Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

LAST year in March, after 14 years as a neighborhood restaurant in Manhattan’s SoHo district, the restaurant Cendrillon closed. Frequent diners, foodies and fans all felt sad that their favorite Filipino joint in the city has closed shop.

Less than a year later, owners Romy Dorotan and Amy Besa opened a new restaurant in a new neighborhood in a new borough. Last year in November, Purple Yam opened its doors to enthusiastic diners in the up- and-coming neighborhood of Ditmas Park in Brooklyn.

"Business is really good," Chef Romy tells us during one of our recent visits to Purple Yam. On our first visit for brunch on a Saturday, all the tables were packed. Same thing happened on our next visit for dinner a few days later. Good thing we reserved a couple of days in advance.

The economic climate, on the verge of recovery as analysts say, has helped Purple Yam. That and the high quality of food being served combine for a great gastronomic experience. It is about half an hour subway ride from Manhattan and strategically located a couple of blocks away from the Cortelyou exit of the Q train.

The restaurant’s atmosphere is cozy, much like its previous incarnation. Perry Mamaril’s famous bamboo installations still adorn parts of the wall, making it a nice place where friends can hang out and families can have decent dinners.

Cendrillon followers would be happy to note that Purple Yam retained the classic Filipino dishes like adobo, lechon kawali, spring rolls, fresh lumpia. Aside from the staples, the restaurant also offers an extensive beer and wine list, including soju, the famous Korean alcoholic beverage. Purple Yam is also the place to be for that ice-cold bottle of San Miguel Beer to match the dishes on the table.

On our first visit, we had ukoy, lechon kawali, tapsilog, dumplings and chicken adobo. We had bibingka (rice cake topped with gouda and French feta cheese) and an assortment of home-made ice cream (macapuno, ube, jackfruit and avocado) for dessert.

A few days later, I returned to try their dinner offerings alongside Ruben and Janet Nepales who were in New York to interview Martin Scorsese and Leonardo di Caprio. Over goat curry, laing, kare-kare, tocino sliders in purple yam buns and bagoong fried rice, we swapped stories and caught up on each others’ activities. Chef Romy sat down with us and regaled us with his stories, particularly when he just moved from the Philippines during the mid-’70s.

Purple Yam broadened the Asian offerings aside from the favorites and hired a Korean chef who previously worked with them as a waiter.

Doing so means that the restaurant is targeting a broader market. Chef Romy is quick to point out though that it goes beyond just broadening the market.

"Our goal is not just to broaden it but also to deepen our understanding on the different cuisines in Asia. We try to make them as good as the original," he says, adding that he intents to further explore the dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.

As restaurateurs, Romy and Amy are striving to be a part of the community of cooks and restaurants here in America who are trying to use very good local ingredients and organic materials.

They are challenged sometimes since they have to use Filipino products, like calamansi and the ube itself, which are imported from the Philippines.

Chef Romy explains that they needed a new identity as a restaurant when they decided to move. They thought of "ube" but then it needed explanation to people who do not know about it. They used Purple Yam instead.

The components, according to Chef Romy are working well—their neighborhood and its environs are being noticed by a lot of people now; Filipino fans and old Cendrillon followers have also been trekking to the new place because they miss the food so much.

Cendrillon wasn’t really a Filipino restaurant back when they were just starting. It intended to be an Asian grill but critics began calling them a Filipino restaurant.

"It was a good thing. Naging mas Filipino kami," Chef Romy recalls.