Old house, new rules

IT’S THE STORY of a house, a family, and food.

Rachelle Panlaqui sat down with BusinessWorld for lunch on Oct. 7 as she told the story of Qui Pan Asian Brasserie.

While relatively new, opening late in 2023, the restaurant is housed in a midcentury home in Valencia, Quezon City. The family that once owned it is still very much present, leasing their ancestral home to Ms. Panlaqui and her family, while retaining their offices next to it.

Despite studying government at university, Ms. Panlaqui has always been surrounded by food. Her family in Pampanga has had a food business since the 1970s, by her estimate, while she herself opened a Kapampangan eatery in 2011, later expanding it to a catering service, until opening Qui.

Her roots are very much present in Qui (sharing the venture with two other siblings), though her own growth is reflected: Qui exists to reflect her travels in Asia and bring back a little bit of her travels with the true taste of home.

The meal started with Enoki Tempura and Asian Hummus (P405), with two intact branches of the long and thin mushroom deep-fried in a crispy batter. There were also pork and shrimp dumplings (P370), served on a bed of house-made chili oil and an emulsion of herbs including fried onion leeks, lemongrass, and basil. We noted their quality: they had the burnt edges of potstickers as they do in China, while the herb emulsion really livened up the rather mild but nuanced filling.

Next came Sinigang X, inspired by tom yum soups in Thailand. It serves two to three persons at P610, and it’s a sinigang indeed, but milder and more well-rounded, with both pork and shrimp (like a surf and turf soup), which we didn’t think possible.

Ms. Panlaqui suggested the Hainanese Tinola (P545) — a meeting of two cultures with the poached chicken lightly grilled; while the ginger and chili flavors were enhanced with pandan, lemongrass, and scallions in the rice. The claypot in which it was served further toasted the rice, giving it a nice aroma and texture. It looked exciting with everything on top, but in truth, it was quite meditative, and you have to slow down a bit to eat it and really appreciate its nuances.

For the name alone, we chose the Showstopper Lamb (P990). It’s a braised leg of Australian lamb in spices, served with scallion naan, sauces, and pickles. With definite Middle Eastern flair, once we really got into it, the overall effect was like a mechado (a local stew with beef larded with pork, and a tomato and soy sauce). It was like meeting an old friend (albeit fancier now).

For dessert, we had the Light and Shade Champorado (P320), made more special because of the story of home that built the place. Tsokolate batirol and sweet corn porridge come together in a bowl, topped with crispy fried dulong (a small, local salted fish), grated cheese, and chocolate shavings. Despite the twists, it tasted strangely like childhood, and I found myself eating very quietly.

Ms. Panlaqui told BusinessWorld that they make everything from scratch, even the sauces: a virtue she learned from her mother. “Sa food kasi, hindi naman pwedeng kalimutan iyong dati (with food, we shouldn’t forget what came before).

“Ang binebenta ko dito ay experience (what I sell here is experience),” she said.

Cocktails are also available at the restaurant (we had the gin-based China Doll), perfect for their Friday Jazz Nights.

Visit the restaurant at 14 Castillas St., Valencia, QC. The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. — Joseph L. Garcia