Located in a nondescript,
unannounced corner of
Pasay City, the Garden
Room is the most secret of
gardens, even the owner has
to book the place way in
advance for his dates
THE GARDEN Room is ''a
nice place, a cozy place
where you can eat. It's like eating in a garden.'' For Francis
Veloso who started experimenting in the kitchen at age 14, the
Garden Room is his home. ''My sisters, my brother, they started
early. I watched them. I started with simple stuff. Around
college, I started doing more complicated dishes.''
Growing up in a family that loves to eat and cook, Francis got
into cooking just by watching and probably some experimenting
of his own. Of course, there were a lot of misses. "Sometimes it
was good, sometimes it was bad.'' And when things went bad,
how did he deal with it? ''I tried to eat it, gave it to somebody,
just threw it or fed it to the dog. But I didn't have a dog so...''
The place is at 520 Antonio Compound, Protacio St., Pasay City.
If one's riding a car, one has to really go down and look closely
at the inconspicuous number at the gate to be able to find the
place.
Francis' Garden Room started in 1994. ''Before, my mom had
parties in the house. We used to live in another house. When
we transferred here, I think somebody suggested, 'Why don't
you make this a restaurant just for reservations?' So we
transferred here, we got people to eat over like that. We tried it
and told people, the response was good.''
Surprise
They usually get booked four to five times a week for private
parties and other occasions. Aside from the restaurant, Francis
also caters for parties. People celebrate bridal showers,
birthdays, pamanhikan, have dates and surprise parties at the
Garden Room. ''Sometimes they use it as a surprise because we
don't have a sign here. They think it's a house. They use it to
surprise their girlfriends or boyfriends for their anniversary or
something.''
By day, the Garden Room is literally home to Francis Veloso. By
night, the garden lights up with life coming from the plants,
flowers and birds. ''My mom decorated the place. In business,
she makes wedding gowns, she fixes up churches, receptions,
that's her line also. She likes flowers, plants."
The house is old. Francis's grandmother built it many years ago.
His brother, who's taking up architecture, renovated it.
As for the birds, ''They're just local birds. Just don't forget to
feed them and they're okay. There are two parrots, the rest are
local lovebirds, mga maya, there's not too many naman. It's
hard to get expensive ones, ang mahal-mahal tapos they die.''
When the Garden Room opened, the first people to come were
Francis' friends and classmates from high school. ''They were
surprised [that] this is what I got into. Some people came here,
[and] they didn't know I was the one who owned it.''
Family recipes
The Garden Room serves dishes based on family recipes, such
as mustard chicken (from Francis's sister) and the pasta and
black olives (from his mom). They also serve Italian and
Mediterranean dishes. The place also offers wines, or you can
bring your own.
An eligible bachelor at 28, Francis plays basketball, tennis and
goes to the gym in his spare time. When asked if he would bring
his date to Garden Room, he responds with a resounding ''of
course.''
''If I have a date and it's (Garden Room) not taken, then I'll bring
her here. But sometimes, when I go out, somebody's sitting here
na [so] I have to find a free day.''
Even the owner needs to make reservations. ''You'll never know.
Somebody might reserve a day before even if I plan it. I don't
know. [I] Couldn't use it at the spur of the moment.''
What does the future hold for this behavioral science graduate
of De La Salle University? ''My brother and I might open a
restaurant someday, but not like this. Something different,
maybe [a] grill. Not high-end, maybe B-C. It's up there pa. In a
year, two years, we're planning it pa. We're just waiting for him
(brother) to take the board in January. As of now, maybe this
first. I don't know. So far I'm happy with this.''
The Garden Room can accommodate up to 40 people--buffet
dinner for groups of more than 10 people and sit-down dinner
for smaller groups. The Garden Room is also open for lunch. Call
843-6203 for reservations.
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