The Village Tavern – BHS Central, Taguig

Three days ago, I went to The Village Tavern in BHS Central to celebrate their first anniversary with other folks in the media. It was my first time there and to be completely honest, before I got their email invite I hadn’t ever heard of the place. I also learned that the restaurant was a franchise from the US. Interiors are spacious with a whole lot of tables and lights are quite dim, far far away from the rundown look of a typical tavern.

We were all served 7 entrees in total and I was seated in a table with 5 other people since I didn’t know anyone there. The upside was, I got to meet other nice people who enjoy writing about food. The downside? Sharing single-serving entrees with like, 5 other people. That was hard.

For starters, they sent out two full-size servings of Crispy Clams with Spicy Lemon Dip. Loved the spicy, sour dipping sauce but I’d appreciate the dish more if they used bigger clams. These ones were so small I couldn’t even fork them. They were pretty good though but best eaten with yer hands.

Next up was this huge salad which was quite alright as well but kind of lacked dressing. It’s called the Fully Loaded Romaine Heart and consists of romaine lettuce served with bacon, red onions, tomatoes and topped with a bleu cheese dressing.

Roasted Bone Marrow‘s kind of a really in dish these days but I was still glad to see it on the menu. An interesting thing head chef, Josh Boutwood did here adding some apple cider vinegar dip to the picture.

Typically, bone marrow’s served with bread and herb salt which they did here. The acv dip gave it a kick though that took it to a wholly different dimension. Forgot to mention, there was fried parsley that came with the dish as well but I didnt think it made much of a difference.

Ok, just so everyone knows, the next few dishes I am posting were split between me and 5 other adults so I basically only had a little taste of each.

This is a Pan-seared Atlantic cod fish cooked with Spanish chorizo, garlic served on a bed of roasted potatoes and caramelized onion. Wasn’t such a fan of the texture of the fish, since it was dry and rough. What was under the fish though was a different story. The chorizo, potato and onion combo was delicious. We enjoyed every single bit of it sans fish.

This is the 35 oz Tomahawk steak in all it’s glory. This was presented to us for photographic purposes only. If one were to order this, I suggest it’d be best to split this between just 3 people. An average serving of steak is 8 oz, this one’s just 35 oz and you have that huge axe handle to consider in terms of weight. Be warned.

Here’s the Tomahawk, served to our table of 6. We had half a strip each, it was kind of sad. Imagine, strangers splitting half a strip of steak with each other. In all honesty, this really wasn’t anything great. Meat was lean and it didn’t have the melt-in-your-mouth quality you look for in a steak. Also, it wasn’t served to us hot. Probably was the display steak we all photographed divided by all tables. Served with mustard which I didn’t try cause I wanted to get a bite of just the meat to judge its bare quality.

Again, divided into 6 this was the last of the main dishes and it was seriously the best. This sous-vide rosemary infused rack of lamb was wow worthy. So good, I was upset I had to share with 5 other people. I mean, really, I could’ve gobbled up two of these myself just cause it was that excellent. The lamb was perfectly pink, tender and easily slipped off the bone served atop a bed of mash potatoes. In the sous vide bath for 2 hours, I could really taste the rosemary in every bite. I only had 3 bites though so I’m definitely coming back for this.

Dessert came in the form of a Frozen Lime Souffle. Yup, we all split this. This tasted interesting, the sorbet in the middle didn’t even taste like a sorbet. It was refreshing, a nice palette cleanser.

I don’t have the prices up for this post cause these new dishes all weren’t priced yet when served to us. I think these guys will start showing up on the menu next month so head there for some lamb when you can cause that’s what I plan to do.

Village Tavern
(2nd floor across Jamba Juice)
7th Ave. corner 29th St. South,
Upper Ground Floor, East Superblock
Bonifacio High Street Central
Mobile: +63 949 761-6258
Operating Hours:
Sunday to Thursday, 11.00am to 11.00pm
Friday to Saturday, 11.00am to 12.00mn

DISCLAIMER: Opinions and photos are mine. Food was free but if you read the whole thing, it’s obvious I’m completely honest. I’d like to thank the Bistro Group for hosting us that night and Perkcomm Inc. for the invitation.

