Of Chorizos and Terry Selection

Almost all cultures have their own style of cured meats-- Italians have their pancetta, Germans have their Wursts, we have our longganizas-- but, for me, nothing beats the Spanish cured meats. They have that particular texture, aroma, and taste that other cured meats can't replicate. Jamon, chorizos, morcilla, salchichon-- I can't get enough. In the mid-90's Campofrio offered vacuum-packed chorizo and jamon slices in supermarkets, which my older sister and I quickly consumed. Unfortunately, they were pulled off the shelves after the merger with San Miguel and replaced with regular hotdogs (I never bought those in protest). A form of the Campofrio chorizos made an appearance around 2002-- these were raw chorizos ideal for cooking-- but they also quickly disappeared. The last time I came across those Campofrio packed chorizos was last year on the Beta Stores shelves in Bishkek (of all places).

Terry Selection (named after the owner, Juan Carlos de Terry) is a delicatessen and restaurant specialising in European gourmet food with a bent towards Spanish cuisine. I heard from Chef Anne that they have a good selection of chorizos and jamon, so I visited it yesterday. I've actually been working right beside it for more than a year now, but I just never saw it (never visited the basement of Podium). They do have a very good selection of chorizos, jamon, cheeses, olives, and many other European delicacies that are hard to find this side of the globe. They also sell paelleris and other utensils, although I was disappointed that they ran out of cazuelas (I've been looking for them for years now). They're not limited to European food, though, as they also carry Filipino-made products like sardines, tawilis, free-range chicken, and even Dagupena bangus (which is cheaper in Terry than in SM or Shopwise). Since I still had a some chorizos and olives at home, I decided to try the restaurant. Here's what I got:

Castellana al Ajo (P195)-- their version of the classic Sopa de Ajo (garlic soup). Like the classic soup, it's a garlic-infused broth with some fried garlic bread (for texture) and a poached egg, but they add jamon serrano. The jamon does make a significant difference, and its flavour is infused in the broth.

Chori-queso (P325)-- a sandwich of chorizo de Salamanca and Tomme de Savoie (Tomme is a kind of French cheese) with lettuce, tomatoes, and dressing on a baguette. You have a choice of bread when you get a sandwich-- focaccia, ciabatta, baguette, sliced loaf-- but for this one I chose the baguette for its texture and so it won't interfere with the flavour of the chorizo.

Bottomline, Terry Selection offers great food, but it ain't cheap. Surely, there are lots of very good and less expensive places out there, but if you love Spanish food and Spanish cured meats this place is worth a visit.