C2 Eat, C2 Believe

The Pedestrian Foodista

11/28/2009

If the number of restaurants around the world featuring a country's cuisine were to be a measure of national identity, then having a "Filipino identity" based on food would be sadly, unfortunately non-existent. The world recognizes the elegance of the French, the simplicity of the Italian, or the clean flavors of the Japanese. But -- and a very big but -- who recognizes the Filipino?

Go out of the country and check how many restaurants are there serving Filipino fare. Even in our own country, check how many restaurants bother to serve Filipino fare as if it was gourmet. It would be sad to see that Filipino fare is relegated to the bottom when it comes to inventiveness, flair and taste. Even some dismiss our food as all "brown", just like our skin.

sisig rice and fried bangus belly

Nonetheless, with the natural talent of the Filipino chef, there is a growing movement to change the world's perception of our food by putting our cuisine in the world map. For one, the owners of C2, who also belong to the Cravings group, have their brave new vision of Filipino food by putting up a restaurant that features our homegrown favorites.

C2, which also has their branches in Shangri-La, SM Megamall, and Rockwell Power Plant, recently opened their newest addition in Greenhills. Tucked at the back of the Greenhills shopping complex, C2 Greenhills features Filipino food served gourmet, with the inventive hands of its resident chefs. We were lucky to get invited to the C2 launch on the 11th, and we had a taste of its great food. 

Amidst great music, and great company in the presence of fellow bloggers and members of the press, we were served C2's creations in a six- (which turned seven- ) course dinner. Overall, C2 pleased the discriminating members of the press and its guests, with the delights they have served us during that dinner.

tinolang binakol served in a coconut shell

In that meal featuring the best of C2, we particularly liked a couple of standouts. Their soup, which was tinolang binakol (chicken cutlets in ginger-coconut juice soup) was very satisfying. The delicate taste of the broth, which had a hint of sweetness from the coconut juice, and capped with a whiff of ginger, had a very tropical feel. Served in a coconut shell, that tinolang binakol primed us for the rest of the evening's meal.

lumpiang hubad

We were also pleasantly surprised with the lumpiang hubad (sauteed vegetable strips in garlic-peanut sauce). The vegetables were perfectly done, sauteed but still retaining their fresh crisp. The garlic-peanut sauce was just the perfect accompaniment, a bit sweet but nonetheless complementing the natural flavors of the vegetable medley. It was so good as an appetizer, but one could also eat it with piping hot rice. Of course, we washed our dinner down with a refreshing pandan iced tea, which was clean to the taste and sweetened just fine. 

As some of the press contingent arrived a tad late for dinner, C2 also served our table (which made us early birds so lucky) extra helpings of their famed tilapia fillet in coconut emulsion. Having been served a table's worth of the dish, our fellows from the press had extras, which they promptly offered to the rest of us. The rest of us did not refuse the opportunity, and we were treated to the textures of the dish - the velvety feel of the coconut emulsion, coupled with the crispy fried tilapia. Indeed, this unexpected offering capped off a good night.

As we left Greenhills full and satisfied, we also felt hopeful for the future of Filipino cuisine. If there were more C2's in the world, having their own brave new vision for Filipino food, our national identity would probably be more evident, our food more recognized, and our people's culinary skills more appreciated.

(C2 Greenhills is located at 18 Missouri St., Northeast Greenhills, San Juan. It is at the back of The Promenade Mall.)