Grace Park – One Rockwell, Makati

Yesterday, my family and I had lunch at Grace Park for the first time. I didn’t know what to expect, given that I always thought it was going to be some Korean restaurant when it was still boarded up. I was happy to find though that it’s Gaita Fores’ newest business venture which reflects Italian-Filipino farm-to-table, organic food.

The menu was light and clipped to a recycled piece of cardboard. Skimmed through it quick and knew I wanted the Muscovado Beef Belly so that’s exactly what I got.

For starters, we had Fried Field Mushrooms with Asiago Cream (Php 280) which I thought tasted rather bland without the dipping sauce. The mushrooms were deep fried in what resembled tempura batter and I thought the cheese sauce balanced it out quite well. This was just okay probably not something I’d order again. I’d rather take my chances on the Baked Chicharon which we didn’t get to try.

My brother had some Cauliflower Clam Chowder (Php 225) which was creamy and had big clam pieces. Wish it came in a bread bowl though, those are always the best.

Mom got the 3-page Salad with Honey Dijon Dressing (Php 220) which she liked. I didn’t try it so I can’t say how it tasted.

Before I talk about my food, I’d like to post photos of other people’s food. Here’s a shot of half an order of Fettuccine Truffle Cream Pasta with Organic Egg (Php 550) which was my lola’s. It smelled really awesome from across the table, magic truffle oil.

My brother got Chicken Parmigiano (Php 510) which I didn’t get to try because I didn’t ask him and I guess I just generally wasn’t in the mood for tomato sauce. Yes, I like run-ons. Now what.

My cousin got the OMG Burger (Php 795) which is like, OMG so expensive for a burger. It’s got double beef patties, a thick slab of bacon, a lot of cheese and this unique bread I don’t have the chops to identify. Tell me what it is, the top bun looks like it has dinosaur scales. It was pretty darn yum but nothing mind-blowing and in all honesty, with my own money, I would not pay for a $20 burger.

Here’s my order, Muscovado Beef Belly (Php 510) and it came with some roasted potatoes and greens. I looked at photos of this online and saw cherry tomatoes, was a tad jealous I didn’t get those but I was too hungry to ask. Ate there on a Sunday and service was particularly slow even if we were one of the first to arrive there. I had my food in around 45 minutes. So yeah, I was starving.

The belly was generally tender in parts but the bottom layer was kinda stringy, chewy and just didn’t have that melt-in-your-mouth quality you generally expect from slow-roasted meat. I thought the muscovado glaze was unique and tasty and appreciated the caramelized onions atop the beef, wish there was more though since I’m kind of an onion fiend. I’d probably order something else next time since I prefer Cibo di M’s catered Beef Belly to this one.

Since Grace Park’s a pretty new restaurant, I think some entrees are kind of hit or miss so I’d give it a little more time before going back. Service was efficient but rather slow. I say this because they were quick to refill our glasses but when my lola asked for some parmesan to go with her pasta, it literally took forever to the point that I had to walk to the bar to get it myself. Over all, I loved the look of the place and the concept though so I’ll be back to try their other stuff. I think for the quality, prices are reasonable.

Grace Park
beside Bizu
One Rockwell,
Rockwell Drive,
Makati

Open 11 AM to 3 PM and 6 PM to 10 PM
(0939)-93-GRACE
PLDT: 843-PARK (7275)

Brothers Burger’s got wings

Right before I left for the US (which was about a month ago), Brothers Burger held an press event to introduce their fried chicken wings. And to basically just be nice and feed the hungry bloggers. In internet time, this post is way overdue but I felt like writing it anyway because the Jose brothers were great and really, Brothers is about to get an update you guys won’t even recognize.

Chicken Wings (Php 219) were new on the menu and when you order this, you have a choice of getting either Butter Parmesan or Barbecue. This being a tasting session, I tried both. I found that the Butter Parmesan wings did have the rich taste of butter but I didn’t like that the batter overpowered the meat because it was too thick. The guys next to me at the table seemed to like this best.

