the welcome aimlessness of Day 1, while in our gustatory adventures, we learn that the meaning of delicious changes with latitude. Our attempt to articulate is where food and travel intersect. For these chefs and restaurateurs, the narrative begins in their travels and ends in our plates WRITTEN BY ANNABS SANCHEZ PHOTOS COURTESY OF mon urbano, day salonga, abba napa, marky buhain , audrey tanco-uy, and la travel (eiffel tower)
Chef Mon Urbano and Chef Day Salonga || Tapeo
It was halfway through my glass of mojito, when Chefs Mon and Day asked me if I danced. I said, I didn't. But that I also didnt care that I don't. So we happily agreed to meet again and dance with abandon in one of Tapeo's Flamenco nights. At this point, we've already talked about the health benefits of malunggay, the normalcy of drinking sangria at high noon, Tapeos possible new menu offerings, their firm belief in the slow food movement, the 80s, heirloom recipes, their tapas all-you-can promo, and the joys of binge watching Game of Thrones. This must be the same restless energy created by the conversations and interactions
during Tapeo, a longstanding
Spanish tradition of tapas bar-hopping, which the two chefs did a lot of during their trips to Spain and effectively captured in their vibrant space at the Fort Strip. Culture is food and food is culture. You cant really separate the two, says Chef Day The ingredients used in making tapas, for example, differ from region to regiontruth be told, bar to barso, eating tapas is like making your way around Spain. Tapeo is located at The Fort Strip, 7th corner 28th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. For more information, phone (+62 2) 556 2668, tapeo. manila@gmail.com, or follow them on Tapeo.ph
Abba Napa || 8 Cuts Burger Blends
When you first travel to a new city, everything is unknown. Immediately, youre heady with the thrill of discovery. But when youve been to the same city a few times, the city starts to belong to you and you start to belong to the city. Suddenly, what was once peculiar is now all too familiar. But for Abba Napa, one of the owners of 8 Cuts Burger Blends (and whos also behind Cue, Burgerbar, and NamNam/Manam), the real thrill of discovery begins with embracing the familiar. For her, its to go from asking, What's out there? to a more daring What else is out there? A passion that clearly XX
Volume tHREE 2014 | TRAVELnow
shows in every aspect of 8
Cuts when it comes to serving a US culinary iconthe hamburger. By adding an eighth cut (ox tail) into its meat blends, 8 Cuts has opened up the possibilities to rediscover the classic burger. So when I asked Abba to describe 8 Cuts as a destination, it's no wonder she likened it to a favorite city. Its that city you always keep going back to, says Abba. And for every traveler, an invitation to discover and re-discover is just too exciting to pass up. 8 Cuts Burger Blends branches are located at UP Town Center, Katipunan, SM Megamall Fashion Hal, and Trinoma. For more information, phone (+63 2) 955 2264 or (+63 917) 818 2139
Chef Marky Buhain || Cantina Sicilianita
Listening to Chef Marky talk about his travels to Sicily, anyone can tell that he never really left. He was still in that quaint restaurant atop a mountain in Erice, where he first gained awareness of the culinary promise of Sicily in his discovery of cannoli. When I first tasted cannolithe crunchy shell, the sweet ricotta cheese inside, and the dried fruits and pistachio nuts on the sideI immediately knew I wanted to bring that taste back to the Philippines, says Chef Marky, whose passionate description of the cannoli is no doubt an exercise in remembering of his stays in Sicily. This exercise also extends to the restaurants aesthetics, as Cantina Sicilianita is a virtual time capsule of his Sicily: The enlarged photo of Taormina on the wall, the ubiquitous shutter window
on top of the bar,
the colorful tiles on the tables, the chandeliers, and the Trinacria, Sicily's national flag, are on full display. But just as it was an exercise in remembering, it was also about forgetting. Because on my way out, after a very satisfying cup of espresso, Chef Marky calls out Ciao! just as Sicilian store owners would. And for a moment, Ive forgotten that outside werent the idyllic cobblestone streets of Erice, but the bustling streets of Shaw Boulevard. Cantina Sicilianita is located at 548 Shaw Boulevard, Facilities Center Building, Mandaluyong. For more information, phone (+63 2) 570 2905, info@ cantinasicilianita.com, or visit <cantinasicilianita.com/myblog/>
Audrey Tanco-Uy || BIZU PATISSERIE
In Pico Iyers Why We Travel, he likened a journey to a foreign country to a true love affairwith sleepless nights spent in tireless recollection of moments, between hastily scribbled words in journals, and behind the smiles in photographs. An endless loop that constantly replays in ones mind. And in this regard, Audrey was in love. The Chief Commercial Officer of Bizu Patisserie talks about her trips to Paris like a woman clearly infatuated. Listing all the places in their culinary expeditionsFauchon, Cojean, Cafe de Flore, Au Pied de Cochon, and Creperie Josselinwith a school girls giddiness. Our name, Bizu, was coined from the French word bisous which means
kiss, says Audrey I like
to think that to eat at Bizu is to kiss life and experience joie de vivre (enjoyment of life)thats Bizu. As she recounts all the Parisian food that made her heart and taste buds flutterPain Perdu Truffle Omelette Saint Honor Rose, Soupe de Poisson, and Sole MeuniereIyer's metaphor seems to prove true, that like the best love affairs, the best trips, never really end. For a complete list of store locations and other information, visit <bizupatisserie.com> Volume tHREE 2014 | TRAVELnow