Sugarlandia at Romulo, Kensington
If lockdown taught us anything about food – and no I’m not talking banana bread – it’s that we know what we like.
My family have rotated between our favourite Thai, Mexican and Indian takeaways every Friday night for months. And it’s been fine. Fine. A nice treat, a break from the monotony.
But when even the breaks become routine it’s time to branch out again.
“How do we feel about Philippino food?” I chirped cheerfully one evening.
Nobody looked up from their phones.
“From the Philippines! Yum!” I tried again.
Eventually I took the non-committal grunts to mean the males in my life (large and small) were not interested in stumbling off the beaten track, so instead I took my cousin to Romulo Café and Restaurant in Kensington as I knew she would appreciate a break from her ungrateful kids just as much as me.
This month the lovely gang at Romulo launched their new Sugarlandia menu, to mark the end of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during the Second World War.
The restaurant is named after Brigadier General Carlos P. Romulo who joined the American troops in their triumph over Japan on 20 October 1944.
And the supremely talented head chef Jeremy has teamed up with Don Papa Rum’s equally gifted mixologist Ben Rojo to bring the flavours of the Far East to west London.
The first cocktail this clever pair have devised is called Sunshine in Sugarlandia – the perfect blend of Don Papa rum, lemongrass, ginger, honey and calamansi – a yummy lime syrup infused right there on the premises.
Those glorious glasses of summer were gone in minutes and swiftly followed by a couple of Buko Pandans – a sensational cocktail made of Don Papa rum, coconut, chocolate and sea salt. Yes. You read that right.
We could have sat sipping (actually it was more like greedily gulping but sipping sounds more ladylike) cocktails all evening but we were powerless to resist the specially devised Sugarlandia menu of lime scented poached prawns in coconut cream followed by pork belly stuffed with turmeric sticky rice and topped off with a fabulously sweet desert of Don Papa glazed pineapple served with (yet more) rum and raisin ice cream.
The entire restaurant is fully Covid safe with beautifully engraved Perspex screens dividing the tables.
Trust me when I say there really is not a bad dish on the menu, and all three courses and both cocktails are an absolute steal at £35.
Better still, the set menu is curfew-friendly so you’ll be home before your unadventurous family even notice you’ve gone (or maybe that’s just my family).
