'I enjoy being called an honorary Kabayan'

Houssam Abdul Malak, or Sam to his friends, is a French-Lebanese expat but he says his heart and taste for food is Filipino. He has been to the Philippines several times and he enjoys the beautiful scenery, good weather and the people who are always smiling.

It is no surprise then that he is well-connected with the Filipino community in Dubai. In fact, he is a regular fixture at major Filipino community events like the annual Philippine Independence Day celebration and Bayanihan cultural shows. He is also an avid supporter of various Filipino basketball tournaments across the emirate.

To prove his love for Filipinos, Sam, 49, who was born in Lebanon and went to France to study restaurant management in Toulouse, says one of his advocacies is to promote Pinoy (colloquial term for Filipino) food among other expats in the UAE.

He is the owner of Fiesta Pinoy Restaurant (which has three branches across the country - in Al Rigga and Reef Mall in Dubai and Bawadi Mall in Al Ain.)

He is proud to say that he is the first restaurateur to open a Filipino restaurant in a mall in Dubai. He opened his first Fiesta Pinoy branch in Reef Mall in 2005.

"We even had a competition back then to choose the best name for our restaurant and the one we chose is a representation of Filipino culture," Sam tells Khaleej Times. "Kabayans (another colloquial term for Filipinos) love fiesta and at our restaurant, one will find a variety of authentic Filipino food served during fiesta and other festivities. ."

His management style is always hands on. Although he doesn't cook any Pinoy food, he makes sure that he is offering real home-cooked Filipino cuisine.

"I personally recruit my staff and cook from the villages in the Philippines. So what I offer are dishes that their grandmothers or mothers have prepared for generations," Sam says.

He says among his favourite Pinoy foods are chicken sisig (crunchy chicken tidbits), ginataang hipon (shrimp in coconut milk) and chicken adobo (chicken cooked in soya sauce, vinegar, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves in a large pot).

His love for everything Filipino is also shown at his main restaurant in Al Rigga. From the floor to the ceiling of his restaurant, one would find a good display of Filipino culture. He proudly shares that his restaurant is designed by an accomplished Dubai-based Filipino architect (Rolly Ardinete) and he personally selected the capiz and bamboo display. There are also figurines of Philippine carabaos, miniature Pinoy dyipni (jeepneys) and an eye-catching mural painted by award-wining Dubai-based Filipino artist Tom Alvarado.

"I want anyone who will enter my restaurant to experience that convivial Pinoy feel," Sam underlines. "Filipinos are one of the happiest and warmest peoples I have ever met. And I enjoy being called an honorary Kabayan."

Source: Khaleej Times