Uprice: Where Rice Meals are Reinvented

Mall of Asia isn't my favorite mall, but it holds dear to my heart for it was where my love for dining out sparked.  Most of my first food reviews came from the vicinity, however, much to my dismay, I have never really blogged all the restaurants there.  It was what I had wished for even before I started out with this blog.

My husband and I share the interest in trying out new restos and coffee shops and now that my kids have grown and yep, grown in love as well to the same hobby - EATING, we couldn't help but be enslaved to the fact that restaurant hopping is above all fun and exciting.

BUT!  Well, there is always that "but", "however", "although", and many others, even with doing the one you love. We aren't that rich enough to go to each and every food establishments here in MOA or at any foodie venues and spend everyday trying out different dishes, it costs you know!



So, finding out a restaurant that not only throws spotlight on good food and is inexpensive, we give enough glorification.  Hail Uprice!

Uprice is a play on the word "uprise" which means to rise up, get up or to come into existence or prominence.  The owners had this idea of reinventing rice dishes or introduce rice into a different level.  They are, btw, all food-lovers, chefs and even food-educators who hailed from De La Salle Beniled.  Might I say they know their turf!

Here's what I mean...

Chef Bruce Lim's Rustique Kitchen

I first heard of Rustique Kitchen with Chef Bruce Lim's name embedded to it when someone posted a job position in the kitchen that's open for hiring, at the Hotelier's page group where I'm part of.   My initial reaction was "Wow," yet another badge on Chef Bruce' sleeve, with slightly mystified look on my face, however.  

Days after, Chef Bruce himself posted the restaurant's opening at his FB timeline, I guess it's all there in FB, nowadays, that's how super-sonic internet information work.  He replied to my comment that the opening of the resto would be on the 22nd of July.  Fast track to the last week of July, a couple friend of mine told me that they have been invited to this new restaurant along Arnaiz Rd.  As my friend was telling me more about it, she mentioned it was owned by a celebrity chef who co-hosted a TV show - Tablescapes.  Now guess what my reaction was.  

I knew it, I'm destined to meet my favored chef again, so in a fleeting moment, I said "I will come with you!"  Then said to myself "I won't take no for an answer!"  What happened next is history.

When I came to the resto, I realized I was a bit ill-mannered, for I didn't make any reservations (though my friends did, of course for themselves), even unsure whether Chef Bruce or his wife Michelle would be there.   Either, I'm pressing my luck or I just felt blessed.

I didn't even mind the brisk weather and the chores I left at home.  

I came earlier than my friends and just finally knew that Arnaiz Rd, is just Pasay Rd. and according to Merna, Rustique Kitchen is just beside Cable Car.  Before even getting inside, the beautiful porch area on my right caught my sight.  The blue-gray painted posts were so provençale, together with the wooden chairs and tables, and those hanging planters up-cycled from old window frames, the sight made my eyes glinted cheerily.

Inside fairly describes what rustique may seem to be defined.  It's rustic yet contemporary, but evidently sophisticated.  Acquiring from the defunct La Regalade French Bistro, the restaurant still managed to keep the warm, earthy tones the latter had, even the gorgeous lighting fixtures, some of the tables and chairs are still intact, with a few re-decorations perhaps.

That one corner filled with sunlight may be the most romantic nook.

The spot I love the most - the center table, geometrically surrounded by four love seats with a set table and antique-looking wooden chairs and on the middle were huge vases filled with ornamental grasses and other elegant adornments.

I really don't know what to expect when I went in, but the staff made me more welcome and  as I was looking for my friends, Chef Bruce immediately approached me and I was star-struck all over again, but tried my best to compose my self.  I was happy to see him still looking his best even without his chef 's garb on, he look way fitter compared from the last time I saw him, which also makes him look more pleasing, though he still is "The Boss," but without the "badass" character. 

It was nice to see his sidekick (sous chef), Monkey, still at his side and his staff's identity still intact.  I think it matters to Chef that his kitchen workers are bald or have shaved heads, for what purpose, still I'm not sure of.

The table elegantly set up with simple accessories add to the coziness of the whole place.  While those green water glasses really got Merna's attention.  Heck all this time, I didn't realize my friend's favorite color is green.

The bar where the beverages are prepared.

Let us now proceed to what Chef Bruce have come up with, to give the place a new light. 

