We have some mighty fine new kids on the block in the foodie world. From breakfast to dinner to dessert and the weekend, here are a few of the restaurant industry’s recent headturners.
Breakfast at 8
Wildflour Cafe + Bakery at Bonifacio Global City offers breakfast Mondays to Saturdays. Start your day with classic Belgian waffles with bananas; energize with a Tarte Flambe with caramelized onions, smoked bacon and Gruyere; or overload with their Croque Madame with Gruyere cheese.
Just finished yoga or your morning run? Do it like Maria and have tea with jam and bread. Their breads are baked daily right on their premises. The setting is relaxed, with a high ceiling and glass windows, and is conducive for a catch up brunch with friends. But beware! You might miss out on the latest gossip once faced with the indulgent Chocolate Pots de Creme oozing with caramel.
Power Lunch
Seal that deal with a steak. Carnivores will be pleased with the chops at Chops Chicago Steakhouse in Greenbelt 5. Take a detour from the menu and ask the server to present their steak options before choosing your meat to witness raw the beautiful marbling of the prime meats. They offer dry aged beef-also offered by Mamou at Serendra and Rockwell—as well as Snake River Farms, Kitayama Wagyu (local but all organic!), Australian Wagyu, Creekstone Black Angus, USDA Certified Angus Beef, and of course, USDA Prime Black Angus. They also offer a 1.5 kilo bone-in rib-eye Tomahawk steak. Connoisseurs are bound to debate the merits of the steaks and not conclude unanimously, but while the quality of steaks runs the gamut from grade 5 down to 2, the kitchen knows its craft and you will more often than not chew away happily.
What made my heart stop beating, though, was the Triple Bypass Burger which has (hold your breath) not one but two large-sized Angus beef burgers. This is topped with beef tips, that in turn is topped with homemade bacon, which in turn is topped with a generous slab of foie gras! It’s a tower of power. Impossible to finish alone in one sitting, this infatuation lasted halfway through the burger, although the impression it made will linger on forever. I must admit the beef was juicy, the bacon just right and the foie gras melting in your mouth against the beef is sublime.
But what captured my heart for eternity is their Kurobuta pork chop. Tender and flavorful, it will change your impression of pork chop forever. Do not disrespect it by dipping it in its accompanying sauce!
Finally, drop the gun, take the cannoli. It’s chocolate and cream. You won’t miss.
Barkada Dinner
Picas and chikas is the formula for a cackling dinner with friends. And what better way to do that in style than in a hip new Spanish-themed restaurant run by hot young Catalonians themselves. Former owners of Barcino, Dan Aliaga and Sergi Rostoll, have set up Las Flores with childhood friend Uri Singla at the Fort and hip happening Manila has found a new hang out. As with Barcino, the appetizers are delicioso. The Botifarra Catalana—pork sausage with caramelized onions on a bed of baked potatoes—packs a wallop. The Croquetas de Chorizo crumbles so gently in your mouth yet perks you up with the chorizo bits. The paella is much appreciated by the crowd although I would not stretch it to announce that it is the best in Manila—sorry, boys!
But their Sangria Blanca comes in a glass the size of a vase that by the time you get to the bottom of your drink everything in that restaurant will appear to be the best in the world. Anyway, they are still on soft opening—who knows, by the time they open, it may have earned its right to be called so.
Dessert Smiles
I’ve written about this in the daily but I’ll say it again: the new dessert diva is Chez Karine. Macarons that are soft, not gummy. Pudding that is light, like dancing on air: a refined yet hip crossbreed of the leche flan and creme brulee. Ambroisie is a petite chocolate cake with a velvety cover and jam in between layers. And finally, the Honey Toast, which will take you back to days of cartwheels and carousels and all the fun memories that come with these. It’s just a happy place, Chez Karine. Always makes me smile.
Saturday Brunch
There is a corner of the Fort that is not so hyped up. It is on the corner of McKinley and 5th Avenue. It has its own parking space (although this gets full on weekdays), which is always a good first impression. Inside it is cozy and relaxed, with a big screen TV that keeps you up to date while you enjoy your coffee. Some come here for dinner dates for a little privacy; others come for meetings. But breakfast is lovely: steak and eggs; eggs benedict; corned beef hash. Instead of French fries they have potatoes cooked in bone marrow. How’s that for a pick-me-up? You might be more familiar with its other branch in Salcedo Village but Malcolm’s at the Fort is where it’s perfect to chill on a lazy Saturday.
Sunday Deli
Sunday because it is just across Mt. Carmel Church in New Manila. Connie’s Kitchen, which gave us our favorite gourmet tuyo (dried fish) in a bottle, has its own deli here. Aside from finding your favorite bottled goods—feta cheese, gourmet tuyo, artichoke dip, pasta sauces—they now also offer various meats such as chorizo and local produce from different parts of the country such as their own coffee and a variety of local juices (my personal favorite is the guava juice!). Best of all, they also offer sandwiches which, of course, are made just as you order. Try the Bacolod chorizo sandwich or the meatballs with sauteed onions. It’s signature Connie: simple but delish! •