I really did enjoy the Barbecue wings though, the glaze so sharp and American it reminded me of baby back ribs. I’d pick this up in a heartbeat. Orders come with 6 wings each.

Next up, the Lettuce Wrapped Burger (Php 185) dubbed thee Breadless Burger is kind of a secret special thing they serve that isn’t on the menu. It’s for the kind of folks who either count calories, don’t like carbs very much or just want to get the most out of their meat by just eating the meat. Wrapped entirely by lettuce, this is rather messy but ultimately rewarding.

Just like your average joe of a burger, this one has onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and a nice thick burger patty– minus the guilt. It’s served with a fresh cilantro cream dip that adds a full herby kick to the mix.

I was really, really happy when they said we were having the Lamb Burger and Onion Rings (Php 380) because this is my absolute favorite thing to order from them. And I’ve been having this since forever, I even introduced Carina to it. Yup, lamb + pesto + feta cheese makes the awesomest burger in the world. I also think they have the best real onion rings in the country. I hate fake onion rings, they’re so obvious and bad. Brothers serves the real deal, big onions with batter that sticks to them properly fried to perfection. Apologies for the hard-sell but I’ve really been enjoying this burger this for ages.

Brothers Burger
Petron Gas Station
EDSA corner Arnaiz Avenue,
Dasmariñas Village,
Makati City
Tel. 5501276 (this branch delivers)

Other branches are Convergys Ayala, WestGate Alabang, Alimall, Paseo de Magallanes, Hobbies of Asia, Roxas Blvd, MeralcoAvenue, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Greenhills, Trinoma, Bonifacio High Street, Regis Center Katipunan, The Hub Greenfield District, RCBC Plaza, 2Ecom Mall of Asia, Nuvali, Ayala Technohub Baguio and Mile-Hi Baguio.

DISCLAIMER: I was invited to this event by Brothers Burger and Buensalido & Associates which means I didn’t pay for my food. All opinions are honest and mine though so that should count.

Been Around and Back

So the blog’s been kind of quiet lately. It’s cause I’ve been out of the country travelling for a while. It’s funny, because I haven’t touched my laptop in over a month I had to get my password reset cause I couldn’t figure it out. Got home last night from a month long New York visit so I have a lot of posts coming up, hopefully I get to weed through the 10GB of photos I snapped.

Before crossing continents, I actually also spent the first week of April in Japan so I have a bunch of Osaka-based posts lined up as well so check this space from time to time.

I kind of get overwhelmed just thinking of all the pictures I have to sort thorough but whatever, I’ll get that done in time. For now, here are some photos from both trips just to give ya’ll an idea of what’s to come.

My Singapore Food Street – Megamall

I haven’t been on the blog a lot just cause I’ve been swamped with work. The current backlog is kind if immense so bear with me. I was invited to an event last month at Megamall for the opening of My Singapore Food Street. The old restaurant was called Orchard Road and it resembled a typical hawker center. My Singapore Food Street is run by the same people behind Orchard Road. They changed the look up a bit because they wanted something more streamlined. There’s a main booth now where folks and queue up and order instead of a bunch of different stalls.

My Singapore Food Street is the brainchild of AFC celebrity chef Vivien Tan, who actually grew up in Singapore and describes most of the dishes they serve here as her kind of comfort food.

For starters, we were served Croquettes (Php 80) and Spring Rolls (Php 100). I found the croquettes to be kind of bland, it was mostly just a deep fried potato ball so if you’re into that, try it. I thought the spring rolls were quite nice, filled up with pork and a hint of some prawn. It is also safe to note that I am a sucker for sweet chilli sauce.

Next up, was the Hainanese Chicken Rice Meal (Php 195). This is a Singaporean favorite and just because my mom makes this spectacularly here at home, my standards for a good chicken rice are through the roof. For the price though, this looked small but it filled me up. It’s pretty decent and you can have as much sauce as you want.

