Home-cooked goodness but with international elan and chic

Named after Gen. Carlos P. Romulo—the first United Nations president from Asia—the Romulo Café is ensconced at the corner of Scout Tuason and Dr. Lazcano streets in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. Even before it opened, the stylish, sleek façade was enough to make curious motorists stop and inquire when it would open. The aesthetic carries over to the restaurant’s black-and-white interiors, its’ walls adorned by framed photographs of the famed diplomat with prominent personalities like American presidents John F. Kennedy and Harry Truman. But, despite appearances, the food isn’t as cosmopolitan as you would think and instead, traces its origins back to family recipes cooked up originally in Romulo’s hometown of Camiling in Tarlac.

Given the menu’s provincial origins, we decided to ask one of Cebu’s most beautiful faces and proud probinsyana, Ellen Adarna, to sample the food, soak up the atmosphere, and just down a few mojitos with us and explain exactly why this place has become the talk of Manila.

What was your first impression of Romulo Cafe?
It’s very funky and modern. It’s very different from other Filipino restaurants.

You are from Cebu, where the food is one of the best in country. Any similarities between Visayan cuisine and Romulo Cafe’s predominantly Tarlac-borne recipes?
More or less it’s the same but I like how they creatively mixed the ingredients in a very traditional yet new way.

Regarding the food, what did you like the most and why?  Anything in particular you enjoyed?
The Filipino nachos. It’s a guilt free version of the original nachos. The laing-esque chips tasted homey and comfortable. Crispy pata, the crispy pata, CRISPY PATA! What more can I say? Oh and the chocolate lava dessert- was PERFECTLY made not to sweet and not to cake-y.

How about the drinks? You seem to enjoy the cucumber and the Mojitos. One of our favorite actresses, Chanda Romero, even referred to the latter as one of the best. What’s your verdict?
I felt “as cool as a cucumber” after having that drink. The mojitos = PERFECT 10

Were the servings in your opinion substantial? You ate half a cripsy pata.
YES big servings! I was still full the next day. I had to skip breakfast and lunch ha ha ha.

What kind of dinner would be perfect for Romulo Cafe? A date? A barkada get-together?
It’s a place where I can bring anyone and I really think that it’s a perfect place where I can bring my family.

Anything else about the place you’d care to talk about? The music, the decor?
The black and white funky modern interiors made me feel like I was in a European Asian fusion restaurant, which I found really cool since it’s a restaurant that serves Filipino dishes.  And they have a very good musician, he was able to make people dance and sing along with him.

What kind of people do you think go to Romulo Cafe? Just an impression. We bumped into ABS CBN’S Maria Ressa.
I think random people from the upper class and middle class would frequently dine here.

Do you think you’re coming back anytime soon? And why?
Of course and I’ll be bringing my friends from Cebu here when I come back. Cebuanos love good food and I’m almost certain that they’ll love it here.

Would you recommend it to your friends and family back in Cebu?
I already did! He he he  Romulo Café should have a facebook fan page.

LITTLE BIG MAN
By his own admission, Carlos P. Romulo was a small guy (standing only 5’4” in his shoes), but his achievements nonetheless made him a considerable figure in 20th century world affairs. A Pulitzer Prize winner for journalism, a war hero who waded the waters in Leyte beside Douglas MacArthur when he famously returned and dubbed by his colleagues and peers as “Mr. United Nations,” he made light of his short physical stature but never allowed himself to be cowered because of it.  “The little fellow is generally underrated in the beginning,” wrote Romulo. “Then he does something well, and people are surprised and impressed. In their minds his achievement is magnified.”

Andrei Vishinsky, the chief of the Soviet delegation, once dismissed Romulo as a “little man from a little country” to which he replied that it was mission to be “like David, slinging pebbles of truth between the eyes of blustering Goliaths.” (They would later become friends.)

In his memoir, I Walked With Heroes, he begins the book at the moment he’s elected president of the United Nations and writing that he had to be “perched atop three thick New York City telephone books” just to be able to see above the podium, and to be seen by the rest of the delegates.

