Tracking Down the Maverick Chef Ed Quimson

The name of Chef Ed Quimson has been name-dropped and attached to restaurants a number of times. From Fig & Olives which replaced the original Chef Ed’s, to the now closed Filos at the Fort, to the so-so spanish food at La Esquina in Splendido, to Tootsie’s in Tagaytay. But these restaurants never came close to the famous Chef Ed’s spanish mestizo cuisine which only the original Chef Ed can do. I’ve been intrigued by this chef with no formal culinary education except in the Tuazon’s kitchen. I have been tracking him down to get to taste his cooking. Finally, I was able to fulfill that quest when I got invited to a special food writer’s preview of Paseo Uno’s Pasos del Tiempo (A Walk Through Time).

He is now part of the JAKA group and working closely with Heny Sison. Mandarin’s Paseo Uno will be featuring Chef Ed’s Quimson’s Filipino heritage dishes with Spanish Influence. In short, he is featuring the dishes they ate at home, cooked by his mother and grandmother in the Tuazon’s kitchen. His dishes will be featured on May 26 to 31 at Paseo Uno and he will be there in Mandarin Hotel to celebrate the Filipino Heritage Festival. Here is a scoop: his carinderia named Petra and Pilar will soon open in the JAKA building. But what I’m excited is that he is planning to open 21. It is a special by-reservations only room for 21 people for P15,000 only (consumable for food). Chef Ed will do a freestyle cooking for 21 people that will surely rock the foodie world of Manila!

Going back, I got to taste Chef Ed’s menu line up for Paseo de Uno and you’ll know that you are in the presence of slow-cooked-with-love food that your taste buds will never forget. We (my wife and I) were honored to be invited together with respected names in the food writing industry. We were in the presence of great food and great food writers — we are so thankful for that. In return, I would like to share with you our experience with The Chef Ed Quimson’s Spanish Mestizo cuisine based on home recipes of the Tuazons.

Chef Ed’s Quimson’s Menu @ Paseo de Uno’s Pasos del Tiempo (May 26-31, 2008)

Sotanghon con Caldo. Sotanghon soup with a ball of chicken, ham, pork & prawn.

The amateurish adjective delicious is not enough to describe the soup. It is unique, home-cooked, and the type of soup where you just close your eyes and savor its taste.

Baked Fish Fillet with layers of potato, tomato and onions in white wine. Served with toasted bread immersed into the soup to absorb the white wine sauce.

The good thing about Chef Ed is that there is no cooking secrets and he is generous enough to share how he created the food. He said that the white wine sauce was made of olive oil, soy sauce, laurel, lea perrins and white wine. I don’t cook but I appreciate how complicated the taste of the soup because of its ingredients.

Carne Frita, appetizer. This is Chef Ed’s favorite and this is how his grandmother would cook it. I honestly did not like it because it was all meat and it is more appropriate to be a pulutan with an ice cold beer. ( Chef Ed — Isn’t this out of place in the overall menu? )

Pollo ala Caserole. It was lechon manok with bread stuffing inside. It was very predictable in taste.

Roasted Turkey with Tuazon Stuffing. The turkey and sauces were cooked to perfection. But after eating the Tuazon stuffing, I wanted to be a part of the Tuazon’s culinary clan. You got to try it!


Lengua con Alcaparras. This dish alone brought the house down. I was silent eating this because I know I was in the presence of great food. This was the best lengua we have ever tasted and all the food writers would have to agree. The secret was in the tomato sauce mixed and aged over 5 days. Just imagine by the time the festival start, the tomato sauce will be tastier than ever. The lengua was cooked the day before. I admired Chef Ed for the patience and excellence in cooking this food. If you love Lengua like Rache, you should not miss this!


Sotanghon Chicharo and Shrimp.
The lengua was the highlight of the meal and everything after that tasted ordinary but perfectly cooked.

Chicken Galantina. Most of the food writers did not finish this dish. Is it because they are full already or did it fail to meet their expectations? I guess leaving the food on the plate is the food writer’s polite way of saying I don’t like it that much. (I’m just learning the ropes here, hehe)

Arroz con Leche and Dulce de Santol.
The Arroz con leche which is rice with cream, cinnamon and cooked like creme brulee, is an interesting dessert. Rice Pudding is very popular in Europe but the Tuazon version was made exciting by the cinnamon.
One of the desserts to rave about is Chef Ed’s Dulce de Santol! Just look at how much sugar was put into it and just imagine putting mantikado ice cream on top of it.

If you are a Chef Ed Quimson groupie like me, don’t miss Paseo de Uno’s Pasos del Tiempo on May 26-31, 2008. Don’t forget to try the soup, lengua, turkey and the dessert. Make sure that Chef Ed is there to ensure that the food is prepared under his supervision. Thanks to Mandarin’s Paseo de Uno for inviting us!!

Katrina R. Lardizabal, Restaurant Manager
Paseo Uno, Mandarin Oriental Manila, Makati Avenue, Makati 1226
Telephone: +63 750 8888
Email: kathrina1@mohg.com

Paseo de Uno Buffet Prices.
Monday to Sunday Lunch P 1,290 Net
Sunday Brunch P 1,590 Net
Breakfast P1,010 Net
Sunday – Thursday Dinner P1,450 Net
Friday to Saturday Seafood Night P1,590 Net

Chef Ed Quimson’s featured menu above will be part of Paseo de Uno’s buffet.

Text and Photos by Anton Diaz. Copyright 2008.

PS. For those who cannot afford Paseo de Uno’s buffet, watch out for the opening of Petra and Pilar which is a carinderia concept with the most expensive food item at less than P200. See you there!!