‘Dampa’ dining is now in a mall
The modest dampa dining experience is going upscale.
Professional chef Oliver “Oli” Buenviaje is bringing the popular and beloved Filipino seafood culinary concept to the Gateway Mall, the premium lifestyle and shopping destination at Araneta City in Cubao, Quezon City.
Set to open sometime next month at the Gateway Mall 2, Seafood 8 by Olio’s promises to elevate dampa dining to fit the posher venue without diminishing the pleasure of fresh seafood cooked at the simplest and most basic way.
The term dampa, which gives this dining concept its name, refers to the humble traditional Filipino home that is usually made of indigenous light materials, like bamboo. Thus, the term suggests that dampa cooking only utilizes the most basic cooking methods, as well as only the must-have ingredients in typical Filipino homes.
Dampa cooking is the original market-to-table food experience. People buy fresh seafood from a wet market and have it cooked in restaurants inside the market or nearby.
How Buenviaje expects to bring his restaurant’s dampa dishes to a higher level is not just through the cooking, which will still adhere closely to the traditional, but the signature sauces from around the world he has specially created to bring out, complement and enhance the flavors of menu items. The “8” in the restaurant’s name actually refers to the number of sauces the chef will be offering exclusively for the new establishment.
Each sauce is crafted to bring out the best in every dish. The sauces are Miso Butter, Inasal Citrus Ginger & Soy, Oriental Chili Caramel, Latin Chimichurri, Pomodoro Tomato Olive Capers, Gambas Roja, Bagoong Bernaise and Sambal XO Chili.
The 130-seater Seafood 8 will feature extensive aquarium displays of live sea creatures and beds of ice for the fish, crustaceans and shellfish. Items can be grilled, fried or steamed in the open kitchen and seasoned with the chosen sauce. This food concept allows diners to see, hear and anticipate each dish as it is cooked and served.
That the Australia-based Buenviaje has chosen to focus on seafood for his first food venture in the Philippines, his country of birth, is not surprising. He was born in Sorsogon in the Bicol region, which is the southernmost part of Luzon and is surrounded by water on multiple sides. He moved to Perth, capital city of Western Australia, as a teenager and, thus, was as close to the sea as in his home province.
Initially studying to become an engineer, Buenviaje discovered his true calling through a culinary book he found in the library.
But instead of going back to classrooms to pursue a culinary arts degree, Buenviaje opted for hands-on training and mentoring from some of the world’s top chefs. He started by working for Alain Fabrègues in Perth, one of Australia’s most celebrated French chefs.
A stint with Alain Ducasse at his Le Meurice in Paris followed.
After travelling to different parts of the world where he honed his culinary skills working for and with some of the renowned kitchen gurus, he returned to Perth and opened Olio’s Fine Food Catering, which offered top-end and high-quality food to high-end clients.
Throughout his extensive global culinary career, Buenviaje has been associated with Michelin multi-starred seafood restaurants of impeccable quality and renown.
Modernizing and upgrading the dampa dining concept is a natural progression in his culinary career. It also seems a fitting way to rediscover his home country and re-establish his roots.
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