Perla
It’s Friday afternoon here in Downtown Philadelphia and luckily I was able to get reservations for a Kamayan table at Perla with its Chef/Owner Lou Boquila. I’ve been wanting to meet Chef Lou for quite some time now and I’m so happy that he was able to accommodate me on a busy Friday night.
Considered locally here in Philly as one of the Old School Pinoy Chefs that helped raise Philippine Food and Culture to its current status. I arrived at Perla located at 1535 S 11TH Street and waited for Chef at the dining room while the staff took care of me with some mango juice and pan de sal
As I was seated at our table the staff had slowly started dressing up the table for our Kamayan meal and I was getting excited as I could smell the pata and the manok. Chef shortly arrived and after briefly introducing myself we sat down and started talking. It was so nice to hear another Chef starting from all the way from the bottom like myself. This immigrant story is quite common and it always brings me pride and joy to see that a fellow Pinoy chef has made an impact in his community. Chef Lou was very humble about his accomplishments which made him even more admirable.
Chef told me that his biggest inspiration was his mom named Perla where he tries to “Share her story from his point of view”. This was such a moving quote and if there is a biggest inspiration to all us children of immigrants it would be our parents who made the impossible happen to try to give a better life to their children. Shortly after his mom passed away in 2011, he started to do Philippine inspired pop ups because he missed her cooking and no one was around anymore to cook Filipino dishes and this is when the bulb light inside him and motivated him to focus on cooking Philippine dishes. His mom had a simplistic/nocturnal caring personality that reflected on her cooking which made a huge impact to his approach to Philippine cuisine as well.
Our Kamayan spread was so so fragrant and colorful that after a brief conversation with Chef we started eating right away. I tried the pata first which was perfectly crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. The lechon manok was also another hit as the skin was crispy while the meat stayed moist. The pampano was so good with the home-made spiced vinegar dip and the lumpia paired with the home-made banana ketchup easily.
This was quite an experience to be able to share the meal with Chef Lou and just listening to him talk about his mother and his life really inspired me. I know that we are only about half way done with the year but I can definitely say that this has truly been one of the most memorable of the year so far.
Maraming Salamat Chef Lou and the Perla team for an amazing meal and your great hospitality. I am looking forward to coming back to Philly soon and coming to Sarvida as well.
#KULINARYATRAVELS is off for some Oysters next around RittenHouse