I had a funny realization at the launch. It was going to be the first time I ever tried Laksa (Php 185). I don’t usually gravitate towards soup dishes but this was pretty interesting. I am no laksa expert but I know this is a prawn based spicy soup. Honestly, it reminded me of an extra spicy pinakbet thanks its heavy coconut milk base.

I enjoyed their Nasi Goreng (P175) which is a spicy fried rice topped with scrambled egg. Ask them for sambal to give it an extra spicy kick.

I photographed this lovely Char Kwey Teow (Php 195) dish on display but since they did not serve this to us I did not get to try it. The kwey teow in SG has cockles but Vivien said since they’re hard to come by here, they took it out.

For dessert, I had a Milo Dinosaur (P110) which is basically a chocolate shake made with Milo and topped with it in powder form. I thought this was kind of slushy.

Overall, if you’re craving for Singaporean food and want to get it at hawker prices, look no further. I’ll definitely be back to try their Char Kwey Teow.

My Singapore Food Street
2F Bridgeway, SM Megamall
895 1777

Disclaimer: I was invited to this event so all food was free. All opinions here are honest and mine.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka – Glorietta 4, Makati

I don’t exactly know when it started but the ramen bug is in Manila. All these new places have been popping up and older, secret joints are getting their fair share of internet exposure. An old friend of mine messaged me about Santouka Ramen before it even opened in the Philippines, he linked me to their Facebook page and said it was one of the best bowls he had (in Singapore). Immediately I was curious just cause I know I can trust what this guy thinks about food (his mom owns Cibo).

They’re currently on “soft opening” and since last week, I’ve already been there twice. A franchise originally from Hokkaido Japan, the owner was inspired to put his own ramen shop up after seeing Tampopo in the 80′s just wanting to be someone who could put together the best ramen. The place is pretty spacious but gets full really fast, the first time I was there my mom and I headed over at 11 right when it opened so our ramen came quickly. The second time was last night with Meng, Cris, Liana and Carina and we were in line for around 30 minutes just cause the place was packed.

Here’s a photo of some staff members who are real nice and efficient. There are even folks from Japan training them in the kitchen and in terms of management. On to the food!

Both times I was there I had the Tokusen Toroniku Ramen in Kara-Miso (SM-Php 390/MED-Php 450). This is what they’re known for which is basically a bowl of ramen with the broth of your choice served with slices of pork cheek. Just a bit of trivia, when my family has lechon I always go for the cheek just cause the dark meat in there is the best.

This is already missing a slice because I couldn’t help myself. I honestly have no idea how these guys get a steady flow of cheeks but this tastes smokey and nice and soft. You can bite into this alone or dip it in your ramen. This is the sole reason I keep going back to Santouka. Their Kara Miso ramen is actually alright, it’s got a spicy sesame miso base but I prefer Yushoken or Ukkokei’s tantanmen just cause it’s a much richer tasting soup.

Cris ordered the Tokusen Toroniku Ramen in Shio (SM-Php 370/MED-Php 430) which the menu states is salt flavored soup. I really enjoyed the milkiness of the broth and imagined it’d go well with the cheek as well.

Both times I was there I also ordered the Tori Karaage (Php 200) which I find a bit small (and expensive) for two chicken thigh fillets sliced into two. This was fried to perfection though and the batter was light and fluffy.

They also have this nice kiddie meal option. After eating, the kids can look forward to getting a toy at the machine. I wanted one but they told me it was just for kids under 7. Oh well, no Doraemon for you Sarie.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka
G/F Glorietta 4, Hotel Dr
Ayala Center, Makati
Telephone: 728 1381
Open daily from 11 to 11

*** Disclaimer: I paid for my own food both times and I speak the truth.

MFWF: Celebrity Chef Food Truck Battle

Last Friday, I was invited to check out the Manila Food and Wine Festival’s Celebrity Chef Cook-Off. Carina was s’pose to be my date but she caught a tummy bug and couldn’t leave home so I ventured to MOA alone thinking it was a “ticket only” kind of event. When I got there I found out that the entrance was free for all, you just needed the tickets for food and that the portions were large enough for people to share. What a bargain. There were six chefs battling it out in six trucks, the nice folks at MFWF gave me two free tickets of my choice, so I could sample the food.