According to him, his business partner Tony Boy Cojuangco gave him the freedom to play.  Knowing Chef Bruce' caliber in the fusion kitchen arena, his passion for Filipino food and a shiny background -being trained in Le Cordon Bleu in London, AFC celebrated chef, and having own a number of acclaimed restaurants in the past; no doubt he could deliver what Mr. Cojuangco have envisioned.  I'm expecting nonetheless but perfection from him.

Having tried all his restaurants, I have discerned he have created an array of beverages and booze to marry with his food creations.  We weren't in the mood for wines and cocktails but one of the marketing staff was there to assist us and have recommended their mocktails.  I then decided to have Minty Guava (P 145), a concoction of pink guava, pineapple, ginger syrup and mint leaves.

The Bruschetta with Foie Gras and Jam (P 450), is a perfection for an apéritif (appetizer) one bite and I feel my spine slump and we all chorused with "Ahh."  A crunch into the rustic bread sliced enough, summons a wave of sweet and tangy taste from the mango jam it is so covered with.

Chef Didier, one of my lunch companion checking out how his salad is being prepared in front of him.  All of us stared in awe as our friendly wait-staff poured over the dressing at the salad greens with finesse.  A faux glass square jar hold the greens and was then served over at a wooden plate with silver tongs.

The Tuna Salad Nicoise (pronounced as "ni-shwa") is just one of the four salad creations offered for lunch. They do have separate menus, btw - lunch menu and dinner menu.  The French salad is an apt choice for a Frenchman and a good way to keep the ball rolling with more of his restaurant stories.

The seared tuna is lovely to look at and I have regretted not being able to taste it.  What's exciting about Chef Bruce take on this classic French salad was the coconut herb dressing used to liven up the taste of the fresh greens.

My order came next after a series of exotic food tell-tales form all three of us.  Surprisingly it didn't ruin my appetite for I came prepared for this session.  It took about 25 minutes though, but I didn't mind at all, for I know I'm in for a comfort-food treat.

And it was!  Such a treat that the sight of the heavy cutting board carrying half of a beautifully baked spring chicken in all its adornments had conjured up memories of my dad cooking up a storm in a meager kitchen with his "Pinaupong Manok" as the star of the meal, during their sibling reunions in our old house which was then made up of  woods.

The serving was so huge that I had eaten only half of it and no, I was not willing to let go of it though my tummy is almost full and with the thought of having dessert, so I had it packed to be taken home.

The whitest of all meat that I have tried, is so tender that it easily falls of without my fork and knife nudging too much into it.  The simplicity of this dish however can not camouflage the savoriness of the meat, even the sauce is different in a class of its own.

A whimsical take on this dish will also get your appetite stimulated.  The baked cornish hen is served with a "suman-like" arancini or rice ball.  The sticky rice is steamed perfectly, formed into a ball and rolled in crunchy garlic mince.

Merna on the other hand, decided to have pasta.   In all honesty, I found it funny to find LDB abbreviations in the menu which I thought meant as long black dress (LBD), that was silly I know.  LDB and duxelle is a plate consisting of slowly braised ox tongue, served en croute with mushroom duxelle.  The pasta is served with a thin caramelized onion cream sauce.  Duxelle, again another French culinary term means as explained by Wikipedia is a finely chopped (minced) mixture of mushrooms or mushroom stems, onions, shallots and herbs sautéed in butter, and reduced to a paste .

We were then asked if we wanted a cup of tea of the calorific meal.

Going home without ending the lunch sweetly is not an option.  Deciding which one to get is not hard for they only have three on their list.  Or is it?  Well, unless you are undecided, you might be compelled to get all three or just play Eentsy-Weentsy-Miney-Moo.

The couple got Warm Chocolate Tart served with sliced strawberries and mangoes while I got to have Chef Bruce' Signature Buko Pie.  This dessert used to be at Chef Table's menu and it has been one of the crowd favorite.

You'll swoon over this after having your first bite.  The pie is elegantly served on a goblet is brought on your table still warm.  

Make sure to dig in and get a sampling of both the crust and the buko custard topping.  What you'll get are flavors from the grated buko meat, caramel, custardy goodness and the nut crumble weaving into one, getting you hooked bite after bite.

The million dollar question is the worth of the meal?  Cost-wise it's average for a foodie looking for that one-of-a-kind experience with fine dining.  Would I come back to eat again?  Perhaps, but I need to really save up for a decent meal, or maybe tag along friends to be able to share with the dish and the cost.  One dish is priced a bit much from P 225 to up to P 500.

