Dinner With Erik Matti: “In the End, Everything Else Is Forgivable Basta Masarap"

(SPOT.ph) “I thought I was just posting it for people I know,” Erik Matti says of his review of the restaurant Toyo Eatery that went viral and sparked a debate between foodies and industry folk. “Of course hindi naman ako tanga,” he continues, “kasi I've had so many of those posts na parang it always blows up in my face.” 

We are at Sampiro, in Salcedo Village. The staff feels extra attentive tonight, and that is entirely understandable. They’ve probably read the post about Toyo, and are on their toes wondering if the veteran film director might write something about their place of business, too. Full disclosure: at the end of this meal, Sampiro provided us with free desserts and a thirty percent discount on the total tab. This might just be what happens when a food review causes such a stir.

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Did you know Erik Matti ran two restaurants before?

But no, despite his experiences with his social media posts blowing up, Erik Matti did not expect his thoughts on one of the Philippines’ most lauded restaurants to go as far as it did. “'Di naman talaga ako nag-rereview-review. E, in fact, hindi ko pinag-iisipan pag nag-post ako: kung ano lang 'yung thoughts ko tapos, send.” It is as though Matti at times forgets his status as a prominent filmmaker in this country, and that more people might be paying attention to the things he says than the average social media poster.

Food just isn’t his business, in spite of some experience in the field. Matti ran two restaurants before: Mogwai in Cubao Expo and F*#%^! Word on Palanca in Makati. “Next to making movies, di naman ako painter o ano, cooking is the ultimate artistic expression,” he says. “Mas malaki pa yung control mo in the kitchen than in making movies.” 

He admits to some frustration in the filmmaking process. “It's getting more and more difficult to express yourself fully in that movie you're thinking of,” he says. “We don't get to do everything in a film, and you're just lucky if someone says, ‘uy ang ganda,’ but deep down inside you know how much compromise you've made.”

“Those are things that are medyo passionate ka to point out, kasi you also wish it for yourself. How I wish I could be as exacting as (I'd like to be.)”

He theorizes that this frustration might be what leads him to want to write about these restaurants. “Naiinis ka pag lousy, pag lazy yung pag-gawa. In terms of food, you're not expecting three-star Michelin. Just treat me well, give me such a good time.”

Erik Matti on That Viral Toyo Eatery Review

Which brings us to his review of Toyo. He had eaten there twice before, and he thought it was excellent. It’s only in his recent visit that he was really disappointed. He talks about being excited to go there, to try their new menu innovations. He says he was particularly excited to try this main composed of eight vegetables, each of them steamed such that the taste of every component is brought out. “But when it was all put together,” he says, “it was just one vegetable stock. 'Yun nga yung sinasabi kong ‘lasang lupa.’ So is the concept behind it better than how it should taste?”

He continues: “In the end, everything else is forgivable, basta masarap. And by masarap, I really believe, on that level of cooking, since they're vying for the best in the country, or the best in the city, or the best in Asia, if you're vying for such a high level of cooking, the least you can do is good. Better. Hindi pwede na, ‘hm, medyo miss 'yon a.’”

Masarap is a word Matti keeps going back to. It all really just boils down to that for him. When he takes a sip of his first cocktail, the Guavavoom, he exclaims, “masarap!” He explains a little more, talking about how it has the right level of alcohol, but when it comes down to it, his judgment is distilled in that one word. It becomes his refrain for the rest of the dinner. The white bean and artichoke dip on the Sampiro Board? “Masarap!” The torched mackerel? “Mm, sarap!” He asks the waiter what they put on it, and when he’s informed that it’s XO sauce, he remarks, “kaya pala malinamnam.” The Hainanese chicken crispers? He composes a bite with a piece of chicken, a piece of mushroom and a pickle. He gets a bit of each of the three sauces. He tastes it. “Masarap!”

It’s a simple judgment, but it’s also backed by years of eating at some of the best restaurants in the world. “They're not there to explain to you that, ‘hindi, 'yung concept namin yung intindihin mo,'” he says. He’ll talk of a meal he had at 11 Madison Park, which switched to a vegetarian menu, but according to Matti, “never forget about making sure that even if it's a vegetarian or vegan dish, you get your burst of umami that you're looking for to satisfy you.” He talks almost reverently about the meal he had at Asador Extebarri, now ranked as the third best restaurant in all the world, about the grilled eels, and the smoked milk ice cream.

“I'd be forgiving if it's just another one of those dinaanan ko na restaurant. Eat at your own risk. Wag kang magalit if it doesn't live up to your expectation. Pero for something like that where you prepare for it, you book for it, you get ready for it. It's just a given na you expect that somebody in the kitchen cares about how you take the food.”

“I don't agree that at that level of restaurant, that taste is subjective. It may be varying levels of greatness, pero dapat masarap siya. Masarap ka. Hindi pwedeng, ah siguro iba-ibang taste lang yan, Matti. Hindi e. “

There's more. “Hindi ka ba nafrufrustrate na tayong mga Pinoy parang taken for granted?” he asks. “Patay 'yung aircon? Okay lang yan. Okay lang 'yan sa mga Pinoy. Medyo kulang yung slice ng kwan, oo okay na 'yan. Tanggap na 'yan. No one's expecting any kind of excellent work. Basta io-offer mo sa Pinoy.“

“Parang sa movies rin lang. You think, ‘yes, nagbigay naman sila.’ Pero I think I deserve more.”

The mains arrive: grilled octopus with chorizo on lentils, and lamb kaldereta pappardelle. He’s excited by the octopus, because he says he can tell that it’s cooked correctly, and that it’s soft. He cuts into it, takes a bite, and nods. “Masarap.” Of the pappardelle, he notes that it doesn’t taste like kaldereta as we know it, but it’s good anyway. It has that satisfying quality that just fills you up.

He’s asked to have more of each entree, but we’ve already been told there’s dessert coming, and he wants to save room. “Kina-calculate ko rin ‘yan,” he laughs.

When asked about his favorite local restaurants, he mentions Gallery by Chele, Mecha Uma, and Sensei. And he talks at length about Baguio Mountain Man, which he brings up as a contrast to his recent experience at Toyo. “Meron ding narrative,” he says. “Pero, it doesn't sacrifice the dining experience. May sayaw pa nga e. Bago mag-start yung pagkain sumayaw pa siya, pa-ikot. He moves you to near the bonfire para you can have tea. It doesn't feel theatrical. It feels honest. Parang hindi condescending. And the food lives up to it. It's nothing fancy. You haven't tried it before, pero masarap. Siguro it's in the feeling rin: the chef is straightforward, honest, no pretensions. 'Yung wife niya helps out on the drinks. Ganda ng mga menu nila. Very personalized. If there can be theatrics to the dinners, medyo delicate yung balance on how far it could be accepted, or how far it could go pretentious.”

Desserts arrive: chocolate bar, which is a mousse made with 64% chocolate, matched with passionfruit, and a calamansi meringue, which looks like an Eton mess, but with calamansi, basil, and blueberries. Of the first dessert, Matti remarks, "'saks lang." He prefers the meringue for the local flavors that it manages to bring into this typically Western dessert.

Matti looks pretty happy at the end of the meal. The food was satisfying, and the cocktails were to his style. The truth is that the at times acerbic filmmaker isn’t really too hard to please when it comes to food. He isn’t trying to analyze every last component of the dish. He enjoys a lot of the dining experience, certainly enjoys being surprised by all manner of culinary technique. But when it comes down to it, it’s really just one thing he’s looking for: “basta masarap!”

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