Fely J and Abe reunited at last
By Glenna N. Aquino
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:16:00 05/14/2008
MANILA, Philippines—In life, “Fely J,” as Nick Joaquin fondly called Felicidad de Jesus, was, as wife, “the better half” of Abe or E. Aguilar Cruz, the writer, painter, and bon vivant, after whom the restaurant Abe was named by their restaurateur son, Larry J. Cruz.
Fely and Abe were Kapampangan and it should arguably follow that they knew and loved good food. But while Abe was the epicure and eater-outer who didn’t cook, Fely J. was the stunning scholar who gave up writing to be a compleat housewife. Her kitchen was her domain where he dared not tread.
Fely and Abe would go separate ways later in life, but the son reunited them, so to speak, in quite a delicious way— through his own passion for food and wine.
For the last three decades until his sudden death this year, Larry Cruz had put up over 40 restaurants. His last completes the family circle of delightful restaurant concepts that began with Café Adriatico in 1979 where Fely and Abe would often find themselves on common ground. This was Abe, which opened in November 2006 in the new Serendra shopping and dining complex. Abe was his father’s nickname, which in Kapampangan means friend and companionship.
Hard to top
Abe became an instant hit with the upscale Makati and Bonifacio dining crowd. Hard to top, said LJC restaurant fans and followers.
But Larry was known to never rest on his laurels and those who know his record and culinary creativity knew it wouldn’t be long before a sequel would appear on the restaurant scene.
But right after Larry’s death, the inevitable has happened: Fely J has opened in the new Greenbelt 5 at the Ayala Center.
Actually, Larry had wanted the restaurants Abe and Fely J to complement and reinforce one another, with Abe beckoning to family groups of Serendra and Fely J captivating the upscale lifestylers who are bound to be drawn to Ayala’s Filipino-oriented boutique mall that is Greenbelt 5.
The cuisine of Fely J is, like Abe, honest-to-goodness Filipino with a special focus on the cookery of the gourmet province of Pampanga where both Emilio and Felicidad came from, the former of Magalang town by the mountain and the latter of Betis by the Pampanga river.
Larry’s belief
Larry Cruz believed there is enough variety in Filipino cookery to make it as interesting as Thai, Vietnamese or Malaysian cuisines without adulteration and fusion or without making it dull and standardized.
His Abe restaurant and, before that, his 24-year-old Bistro Remedios in Malate prove his contention that it is not the food, taste or style that stymies the international acceptance of Filipino cuisine but the absence of sophisticated venues where it is served.
Serendra and Greenbelt 5 offer the proper setting for the authentic Filipino Kapampangan cooking of Larry’s kusinero and kusinera in white toques and aprons. Take these restaurants to New York or Paris or Hong Kong and they will do just as well, he would say.
At Fely J’s Bistro, the cooking is straight out of a good Filipino home’s kitchen, nothing fancy or fuzzy, just good old-fashioned rendition of all-time country favorites, just as Fely J herself would have them.
‘Pinakbet’-‘Bulanglang’
Larry’s mother liked fresh fish and squid grilled on coals, with emphasis on fresh, as in fresh catch. Her vegetable stew preference would be the Kapampangan version of the pinakbet called bulanglang with bangus belly on top. Her shelled prawns were fresh and never came from the freezer and she sautéed them in olive oil and dollops of tiny crab fat.
But her sinful favorite would have to be adobong liempo or pork belly which must conform to her dictum “nanginginig sa taba”—quivering fat between layers of soft meat.
The guardians of adobo standardization will surely shake their heads in disagreement even while licking their chops. Fat, eeew!, the health faddish would cry.
Yes, but Fely J, who avoided junk food, lived to a ripe old age of 84.
Fely J’s at Greenbelt 5 opened its doors for a soft launch in February and has since been serving a full house everyday. The restaurant will be formally launched this May, a perfectly timed tribute to Felicidad de Jesus and all mothers whose cooking their children will forever cherish.
|
