three sisters, a banquet and a lovely lunch

IT was a cheerful, bright early afternoon that reminded everyone of lazy summer days, boding well for the latest venture of sisters Lorlyn Lim-Almazora, Laura Lim-Rodrigo and Lorraine Lim-Aguila into the competitive food business. Days before the event, the weather had been gloomy, with strong rains spoiling everyone’s mood.

Going into the food business is not just a vanity project for these women. One can say it’s in their blood. After all, their family owns one of the country’s favorite Spanish restaurants, Casa Armas, whose cozy, homely Malate branch is almost always packed on any given day or night.

The three sisters recently held a media launch for their newest babies, The Function Rooms and Connoisseur Catering, at their headquarters in the flourishing Bonifacio Global City, a place that’s slowly catching up with Makati as the preferred home for some of the biggest local and international companies operating in the country.

“Our family comes from a line of hoteliers, so we decided to try the restaurant business,” said one of the sisters, Lorlyn. “We started Casa Armas on Jupiter with Jesus Armas as industrial partner in 2000. We’re vey passionate about the food business.”

Everyone, of course, knows Casa Armas, a tapas bar and restaurant famous for, among others, its appetizing cochinello (roast suckling pig), founded by the late Jesus Armas in 1995, when he opened its first-ever restaurant in Malate.

The restaurant became an instant hit not only among the fans of Spanish food and the well-heeled crowd, but among ordinary people, as well. They all love the restaurant’s old-world charm, live Spanish music coming from a band that serenades each table and, most especially, the food (paella, cangrejos and boquerones, to name a few favorites) and its famed Sangria.

“Thirteen years into the food business have allowed us to expand further,” Lorlyn said matter-of-factly. The sisters hope to continue their family’s legacy.

To maximize their talents, each of the sisters takes care of different aspects of the business. Lorlyn, a computer-technology graduate, is in charge of purchasing; Laura, who completed a business degree, does finance and marketing; while the hotel-and-restaurant management graduate Lorraine takes care of operations.

The three sisters devote most of their time running the business.

“When you are in the food business, you need to be very hands on and passionate about what you do. You need to be very detail-oriented. It’s a 24/7 job,” said Lorlyn, when asked if they also hold other jobs apart from running the business.

Catering to the most discriminating crowd

THE sisters planned on putting up the catering business earlier this year to complement the operations of The Function Rooms, which was launched in December 2011. Named Connoisseur Catering, the business “lives by the philosophy of ensuring that every catered event is a reflection of the team’s creativity, skill and professionalism,” according to the press kit distributed to the media during the event.

Connoisseur, which currently caters mostly to the companies around Bonifacio Global City, serves Filipino, Asian and Continental food, with some fusion in between. But so far, the most popular on the menu are the Continental food, according to Lorlyn.

Complementing Connoisseur is The Function Rooms, a seven-room meeting and events place. The rooms can be used for any event: planning sessions, birthdays, conferences, or any other type of celebrations. The rooms can also be combined to accommodate a sit down for 160 persons or to 250 participants for a show in a theater-style set-up.

It is also budget-friendly. As long as the hosts or event organizers tap Connoisseur for the food, they don’t have to pay for the use of the function rooms, said Lorlyn.

The press got a sampling of Connoisseur’s sumptuous food.

The meal started with pâté de foie gras, quickly followed by yogurt-infused two-tone US apples topped with micro greens, and the prawn phyllo in fresh tomato chermoula sauce. Then came the soup—the velvety porcini mushroom soup with white truffle oil, bread and butter—preparing the palette for what’s yet to come. At that point, my stomach was already full, my senses filled not only with the tastes and aroma of the food and wine (each dish was served with a different wine to enhance the flavors) but of the live music, as well, courtesy of a one-man band who played oldies-but-goodies with his guitar.

It was like having a tasting menu, only the servings were way heftier.

For the main course, the chefs prepared rosemary crusted lamb rib chop in pinot noir reduction, oven-roasted asparagus spears, brussel sprouts and shallots, and marbled potato au gratin.

To cap the perfect meal, a six-hour, slow-baked quezo de bola cheesecake was served, with the serving size just enough to satiate your craving for sweets and wash away the savory flavors, and a perfect blend of brewed coffee to keep us awake and not long for a bed and a siesta. After all, it was still a long working day for most of us, and summer was over four months ago.

What made the lunch even better was the easy banter, the exchange of jokes and hearty laughs among us journalists at the table, even if some of us had met only for the first time that day. Indeed, apart from the delectable food, a jovial company always makes every meal even more memorable regardless of the season.

• For more information, visit www.thefunctionrooms.com.ph and www.connoissuercatering.com.ph.