Spreading like Wild Fire: Wildflour Cafe and Bakery

EVERYONE was talking about it. Fellow foodies couldn't stop themselves from eating here more than once in one week. It seemed to be the new astounding discovery of the century, aside from stem cells.

So of course I had to go. 

Stephanie had eaten dinner there with her family on Friday night, but she said it was more of a brunch place. I wanted to catch the place while it was in its first few weeks of soft opening. So on the following Saturday morning, I decided that Antonio and I were going to Wildflour to see what all the fuss was all about. The day was a super rainy day where you could see the rain sideways - perfect day for a good ol' pig out. 

I liked the vibe of the place. White brick walls, high exposed ceilings and big picture windows gave it an airy atmosphere. It almost felt as if you were in New York or LA or something. At 2pm it was still filled with people.

I thoroughly enjoyed the freshly baked good on display. The kind that makes kids not want to eat their lunch. Freshly baked ciabatta, cupcakes, bombolinis and oh so much more beckoned to regular diners and tried to seduce dieters on the Cohen. O! Foul carb! 

Ciabatta saying, "Eat me!"

This handwritten blackboard made me crave breakfast food but unfortunately I was too late. Really? No brunch food at a brunch place? Feeling a little like a jilted Juliet, we had to order off the regular menu.

Based on the reviews of JJ and my cousin Tricia, I decided that I absolutely had to have the Tarte Flambe. And it was a monster.

Mercifully this bad boy with Gruyere, bacon and caramelized onions was light and crispy. It may look like a pizza but it was on a delicate flaky crusty flatbread. A perfect appetizer for a main course. The next dish that came was the prawns with tomato.

The prawns were huge but its texture was soft and mushy. We had to send it back for more cooking. 

Definitely a miss. I wanted to order the Bahn Mi Sliders but unfortunately they had run out it. Instead, Antonio opted for the Chicken Meatball Sandwich.

 

Oh my. This sandwich, as you can see, was simply a mess to eat. I am a big believer in eating a sandwich with your hands and not having to use a knife and fork (come on! it's a SANDWICH!). But to save my outfit from any potential stain disorder, I think I had to use utensils to eat this. The bread was great but the chicken meatball was meh. 

This experience was a great experiment in the higher expectations are, the lower you fall. Thank God for their dessert which saved this sinking ship. We ordered the Chocolate Pot de Creme with nuts on the side (I am allergic to peanuts and walnuts and since they didn't know what nuts it came with they gave it to us on the side. It turned out to be almonds, which I can eat, and love!)

The pot de creme was sooooo good, after one bite I told Antonio I wanted my own! But it was also rich and I was just being a glutton. So in the end, we didn't order another one but decided to have some tea to settle our tummies.  

We didn't see what all the fuss was about. So I decided that I had to come back IN TIME FOR REAL BRUNCH. And with minimal expectations.

Wildflour Cafe and Bakery

G/F Net Lima Building 4th Avenue cor 26th Street

Bonifacio Global City

Tel +632.856.7600

Open 8am to 10pm

Hospital Food: Bizu at St Luke's Medical Center Global City

I was on my way to another doctor appointment when I got a message from his secretary that he would be at the office at 6:45pm instead of 5:30pm. Instead of getting frustrated, upon arrival at St Luke's Medical Center Global City, I decided to crutch myself to one of the restaurants and have my first hot, restaurant meal since my accident.

Was I excited!

I ran into Marielle who was there for a pediatric check-up for her son, Bash. When she saw me, utter shock registered on her face. "Oh my God, you are so thin!" she exclaimed. "I didn't recognize you. You look like you did in high school!" Yes, because of resting at home for the last 2 weeks I lost 4 more pounds despite all the good efforts of my friends who sent me food. Well, I guess it is a happy side effect, much like taking glutathione makes you white, I suppose.

Even better reason for me to pig out on my quest to a cafe.

There were quite a few choices here: Via Mare, Market on 5th, Starbucks, Bizu and Cafe Mary Grace.

I chose Bizu because 1) I was in the mood for breakfast food and 2) I knew its menu already very well and 3) it had a good cross section of different food.

As soon as I arrived, a kind man helped me choose a table and even put my crutches against the wall. Being on crutches does make one seem sort of helpless.

I opened the menu and scanned all the breakfast food but nothing quite appealed to me. If I wanted Eggs Benedict, it would be the one from Apt 1B. If I wanted a Croque Madame, I wanted the one from Wild Flour. So I decided to order a USDA sirloin beef burger with Gruyere and caramelized onions, cooked medium on a whole wheat bun minus the weird stuff like honey mustard dressing. Then I told myself I would get a crepe Suzette for dessert.

I also ordered a dalandan juice which was a bit on the sweet side so I watered it down. I kept the menu like it was a magazine or something. Talk about being deprived.

