My Refrigerator Door

How often do you call it a day, craving for good old Filipino comfort food? The kind your mother served on Sunday lunches, dishes that remind you of your happy youth. I found one on the quiet side of Legaspi Village in Makati, Chef Bernard.Com . I've come to enjoy their Binagoongang Baboy and Fried Veggie Rolls, and on weekends, I allow myself a glass or two of Mojito. Owned by fashion designer Randy Ortiz and model turned chef Bernard Banares , it is homey yet stylish at the same time. Clean white interiors with modern works of Doltz Pilar on one wall. From the the dining area, you can see the kitchen and how your meal is cooked. It is just like home. Caesar's Salad Everyone's favorite - Binagoongang Baboy Fried Veggie Rolls Banana Cake The frequent fashion crowd at Chef Bernard.Com Pepito Albert 's favorite Mojito The good looking Chef Bernard Banares Banana Bread to go.

December and January are the busiest months for us, fashion designers. The "wedding-est season of all" I call it. Making sure my brides look their best on their wedding day, my assistant Liza and I would dress them up and see them march down the aisle. One of my brides had her wedding in Lipa, Batangas and I thought it was a good time to go on a side trip to visit an old friend of my mother, Fr. Jun Quiambao . They were friends since college, my mother a medical student and Fr. Jun then a seminarian at the University of Santo Tomas. We always thought  he looked like Erik Estrada of CHIPS fame. He is now the parish priest of Talisay, Lipa where he and his generous parish has built a beautiful and modern church dedicated to St. Therese of the Child Jesus . It's was good visiting Lipa, it still has its quaint charm in spite of the two huge malls now dominating its cityscape. I only wish local officials will do the same as our President and do away with huge billboard...