A taste of Singapore in Manila 

ABS-CBN News 

Posted at Jun 11 2008 12:31 AM | Updated as of Jun 11 2008 08:31 AM

Cora Lelina at work

By JULIE JAVELLANA-SANTOS abs-cbnNEWS.com 

Not regretting past decisions is nothing new to former overseas Filipino worker Cora Lelina. After all, it was almost a rash decision that brought her to Singapore to work as the personal assistant of a Finnish executive 20 years ago. 

Today, Lelina, 42, told abs-cbnNEWS.com, she does not regret another move – the one that brought her home to the Philippines to set up a Singaporean restaurant with the best friend of her former boss. 

The shy Lelina lets Singaporean Hung Kwang Tan do most of the talking to customers at "Nasi Lemak," her restaurant on Morato Ave. in Quezon City. Nasi Lemak is a cozy little place which can seat between 60 to 100 people. 

"Nasi Lemak" is also a popular breakfast fare in Malaysia and Singapore consisting of rice boiled in coconut milk, fish, chicken wings, cucumber and eggs. 

Mr. Tan, as Lelina still calls him, was the one who convinced her to leave Singapore and set up shop in the Philippines."He's my business consultant," Lelina said. 

Flashback 

Twenty years ago, Lelina had just graduated from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines when her friend invited her to go to Singapore. 

Lelina was hesitant, having heard many stories about overseas employment gone awry. That is, until she went there and met the man who would be her future employer. 

For 20 years, she was his personal assistant, helping him in his paper distribution business and organizing dinners for his friends and business associates. 

"He entertained a lot and I would make sure that if his visitors were Europeans, the food would be Asian and if they were Asian, the food would be European," Lelina said. 

"Let them eat what they don't eat at home, I always said," Lelina stated. 

Such was Lelina's introduction to cooking. 

"Believe me when I first went to Singapore, I would even burn a boiled egg," she added.

Unfortunately, Lelina's former employer developed a brain tumor which later turned out to be cancerous. He died in 2007. 

While she was in Singapore, Lelina became friends with Tan and his wife. They convinced her to return to Manila and set up a restaurant. Tan told abs-cbnNEWS.com he had been coming to the Philippines for over 15 years and "I could never find anything good to eat here." 

That was the line he used to convince Lelina, who also wanted to be closer to her family in Isabela and especially her husband. 

Entrepreneur 

Today, Lelina is studying how to be an entrepreneur. 

"She's a good student," Tan said. 

Tan is not only her business consultant, but is her food taster and quality controller as well. 

The afternoon of our interview, Tan would hie off to the kitchen to taste the "Malaysian chicken curry" the chefs were cooking. He wanted it to taste just right and have the right color as well. 

Lelina said they had a difficulty in choosing a name for the restaurant at first because all the names they picked out were rejected by the Department of Trade and Industry. 

Since their food was to be a fusion of Asian dishes – authentic food from Asian countries -- they picked out names with Asia. But all were taken. 

This was until Tan suggested they name their restaurant "Nasi Lemak." 

Lelina said this name passed the DTI with flying colors. 

Flashforward 

Business is now booming for "Nasi Lemak," Lelina said. On certain days people would queue outside the small and unassuming restaurant. Never mind if they have to wait for a table. 

In another year, Lelina hopes to expand and put up a branch. "Maybe in Makati or Malate," she said. "I'm now back home and I will do everything to succeed," Lelina said. 

She does not forget, though, that once upon a time, Singaporeans treated her as a family member. 

Today, she also treats her staff like family members, offering them the restaurant's food for their meals. "How can my waiters recommend the food if they haven't tasted it," Lelina said. "I want to show OFWs that there's life after living abroad," Lelina said.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/pinoy-migration/06/10/08/taste-singapore-manila