Home-cooked love at Sundays

 “Home-cooked love at Sundays”

Sun.Star Davao, April 1, 2017

While most young girls’ idea of playtime was creating imaginary dishes with their toy pots and pans, a once little chef was already cooking up a storm.

“At the age of 5, the kitchen was my playground. I adored hanging out with both my grandmothers who introduced to me the love for cooking”, reminisces Dorelane “Len” Uy-Bosquit, an Ateneo de Davao University Accountancy graduate who also completed a culinary certificate course at the Center for Asian Culinary Studies.

“As a child, I would watch my Grandma Sien cook her specialty, pork brain with egg, straight from her wood-fired oven where my task was to blow the fire. On the other hand, my Grandma A-eng would make her lip-smacking siopao, pilipit, sotanghon and our favorite humba with egg”, says Len, now a doting mom of three.

Her early exposure to good food inspired her to open and manage one of Davao’s well-loved and established family restaurants, Dencio’s Kamayan. “Running a restaurant requires passion, patience, discipline, and hard work. Skill can be taught but foremost, being committed to do my chosen craft well is something I aim for. I cannot run the show by myself that's why I value teamwork with my staff”, divulges Len.

With Dencio’s seven branches under her belt, the passionate entrepreneur recently opened Sundays Modern Home Cooking, another must-try family-friendly restaurant in the city.

Sharing the love

Len explains that she chose Sundays as her restaurant’s name because it is always on this designated day that the family gathers together to partake of the home-cooked meals by their father, Domingo, whose name incidentally means “Sunday” in Cebuano/Spanish as well.

“Every Sunday, my father would go to the market very early to buy fresh meat and seafood. He would then decide what to prepare for lunch based on what's in the market. My task was to wake up early and help him implement his ideas. I would also do my own experimental recipes”, shares Len who is happily married to businessman John Joseph Bosquit.

At Sundays MHC, diners get a peek and taste of the Uys’ family favorites which Len describes as “simple cooking made with love”. “It actually took me a long time to trim down the choices in the menu because I wanted to put everything here!”, discloses the yoga and Ikebana enthusiast. Eventually, with her family as her best critic, the menu was given a thorough review and earned their much-deserved thumbs up.

Sundays’ homey ambiance is the perfect place to relax and while away your time whether it’s breakfast, lunch, snack time or dinner. “We wanted our guests to feel like they are at home, being pampered and relaxed. I have a display of old books from my in-laws' collection---from Mills and Boons pocketbooks to science books, management, gardening and inspirational books.  In addition, my kids and nieces' crafting works are displayed”, details Len.  

Everyday Sundays

Sundays serves a variety of international dishes from soup, salads, pasta, pizza, main dishes and desserts. Their bestsellers include the too-pretty-to-eat Sundays Salad (layers of crispy spring roll wraps with garden salad, grilled chicken, grapes, orange, avocado and rosemary balsamic vinaigrette); Oxtail Stew (a satisfying dish simmered for hours in rich tomato sauce and flavorful spices); Seafood Curry (fresh seafood in aromatic curry sauce); and Bacon Liempo (sinful thin slices of pork belly fried to a crisp).

Bulalo Soup

Sundays Salad

Oxtail Stew

Seafood Curry

Pochero Steak

Bacon Liempo

Refreshing Fruit Shakes

Penne Nero

Pepperoni and Mushroom Pizza

Len narrates that the Pork Humba in Hotpot, their house specialty, is always present in every family gathering. “My Grandma A-eng would always make a big batch of it and prepare extras for take-out after the party.  I know that it's special because Amah would devote herself in the kitchen, simmering the humba in sweet and salty sauce for hours in low fire, and stirring it slowly so that the pork would be intact. As a child, while waiting for the humba to cook, I would fondly listen to her childhood stories on how she married early at 16 and raised eight kids during World War II. I admire my grandma’s patience, strength, and wit. She is my inspiration!”, intimates Len.

Pork Humba in Hotpot

The sneaky mommy chef also whipped up a healthy appetizer called Malunggay Dip that even picky kiddie eaters would absolutely love. For dessert, be sure not to miss Sundays’ Suman Langka Rolls with Tablea Dip, her dad Domingo’s personal recipe.

Suman Langka Rolls with Tablea Dip

And, if you happen to drop by on a Sunday, don’t forget to check out their Sundays Sunday Special for mouthwatering dishes that are not in the menu.

Sundays also has a corner for pasalubongs where foodies and home-based businesses can showcase their locally-made products.

With several restaurants to oversee, Len may seem to have too much on her plate but she is undeterred. “Because it gives me such fulfillment seeing these ventures grow!”, enthuses the busy mom.

The Phoenix Fuel Masters PBA team celebrates their win at Sundays 
today (April 1, 2017).

Sundays Modern Home Cooking is at Ground Floor, Go Hotels, Phoenix Mega Station, Lanang, Davao City with telephone number 2247620. It is open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday to Sunday. Follow Sundays MHC on Facebook (Sundays Modern Home Cooking) and Instagram at sundaysmhc.

Special thanks to Maizy Colleen for some of the photos you see on this page.

E-mail the author at mom.about.town.dvo@gmail.com. Visit www.momabouttowndavao.blogspot.com.