Much ado over a menu

Nick Joaquin raised the eyebrows of academic historians when he declared that the two key documents in the birth of the Filipino nation were the Malolos Constitution—and the printed menu for a banquet in Malolos.

Significant was the feast held on Sept. 29, 1898, because it celebrated the ratification of the declaration of Filipino independence from Spain made in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. A photo of the Malolos menu, first printed in Harper’s History of the War in the Philippines (1900), has been much discussed and written about already. From the 1998 centennial of Philippine independence, the menu has been reconstructed by various chefs and restaurants. The most notable efforts were by the foreign chef of the now defunct Manila Mandarin, and by Gene Gonzalez, whose ancestors employed one of the main chefs of the Malolos banquet.

The now legendary Sulipan estate of the Arnedos, on the border of Bulacan and Pampanga, was the site of many banquets, one of them for a Russian Grand Duke in the late 19th century and others for American colonial officials in the early 20th century.

The reconstructions of the Malolos banquet led to many questions regarding the actual food and how this was sourced, cooked, and served. All the chefs had to chew on was a mere list of the dishes in French, with no explanation. There was speculation that the Founding Fathers tried to impress. For example, the Abatis de poulet a la Tagal (Chicken giblets cooked Tagalog-style) could have been nothing more than glorified adobong manok made special with sauce thickened with ground atay (liver) and the palate tickled by chewy balunbalunan (gizzard).

The Coquilles de crabs (Crabmeat in shell) might have been either a relleno or stuffed crab, or a simple tortang alimango—basically leftover crab meat from a fiesta, then recycled into a breakfast omelette next day. This dish was upgraded by Gene Gonzalez with a gratin or browned cheese topping.

Chefs were puzzled by the absence of soup in this elaborate feast. The answer to that question lay in the Museo de Cagayan de Oro in Xavier University, which has what might be the only extant copy of the original Malolos menu. Since I knew the Malolos menu by heart, I was surprised at the version of the menu in CDO, because it had a completely different set of food except for coffee and tea at the end, and the wines: Bordeaux, Sauterne, Xeres (Sherry), and Champagne. I wouldn’t be surprised if the current auction prices will lure a breakfast menu out of hiding one day.

To supplement both the lunch and dinner menus, I found a review of this “Fiesta Nacional” in the Oct. 2, 1898 issue of the anti-Filipino Spanish newspaper La Cometa. A journalist hiding under the name “Karrakuka” (a play on the Spanish cara/face and Portuguese cuca/old hag?) identified the movers of the banquet as Pedro Paterno, Felipe Buencamino, and General Tomas Mascardo. A report on the proceedings was published in the Oct. 1, 1898 issue of La Republica Filipina, the official newspaper of the Malolos government:

“At 10.30 am the national anthem was played, followed by the government officials moving in a line to the Congreso (in Barasoain church) that was decorated with flags. (President) Aguinaldo in frac (frock coat) and cane walked, flanked by Pedro Paterno on the right and (Benito) Legarda on the left.”

More details are found in the Oct. 2 issue of La Republica Filipina:

“The ample dining room was well adorned, seals and flags on each stretch and on the windows colored tulle to impede the harsh sunlight. Tables, arranged in the shape of a horseshoe, were set with about 200 cubiertos (utensils), set with the finest vajillas (serving plates) with exquisite sweets, different bottles of wine were served. Don Lorenzo del Rosario was in charge of the service, the menu designed by Arcadio Arellano. The President occupied the center table … Toasts were made after the meal on themes of independence, greatness of our future, the President, our heroes and martyrs. Champagne was emptied in profusion. After the succession of toasts the marcha nacional was played. Banquet ended at 2.30 p.m.”

We now know what the Founding Fathers ate, and how they feasted during the stillborn First Republic that passed from Spanish to American colonization. These menus remind us of the highs and lows in the long story of our attempts, then and now, to become a nation.

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Comments are welcome at aocampo@ateneo.edu