I am working in Bonifacio Global City or BGC for almost a year and half now and I still remember the first time I'd been here, I am so amazed with its beautiful structure and peaceful the place is and if I'm rich enough I actually want to live here. BGC is a small city with so many to offer, technically what I'm trying to say is BGC have almost everything you need. If you're into shopping you can walk in Bonifacio high street and be blown away with wide selection of shops or visit the malls nearby like market market and the newly opened SM Aura.If you're up to for an all night party they have Bars and Clubs too. BGC also have Condo, Hotel, Big supermarket and world class Hospital. The best part is you'll never get hungry because of the restaurants and BGC have tons of them perfect for foodies like me.
So when BGC comes up with a food tour and If you can remember I actually mentioned it on my previous blog post, they call it the BGC EATS food tour I am so excited and dying to be part of it. It is a tour around the city where you get a chance to try dishes from different restaurants in BGC and you'll get a chance to meet the owners too which is super cool and oh I'm so sorry I forgot to mention the food is for FREE!!how cool is that eh?
Me and Dhey are so lucky to be part of it and I am here to share my unforgettable, lip smacking experience!
The tour was lead by Food Blogger, Chef, a freelance writer (oh God what else he cannot do?) Mr. JJ Yulo with the very beautiful Ms. Monica Llamas (kinikilig ako by just saying her name hihi) if you can remember she is actually part of QTV/GMA's CAMERA CAFE a few years back.
The tour have four destinations and to make it more exciting each of them were kept a secret until the BGC bus headed to its destination. The tour bus is in front of Bo Concept and Nike and because we are too excited we arrived 30 minutes earlier than the schedule time which is 3pm.
As we enter the bus we got this very cute pin and a free issue of FOOD magazine. I guess there were 30 people inside the bus including the former Bb. Pilipinas International Pat Fernandez who will cover the event for SOLAR TV. We were all excited to taste one of the best things BGC can offer and after waiting for a few more people we headed to our first destination.
First destination: KASBAH
As our bus moves JJ Yulo share a few things about himself and revealed our first destination, KASBAH. I heard a lot of good reviews about KASBAH one of my friends, Pia recommended it to me before and that's the reason why I'm pretty excited about it. KASBAH is a Moroccan restaurant originated in the beautiful island of BORACAY and landed to Manila with their branch at the Fort Strip August of last year.
We are lucky to meet the owner of Kasbah Ms. Madonna English.
The place is really nice and has a super cool vibe. You can feel the Moroccan vibe even outside the restaurant hookah outside, sofa with vibrant colors , the lights, the lanterns even the windows and the doors. They also have a second floor with more table and seats.
Ukulele Manila was there to welcome us with a song, actually they played a song on every destination.
I think this place is much better at night ofcourse with music and glass of liquor on your hand. Here check out the other pictures.
I think this place is much better at night ofcourse with music and glass of liquor on your hand. Here check out the other pictures.
The crew served us the most popular drink in morocco the green tea with mint poured from a Moroccan teapots known for its long and curved spouts. This is what I learned in Morocco the way you pour the tea to a cup is very crucial, traditionally Moroccans like the tea with bubbles so you have to pour it high above the glasses and for the best taste you have to do it twice.
The tea smells good, you can smell the mint but I'm not a tea drinker so for me its just ok.
Now since it is our first destination they served us an appetizer.Now let's start with Zaalouk an eggplant with tomato dip. Again It's just ok for me. Normally I don't eat eggplants unless its torta.
They also served us what they called Mechouia, roasted sweet peppers with tomato dip which is perfect with the bread. about the taste? its like your typical salsa.
Falafel deep fried ball of ground chickpeas and fava beans, it comes with a dip which I'm not sure if cheese or something else. When I first saw it I thought it was meatballs and i was like "meat finally" but I was wrong.
and last but not the least the Hummus Harissa, chick pea and tahini puree with olives. For me its fine and nothing special I don't know maybe Im not really used to eating healthy foods hihihi.
I'm actually planning to go back (I don't know when) and I'll try their other dishes something that have meat on it.
Second destination: URBN Bar & Kitchen
After KASBAH we walked our way to our next destination, URBN Bar & Kitchen.
URBN is Located on the third floor of the newly opened Fort Pointe II which used to be Pier One.
The place is pretty huge, there's enough space for everyone to partteeeeeyyyyyy. They actually have a separate area for the non-smoking guests. Now the furniture is nice, they used raw materials to design the whole place that gives a modern industrial look and there's a nice view of the fort strip from its huge windows.
Well with the food to be honest I'm actually not expecting much, since its a bar I'm sure its known for its drinks and music than its food but I'm wrong URBN is not your ordinary Bar.
Mr. JJ Yulo introduced the owner Chef Benjo,then he mentioned the long list of food that they will serve. I actually stopped listening after mac and cheese and the burger because I really want to try it right away!!
Then the crew entered the room with tons of food and placed it on the big table, we immediately took some pictures before the its gone.
Each table have their own bucket of Home Made Potato Chips. It's your usual potato chips but they serve it with aioli and pesto dip, Unfortunately I was not able to try their dips but according to Dhey she loves it. My main focus was on the burgers and the mac and cheese
Assorted Crostinis,each crostinis is topped with either smoked salmon and capers, Jamon Serrano or tomato basil. I took the one with smoked salmon and capers because it looks like a piece of meat hahaha. Actually I liked it, it taste so good.
