Damaso Residencia : Private Dining by Chef Bambi Sy Gobio

November is finally here and for the past weeks, Mommy has been bugging us to organize a Thanksgiving Dinner for the family. Note that we've never celebrated Thanksgiving before and the only times I've had turkey was at Dad's Eat All You Can Buffet, the US Potato Board's Annual Thanksgiving Dinners and at Disneyland Anaheim where Paul and I shared a turkey leg. After all, it really would take a good chef to be able to impress me with turkey as I normally find it bland and dry. Thus, I really do not know why Mommy suddenly wants to celebrate Thanksgiving but I have a strong feeling a major craving for turkey has something to do with it. *wink*

When Paul and I got an invite to celebrate Thanksgiving last August, we excitedly headed to Damaso Residencia which was the private residence of our dinner host, Chef Bambi Sy Gobio. Chef Bambi is also the talented lady behind the restaurant Restaurante Pia Y Damaso in Greenbelt 5. No thanks to color coding, we were the last couple to arrive and luckily, we got there just in time as dinner was about to start. Talking about good timing!

We love starting our meal with a warm bowl of Split Pea Soup. This creamy, slightly salty soup has successfully awakened our taste buds to prep us for the hearty feast ahead. It was served with croutons adding some crunch and more texture to the soup.

Chef Bambi has prepared a full course meal however, before I share what were the other dishes that we were able to try that evening, let me talk about the star of the night -- the Roasted Turkey with Chorizo Stuffing. Just hearing the name made my heart do backflips and cartwheels over and over again. The thought of the tender and juicy turkey meat combined with the savory chorizo bits has made my mouth water that every time I think about it, I wish we can have Thanksgiving every single day. After all, there should be something that we ALL should be thankful for everyday, right?


As the golden brown turkey on a gray baking platter was brought out from the kitchen, silence fell upon the group and we lovingly admired the turkey in all its shiny, freshly baked glory. We patiently watched the skilled server carved his way into the turkey producing good slices of meat combined with generous amount of chorizo stuffing to satisfy every member of our dinner group. Finally, we all got our share and we happily headed back to our table ready to dig in.

The turkey meat was very tender something that I don't mind having more often from now on. In fact, as I enjoyed every forkful of turkey with stuffing, the bland and tasteless memories of past turkey dinners were slowly being pushed back to the farthest corner of my memory bank. Paul enjoyed his turkey with some baked corn while I happily covered mine with gravy and some cranberry jelly.

In addition to the turkey, Chef Bambi has prepared a number of dishes too. We had the Baked Fish with Lemon, Wine, Caramelized Onions, Garlic and Tomatoes. I love baked fish and I was very happy with this one.

She also had some Beef Stew with Mushroom in Red Wine Sauce.

For the rice eaters, Chef has prepared some Brown Rice Pilaf too. I wanted to fill my tummy with more turkey and fish so I skipped carbs that evening.

Paul also enjoyed the Candied Sweet Potato which he couldn't stop raving about that evening.

What a feast! I couldn't take in another bite after having two servings of turkey and lots of baked fish. Of course, Chef Bambi wasn't done yet. After offering us with coffee or tea, out came a parade of freshly baked cakes which looked so good! Sadly, all I did was to take small bites of each and left the rest of the slice to Paul who happily polished our dessert plate sparkling clean.

Here are some of the cakes that she served that evening. I personally liked the Bread Pudding with Nutella as well as the Pumpkin Pie!

Instead of slaving ourselves in the kitchen with zero know-how in roasting (much less stuffing) a turkey, I think I'll just make a reservation at Damaso Residencia for Chef Bambi to work her magic for our Thanksgiving family dinner. Chef Bambi can do private dinners for about Php 1,500 per head for groups of 10-12. You need to make a reservation way in advance and she can customize the menu for you too.

For more inquiries, contact Damaso Residencia (Chef Bambi Sy Gobio) at 0917-8480620 / 502-0106 / damaso@skybroadband.com.ph. Damaso Residencia is located along Ortigas Avenue near Greenhills.