I noticed the menu offered flavored kefir yogurt drinks. After my experience making my own kefir, a yogurt drink full of probiotics, which I drank each morning, looking at the photos made me gag a little.

My burger arrived and at first it looked as if a French onion soup threw up on it. I decided that the caramelized onions were too much so I scraped it all off and just ate the burger with the cheese and tomato and lettuce. On the outside it looked well done but once I made it to the inside it was perfectly pink - a thoroughly satisfying meal.

I didn't have time to order a crepe as it was already 6:30pm and I had to hobble to my doctor's office.
I'm happy to say that my visit was very uplifting: he said my wound was healing nicely and that I could walk now and get out of the house. Praise God!

Perhaps on my next visit to the doctor I will visit Mary Grace cafe for some hot chocolate with chili and cake. I am sure I will make a visit to each of those cafes before I am completely healed. Truly good food is food for the soul.

Old world feel of Bizu

Yummy pastries and macarons on display by the counter

Seven Months Later: Walking Wounded

Woah- where did the time go? It's been 7 months since I last posted anything. I'm terrible. But I had good reason to forget about my blog for a little while: Antonio gave me a new iPhone for my birthday in April and I must admit I began to bring my camera less often and check out apps more often. Foodspotting and Instagram specifically. Thus I abandoned this poor blog - until I found out today that I can now blog from my phone. How great is technology!

As the wise (ass) Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it."

I'd like to dedicate this blog post to all my friends who have been concerned about me recently. You see, I got into an accident at Republiq Halloween night. I have been a ledge girl since I was 14 (oh Faces, I remember you so dearly) and on Halloween night, just like on some occasions in the past 2 years, I went up on the ledge. I hadn't even been there very long nor was I dancing before I felt people on the ledge pushing for space. Next thing I knew, Antonio and I were falling and I just braced myself for the floor. As L helped me up I saw that my leg had a HUGE gash in it, enough to make me panic. Apparently i had hit the glass and marble cocktail table while Antonio hit the couch. A bouncer carried me through then costumed crowd to a quiet part of the club and people surrounded me wondering what to do. I wanted to get to the hospital, PRONTO! I didn't want anyone touching it. L told me later on that even the girl from Resort's World medical clinic got shocked from the severity of my gash. How do you put a Band-Aid on the Grand Canyon?

I don't remember this part (maybe because I couldn't stop crying) but they wheeled me down via wheelchair and put me in A's car and Tim's driver drove me to the nearest hospital, St Luke's at Bonifacio Global City.

Some pain killers, a spinal tap and 3 hours of surgery later, I was all stitched up - later when I saw it counted 36 outer stitches - and on my road to recovery.

Antonio and I didn't get to go on our quiet vacation to Bohol that we had planned out and paid for.

Today is day 13 post operation. I am healing slowly and have been praying the rosary everyday since my accident.

Aside from prayer, it is my friends and family who have been keeping my spirits up this whole time. Kate and Marty brought Antonio and I noodle soup the first night in the hospital (hospital food sucks no matter how gourmet it seems). And the first thing Kate said was, "Where are your flowers? Has anyone from Republiq come to visit you?" Alas, no one had.

Marga, who had left for Hong Kong earlier that day, had texted she would get in touch with GP Reyes and let him know what happened. Since then they have sent their GM Will Valentino to see me at home and have expressed they will help pay for all my medical expenses, for which I am extremely grateful.

To promote healing and to prevent infection, I have to stay off the leg as much as I can and keep it elevated when possible. After all this time of being at home I still have to wait as I heal ever so slowly but am quite eager to get back to normal activities.

Here are some care packages that my friends have brought me these past 13 days. Thank you so much for all your well wishes and for keeping me company at home. Telling stories and lots of laughter really are the best medicine. Your thoughtfulness will be remembered always!

Santi's gift basket from Republiq management. My mom's favorite thus far

Chihuahua extravaganza from Elian Habayeb and Ines Cabarrus:
 Nachos Grande, Quesadilla and Cincinnati Chili Spaghetti

Mary Grace cheese rolls, DVDs and scar bandages from Joey and Amanda Carpo

Feel good make-up from Cessie Colayco

The Lover's Dictionary, Soy Crunch and Kisses from Marga Cobarrubias (Enzo confiscated a bag of the Kisses).    When she asked me what I wanted, I said anything chocolate!!!

Slice cupcakes from Marga Cobarrubias, yes she is a spoiler

Flowers, Preview, assorted cookies and my favorite junk food from my Antonio (the Cherry Garcia is long gone baby!)

Healthy options of buko juice and apples from Antonio to counteract the other junk hehe

Cheetos and MEGA from Leah de Guzman, a bite and bit of fashion

Pili nut confections and Conti's Food for the Gods from Miriam Quiambao

Chocolate heaven from Jackie Antonio (those crepes are DEADLY!)