Address:  820 Arnaiz Ave ( Pasay Rd ), Makati
Contact Details:  (02) 750 2104

Vintage Pizzas Rule in California Pizza Kitchen

     Vintage food and modern living.  Can that be even possible?  My answer is a definite Y-E-S!  Food from whatever era it came from will always be timeless as long us it is palatable, healthy and yes in pizza form.

That is why California Pizza and  Chicken, home of legendary hearth-baked pizzas such as The Original BBQ Chicken, Thai Chicken and Jamaican Jerk Chicken, have brought back five of their original pizzas.

     I remember my first time at CPK (at Glorietta), it was our despideda for my sister leaving us for Milan.  We ordered a hefty serving of Thai Crunch Salad and some pizza selections.  Since then, eating salad has never been the same.  Check it out yourself and you'll see why.

Something New Yet Vintage:  CPK's Five Vintage Pizzas

     These pizzas, for a matter of time have been lifted up from their menu for some reasons.   Challenged by the needs of the modern world for innovative, fascinating comfort food with the twist, CPK responded with reinventing their menu with five vintage pizzas.

     All five vintage pizzas were created with their original ingredients but with a California twist.  The vintage pizzas are now created with CPK’s new hand-tossed pizza dough.

“Our vintage pizzas are made with a much improved and authentic hand-stretched pizza dough recipe.  Our long time patrons will find these vintage flavors familiar yet exciting.  They were all bestsellers when they were first introduced.  But CPK would not be CPK without infusing something new and different to these pizzas.  We redid the dough and  it now enhances all the ingredients.  These are vintages pizzas made better,” explains Archie Rodriguez, President and CEO of Global Restaurant Concepts Inc., the local partner of CPK.

     The hand-stretched vintage pizzas bring out more of the flavors of each pizza’s ingredients.  All of them are tasty and unique CPK creations.   “Hand-stretched pizza is the traditional and authentic way of making pizza, the original way CPK made it when we first started,” says Mr. Rodriguez.

 Goat Cheese Pizza

     Goat Cheese Pizza is the vegetarian choice in the set, made with Goat cheese, Mozzarella, sautéed onion, grilled eggplant, red and yellow peppers with tomato sauce and garnished with parsley. As a pizza topping, grilled eggplant is unique to CPK.  Well, where else can you find a pizza with savory eggplant.  This made my top choice among all the five vintage pizzas.  Goat cheese has more sharper cheesy taste but is creamy and a bit like fresh buffalo cheese.  To retain the authenticity they have to use imported goat cheese.

Peking Duck Pizza

     Peking Duck Pizza is their oriental take as it features roasted duck, Shiitake mushrooms, Mozzarella and hoisin ginger sauce.  True to its Asian inspiration, the pizza is also garnished with fried wontons, hoisin ginger sauce and slivered scallions.  The ingredients complement each other bringing a new level of unforgettable flavors.  Crispy fried wontons add extra texture to this pizza.

Tostada Chicken Pizza

   Tostada Chicken Pizza features Southwestern Black Beans, Monterey Jack, Queso Quesadilla and grilled chicken breast topped with lettuce, chunky fresh tomato salsa, ranch dressing, scallion greens and crispy tortilla strips.  The pizza is unique for its Southwestern  black bean sauce, which is widely used in Latin America in soups, stews and sauces.  Black beans originated from Mexico and have been used in their cooking for thousands of years.

Teriyaki Chicken Pizza

     Teriyaki Chicken Pizza, made of teriyaki chicken strips, Mozzarella, Queso Quesadilla, red and yellow peppers, red onions, and slivered scallions with a teriyaki-ginger sauce.  The pizza has a distinct flavor and lustrous picture, true to its roots in the teriyaki tradition.  Teriyaki is perhaps one of the most popular Japanese cooking techniques, with “teri” meaning luster and “yaki” meaning to grill or broil.  CPK’s Teriyaki Chicken Pizza adds a tasty differentiator to its teriyaki sauce that guests will surely welcome.

Santa Fe Chicken Pizza

     The last of the five, another Tex-Mex offering is the Santa Fe Chicken Pizza with grilled chicken breast, caramelized onions, Mozzarella cheese and topped with cilantro, chunky fresh tomato salsa, sour cream and fresh guacamole.  The caramelized onions serve as the pizza sauce’s base.  It has a mild sweet taste that matches perfectly with the aromatic hint of cilantro and the rest of the ingredients.  This took me by surprise, you never would imagine avocados (guacamole) and sour cream would work, but it fairly did.  It actually made the whole pizza lighter and refreshing to the taste.   Another one of my choice should I say.

There is really more to pizzas here at CPK.

