DINING IN THE AGE OF THE IRON FISTThanks to EO1017, everything has been feeling a little "New Society" around the metropolis lately. From the Marcosian feel of checkpoints in every corner to the vintage of the personalities we see littering the national airwaves (Imee Marcos and Tito Sotto among others), everything seems to be harking back to the days of disco and Martial rule in Manila. But nothing reminds me more of that era than the fad of eating with one's hands as a fashionable social activity. Kamayan Restaurant being the one and only place to see and be seen doing so. So just yesterday, while on my way to my favorite framer, The Corner Frames in Barangay Pio del Pilar to pick up the photo's for Lori's dessert show, I ducked into their Pasay Road branch. It was a heady swim. Not only did they still have their signature cardiac arrest inducing Paella-Stuffed-Lechon (What an INSANE - albeit delicious - IDEA), but the decor was still pretty much as I remember it from the days of Madame and Da Maharlika. Low ceilings, dark heavy wood, and their famous ceiling of fame (photo below) - a bittersweet reminder that once upon a time, Manila was a chic tourist destination where the likes of Sean Connery, Eartha Kitt, Sigourney Weaver, and even Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Fujimori would be seen enjoying hand to mouth subsistence.
KAMAYAN RESTAURANT47 Pasay Road (Arnaiz Road),
Makati City (next to WalterMart)
Tel: 843-3604
Fax: 844-4562/534-3038
