Sexy tapas with flamenco flavor

Sexy tapas” bar Tomatito went back to its roots when The Bistro Group launched its second branch at Estancia mall in Pasig last week, serving a “Flamenco Flavor” menu accompanied by a performance by two dancers from my school, Centro Flamenco Philippines.

“Tomatito is very inspired by flamenco,” says founding chef Willy Trullas Moreno, who’s originally from Barcelona but is now based in Bangkok. “The name Tomatito is the nickname of a very famous flamenco guitar player, and all the themes are very flamenco.”

Moreno did a four-hands menu along with chef Alfredo Sangrador Rodriguez, who hails from Madrid and is currently corporate executive chef of Bistronomia, a collection of five Spanish concepts — Tomatito, Las Flores, BCN, Rambla and Rumba — by The Bistro Group.

“Chef Alfredo, he says, ‘Let’s do a four hands,’” relates chef Willy. I said, ‘Okay, no problem.’”

Thus, after flamenco dancers Dianne Francisco-Arcellana performed her graceful guajira with fan, and Angel Gomez (my teacher at Centro) executed an exciting farruca with castanets, the first of seven dishes they served was chef Willy’s Tostada de Atun con Chile Ahumado y Aguacate (tuna andavocado toast), in which the tuna was fresh, the corn shell was crisp, and the chili provided a forceful flamenco kick.

“It’s very Mexican-inspired,” says chef Willy.  “I love Mexican cuisine.”

The next sexy bite was Foie Gras & Ceps TNT, a creamy burst of buttery goodness from the fatty liver on a crisp, wild mushroom-puree pillow. Chef Alfredo says this wild mushroom cushion comes from Rumba, but “this combination, we’ve never had on the menu.”  Paired with a cava rosé Vilarnau Rosado, this is a strong second opener.

“Tomatito is more the bites, you know, like we see not so much in other restaurants,” notes chef Willy. “And then the ambience is more young, more colorful. It’s a little bit like the retro Spanish — a little bit ’80s Spain and a little bit vintage-y and fun, funky, colorful and casual.”

Posters of Pedro Almodovar movies like Matador and Atame line the walls, and chef Willy admits he’s a big fan. “Almodovar is a genius, absolutely amazing.” He adds, “My brother does the design, so we work together. And the first (Tomatito), he did it 100 percent. This one, he submitted his designs to a local design team and then they collaborated.”

Next came the starter Pulpo con Revolconas y Ajada, and this grilled octopus on top of a potato-chorizo puree was simply wonderful, its well-seasoned flavors just dancing a zapateo across our tongues. “The octopus with the potato and chorizo is very traditional in Madrid,” notes chef Alfredo. “Normally we do it with pork, like a torreznos or chicharron.”

I also loved the Albariño Ponte de Boga, a soft, supple, white varietal with lemon marmalade, apricot notes and luscious fruit notes from the Ribeira Sacra region.

A second Ponte da Boga, this one a Godello from the same region, accompanied the Halibut con Canelon de Txangurro (grilled halibut and prawn-wrapped crab). The Godello is more subtle and balanced, with hints of jasmine, citric notes and jam.

Both chefs say they try to use local ingredients as much as possible, but for an authentic Spanish restaurant, importing certain ingredients is unavoidable.

“The cheeses, the Iberian products, olive oil, the rice — they must come from overseas because the climate is different and you cannot source them locally,” says chef Willy. “But a lot of the vegetables, fruits, some of the meats and seafood, of course you source locally. Especially in the Philippines, it’s an island country so you got a lot of diversity of seafood.”

Willy, who’s clad in a “Sexy Chef” apron tonight, likes to mix his paella tableside for the guests and finish it with toppings. “I like simple but tasty, and paella — I love paella,” he says.

So do we, and with this seafood Paelle de Senyoret we enjoyed a 2021 Belonia Rueda Verdejo. The herbaceous aroma and slightly bitter finish were a good match with the tangy, well-scorched socarrat.

Though he calls chef Alfredo “the meat guy” because he’s from Madrid, which is known for its cochinillo and baby lamb, chef Willy showed his meatier style with the Secreto Iberico con Piquillos Confitados y Picada, a pork loin that was as it should be, according to Scott: crisp on the outside, succulent and juicy to the bite, almost calling to you from a far-off horizon of porcine heaven. Paired with red bell pepper succotash and a Tempranillo, well, it wasn’t hard to give in to the mirage. This was served with a savory, full-bodied Beronia Reserva Tempranillo, a strong balance to the succulent pork.

“The piquillo peppers are the highlight of the dish, which are very slowly confit-ed,” chef Willy tells us. “This is like a Basque-style recipe of slowly cooking those piquillos, and they became very popular in one of the famous places in San Sebastian called Casa Julian, and they call these peppers ‘pimientos al estilo de Julian de Tolosa.’ I love those peppers, I need to make them, and over there they serve them with beef. We do it with Iberian pork, and I put a picada, which is a Catalan little type of touch with some nuttiness. So it’s based on the Casa Julian peppers, but we give it our own direction. Spanish food is simple food; it just needs good ingredients and a lot of love.”

Dessert was Tarta de Queso con Estodado de Frutos Rojos, creamy cheesecake served in the most adorable ceramic strawberry containers, which was as fun, playful and surprising as a flamenco bulerias. A mixed red-berry stew on top cut the richness of the cheesecake nicely, and our pro tip is to dig your spoon till the bottom so you get all the layers and experience the perfect bite. A fragrant Fragantia No. 6 Moscatel paired nicely with this sweet culminating dish.

Chef Alfredo informed us that “Flamenco Flavor” consists of all-new dishes that are not yet part of the Tomatito menu, but we suggest asking for them when you visit so that they’ll make them part of the regular offerings.

Kind of like giving a standing ovation after a flamenco performance and clamoring until the dancers/chefs do an encore.

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Tomatito Estancia is located along Camino Verde Road, Estancia Mall, Pasig. Contact 09159612694 for more information or to book a table. Follow @tomatitomanila on Facebook and Instagram.