(First of two parts)
Truffle Roast Chicken with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes from The Test Kitchen
Chef Josh Boutwood has been keeping himself busy during the quarantine. Early on, he released a line of breads, handmade fresh pasta and sauces like arrabiata and ground chuck ragu bolognese. Then just last week, he introduced his meal kits, which contain components that require minimum effort to reheat and cook, easy-to-follow recipes, and a code that gives people access to step-by-step videos. He has four restaurant-quality dishes to choose from—smoked pork neck steak with tomato salad, sous vide rib eye with creamed spinach, poached salmon with saffron risotto and truffle roast chicken with Parmesan mashed potatoes.
The Test Kitchen, tel. 0977-2885751
Chinese Longganisa from China Mommy
Lumpia became hard to sell during the first few weeks of the lockdown because China Mommy’s suppliers couldn’t deliver their vegetable orders. This prompted talented home cook Linda Co to come up with her homemade longganisa, something she learned to make along with her famous ham a long time ago. Her sausage is all meat and does not have any extenders. As expected, it was an instant hit.
China Mommy, tel. 0917-5148540.
Steak Ram-Don ‘Tippled’ from Tipple Café
Steak rice is something Tipple Café has offered since day one. Riding on the current Korean trend, chef Francis Lim decided to convert this bestseller into a noodle dish, taking inspiration from the movie “Parasite.” Tender slices of butcher’s steak cooked medium rare are served with homemade furikake seasoning, Korean noodles, jajang paste and seafood powder. Other new items are their porchetta rice (baked pork belly, chimichurri rice, sous vide egg, jardiniere pickles), shiitake truffle cream pasta, and Tuguegarao longganisa burger.
Tipple Café , tel. 0917-7020756
Small-batch Kimchi from This Kimchi
Chef Pat Go proves that he has the chops for Korean food with his The Grid stall Gochugang. He reinforces his flair under his own solo brand. “I wanted to make a vegan, all-natural kimchi at home for delivery. I think there’s a demand for fermented and pickled products now, especially since everyone is at home,” he says. This project is two-fold because he also gets to help local veggie suppliers and farmers. “Because there are a lot of people who are selling vegetables, I’m planning to collaborate with small stores and use their produce for the kimchi and banchan.”
Follow @thiskimchi on Instagram
Kitchen
Ebi Kani Aburi from Ley’s Kitchen
They have become quite known for different dishes they make with crabs, but this Japanese-inspired item is fast becoming a favorite. “My daughter loves Japanese food,” says Angel Ley. “This was something we saw on the internet and we made our version with aburi sauce. She has been making this since last year, but only for personal consumption. During this enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), we decided to sell it.”
Ley’s Kitchen, tel. 0917 8486889
Brioche loaf from Gourmandise by Sunshine
“I love that amid all the doom and gloom you see while scrolling through your feed, you see beautiful banana bread, sourdough loaves, and bubbly stews all lovingly made by people who now have time and want to connect with others through food,” says pastry chef Sunshine Puey. She’s guilty of it too, as she has taken to baking bread, like her milky brioche. “I never had the time or inclination to bake bread before, but I have now found such joy in it.”
Gourmandise by Sunshine, Viber 0917-8832432
Malted Milk Ice cream with Maltesers from Manila Creamery
Dynamic duo Jason Go and Paolo Reyes surely know how to please their customers. Apart from offering a promo sale for their 1.5-kg tubs the whole time Manila has been under ECQ, they have also come out with a flavor that’s nostalgic and satisfying. “Maltesers has been a favorite of ours since we were kids, so at a time like this, it’s great to find comfort in a flavor like that,” says Go. “It also helps that it’s a frozen dessert, perfect to fight this heat with.”
Manila Creamery, www.manilacreamery.storehub.me
Paksiw na Bangus from Cibo di Marghi
Margarita Fores turns to dishes from her past when it comes to her new offerings. There’s the Peperoni Gialli e Rossi con Acciughe, something she learned when she started working with Italian food about 30 years ago. It’s a classic Italian antipasto composed of bell peppers. She also has Spaghetti al Basilico, a trademark dish at her family’s Trattoria Uno in Ali Mall during the 1980s. “It is one of the best pasta dishes in the world for me. Promise,” she says. When it comes to more local flavors, there’s Paksiw na Bangus, which was a major part of her youth. “I have tons of palm sap vinegar because it is the best vinegar for me. It is what I am using at home for my paksiw.”
Cibo di Marghi, tel. 0917-7083057; Grace Park, tel. 0939-9347223
Cheese Puff from Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory
Weeks before the lockdown, people lined up at Tokyo Milk Cheese Café’s two branches to have an indulgent taste of the Cow Cow Kitchen Milk Pie, which is a baked puff stuffed to the brim with Hokkaido milk cream. Just last week, they introduced another pastry that rivals the milk pie in sweet satisfaction. The Cheese Puff has the same filling, but this time it’s enveloped with a soft choux pastry with Parmesan cheese. —CONTRIBUTED
Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory, tel. 0927-6136370