Key Points
- Chef Joemel Naboya owns the first Filipino restaurant and bar in Canberra, serving patrons with unconventional dishes such as Kilawin wanton, Lechon pancake, and Adobo and Pares baos.
- Joemel's food stays true to Filipino flavours.
- The family-run business survived the challenges of Covid with the help of Joemel’s wife, daughter and his staff.
Chef Joemel Naboy and his team have found a way to succesfully marry Filipino flavours with more familiar Western dishes. Kilawin wanton, Lechon pancake, and Adobo and Pares baos are some of the dishes in his menu.
Chef Joemel [L] and Chef TJ [R] are responsible for creating the menu of the restobar. Credit: Supplied
Passion for cooking
Joemel’s love for cooking started when he was in high school. One night his mother prepared a meal for him that he didn’t enjoy. When he provided that feedback to his mother, his mum told him that if he wants good food he must learn how to prepare it himself. A piece of advice he keeps until now.
“As soon as I learned how to cook, my friends from school would always come over and feast on the food I made. It built my confidence. My first dishes include lumpiang shanghai [Filipino-style spring roll], tinola [chicken broth soup] and sinigang [Filipino sour soup],” he shares.
Joemel’s friends in Canberra first tasted his cooking in potluck gatherings. They encouraged him to start a made-to-order food business and to join food bazaars.
Through word of mouth, other Filipinos began ordering dishes from him, such as pork barbecue, palabok [a stir-fried seafood and noodle dish] and kare-kare [beef stew in savoury peanut sauce].
Pinoy food fusion
"We offer Filipino food with a twist," Joemel says.
He shares that he uses other Asian cooking techniques and ingredients as the foundation of his creations, such as using kilawin [Filipino ceviche] as filling for wantons.
Kilawin wanton
His experiences as a migrant and the influence of other Asian flavours help him create the food he serves his customers.
“I fill our pancakes and baos with either lechon [roast pork], adobo [braised pork] or pares [braised beef stew]."
Family is at the heart of Papa J’s success
Papa J’s is a family-run business. Joemel and his daughter Keena opened the restaurant to offer foodies in the nation’s capital a different take on Filipino cuisine.
Joemel’s wife Mylene is in-charge of the accounts while his daughter-in-law helps Keena with marketing and staff management.
Keena [middle] and the Papa J's staff Credit: Supplied
“The restaurant won’t be possible without my family’s support. Our staff also made it easier for me to run the business. It will never become a success story if not for all of them,” Joemel shared.
Papa J’s survived the challenges of Covid because everyone involved in the business worked hard to keep the restaurant open to diners.
“We are thrilled whenever people come to our restaurant and provide us with great feedback. It means we’re doing something right.”
