Daphne » Abuela’s

Had a lovely lunch at Abuela’s Restaurant in Makati. My friend Vicky Tensuan and her cousins finally opened a home for that famous prime rib I tried a couple of years ago.

Abuela’s serves heirloom dishes originally created by the grandmother of Marianne Lacson Campillo and interpreted by her husband Chef Marco Legasto. The grandmother, Eduarda Cuyugan Lacson, had an inherent love for cooking that stemmed from her Capangpangan roots. Marriage took her to Bacolod where she settled and lived an idyllic life while holding fort in the kitchen.

I particularly enjoyed this pochero, served in a modern minimalist way. The broth comes separately in a small carafe.

My fave. Pochero, topped up with roasted tomato.

The callos was excellent. I don’t normally eat callos. But this was so, so good.

Our lunch group – Rica de Jesus of Heart 2 Heart, Preview magazine’s Jacqui Salonga, Abuela’s Vicky Tensuan, and Mega’s EIC Peewee Isidro

Chefs Marco Legasto and Yoshimi Igarashi. Chef Marco graduated from IHMES Isle of Man in the UK, while Chef Yoshimi from Hokkaido, Sapporo Japan was trained in Hotel Nikko. He spent the past 17 years heading Benkay outlets in Mexico, Paris, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Bone Marrow Mushroom Rice

Mila’s Roast Chicken

Jojo’s Filipino Curry Prawns with Crab Fat Sauce

Lengua Estofado by Lilibeth

The menu was designed and hand drawn by Vicky Tensuan who also owns Whisk Designs.

The Abuela’s Roast Beef platter that I blogged about a couple of years ago is back! It comes with sauce of your choice and sides on a ceramic platter ready to be taken home and served.