Hong Kong-born master chef Kavino Lau’s takeaway menu reads like a dream.
His dim sum list alone is lengthy and makes my mouth water (tel. 0977-8504891). The chef’s selection ranges from the ubiquitous to the fancy: from siomai and siopao to truffle and mushroom, charcoal, birthday, pig, panda, porcupine and even rooster-shaped buns.
From ready-to-steam to ready-to-fry, sweet to savory, Lau has it all!
His signature hot dishes are served in different establishments he was a part of, the most recent being IMC Kavino Restaurant on Jupiter Street, Makati.
Lau and his partners have kept their commissary open.
Alex and Karyn Billan sent me lunch cooked fresh by chef Lau. It was a dim sum and mini pork festival of sorts: a duet of King Dao spareribs, one coated in red wine sauce and the other in sweet mayonnaise. The dish is a coming together of two distinct tastes served as one.
There were also sweet-and-sour pork with peaches and, my personal favorite, Stewed Pork Belly with Salted Fish Casserole: thin, tender slices of pork belly with a whisper of salted fish. I liked how delicate yet flavorful it was. It was the perfect takeaway dish, as it kept its flavor even the day after.
Their salted fish and garlic fried rice were delicious. I reheated it on a hot wok and added a tablespoon of water to refresh it.
The dim-sum selection was good, too. I took notice of charcoal siopao and happily described it as Lau’s response to the ube pan de sal phenomenon: it was a black charcoal pao stuffed with ube and cheese.
Lau’s repertoire is not exclusively Chinese.
Having lived and worked in Japan and Singapore, he blended the two countries’ cooking styles and methods, resulting in unique innovations. In IMC Kavino, IMC stands for “International Master Chef.” How appropriate, indeed.
Vegetable confetti
In 2007, Kathy and Mark Roldan established Luntian Farms (tel. 0917-5941848; @luntianfarms on Instagram). The couple specializes in microgreens, also known as vegetable confetti.
Like all parents, they wanted their children to eat vegetables, and microgreens was the answer.
“The kids won’t notice it in their food since it’s small and palatable and so rich in nutrients!” explained Kathy.
As their interest grew, Mark and Kathy looked into the source of these small plants and learned that they were brought in from overseas.
So Kathy thought, “If we could produce those variants locally with minimal carbon footprint, clients would surely patronize them.”
What started as homegrown experiment has turned into the country’s first indoor micro green farm, which grows 33 varieties. Luntian Farms supplies hotels and restaurants. It is introducing microgreens to home-based cooks, small and medium food businesses.
Mark, an Agri Business graduate of University of the Philippines Los Baños, continues to work with the university’s plant bio-specialists to develop indigenous microgreens.
The Roldans have launched the Sibol grow kit for kids to learn how to grow their own food. “We want them to appreciate our farmers and learn that food does not come from supermarkets,” Kathy said.
The grow kits are not strictly for children. I myself am a proud microgreen grower, caring for brightly colored amaranth and rocket. I have my own little farm of vegetable confetti, ready to garnish my dishes any time.
Luntian Farms will grow specialized micro greens for you on demand.
Easy tempura
Megabites, maker of the sublime Matsang, has launched Tempura Kit, which comes with prepared prawns, tempura flour and sauce (tel. 0908-8888887, facebook.com/megabitesPH; @megabites.ph on Instagram).
How to cook: Simply thaw the prawns. Measure ¼ cup of tempura flour and set it aside for dredging. Mix the remaining tempura flour with up to ¾ cup of ice cold water and mix. Set the batter aside.
Dredge the prawn in the ¼ cup of tempura flour and dip it in the batter. Deep fry in hot oil. Add grated radish and ginger to the sauce and with prawns.
Tempura making has never been this easy! Visit reggieaspiras.com; follow @iamreggieaspiras on Instagram
