(EDIT: Confirming that this establishment is officially defunct after seeing the storefront. Wooden Spoon’s Katipunan Avenue branch has closed. Also forgot to mention that the Kapitolyo branch has long shuttered. Timestamp: 9 November 2017, 07:54 am.)
(AUTHOR’S NOTE: All pictures in this post courtesy of CJ Andres.)
Before I begin, I would like to ask you a favor. Kindly listen to the song below, by the English jazz group Shakatak. Does it sound familiar or memorable to you? If so, what is the first thing that comes into your mind?
If a certain cooking show comes to mind upon hearing this song, then we’re almost the same age. For those unfamiliar, the tune above was used as the opening theme of an iconic program on Philippine television: Cooking with Sandy. Hosted by outstanding chef and food writer Sandy Daza, the show aired on ABS-CBN 2 around the early 1990s before jumping to ABC 5 a few years after. When its run ended near the close of the decade, Sandy went to the United States and stayed there for some time before returning home and establishing Wooden Spoon.
What’s with the name “Wooden Spoon”? In the show, Sandy uses a large wooden spoon as a cooking utensil. Whether it’s stirring soup or sauteing garlic, he uses the implement to do the job. No need for fancy metal utensils. Iconic and simple just like his trademark wooden spoon, and you can see this in his take on Filipino cuisine through the restaurant’s dishes. It’s no surprise, being a scion of culinary powerhouse Nora Daza. I guess it really runs in the family.
The Katipunan location was among Wooden Spoon’s first branches when it started out. As of this typing, only the Power Plant Mall branch in Makati remains open. Wood was used extensively in this location, reminding diners of simple times and home-cooked meals. However, white is also utilized for a two-fold purpose: to give an illusion of space and to give a monotony from the brown wood. Do note that this location is not exactly the best place for private functions due to the limited space; their location in Kapitolyo is more suited for this purpose.
I’ll stop here, so check out the pictures below to see how our meal went; this was a rather late lunch. Do check out their Facebook page here for updates and promotions.
If you’re a 90s kid like me and you would like to relive the time when you watched his show after the Saturday morning cartoons, I invite you to visit. Until the next review, bon appetit.
Wooden Spoon By Chef Sandy Daza
329-A Katipunan Avenue,
Brgy. Loyola Heights,
Quezon City 1108
A morning post! Wow.
For a moment there, I had Shaq (and – inexplicably – Shaggy) in mind because of the artist. 🙂
I think I saw the show when it transferred. Nice to know he’s back.
Haha, I usually publish new entries every Wednesday (and occasionally on a Saturday) XD
Good thing Chef Sandy didn’t fade out of the limelight after his original show ended; he wrote (and still continues to write) a column for Inquirer, and he starred in a short-lived cooking show on Channel 11 (around 2010).
A fellow creature of habit! Nice routine you have there. (Reminds of the scheduled post feature of WordPress, which I just discovered last week. 😀 )
He writes for PDI?! Cool. Never knew that–mostly because I don’t check all the sections of the online version. Hehe
Try checking every Thursday at PDI’s Lifestyle section (it’s about Food on that day) 😉
Hope I get to remember that this week. Though what you just said makes me wonder if MB features the same section on the same day. It’s been years since I was last aware of the sections.
Thanks, Monch!
Hahaha! Gosh. I remember the show! Ang tanda na natin (oo, dinamay kita)
Sa wakas! May kasama pa akong nakaka-alala pa! 😀 Haha, di pa naman ramdam =))
Hahahaha! Syempre, nung bata pa tayo alam natin pero di natin na-aappreciate. Nung fineature ang Wooden Spoon sa Kris TV, tawa ako ng tawa sa sarili ko kasi nga, naalala ko ang childhood kong pahaypyaw nila in between commercials/tv shows haha
Sa oras na i-revive nila ang Cooking with the Dazas na magkasama ang magtiyuhing Sandy at Isabelle, babalik ang pananalig ko sa sangkatauhan! XD
Hahahaha! Natawa ako dun! Sa akin naman, kung ibabalik nila, ibalik din nila ang shows na kasama! Hahahaha (ang dami kong haha infair, tuwang tuwa ako sa throwback na ito)