Manchego Souffle with trufflle cream sauce and topped with Crispy Jamon Serrano.Its taste so good but this is something I cant finish alone, the food is so creamy but don't get me wrong this dish is delicious. What I love about it is the crispy Jamon Serrano, first its really crispy and it is soooooo delicious, Dhey and I looked at each other with big smiles on our faces and then we blurted out ang sarap nito!
Caramelized Onion and Bacon tartlets with pesto cream cheese, I only had one and its also good.
Next is the Mac and Choreese, nope its not a typo error its choreese because its Macaroni, Chorizo and Cheese. Right balance of creaminess and so flavorful, just perfect!
I love burgers so much ofcourse Im not going to miss the chance to taste URBN's mini burgers. First the Mini blackbenny angus burgers, brioche bun with mild cheddar, bacon, onion jam and aioli served with Hand Cut fries.
You should order if you are planning to visit them. The patty is so tasty, its not dry so juicy! its so good i wish they have a bigger version of it. its so delicious
the other Mini Burger they served was the Curried Shrimp Burgers it have curry mayo, rumaine lettuce and tomato. served with onion rings. this one is surprisingly good, its like a healthier version of the Angus beef burger, this is so tasty too!
If you think that's a lot! wait there's more, CHEESECAKES!!! They served us their Salted Caramel, Mango, Maple bacon and the Brownie Cheesecakes. The mango and maple bacon is too die for! Not too sweet perfect way to end a heavy meal. Theres a few more cheesecakes left and how I wish I can bring them home! hahaha
I will definitely go back I'm so curious how it looks like when it gets dark! URBN is definitely not you're ordinary bar. Perfect place to party with good foods!
Third Destination: Cue the Modern Barbecue
Cue is perfect place for those who loves meat. I was full that time but meat is just so hard to resist lol.
Cue is a located in Bonifacio High Street Central opened May of last year, so the restaurant is pretty new. Cue redefines the concept of barbecue with its unique "long, low and slow" process.
The place is nice my favorite part of it is the cowhides on the side of the ceiling. on the wall it shows different cuts of meat.
We met the pretty Ms. Abba Napa, the co-owner of Cue modern barbecue. She discussed about the new dishes they are about to offer.
While waiting for the food, we had a chat with Monica's Mom and her friend it was nice a chat actually and we enjoyed their company. One of the waiters asked us a glass of WaterMelon n Mint fruit shake they have lemonade margarita too but we declined LOL.
After a few minutes the food is ready. they served us their popular Bone Marrow and Steak tacos, served with roasted corn and sweet n spicy salsa verde. I'm not sure how its being done but i simply but it on one of the tortillas put the meat and put the a little salsa and took a bite, this dish is so good, the meat is so tender and tasty.
Make your own fish tacos, a panko-crusted white fish they also served it with roasted corn salsa and cilantro-lime tartar. the fish is tender it taste good but nothing special
King Henry Pork Chop, a pan grilled meat. Dhey liked it but for me its too salty. But the meat undeniably tender and the pork skin is crunchy.
I saw their menu and most likely I'll comeback pretty curious with the other dishes they have especially the pastas they have.
Make your own fish tacos, a panko-crusted white fish they also served it with roasted corn salsa and cilantro-lime tartar. the fish is tender it taste good but nothing special
Last Destination: Gourmandise Patisserie
Now for the last destination what to expect after a super nice meal ofcourse Desserts!
We hoped on the BGC bus again and had a few games while we were heading to our last destination. Then we have to walk a little to our last destination, we hoped that it would be Cold Stone Creamery coz I really want to try it, then we passed by cold stone creamery(sad)and stopped at the cute store beside it the Gourmandise Patisserie.
JJ Yulo introduced its owner Sunshine Pengson, the beautiful wife of the cutest chef in Manila(based on spot.ph) Chef Rob Pengson.
Gourmandise Patisserie is an artisan bakeshop located in the ground floor of serendra. It offers french-inspired pastries like eclairs, tarts and cakes. According to Mrs. Pengson that having a bakeshop is one of the things she wanted to pursue after she studied in Paris. No wonder why the store have a tons of watercolor paintings of Parisian women and men.
Me and Dhey tried their Coffee Eclairs and a Chocolate Mini Cupcakes, the Coffee Eclairs is good not too sweet just right same thing goes with the chocolate mini cupcake right amount of chocolates yum!!
The food tour was done, but ofcourse we wanted to have a little souvenir. I actually forced Dhey to have a picture with Mr. JJ Yulo and Chef Rob Pengson and I had a picture with the beautiful ladies Ms. Monica Llamas and Ms. Pat Fernandez.
They had their last tour last July 20, but nothing to worry about because of its success BGC is planning to run another food tour on the last quarter of the year.
I had so much fun, we met friendly people during the tour and its an experience i will surely treasure. looking forward to join more food tours in the future.
Again thank you Mr. JJ Yulo for the fun tour and Ms. Monica Llamas for having this event. and ofcoure thanks to +The Pickiest Eater In The World without that blog post I wouldn't have known about this food tour.
This is an epic day and there is more to my next blog post.
Thanks to Dhey, some pictures belongs to her.
