At the Asian Festival held in downtown Cleveland this spring I met a woman named Marina Villanueva-Velmin. She has a catering company based in Westlake called Tamarind Tree that specializes in the cusine of her homeland, the Phillipines. I tasted her cooking at the Festival and thought it was wonderful.
We’ve been in communication since then and I’ve had a chance to look over her complete menu. It includes some really unusual dishes: a chicken stew called Calderetta; Mechado, the Filipino version of beef bourguignon ; Pancit Malabon made with rice noodles, garlic spiked pork, eggs and vegetables; pork and chicken adobo, the country’s national culinary mascot, and cocido, a meat-based stew featuring cabbage, chick peas, sweet potatoes and green beans. She also offers a small selection of foods from other Asian cuisines such as Vietnamese spring rolls and Thai chicken curry. Putting this sort of thing on your table would definitely make for a unique and memorable party. On second thought, why wait for a party? You can order two dozen empanadas ($30) just for yourself, and freeze the leftover mini meat filled pastries to be enjoyed another day. Sounds like a plan to me.
If you are curious about Filipino food and culture, plan to attend the Phillippine Festival Sunday, August 15. It happnes from 10-6, 9440 Ridgewood Drive in Parma.
Tamarind Tree has no website and Marina doesn’t do email but you can call to talk with her about your next event, 440-871-8708
I might have to steal some ideas from you!
Great photos, also.
thanks
Hi, my name is Joyce and I’m a Clevelander who loves ethnic eats! Thanks for publishing your book. I received it as a gift and enjoyed it as a great resource. However, I wanted to note one error that I found several times in the book. For some reason, Koko Bakery was noted as a “Thai” cafe several times in the index, under restaurants, and under markets. This puzzled me because the articles talked about how Koko Bakery is a Taiwanese cafe. I had to note that next time, maybe Koko Bakery can be put under its own Taiwanese category instead of Thai. I would hate to see readers confused about Taiwan being the same as Thailand!
You are so right. The mistake occured when the book was reprinted for the current edition and we didn’t catch it until it was too late . Don’t know how it happened but I sure am embarrassed. Koko Bakery is Taiwanese, as you say, not Thai. The publisher will definitely correct the error when the book is reprinted.