The centuries-long colonization that helped define what Filipino culture is today has made us quite familiar with a number of the Spanish cuisine classics like paella, churros, callos, or Filipinized Spanish dishes like lengua estofado and beef salpicao.
An unassuming restaurant in BGC hopes to show that Spanish cuisine offers far more than the usual fare. Manduca Taberna, located at the corner of 4th Ave. and 31st St brings to the table a heartfelt take on Spanish tapas and traditional dinner dishes from the different regions of Spain. Chef and part-owner Amado Garcia Fernandez shared that the dishes offered by the restaurant are the same fare that can be found in the tapas bars in his hometown of Madrid.
“Here we serve traditional recipes and traditional food. There is no fusion with other cuisines. We wanted to highlight the different dishes that can be found in the different regions of Spain, from Galicia, to Andalusia, Catalonia, Basque, and others,” he said.
This is highlighted eloquently with the starting pintxo of Gildas Donostiarras. Said to have been created in the 1940s, the dish is as simple and unassuming as it can get — a green olive, salt-cured anchovy, quail egg, and pickled guindilla pepper, all skewered and meant to be eaten in a single bite. But its simplicity belies a bevy of flavors and textures. Rich, salty, and piquant, it is the perfect way to whet the appetite for the meal ahead.
Meanwhile, the Grilled Octopus is a modern take on the classic Pulpo a la Gallega. The removal of the cloche as the dish is unveiled results in a billow of aromatic smoke which lightly permeates the dish, accentuating the charred flavor of the grilled octopus which are cut into medallions and layered on a bed of mashed potato.
Aside from a wide selection of tapas and pica pica, Manduca Taberna also offers filling mains. The Salmon dish features perfectly pan-roasted salmon with crispy skin paired with mushrooms, onions, potato, and jamon serrano all stewed in a Spanish cider.
The Lamb Shank is a delectable showstopper. Slow-braised until fork-tender and served with king trumpet mushrooms and creamy mashed potato, the dish melts in the mouth, with the collagen-rich meat exploding in flavor with each bite.
But it is the Cachopo Asturiano which is Manduca’s star — and for good reason. Here, a veal striploin is stuffed with Jamon Serrano and Manchego cheese before it is breaded and deep-fried to a crispy golden brown. Served simply with some fries, the unassuming dish is an ode to simpler times and is the very definition of comfort food. “We have a customer here that ordered Cachopo nearly every day when we first opened our doors. He said that this was just like how it was done whenever he was at home in Spain,” Fernandez said.
This is where Manduca Taberna’s strength lies — it takes unabashed pride in what Spain has to offer. By serving dishes that might not be familiar to many Filipinos, yet executed well and wholeheartedly, diners are given a deeper insight into traditional yet modern Spanish cuisine.
