Last winter, Philly chef Lou Boquila helped bring the city its first taste of a cuisine that’s hard to find in these parts: Filipino food. With help from partners Neal Santos, Jillian Encarnacion and Resa Mueller,
Pelago Pop-Up Kusina temporarily took over Passyunk Square resto
Noord. The event (and subsequent pop-ups) sold out, and now Boquila is launching his own restaurant in South Philly.
Perla, currently under construction at 1535 South 11th Street, will be the city's only Filipino restaurant. Boquila, a Philippines native who came to Philly when he was eight, says he’s not a traditional Filipino chef.
"But I know the food," he insists. "I know the flavors, [and] I relate that to a restaurant kitchen."
Balking a bit at overuse of the word "fusion," the fledgling restaurateur nonetheless describes Filipino dishes as a mix of influences. They blend Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian and Spanish flavors, and are served in family-style communal meals that are hard to replicate in a restaurant setting.
Boquila, who’s been cooking for about ten years, got his start in the local food industry as a dishwasher at South Street’s now-defunt Knave of Hearts. He worked his way up, becoming a line cook and then helping run the kitchen, before deciding to attend culinary school. After finishing, he interned at
Twenty Manning Grill, where he later became sous chef, and then moved to Rittenhouse Square’s
Audrey Claire, where he’s been since 2007.
"Perla will be interpretations of popular Filipino dishes," he explains; he's aiming for "an approachable palate everyone can try."
For example, there's his version of kare-kare, a Filipino stew he makes with oxtail and tripe, along with peanut butter and shrimp paste. He assures diners not to be scared off by the unusual-sounding flavor combo of this "very different, very very funky dish," because it all blends together well with the under-appreciated savory quality of peanuts.
Perla will have a small start for its small space, focusing mainly on a tasting menu that will keep the chef in a hands-on role. But in a nod to traditional Filipino dining, the restaurant will offer special Sunday brunches -- according to Boquila, "breakfast is very big in the Filipino community" -- as well as a Sunday night homage to home-style Filipino dining with
kamayan meals, large communal dinners eaten by hand off of a banana leaf.
Boquila hopes to open Perla by March of 2016.
Writer: Alaina Mabaso
Source: Lou Boquila, Perla