“I had to be outstanding,” wrote Romulo, “to make the greatest effort to win, to prove I was capable not in spite of having been born a Filipino but because I was a Filipino.”

Romulo Café, 32 Scout Tuason cor. Dr. Lazcano, Tomas Morato, Quezon City
Open for lunch, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., dinner, 6 p.m. – 11 p.m.

Originally published in UNO May 2010 issue

Home-cooked goodness but with international elan and chic

Named after Gen. Carlos P. Romulo—the first United Nations president from Asia—the Romulo Café is ensconced at the corner of Scout Tuason and Dr. Lazcano streets in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. Even before it opened, the stylish, sleek façade was enough to make curious motorists stop and inquire when it would open. The aesthetic carries over to the restaurant’s black-and-white interiors, its’ walls adorned by framed photographs of the famed diplomat with prominent personalities like American presidents John F. Kennedy and Harry Truman. But, despite appearances, the food isn’t as cosmopolitan as you would think and instead, traces its origins back to family recipes cooked up originally in Romulo’s hometown of Camiling in Tarlac.

Given the menu’s provincial origins, we decided to ask one of Cebu’s most beautiful faces and proud probinsyana, Ellen Adarna, to sample the food, soak up the atmosphere, and just down a few mojitos with us and explain exactly why this place has become the talk of Manila.

What was your first impression of Romulo Cafe?
It’s very funky and modern. It’s very different from other Filipino restaurants.

You are from Cebu, where the food is one of the best in country. Any similarities between Visayan cuisine and Romulo Cafe’s predominantly Tarlac-borne recipes?
More or less it’s the same but I like how they creatively mixed the ingredients in a very traditional yet new way.

Regarding the food, what did you like the most and why? Anything in particular you enjoyed?
The Filipino nachos. It’s a guilt free version of the original nachos. The laing-esque chips tasted homey and comfortable. Crispy pata, the crispy pata, CRISPY PATA! What more can I say? Oh and the chocolate lava dessert- was PERFECTLY made not to sweet and not to cake-y.

How about the drinks? You seem to enjoy the cucumber and the Mojitos. One of our favorite actresses, Chanda Romero, even referred to the latter as one of the best. What’s your verdict?
I felt “as cool as a cucumber” after having that drink. The mojitos = PERFECT 10

Were the servings in your opinion substantial? You ate half a cripsy pata.
YES big servings! I was still full the next day. I had to skip breakfast and lunch ha ha ha.

What kind of dinner would be perfect for Romulo Cafe? A date? A barkada get-together?
It’s a place where I can bring anyone and I really think that it’s a perfect place where I can bring my family.

Anything else about the place you’d care to talk about? The music, the decor?
The black and white funky modern interiors made me feel like I was in a European Asian fusion restaurant, which I found really cool since it’s a restaurant that serves Filipino dishes.  And they have a very good musician, he was able to make people dance and sing along with him.

What kind of people do you think go to Romulo Cafe? Just an impression. We bumped into ABS CBN’S Maria Ressa.
I think random people from the upper class and middle class would frequently dine here.

Do you think you’re coming back anytime soon? And why?
Of course and I’ll be bringing my friends from Cebu here when I come back. Cebuanos love good food and I’m almost certain that they’ll love it here.

Would you recommend it to your friends and family back in Cebu?
I already did! He he he  Romulo Café should have a Facebook Fan page. (Now they do — Ed)

——————

LITTLE BIG MAN
By his own admission, he was a small guy (standing only 5’4″ in his shoes), but his achievements nonetheless made him a considerable figure in 20th century world affairs. A Pulitzer Prize winner for journalism, a war hero who waded the waters in Leyte beside Douglas MacArthur when he famously returned and dubbed by his colleagues and peers as “Mr. United Nations,” he made light of his short physical stature but never allowed himself to be cowered because of it. “The little fellow is generally underrated in the beginning,” wrote Romulo.

“Then he does something well, and people are surprised and impressed. In their minds his achievement is magnified.”

Andrei Vishinsky, the chief of the Soviet delegation, once dismissed Romulo as a “little man from a little country” to which he replied that it was mission to be “like David, slinging pebbles of truth between the eyes of blustering Goliaths.” (They would later become friends.)

