Memories Of A Manila Landmark

The legacy of The Oasis Paco Park Hotel and the treasures inside My Kitchen restaurant

- Timpla't Tikim

The Oasis Paco Park Hotel, secretly loved and shared by business travelers, foreign correspondents, and retirees, is no more. Gone too are its major attractions, the excellent My Kitchen restaurant and its chef Chris Locher, who lost a long battle with cancer early this year.

The restaurant and hotel, across the street from the historic Paco Park, had become a favorite among discriminating connoisseurs, many of whom drove all the way from Alabang, Makati, La Vista, and beyond for multicourse a la carte lunch or dinner paired with choice wines from a well-stocked cellar. Diners almost always had to make reservations days ahead to ensure good seats.

PANIZZA CREATOR

Chef Chris is remembered in food circles as the guy who developed the panizza. Traditionally, panizza was a polenta or focaccia made from chickpea flour before Chef Chris created the recipe that he described as “a fine crisp dough layered with a blend of five cheeses and herbs, and perfected with favorite toppings.” The unique toppings include alfalfa sprouts, arugula, and micro greens.

Panizza caught on so fast that its creator was left with crumbs. Chef Chris, who created the dish and introduced it to the Philippines, explained that the dish of My Kitchen was called The Original “because someone else had copyrighted the panizza recipe and name.”