FEAST WITH ME By Stephanie Zubiri (The Philippine Star)
A taste of Morocco: Kasbah lamb tajine and chicken tajine at Kasbah Restaurant and Bar, Fort Strip, Bonifacio Global City
Madonna English. “I love her name!” my mother quips. It sounds like a movie star, a glamorous jetsetter or even a spy alias. Who knows what she may be putting in her spice mixes, but this Filipina globetrotter is intoxicating the local food community with whimsical exoticism. Kasbah is the realization of this woman’s dream to bring Morocco to Manila.
After traveling the world, working in Italy, the US and around Asia, a whirlwind romance resulted in her settling in the UK and now, 14 years later, the husband-and-wife team is back asserting their passions in the Philippines.
“Martin and I used to import and sell Moroccan goods in London,” English says. “Just small things for the home, furniture, lamps … I’m enamored by Moroccan everything! I was always fascinated by the food and just really wanted to bring it to the Philippines.”
Lucky for us. Moroccan food has always been compounded with everything Mediterranean. Not too long ago Greek, Persian, or anything with lamb, olive oil and herbs was often mistaken for Moroccan cuisine. My personal love affair began in Paris, where Couscous Royale had begun to appear more often in brasseries and cafés than the traditional Blanquette de Veau.
The Original Melting Pot — I Mean, Tajine
This royal cuisine is complex, vibrant in color and flavor, with an intricate use of herbs and spices that is quite different from the usual local range. Cumin, dried ginger, cilantro, parsley, mint, paprika, cinnamon … items more often than not used in the Philippines as garnishes rather than essential ingredients.
The influence of the Berber tribes has given birth to a rather mobile and communal way of cooking: barbecuing or slow cooking over hot coals, dips and breads that can be eaten with the hands, and no need of plates or cutlery. The Arabic invasion introduced dates, sweets and lamb, the Moors brought the olives, the Jewish-Moorish influence can be seen in their pickled lemons and, of course, the French and their café culture.
Curiosity Killed The Couscous
“Couscous is a novelty for most people,” English says. “They’ll try it, then order rice and eat it together with the couscous! Surprisingly we’ve had to tone down the sweetness of the tajines, the mint tea … but we try as best we can to keep things authentic. Most guests are just really curious.”
The experienced cook oversees all the dishes and in fact, by some twist of fate ended up training the local Filipino chef of the original Kasbah in Boracay herself. “We opened there because it was less daunting. We just wanted to see if it would work. We cannot bring the Boracay feel to Manila, so here we opted for a more elegant décor.”
Setting The Scene
Almost all the items are handpicked by the husband-and-wife team and brought in from Morocco: punctured metal lamps that shimmer when lit, silvery teapots and brightly colored paintings. “Those paintings were originally in brown, kitschy tones,” she says. “You know, those regular ones you’d find in the souk. It was my husband’s idea to make it a little more pop art!” The effect is astounding, detailed, traditional, kitschy and hip all at the same time. Andy Warhol on too much shisha.
“We try to make things exciting for people. We have live music four nights a week from Wednesday to Saturday.” These aren’t your usual cheesy ’80s head-bopping, Build Me Up Buttercup tunes. Their grand opening party last week had guitarists dressed like Weird Al jamming with a maharajah-looking man playing an authentic Indian tabla, resulting in a strangely entertaining and hip-swaying Bollywood-meets-Woodstock rendition of Led Zeppelin classics. No purposeful gimmicks here, as Madonna dressed in Tan-Gan harem pants and her hubby Martin in a chic blazer with a poufed-up handkerchief, grooved eyes closed to the music. It truly shows that they thoroughly enjoy every bit of their restaurant endeavor and no amount of marketing or PR can falsify that.
In two weeks I’ve eaten there thrice. And while Moroccan food is not for everyone, especially those afraid of herbs and greens, it’s still definitely worth the exploratory trip. My personal favorites? The creamy, smokey mouttabal made out of roasted eggplants and tahini. The cheese-stuffed briouats, flaky and crisp. I could also eat the sharing portion of taboule all by myself. The spiced chicken wings are juicy, the lamb couscous tender and the chicken tajine tart with pickled lemons and olives.
A Dash Of Spice
After working in prestigious hotels around the Middle East, Lebanese-Israeli chef Fadi Zaidan has come to settle in the Philippines for love. Originally working in Mana-ish, the equally yummy casual Syrian restaurant on Jupiter Street, collaborating closely with Madonna, he is now the man responsible for keeping Kasbah’s authenticity in the kitchen.
“Moroccan food is healthy food,” he says. “Lamb is leaner than red meat, couscous is healthier than rice … the olive oil. If you’d like to add a Moroccan twist to your regular meals, consider these spices: cumin — there’s cumin in almost everything — coriander seeds, turmeric, cinnamon, fenugreek, sweet paprika, harissa, beldi lemons… We make our own pickled lemons, which we add to the Harira soup and the tajines.” Harissa is a spice paste or powder commonly used in North African cuisine. Kasbah also makes their own and will be selling them soon enough.
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Kasbah Restaurant and Bar is located at G/F The Fort Strip, Bonifacio
