I have a beautiful wooden slab with my name carved on it; it’s a gift from chef Meg Hornsby Bates. I love arranging my cheeses, cold cuts and canapés on it.

Bates and restaurateur Sig Sarmiento opened the restaurant Laura’s Yard to share their common passion—a love for food and a desire to prepare and present them in traditional and carefully picked serving pieces.

Apart from the wooden slabs, their collection includes marble slates that are beautiful as appetizer or cheese platters. Featured on their catalog are chocolate pots with a wooden batirol, old-fashioned brass woks and aprons, dish towels, wooden rolling pins, bread and picnic baskets.

Bates’ wish is that through well-crafted products, people would be inspired to serve breakfast in bed, bake an old-time favorite, gather friends for lunch, mix drinks in the afternoon and stage grand dinners—despite the harrowing pace of modern life.

Their pieces make perfect Christmas gifts. Order now. For their catalog, e-mail laurasyard@

gmail.com; tel. 0917-6258735.

Party food for delivery

Speaking of Christmas, Party Kitchen specializes in food for special occasions for delivery. This is a great idea, considering the holiday rush.

Party Kitchen is a new venture of the Romulo Food Group (the same team behind Romulo Café, Romulo Lounge, Cerchio, Claudia’s Kitchen, Catering by Claudia, and Tito Chef Libis).

Its specialties include Filipino party favorites like spaghetti, pancit canton, pancit Malabon, barbecue and lumpiang shanghai.

Due to clients’ requests, Party Kitchen has added international dishes and its famous fare at Romulo’s such as Beef Caldereta.

I found the Creamy Lengua with Mushrooms very comforting; the Lechon Sisig Wrap, tasty.

Since I live in Quezon City and Party Kitchen is in Makati, I was impressed that its delivery rider arrived at the appointed time. If only we did not rush to eat and instead reheated our orders, that lengua would have been even better!

I am looking forward to sampling the Beef Tadyang Kare-Kare and Lechon Roll next time.

Call Party Kitchen, tel. 5191111.

Mama Rosa

Do you remember Mama Rosa Restaurant on Timog Circle, QC?

I vividly recall its Pako and Pomelo Salad, Crispy Tadyang and Pistahan (tinapa) Rice that made Mama Rosa a restaurant ahead of its time.

Aside from its creative fare, the place became quite known for its innovative sauces: kalabasa, balsamic vinegar with lemon, and bagoong Balayan and soy wasabi as dressing for the pako and suha salad.

The business started in 1989 when Tikki Laurel and her brother, Rod Dula, decided to pay tribute to their mother, Rosa Eco Dula. In her memory the siblings produced homemade bagoong, tuyo and pickles and labeled them “Mama Rosa.”

As friends started to order and the business grew, Tikki and Rod thought that it was time to open their first restaurant in Timog Circle at the corner of Morato Avenue. A second branch in Eastwood City followed two years after.

In 2006, Tikki, suffering from glaucoma, closed both restaurants She had a change of heart and recently relaunched Mama Rosa, this time in memory of both Rod and her mom.

During the long hiatus, Tikki further developed and updated her recipes. The Bicol Express is now cooked with black-eyed beans.

Also new to the menu are ginataang sigarillas with tinapa, Japanese-inspired ampalaya with dashi, steamed tofu and honeyed walnuts (with wasabi-infused vinaigrette), and Red Circle Salad (a crispy pansit habhab from Lucban with cabbage, nori, corn kernels, tomatoes, singkamas and roasted sesame dressing).

What I have tried and love is the pinangat na gabi—taro root and leaves with ground meat, simmered in coconut milk with chilies! Another is the sinaing na tulingan that is slow-cooked, if I remember right, for six hours; it was steeped in olive oil with capers and green olives.

I have not stopped dreaming of the leche flan though—a super silky, smooth, creamy, soft custard with just the right hint of dayap.

Mama Rosa has remained true to the philosophy of its founders: “Simple, honest, real.”

Mama Rosa is on its soft opening at 9 East Capitol Drive, Barangay Kapitolyo, Pasig.