After all my travels and food adventures, I always come back to the comforts of the tastes and scents I grew up with…to the food that reminds me of home and family. On one of our trips to Vancouver several years ago, my husband and I lamented the dearth of Filipino restaurants that we could be proud of and take our guests to. We hunkered down in our kitchen cooked, brewed, stewed and tested the recipes that punctuated our childhood. We set out to build a place that would showcase our food in the best way possible…sans the stereotypes that Filipino food was saddled with.
Between the two of us, we had thousands of recipes in our archives and wonderful memories of family lunches and dinners. We wanted a place that evoked that era of extensive weekend meals with family , where lunch stretched into merienda …before creeping its way to dinner. Where the atmosphere was relaxed but the food was prepared and given the utmost respect. Then after thousands of hours of sweating it out over the stove, XO46 Heritage Bistro on Valero Street, Salcedo Village, Makati was born.
From that single store in Salcedo Village six years ago, we opened our 5th Xo46 this October where pinoy food advocates and supporters came together one, rainy Thursday night to celebrate the new XO46 Heritage Bistro on the 2nd floor of S’Maison at Conrad Hotel, also the newest luxe hotel in the bay area. This latest XO46 is the perfect place to view the sunset, gather for family reunions and take out of town guests for dinner.
The new restaurant features three dining rooms, each with its own distinct characters. The Intramuros Room is cozy and casual with brick walls and capiz windows. The walls are treated with woven banig and other natural fibers as wall coverings. While the other dining area , the Kalayaan Room is more stately with white trims and accessories. A gold and white chandelier illuminates the area making it look quite elegant.
The third is the Stateroom – a private enclave with an heirloom wooden table for 16 from my late paternal grandfather. The dining experience in the Stateroom aims to bring back that genteel era of formal dinners for heads of state and Filipino pride.
We were so blessed to have friends and family around as well as Ambassadors Roberto Bosch of Argentina and Julio Camarena of Mexico , and local culinary icon Glenda Baretto to celebrate the opening of the new branch with us.
By: Sandee Siytangco – Masigan
