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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 10 ,2 01 9 | 12 For Rosel De Guzman, opening Rosel's Flavours for Life food business has been a bittersweet endeavour. Cooking a dish such as pandan chicken instils in her a sense of pride, but her voice shakes slightly as she talks about its origins. "We were very poor in the Philippines and sometimes had to beg for money for food, so we were lucky my dad and mom could make this kind of chicken, espe- cially at holidays. It's a dish that has a lot of memories for me," De Guzman says. Creating memories with food As a three-day pop-up restaurant sharing the space at the Wooden Boat Food Company, she opened Rosel's in early August. It came off the back of having graduated from culi- nary arts training at St. Lou- is school and working in Jer- rit Raney's kitchen at Proof Kitchen and Lounge in Wa- terloo. Rosel's does catering and creates meal plans too. Though he's employed in in- dustry elsewhere, her hus- band, Chris Dry, helps out when he can. The space is industrial with a huge open and screened garage door that lets in a beautiful fall day, al- most like a lanai, when I have visited. "When I saw that it was an open space, I said it's just like the Philip- pines," De Guzman says with a laugh. She was born in Mariki- na City, northeast of Manila, and worked in Hong Kong for a few years before com- ing to Canada in 2012. "I grew up seeing my par- ents cooking outside and selling food, and since I was seven years old I've been do- ing my rice," she says. Adding her own twist to Filipino dishes Rice is a foundational food for Filipinos, and De Guzman describes her sev- en- or eight-item menu ($6.25-$16.95) as traditional dishes as you'll find in Mari- kina: Siopao steamed bun with braised pork with a side of pickled papaya, pan- sit bihon noodles or lumpia spring rolls - but, she says, with a twist. "Pork adobo is better known here, but I've added a few different ingredients in addition to the soy sauce and vinegar, including wine." In addition, Rosel's cre- ates monthly specials such as gluten-free long silong, a Filipino breakfast with home-made sausage, over- easy egg, garlic-fried rice and cucumber ($10.50). The deep-fried pandan chicken ($16.95 with rice, tamarind sauce and a fresh crisp salad) is among the best fried chicken I've had. It's marinated overnight with gluten-free soy and oyster sauces, spices and the long green leaf of the panda- nus, or screw pine, which is like a small palm tree. "I grind the leaves in a mortar and pestle for the marinade," she says, adding that she sources the leaves from area Asian markets. Pandan chicken is light and crisp A light and bright tasting dipping sauce is made by soaking tamarind paste in warm water, bringing it to a boil with sesame oil, brown sugar, fish sauce and salt and pepper. It is a delicious accompaniment. "I remember my dad wrapping the chicken and marinating it all night," De Guzman says. "It's impor- tant for me to be able to share my Filipino food with people here." Her dishes will likely be memorable for you too. The chicken is lightly spiced and lightly battered with potato flour - that re- sults in a delicious, pleas- antly shattering crunch be- fore yielding to the hot, ten- der and moist meat beneath. I believe it's a texture we all love, no matter what cor- ner of the world we come from. "When we started, I was worried that people here wouldn't know Filipino food, but I wanted to intro- duce them to the food we ate where I come from," says De Guzman, who smiles when she thinks of her opportuni- ty to do just that. "I love it," she says. "It's been really remarkable for me." Rosel's Flavours for Life is open Sunday to Tuesday, noon to 7 p.m. Andrew Coppolino is a Kitchener-based food writer and broadcaster. Visit him at waterlooregioneats.com or email: apcoppolino@rog- ers.com. OPINION DON'T SKIP THIS DISH: PANDAN CHICKEN AT ROSEL'S FLAVOURS FOR LIFE A DELICIOUS, SHATTERING CRUNCH BEFORE THE HOT, TENDER AND MOIST MEAT BENEATH, WRITES ANDREW COPPOLINO ANDREW COPPOLINO Column Rosel's pandan chicken. Andrew Coppolino photo ROSEL'S FLAVOURS FOR LIFE #1-20 Hurst Avenue, Kitchener, Ontario N2J 2X7 Phone: 519-722-7995 Facebook: www.facebook.com/ flavoursforlife/ Hours: Sunday to Tuesday, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pa id fo ra nd au th or iz ed by th e offi ci al ag en to ft he ca nd id at e. co pe :2 25 -x x 519-885-0052 Lori.Campbell@ndp.ca loricampbell.ndp.ca  @campbelllor  CampbellforNDP @campbellwaterloo News Media Canada Médias d'InfoCanada Newspapers matter. Nowmore than ever. National NewspaperWeek 2019. FACT- CHECKING THEWORLD SINCE IT WAS FLAT.