To round up their exciting addition or let us say, re-addition to the menu they have made a promo which will make trying these out way more exciting and fun.    When you dine in at CPK, the staff will give you a pamphlet or what they call the passport.

 

     These vintage pizzas from CPK’s first menu will become available in all nine stores nationwide starting July 1.    In the new CPK Vintage Pizza Passport promo, every purchase of a vintage pizza earns a stamp.  Guests who try out all five vintage pizzas can exchange the fully stamped passport for P500 worth of CPK gift certificates.  The promo runs until August 31, 2013.

     For more details on Vintage Pizzas, join the CPK Philippines community at https://www.facebook.com/CPKPhilippines.

Or visit any of their  branches in Alabang Town Center, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Greenhills Promenade Mall, TriNoma, Power Plant Mall, Greenbelt 5, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Subic Harbor Point Mall and W Global Center in Bonifacio Global City.

URBN Bar and Kitchen and the Sheer Joy of Modern Comfort Food

Ever wondered why a hard-core mommy got to find out about this URBN legend?
But you think a mom like me can fit in to a bar?  Guess not? Yet, guess again!
For as long as the place serves great tasting food I will eventually discover the hidden the gem.   Indeed, what great thing happened to me and a friend after braving the odds of what seemed to be a day full of unfavorable circumstances.  Could you imagine a trip of 7 kilometers (approximate) would take you two hours from one end to the other?  Jittery and dumb-headed along the way, I composed myself with sublime food rumination.

My friend might be saying these behind her head "tsk, tsk, this better be good."

Let me tell you, it was, actually not only better but one of the best dinner I had.  I almost was at a loss for words on how I would begin this food write up.  ( For the n-th time, I am not a critic, I'm just a foodie)  As if I have fallen in love for the first time.  (Ohhh, as if I could still remember the feeling, being married for 18 years is a toughie).

Forgive my side-notes.  I think going over the experience while checking out the photos stupefied every cells in brain except my palate.

Here I go...

Before the clock strikes at 10 o'clock, before the heart thumping music, before the youthful vibe and party people filling up the huge bar, the place exudes an elegant, business-like environment where everyone is seated comfortably grubbing, talking, drinking and more grubbing.
The interior design is more of an industrial chic style, and the hanged grills holding the wine bottles really speaks of it.  Booth-type seating, gigantic cocktail wooden tables and bar chairs and high ceiling are some other elements that could describe the place.

Sentimental trip down memory lane

Chef  Benjo Tuason also of RELIK, is running the show.  According to him, what Urbn Bar and Kitchen offers is modern contemporary comfort food.   To get on board with re-imagined, gourmet comfort food trend,  he upped the ante of familiar comfort food by enhancing them with different ingredients or flavors to make them elevated comfort food, and that's where his past and family influences come into play.
Dishes being  inspired by his family's dining background (coming from Australia)  and intertwining it with his chef skills. Like for instance, My Aunt Litzie's Lasagna (for real, that is the name of a pasta dish), is probably an heirloom dish.   Crispy Duck Leg is another one, which was inspired by the Duck Confit he had when he visited Paris, France.  One best example of this is their famous Cheesecake with Salted Caramel, which I was able to try.

URBN's Pride and Joy:  The Menu

Now becoming a sought-after shindig venue, the menu offering is also their pride and joy.

We began with a steamy bowl of Seafood Chowder.
This  holds true to their comfort food concept.  Being creamy and chunk-full of vegetables such as carrots, corn, celery and squash, it can stand alone as a complete meal for those who want to lazy up on a cold night, with slices of salmon, shrimps, octopus, etc.

Below is URBN's House Salad.  Now, think of your regular green leafy salad, but this time pour some honey balsamic vinaigrette and have hefty scraping of Parmesan cheese.  If you think that's good enough, why not try URBN's version with slices of sweet and tarty slow poached pear and crispy candied walnuts.

Also, another salad you may want to try is the Salmon Nicoise Salad.  Nicoise, pronounced as [ni swaz] usually is made up of tuna, tomatoes, olives and boiled eggs on a bed of iced lettuce, dressed with vinaigrette.  Theirs however was pimped with poached free range eggs, crispy bacon and croutons, and instead of tuna they have salmon.

Manchego Souffle is something to look out for.  This would mark as one of my first, in the list of firsts, with  savory souffle- a puffed up manchego cheese.  I love the mix of saltiness with a hint of sweetness and nuttiness on the creamy melted cheese mixed with white eggs.   Without the usual sight of souffle on ramekins, this perfectly shaped custardy mixture looked like a hill on a lake of truffle cream sauce.  The cheese souffle was so good, I almost forgot about the dried crispy Jamon Serrano on top of it.

