Bamboozled

source: mb.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines -- These days, with gas and toll prices soaring through the roof and with hotel rates at their peak, more and more people are opting for “staycations” rather than the usual vacation.

For a lot of people, the gorgeous Nuvali eco park at nearby Santa Rosa, Laguna is the perfect alternative to faraway beaches and mountains. And why not? With its artificial lake, bike trail and eateries like the Indonesian John Bamboo, it’s an adventure within a stone’s throw from the Metro.

John Bamboo is not one of those places that one can overlook. Its bright red seats and jungle themed interior call a lot of attention. After baking in the sun, we heeded its call and sought the refuge of its hearth.

The food at John Bamboo is unabashedly Indonesian and it’s not shy about its use of spices. Chef Peter Ayson, who grew up in Indonesia, insists on the best ingredients, but he does understand that the Filipino palate needs to get used to the more esoteric fare of Indonesian cuisine.

We start the meal with Soup Buntut or Oxtail Soup. Now, Pinoys are not exactly strangers to oxtail, with our fiestas almost always graced by the presence of kare-kare, so it’s fairly non-threatening. In fact, the meat is so tender that it falls off the bone at the slightest nudge of a fork. Speak harshly to it and it might just melt. The slight smokiness of the curry and the hint of coconut in the broth make this a very comforting dish indeed.

After licking our bowls clean, we are treated to a duo of fried treats. The first is the Lumpiang Semarang or Spring Rolls, which would have been typical, if not for its extraordinary crunchiness and the complex sweetness of the tamarind reduction drizzled on top of it. The spring rolls pale in comparison to the Bakwan Jagung Manis or Corn and Sticky Rice Fritters. This quickly became our favorite dish, with its contrasting textures and surprising lightness. It is crunchy outside and silky in the middle and it’s not greasy and heavy at all. Now, we usually don’t want to forget that anything is fried (fried = divine), but in this case, we were happy to make an exception.

The subtle flavors go out the window when the Mixed Seafood and All-Meat Sate grills arrive. Our first bite set the tables aflame and could have set off multiple fire alarms, but do we stop? No way! One hint, though: Temper the heat with a creamy drink or a bite of the corn fritters.

Afterward, we coat what’s left of our unburnt tastebuds in Ikan Acar Kuning or Fried Fish. By this time, we have decided that the fryers at John Bamboo know what they are doing. The fish is sweet and fresh and we could have eaten every bit of it, bones and all, because of the perfect way it has been fried.

“Dessert” comes next, in the form of the Bika Ambon Cake. Again, this is something that many Filipinos can relate to. It’s a rice cake that’s a drier cousin to our beloved bibingka. And why did we enclose the word “dessert” in quotation marks? Well, this dessert has lemongrass! It’s a little difficult to take a bite and not forget it’s dessert because of the savory flavor. It’s definitely an acquired taste, but just because we are on “staycation” mode doesn’t mean we can’t expand our horizons, taste-wise.

John Bamboo is located at Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna with tel. no 861-9563.

source: mb.com.ph