Happy Independence Day! It’s a proud time to be Filipino as we embark on uncharted waters of progressive change. The continuous development in the local real estate scene is a clear indication of increased economic growth.
No other community has grown as rapidly as Bonifacio Global City with numerous ongoing developments and infrastructures rising. One of the fastest developments is Uptown Bonifacio, Megaworld’s newest addition to its roster of township developments.
Apart from Uptown Mall, Uptown Parade is a complex that has a row of specialty food outlets. Located at the prime corner space of Uptown Parade is the newly opened premium Italian restaurant Salvatore Cuomo & Bar (tel. 9463072). Luigi Vera and Richie Yang of Am-Phil Group and their partners recently opened the restaurant and bar serving the finest Neapolitan-style Italian cuisine.
Am-Phil Group manages American restaurant Chili’s, Super Bowl of China, Wild West Roadhouse Grill, Nanbantei of Tokyo and Tokyo Tonteki. It currently handles five brands with 17 branches.
Its newest baby, Salvatore Cuomo & Bar, is part of a food empire built by Cuomo himself, a celebrated Italian chef, restaurateur and personality hailed as the pioneer of Neapolitan pizza in Japan.
‘Pizza Man’
Everything is perfected in time. It took more than a year to bring in the new gastronomic concept to the country. Around the same time last year, the Am-Phil Group of Companies organized a Japan trip for some media members to discover all the secrets of the brand.
The charming Cuomo is a restaurateur with food-focused TV shows and cookbooks. With his Italian father and Japanese mother, plus training in Naples’ finest pizza restaurants, he learned the art of Italian cooking blended with Japanese perfection.
Known in Japan as “The Pizza Man” and “The Grand Chef,” he strives to improve Italian cuisine internationally. Salvatore Cuomo restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Y’s Table Corp., owned and operated by Seizaburo Kanayama and Salvatore Cuomo.
Cuomo has restaurants in Tokyo like Salvatore Ningyocho, Xex Atago, Salvatore Nomura, Salvatore Xex Daikanyama and Teppanyaki at Xex Omae.
Javier Martinez of Yaparazzi Events made sure the launch was successful; we had the most gastronomic experience ever. Apart from meeting Cuomo, we were able to interview Paul Bassett as well. Bassett is a top barista who serves the coffee at all of Salvatore’s outlets.
Fast-forward to last week, Salvatore Cuomo & Bar finally opened its doors to guests to taste true Neapolitan cuisine and possibly the best pizza in town. Luigi Vera, managing director, told me that Salvatore Cuomo would be welcomed by the more discerning diners who know what Neapolitan-style Italian cuisine is all about.
Involved
Co-owner Richie Yang added that Cuomo is extremely involved in food and menu development, and quite discerning in sourcing ingredients. The chef also cooked his signature dishes, and showed the local staff how he prepares them to make sure that Manila will be able to present the food as he does it.
Indeed, getting the right ingredients is integral to the Salvatore Cuomo experience. All of its pizzas, for instance, only use mozzarella di buffala and tomato sauce that is imported and proprietary to the company. They are baked in a custom-made oven shipped from Naples.
The oven uses a combination of local beech wood and imported composite wood that gives the pizza its distinct taste and texture.
Coffee prodigy
Italian food is best paired with good coffee after a hearty meal. Salvatore Cuomo & Bar serves specially imported Paul Bassett coffee.
Bassett, Australia’s famous coffee prodigy, won the World Barista Championship at the age of 25. He sources coffee beans of the highest quality and has refined roasting and brewing techniques, which best highlight their intrinsic characteristics.
The day before the grand opening, our Filipino media group was reunited at the VIP pre-opening dinner to welcome back Cuomo and Bassett.
Before our sumptuous dinner, food lover Stephanie Zubiri-Crespi joined the Italian chef and made his famous Neapolitan pizza just like the year before in Tokyo.
I attempted to create the pizza dough but it was too hard, so I opted to eat the pizza instead.
Online grocery-shopping
Not much of a cook, I would rather buy the ingredients and have more kids make pizza and bake cookies. I have discovered HappyFresh, Asia’s leading online grocery company.
HappyFresh recently announced a new strategic partnership with Robinsons Supermarket, a subsidiary of Robinsons Retail Holdings, that redefines grocery-shopping experience without leaving your home. The collaboration marks the first partnership for HappyFresh in the Philippines.
With Robinsons Supermarket available on HappyFresh’s desktop and mobile application, customers can now enjoy a wider variety of goods and services and greater convenience on ordering groceries online. As HappyFresh’s first partner, Robinsons Supermarket will also be launching 20 branches in Metro Manila.
Isabel “Pao” Barrientos, managing director of HappyFresh Philippines, said that with the crazy traffic out there, local customers recognize the convenience of on-demand and scheduled grocery delivery services that save precious time. She shared the excitement of the partnership with one of the largest supermarket chains in the country.
By offering next-hour delivery to customers, HappyFresh will surely be on the speed-dial list of working mothers and busy executives. HappyFresh is now accessible on desktop and mobile app in Metro Manila.
Visit www.happyfresh.com.
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