By Jojo Dass

For Food Trip Magazine

(Editor’s note: This article was published on GMA News Online. https://foodtripmagazine.com/chef-avinash-mohan-bringing-soul-food-from-gods-own-country-to-the-world/ )

A Filipina architect, who tried her luck in the city on a visit visa years ago, and now runs her own firm with major projects under her belt, has ventured into something new but familiar – gastronomy.

“My family loves eating out, and we also design food and beverage (F&B) restaurant projects,” Evangeline M. Monjardin, who hails from Imus, Cavite, told GMA News Online.

This at hand, Monjardin did the next best thing there was to do: “I aspired to have a restaurant of my own.”

And so was born Desert Wok, an Indo-Chinese fusion dining venue in Jumeirah Village Circle, a gated community south of Dubai.  

“Hindi ako nakiki-alam sa loob ng kitchen during cooking. Pero ako ang nagtse-check ng quality of food naming, pati timpla ng sauce. I’m on the operations side,” Monjardin said.

(I am not involved in the actual cooking but I check the quality of food, including its mixture of sauces.)

House bestsellers, she said, include sweet and spicy Crunchy Beef, Chamba Chicken, a semi-dry dish with cashew nuts in sweet and chili sauce, and a range of Hakka Noodles – stir-fried and available in different styles like Shanghai, Cantonese and crispy chop suey.

Franchise

Apparently capitalizing on Dubai being an international expat city boasting a melting pot of various cuisines from around the world, Monjardin said she is looking at expanding her restaurant business.

“We are working on expanding to more branches and having the restaurant out for franchising,” Monjardin said.

She added: “Dubai is popular for having a vast variety of international cuisines –  from street food concepts to fine dining gastronomic experiences. Eating out is an essential part of Dubai’s busy life, either going on a meeting in a cafe or having a weekend brunch with family and friends. So, the F&B sector keeps developing new ideas that will cater to everyone’s need.”

Desert Wok, which has up to 15 employees, has a dining area that can accommodate 20 customers. It also does takeaways and deliveries.

“Around 65 to 70 percent of the sales is from deliveries,” Monjardin said.

Beginnings

Monjardin, a graduate of Far Eastern University (FEU) with a degree in architecture, arrived in Dubai on June 28, 1995; brought to the city by his father, who himself is an architect.

“My father took me to Dubai so I could support our family while, at the same time, being able to practice my profession,” she said.

Five years later in June 2000, Multiline Design & Contracting LLC, a design consultancy and contracting company was formed, with Monjardin as managing partner.

“Other expats here in the UAE believe in the talent of Filipinos, most especially in the field of design and architecture. I, myself, coming from a family of mostly architects, have succeeded in impressing other nationalities with our craftsmanship,” Monjardin said.

Monjardin said she does continuous research on the latest design trends. “I do more on running the business. But once in a while I contribute to the preliminary concepts, then let my designers develop the ideas where they can deliver more,” she said.

The architectural firm, which currently has 75 staff and workers, employs architects and interior designers, including those from the University of the Philippines (UP) who, Monjardin  said, have been highly commended by clients.

Representing the Philippines, her younger brother won the grand prize in an architectural design competition in France – the Fondation Jacques Rougeries –  in 2017.

Multiline has several big brand name companies among its clients.