In his memoir, I Walked With Heroes, he begins the book at the moment he’s elected president of the United Nations and writing that he had to be “perched atop three thick New York City telephone books” just to be able to see above the podium, and to be seen by the rest of the delegates.

“I had to be outstanding,” wrote Romulo, “to make the greatest effort to win, to prove I was capable not in spite of having been born a Filipino but because I was a Filipino.”

Ellen Adarna is no stranger to UNO Magazine. Here she is from our shoot way back in October 2008. More photos after the break.

Mythical yet mundane, innocent yet sensual, accessible yet elusive: presenting Ellen Adarna, as you’ve never seen her before.

Words by Luis Katigbak
Illustrations by Lala Gallardo

Ellen is laughing, her laugh reflected in a crowd of bright blue balloons. Ellen is reclining, leaning back on an unusually shaped armchair, kicking her bare white feet up. Ellen is biting her lower lip, and looking at you.

Do you remember when you first saw her? Perhaps you saw her on the cover of a magazine, wearing slightly less clothing than would be polite in public, her little glossy mouth slightly open, her eyes steadily staring straight outwards, not accusing or inviting exactly, but speaking silently of the possibility of contact. But more likely you opened an email or ran a search online, and followed a link; it was like falling through a hole into a world of images, touching down abruptly on a field of thumbnails, each tiny picture a portal to its larger self, picture after picture of Ellen Adarna, a network of tribute, of Ellen to the infinite power.

Ellen Adarna was born and raised in Cebu, but she says “I’ve been in and out of Manila since I was two―my grandma and my parents used to bring me there a lot since we had an office there.” Speaking of family, she has four brothers: “I’m the only girl, I grew up with boys, so pretty much I was more of a boy during my childhood years.” Ellen as a tomboy, Ellen as rough-and-tumble―it is not easy, though definitely fun, to imagine. Her brothers apparently “don’t care at all” about her fame, internet-based or otherwise. “No one in my family cares about it, at all,” she asserts. “It’s a good thing for me ’cause I only do it for fun.”

Last year, she lived in Manila for about five months. She describes the experience as “dramatic,” and will not explain further.

You saw her once, in person. It was at a party in Makati, the launch of the second issue of a fashion and culture magazine. A band was playing; there was an exhibition of clothing designs; she was among the people who were milling around outside the bar. She was smaller than you imagined, and did not have the aura that you always assume famous people possess. You toyed with the idea of introducing yourself then, and had to remind yourself: You don’t know her.

Ellen claims that she’s not into sports. She used to do gymnastics, though, for three years. “At first artistic, then rhythmic gymnastics.” She can still do cartwheels: “That’s the only thing I can do now.” She also used to ice skate. When asked about how she keeps in shape now, she responds gleefully, “I love to dance! That’s my only exercise.”

An excerpt from the July 2009 issue of UNO Magazine. Still available in newsstands, folks!

So the new issue’s out! And, as you can see on this site, the cover rocks. But what’s inside?

We’ve got a quite frankly astonishing shoot with the gorgeous Cindy Kurleto — photography by who else but Juan Caguicla, and interview by none other than poet/songwriter Aldus Santos. And then we have a feature on Ellen Adarna, again with amazing photos by Juan, made even more amazing by special guest artist Lala Gallardo (I’m not going to describe it, you just have to see it). Interview by yours truly, writer and closet gangsta rapper Luis Katigbak.

There’s lots more: Jessica Zafra on historically significant treasures, Tweet Sering on Manny Pacquiao and boxing (in more than one sense of the term), Noel Orosa on Kinatay, Norman Black on how to win a championship, Erwin Romulo on Lor Lapus (and PJ Harvey), longboarding in the Visayas, UAAP predictions, and more more more, fashion and business and pop culture coverage that is second to none. Just get it!

“No fun to be alone… Well come on, well come on, well come on!” — Iggy Pop

*Incidentally, Cindy Kurleto was also featured recently on Complex magazine’s list of 9 Hottest Filipinas. If you check it out, you will also come across former UNO cover girl Kat Alano (as well as images from our Anne Curtis cover shoots).