For customers who want their laing spicy, Tita Cely and Kuya Etring invented a dish similar to Bicol’s "gulay na lada" which they mixed with a less spicy laing.
"It’s actually a separate dish. One could either mix it with the laing or just add a bit of it (chili dish) according to one’s taste," explains Tita Cely.
Once again, the siblings experimented in the kitchen with chopped siling haba and coconut milk.
By now a kitchen pro, Tita Cely wielded her ladle like a witch concocting potions in a cauldron. In a snap, the chili dish was cooked!
"So, I’ve invited Doreen and other friends for an intimate lunch to try our ‘new’ laing. At that time, we didn’t have a name for the chili dish yet! Our house was located at the back of the restaurant along M.H. del Pilar, where the PNR train passes. It was 11:45 a.m., we only had 15 minutes left to think of a name before our guests arrived," Tita Cely continues.
"Kuya Etring was taking a shower, while I was seated on the sofa. Suddenly, we heard the sound of the train and so I shouted: ‘Kuya Etring, biyaheng Bicol!’ And he shouted back: ‘Cely, let’s call the dish Bicol Express!’ Well, the rest is history," Tita Cely laughed.
Tita Cely is not a Bicolana but she spent her childhood days in Bicol. Born in 1938 in Los Baños, Laguna, Tita Cely and her family moved to Naga City, when she was 3.
Most probably, that’s the reason Tita Cely loves "luto sa gata" dishes. This is evident in the menu of her new food stall, "Tita Cely’s Sinigang Bar, Atbp." at the foodcourt of Market! Market! in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.
Tita Cely’s Sinigang Bar, Atbp. carries over from "Tita Cely’s Sinigang and Halo-Halo Bar" which she used to operate in Save-A-Lot in Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati.
"We got evicted when Save-A-Lot closed shop. However, in a week’s time, I found a new ‘home’ at Market! Market!" explains Tita Cely.
Bicol Express is always a runaway winner even at Tita Cely’s new carinderia. This time, though, Tita Cely has earned another title: Sinigang Queen!
The eatery offers simmering sinigang of anything one could want ...sinigang na ulo ng miso, sinigang na sugpo, sinigang na baboy, sinigang na baka, and the list goes on.
"What sets my sinigang apart is that each meat has its own sinigang stock. I don’t mix soup stocks with any dish. If it’s sinigang na baboy, the taste is sinigang na baboy, not hipon," she explains.
Tita Cely still serves her signature "The Grove" dishes such as laing, bopis, dinuguan, paksiw na pata, binagoongang baboy, fried hito, atbp.
"Younger diners think that I only serve sinigang. ‘The Grove’ dishes make up the ATBP in the name," Tita Cely explains.
Diners on a budget can settle for the Terno Meal. For only R59, one can have a full meal consisting of one cup of rice, a bowl of sinigang soup, veggies, and viand.
"The Terno Meal is ideal for students and employees. You don’t have to eat the same food everyday since there are seven to eight dishes to choose from (viand). Everything we serve here is fresh. We go to market everyday. There are only two kilos of pork, two pieces of whole chicken, one big fish in our freezer," enthuses Tita Cely.
A best-seller is the Seafood Fiesta which is a combo of crabs, sugpo, mussels cooked in coconut milk with kangkong.
Tita Cely also assured us that MSG, artificial food coloring and extenders are banned in her kitchen.
For dessert, there’s the old-fashioned halo-halo, ginatang halo-halo, minatamis na saging, and crushed iced with fruit toppings.
"If you’re craving for authentic Pinoy dishes, just go straight to Tita Cely’s. Filipino ‘fusion food’ saddens me. I hate bastardizing Filipino recipes. In 1971, I taught this budding chef of a big hotel in Makati, how to cook kare-kare. When I saw the finished product, I was disappointed because he used cabbage instead of pechay. That’s mortal sin!" said Tita Cely.
According to Tita Cely, Pinoy food is world-class.
"Filipino food is so good. When served on a silver platter, who would think it’s not nouvelle cusine," she adds.
Tita Cely graduated with a degree in agriculture from UPLB. But she’s more proud of the following "degrees" appended on her name: Cecila V. Kalaw, C.CS.P.S.
"C stands for CONCERN; CS stand for COMMON SENSE. P is for PRACTICAL while S stands for SYSTEMATIC. These words are synonymous to SUCCESS," Tita Cely says with a grin.
