Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio
Comfort food, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, considered as such because it is prepared in a simple or traditional way thus providing “a nostalgic or sentimental value to the person eating it.” The nostalgia may be specific to either the individual or a specific culture, adds Anneli Rufus in her article, “How comfort foods work like Prozac,” which appeared in Gilt Taste.
The term comfort food has been traced back at least to 1966, when the Palm Beach Post used it in a story: “Adults, when under severe emotional stress, turn to what could be called ‘comfort food’—food associated with the security of childhood, like mother’s poached egg or famous chicken soup.”
How’s that’s for historical background.
The beautiful Chef Cathy Binag came to Davao City a few years back and decided to settle here. First, she opened the White House Fusion Cuisine and Wine Lounge is located at Camella Northpoint along J.P. Laurel Avenue.
But somehow, she misses the foods in Manila and those in other parts of Luzon. That’s why she launches another restaurant at Damosa in Lanang. She calls it — hold your breath — Filipino Comfort Food (FCF).
“To tell you frankly, it’s because I miss the authentic Filipino-style home food cooking without twisting it,” said Binag, who co-owned the restaurant. “The way our grandmothers and mothers prepare the foods without so much fuss. They cook with love.”
Those who have been out of the country for quite sometimes or now living abroad can have comfort in eating what they have been missing. Among those that are served at FCF are the following: binagoongang baboy, pocherong baka, sinigang na ulo ng salmon, crispy chicken skin, sinampalukang manok, sinigang na baka sa native bayabas, dinuguan at puto, kinilaw na kambing at hipon, ginataang pako, tenga at balut, Ilokano-style pinakbet, and crispy pata.
Turon, bibingka, suman sa latik, and biko are also on the menu. Ditto for its merienda that include binignit, ginataang bilo-bilo, tokaw’t baboy, and pansit luglug.
“Our Filipino merienda treat offers overflowing sweet delights that will not only satisfy your cravings and complete your day, but also will bring back happy memories of home and family,” Binag said.
According to her, all the foods being served at the restaurant came from her, which she learned from her mother and grandmother. “Like all the sinigang and ginataan, my mother is really good with them,” she revealed. “To be honest, all of these are my favorite Pinoy comfort food also — except for the kinilaw na kambing and hipon which originated from the Floirendo family.”
In some instances, she prepares the food herself. “I started learning to cook my first sinigang when I was 12 from my mother,” she recalled. “Every weekend, it was mandatory for us to join our grandmother to the wet market and I guess it was in my heart already that I have discovered the passion for cooking at an early age.”
To be a good cook, Binag pointed out, a person has to experience these four things: get burned, being cut, having shouted and the most important of all, having a patience to learn. As they say, experience is the best teacher.
Most of the ingredients used in the preparation of all the dishes at FCF come from Davao City. “Everything is locally produced; we go to the market every day to make sure all our ingredients are fresh,” Binag said. “It’s like the same in our own home.”
That’s what makes FCF somewhat unique. “In my own opinion, every restaurant has different cooks, hands and palette,” she replied when asked on how her foods differ from those from other restaurants. “I guess my advantage is before I open a restaurant I honed first the palette of my head chef by the way I wanted to taste my food the same way I cook it in my own home.”
Binag said she trained the chef for two years — “to the point that she had to sit down with me and even asked me and cried in front of me asking if she is not enough to be part of the project.”
“When I put up a business,” Binag said, “I just don’t set up only to earn money but I can say more on my passion of sharing my knowledge and proper taste of the food.”
By the way, she doesn’t use salt and monosodium glutamate (MSG) in all the dishes the restaurant is serving. “We don’t use salt and MSG,” she said. “We have our technique on making our foods palatable.”
So next time you will be in Davao and looking for some “lutong bahay” try the Filipino Comfort Food. Surely, you will come back once you have tried those Filipino comfort foods.
Don’t worry about the price; it ranges from P200 to P300. But the portions are huge that each dish can be shared with your family or friends.
