Tavolata, Abaca Group’s trattoria
THE FUN of cooking is in the abundance of fresh as well as select ingredients, prepared and cooked with techniques acquired and perfected over the years. Wade Watson, Abaca’s newly appointed Corporate Executive Chef of the Abaca Group, which is headed by renowned chef/managing partner Jason Hyatt, shared with us over dinner at Tavolata. The flagship, Abaca Restaurant + Boutique Resort that opened its doors in Punta Engano in Mactan Island in 2006, has considerably grown with the addition of Maya Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Lounge, A Café and the latest of which is Tavolata, located in the impressive Design Center of Cebu along AS Fortuna in Mandaue City.
The extensive experience Chef Wade Watson has garnered in many countries belies his youthful looks. A jolly person, he seems to be enjoying the casual and relaxed lifestyle of Cebu. A native of New Zealand, Chef Wade grew up in Australia where he has blazed a trail of culinary excellence, which includes Queensland Apprentice Chef of the Year and Australia’s youngest chef of a five-star resort. Like any accomplished chef, Wade moved and worked in several countries to constantly polish his skills. And this brought him to British Columbia, Toronto, Thailand and Hong Kong.
On behalf of Jason Hyatt, who was out of town, Kaye Luym Sala and Cybill Gayatin were our gracious hosts for dinner. There, too, was bubbly Chef Wade, engaging us with his candor and sense of humor. We took our seats in the tastefully decorated trattoria with dark wood panels and dramatic lighting from bare bulbs hanging from a very high ceiling. Wade immediately corrected my impression of what we were about to enjoy, which I perceived to be authentic Italian cuisine. Far from it, he tells us. He gets all the finest ingredients from an Italian supplier and uses all the culinary techniques Abaca is known for. His imperfectly shaped and slightly charred pizzas are baked in gas-fired stone oven unlike the classic pizzas baked in wood-fired brick oven. The crust is uneven giving it a rustic appearance. It isn’t thin either and I like the bread dough-like consistency. Chef Wade uses only the San Marzano tomatoes—the best paste tomatoes in the world. We had the pizza Sausage with house-made fennel sausage with mozzarella and olives, Truffle Pizza with ricotta, mozzarella, broccoli, smoked provolone and plenty of arugula.
For salads, we had Chopped Salad, chopped crisp greens, salami, chick peas, pepperoncini (sweet Italian peppers) tossed in red wine vinaigrette; and Seafood Salad, prawns, clams, calamari, scallops dressed with lemon vinaigrette with potatoes, arugula and onions. After the salad, Chef served Bruschetta Guanciale, crisp and thin unsmoked Italian bacon prepared with pig’s jowl or cheeks. Pasta, which is hand-made, fresh daily is a must-try. Bucatini Amatriciana is a hollow, spaghetti like pasta with guanciale, pancetta, pecarino and tomatoes. We also tried Mushroom Fettuccini. Filled with all the goodness of the Chef Wade’s creations, we welcomed Italian brewed coffee served with Panna Cotta and Warm Chocolate Torte.