Naturally, I was drawn to Robby Goco’s Italian Porchetta which is basically Italy’s version of lechon. I am also a big chicken wing nut so I opted for one of Bruce Lim’s mystery chicken wing combos. Other choices were sushi from Marvin Agustin, dumplings and fried rice by Sau del Rosario, sausage sandwiches by Florabel Co and Pinoy favorites with a twist by Tristan Encarnacion.

I was there early and so flippin’ excited for the porchetta that the folks at Chef Robby’s truck let me in for a sneak peek. Here’s the pork in all its crisp glory, obviously well seasoned and fresh out of the roast.

When the clock hit 6:30, food was served and I was first in line. Wow, I wasn’t expecting it to be this huge so at Php 250 it was a major steal. Immediately I thought of my mom and how I should’ve invited her to share in the joy of this sandwich with me. Anyway.

I was so overwhelmed. Here’s a photo of just half the thing. The sandwich had porchetta (Italian-style lechon), onion marmalade, arugula and a sunny side up egg. The bread was firm but had a crunch to it which really added to how great this sandwich was. In terms of flavor the porchetta was excellent, I could taste the herbs and I don’t even know but the whole sandwich just tasted like nothing I’ve ever tasted. It was just too good. I asked Chef Robby, “Where can I eat this after today?” He said that they MIGHT just have it in Cyma as an option but that it’s still in the works.

Busy with half my sandwich, I bumped into a college friend Justine. She mentioned that she had a spare ticket to Marvin Agustin’s sushi truck cause her friend didn’t show up. I traded half my sandwich for the ticket. I also thought that if I finished the whole thing I probably wouldn’t get to eat anything else.

He was serving up two rolls but you could only pick one per ticket. Here’s a shot of the Spicy Caravan, which was salmon based at the display area. Since I’m a sucker for spicy food it’s also what I ended up ordering. He was also serving an unagi roll he named Black Dragon.

The sushi came in rolls of eight on a bed of deep-fried shredded kani sticks. The Spicy Carvan was topped with salmon and tempura flakes and while I had nothing to complain about I found this pretty average. It wasn’t like sushi I couldn’t get anywhere else, you know? Like if I ate at John and Yoko or Sumosam, they’d probably have something VERY similar if not the same thing.

After half the sandwich and about 3 rolls of sushi, I was so full I decided to walk over to MOA to take a break. I went to Booksale, said hi to a friend at Uniqlo and basically just strolled around until I felt like I had space for some chicken wings.

I got back to the tent close to 8PM. I was still full but I had a ticket for the wings I wanted to use up. Choices were: Coke-glazed Soy Chicken Wings with Garlic Chips and Sesame Seeds, Singaporean Style Chili Wings with Crab Butter and Egg or Candied Chili Wings with Fresh Fruit and Bacon.

I ended up with the Coke-glazed ones despite the fact I don’t even drink coke. It just sounded interesting. Ok I had one bite and man, these were so soggy. I think it was a wrong move on their end to pour the sauce on the wings so early on. I couldn’t appreciate this at all so I went to the truck to clarify if the wings were meant to be served this way. Chef Bruce Lim wasn’t there at the time so the person in charge said that what I was served was indeed correct. This was totally not worth it. Also, with just two pieces of chicken wings and three minuscule buns, it was kind of a rip-off especially when I compare it to the porchetta sandwich.

Props to the people from the Manila Food and Wine Festival for organizing such a successful event. I knew a bunch of people who thought this was going to be there all-weekend and were devastated to find out they missed it. Hopefully, they plan something like this again soon! I heard such good things about the Chinese food at Chef Sau’s that I kind of wish I picked that instead of the wings. Maybe next time!

Celebrity Chef Cook-off Challenge was the kick-off event to the Manila Food and Wine Festival 2013 at the SM Mall of Asia Grounds, Block 12
on February 22, 2013 from 5pm-11pm.

Disclaimer: I was invited to this event so all food was free. Views are evidently honest and my own.