Squab Inasal, Kadyos, Beetroot, Dragon Fruit, Atchara "Russa"  (Courtesy of The Goose Station) — Squab Inasal, Kadyos, Beetroot, Dragon Fruit, Atchara "Russa"
*(Courtesy of The Goose Station)*

“The Rizal Menu draws from the very cosmopolitan and well-traveled national hero’s experiences and writings.”

The Goose Station—it’s a play on the French word “degustation” or savoring. The restaurant owned by husband-and-wife chefs Rob Pengson and Sunshine Puey (she’s in charge of pastry), approaches food preparation as high art, like the French do. From its kitchen come imaginative combinations of tastes, including some achieved through molecular gastronomy techniques. But the Pengsons are also inspired by Philippine history.

Their Rizal Menu, for example, draws from the very cosmopolitan and well-traveled national hero’s experiences and writings. From Jose Rizal’s trip to Singapore comes the idea for one of the starters, kropek (shrimp flavored chips) topped with vegetable lumpia sans wrapper. Small plates feature a duet of mango and kesong puti (white Laguna cheese), a spiral of tuna kilawin (ceviche) and duck liver foie gras paired with guava tart.

Foie Gras Taho, Pedro Ximénez, Tapioca (Courtesy of The Goose Station) — Foie Gras Taho, Pedro Ximénez, Tapioca *(Courtesy of The Goose Station)*

A spiced pumpkin sauce called Singaporean bisque laces a seafood dish that recalls Rizal’s sojourn in Spain—scallop and shrimp grilled a la plancha. It’s accompanied by squid ink crackling made through a dehydrator, a molecular gastronomy tool. Still in Rizal’s Spain, comes a mestizo blend of foie gras taho (soybean curd) and tapioca in sherry reduction—a nod to Rizal’s observation that people abroad “called me Chinese, Japanese, American, etc., anything but Filipino!”

Bistek, Bitter Onion, Dinuguan Black Pudding, Carrot, Sweet Potato (Courtesy of The Goose Station) — Bistek, Bitter Onion, Dinuguan Black Pudding, Carrot, Sweet Potato *(Courtesy of The Goose Station)*

A fourth course consists of squab inasal (marinated then grilled), santol shrimp paste and a sweet-sour sauce combo of Ilonggo vinegar mix and beets. Perfectly done beef comes bistek-style, drizzled with calamansi and soy sauce and streaked with dinuguan or blood pudding.

Tres Leches, Sampaguita, Raspberry, Rhum (Courtesy of The Goose Station) — Tres Leches, Sampaguita, Raspberry, Rhum *(Courtesy of The Goose Station)*

Dessert, tres leches with coconut and sampaguita surprises with an unexpected burst of red raspberry, for the color of dawn. The quote accompanying the dish is from Rizal’s “Mi Ultimo Adios” (My Last Farewell) written before he was martyred: “I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land.”

*Sunshine and Rob Pengson, owners of The Goose Station, with son, Santiago*

The Goose Station’s Rizal Menu links food with the enduring words of the national hero, a Renaissance man who embraced the best of what he encountered in the world of his time.

The Goose Station
W Tower | 1117 39th Street, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Luzon 1634, Philippines. Tel. 556-9068

Adapted from an article by Micky Fenix in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The Magazine

The Goose Station’s Rizal Menu: Our Hero Is Not A Sandwich

Positively Filipino | Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora

COLLECTIONS