This just got better and better with an ample serving of Truffle Cream Linguine.  Cream-based white sauce pasta enhanced with the fine sapidity of white truffle and zesty lemon.  Is that artisan or what?

Crispy Duck Leg, as I have mentioned, is Chef Benjo's rendition of Duck Confit.  The process of making this is so fancy and crazy- poaching duck legs in fat and rubbed with salt and herbs, then fried to a crisp, but the outcome is a briny, aromatic duck leg with meat being moist and tender.   Great with the Mushroom risotto, braised carrots and red wine jus.

Now, if you want to be blown away and have not been enthused yet with the previous food I have eaten, you better try this then, 24 Days Dry Aged in House Rib Eye Bone-In.  So what's up with the name? Dry aging is the process by which large cuts of beef are aged for anywhere from several weeks to several months before being trimmed and cut into steaks.  It's a process that not only helps the steak develop flavor, but also makes it far more tender than it would be completely fresh.
Now, I'm again at a lost for words and dreaming to turn back time and have this again, or better yet finish up this post and visit them, ASAP.
What I love about this portion of a beef is that its has this smoked maple flavor in it, with the meat easily falling apart as you dig in to it.  According to the staff, lava rocks are used when grilling this with Shiraz Jus.  I remember one of my favorite grill house who uses the same method- Volcanic Grill.
Your mouth will never have that jaw-breaking moment, but a love-affair bursting with buttery and deep beefy flavor.  So don't bargain if you see the tag price a bit high.  It is so worth the price.  It's one of those gastronomic times when you save up for something to indulge to.

Now you will really be off to heaven when you get to experience the wonderful flavors of the Australian Rack of Lamb.  Gathered together on a sliced roasted pumpkin,  a number of herb and horseradish encrusted racks of lamb.
These stole my heart.  All five of us shared with a serving of these, but I confess, I had most of it.
I've eaten a few kinds of cooked lamb in my lifetime, and have read a few about it, you either like it or not.  But the secret to a more enjoyable rack is how it was cooked, and the herbs used to prepare it.  That being said, I think their racks were either marinated or cooked with garlic yogurt.

I could end with that, but how can you hesitate more gourmet dishes, in this case, the desserts.

This reminds me, I have to buy more ramekins and those smaller ones would be good additions to my pantry.  But don't get me wrong, I would never dare poke on a souffle recipe.  Those are for the pros.  But then again, we never know.
We had to try three desserts.  First is the Mango Souffle, served with vanilla and chocolate syrup. You know what, I could have posted a separate post only for souffles and it would definitely begin with the sugary ones.
The souffle is served right away from the oven to the customer's table, so it's hot.   From the outside, the cake seems dense, but once you cut through to the inside the warm and gooey custard oozes out on to your plate and it's subtle mango flavor just refreshes your palate.

Another divine yet a bit strange in making chocolate pastries is with extra virgin olive oil.  I have actually done it several times with my chocolate cakes, where I alter vegetable oils with olive oil (EVOO to be exact).  Though turned out to be a bit costly.  The EVOO gives it a rich lustrous taste, rendering a more chocolatey goodness.  What better way to serve it with is a dash of rock salt to break the sweetness.   This dessert is also served hot.  It actually looked a miniature cake with a moist center.  The surprise comes when you stick your knife or fork into the middle, out comes a gooey, warm dark chocolate treacle.
Oh, I'm talking about the Love-ah Cake.   Another part of their menu which you could easily fall in love with.

Finally, my top pick above all the cheesecakes I have had-URBN's Cheesecake.  Chef Benjo described it as the progeny when an Egg Pie marries a Cheesecake.  For me, it's more of a duet between my fave NY Cheesecake and a common yet well-loved bakery staple, Egg pie.  Look at how the cheesecake stands firm but has thin crust. You can really tell how they have perfected the pastry.  They made it even more bewitching with salted caramel sauce.  Won't those amber, molten slather of caramel entice you.  A storm of amazing sweet, salty, mushy, cheesy, soft as silk texture fills up your mouth.  And all you could ever blab is "ohhh, ahhh  uhhh," etc. then your heart starts to thud even without the thumping club music the bar starts to play off when the party begins at 10 pm.


URBN Bar & Kitchen
Address:   3/F Fort Pointe II Bldg., 28th St
                 Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
Contact Numbers:  (0917) 564-9333