B making my dream come true: Ukkokei Butter Miso for the soul. Love you Kate Moynihan!!!

Japanese food: It's more fun at Ukiyo

I do love Japanese food in all its forms and variations; from the simple ramen house to the shabu-shabu resto to  high-end one where you try new things imported from Japan.

Ukiyo has become my recent fave for its simple but well-designed interiors as well as interesting dishes in addition to the usual.

Jorge Yulo and Ramon Agustines

I met Ramon Agustines and Jorge Yulo, the samurai behind Ukiyo, and enjoyed sharing a meal with them as they explained their concept.

Ukiyo is "the Floating World," a samurai stomping ground during Edo Japan. This is where samurai would find pleasure amongst the tea houses and geisha, kabuki houses and sake joints. In the same vein, Ukiyo the restaurant offers a hedonistic foodie experience with its exceptional, authentic Japanese food and delicious sochu, a Japanese distilled beverage made from barley.

I love all the little dishes in Japanese food, and these chicken wings, Tebasaki Karaage, are so delicious you would want a whole bucket full of them. But, that is not the Japanese way so let us move onto the next dish.

Their version of the all-time Filipino favorite, barbecue, is called Miso Kushikatu and is made with a special sauce which is very rich in flavor. Look how dark-colored these bad boys are!

A Japanese meal is not complete without its sushi or sashimi. My new favorite can, so far, only be found here: a flying fish roe and cod in wasabi mayo. When you bite into it, it is fresh, crunchy and familiar but different.

Ukiyo also has handmade rolls such as this one, the Nagoya Maki made with ebi fry and squid roll. I tend to avoid these because they fill me up too much, and the best is yet to come.

If you are tired of the same old ebi tempura, here is a different take, the Ebi Arare Age, crispy fried fish with rice cracker. I'm sure you are familiar with these rice balls you can sometimes find in Japanese cracker packets. 

And instead of all that sauce, they have wasabi salt that you can dip your tempura in. Amazeballs.

Another new favorite of mine is something that I requested. I had tried another version at Tsukiji and asked if Ukiyo could do the same, and they did! Love them. This I had on another occasion while having lunch with Jax. 

It's ikura together with salmon sashimi over a bed of sushi rice - heaven! It was served as a complete meal together with soup and pickles.

Notice how each serving dish is differently shaped and colored to suit the food item. All these were specially chosen by Yulo and Agustines while on various trips to Japan.

Another speciality of Ukiyo is that they serve seasonal dishes - meaning food seasonal to Japan which they import for us to enjoy minus the heavy airfare. Banzai!

Check of the legs on these babies. This Taraba Kani or king crab hails from Hokkaido and has the most succulent, sweetest meat you can imagine. Just dip it into a little vinegar and there you go. 

No self-respecting Japanese restaurant will forget its Western-Japanese cuisine. For those craving different kinds of pasta, there is the Ukiyo Special Pasta made with squid ink and uni. 

By now you must be thinking that I am such a pig. Well, the beauty of Japanese food, unlike say, Spanish food, is that it is very light and dishes are either raw, steamed, grilled with minimal oil. Furthermore, most of these dishes comprise of seafood so of course without a heavier protein you will feel hungry in like, 2 hours. 

So with that intro, let me introduce to you the mother of all pork shabu-shabu, the Hakkin Ton served with Yuzukoshou sauce. You though kurobuta was tops? Meet its bling brother, hakimbuta. First, the presentation of the pork. 

Just check out the marbling on that sucker. Pork has gotten a bad rap in the past (well, not in the Philippines obviously) but now the US says you CAN cook pork medium rather than medium well and it is still safe. 

Here are the vegetables and tofu that go into the shabu-shabu (read: fillers)

Now, look: this is my portion. Vellly small!

We did not eat this with rice; hence it made the gluttony ok.
Plus!
We washed it down with the shochu. This was the first time for me to try this lovely drink. It is smoother than whiskey even! And better yet, no hangover :)

Ukiyo serves 8 kinds of shochu. 8 different kinds of yum!

Jorge designed Ukiyo to look like a willow tree outside of The Floating World. It also feels like you are inside the belly of a whale. Subjective experiences such as it is with abstract art.

Ukiyo has a customer base of "those in the know" and with its limited seating, perhaps it would like to stay that way.

With its warm interiors, secret (ish) location and fantastic fare, Ukiyo is officially my new favorite Japanese restaurant for a special occasion!

Ukiyo
6/F Southgate Tower Alphaland
EDSA corner Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati
tel +632.310.5253
http://www.ukiyorestaurant.com/

Turn of the Century: Acqua Livingstone by Missoni Home

Wouldn't you like to live in a space designed by the Italian luxury brand, Missoni? 

Century Properties recently held a launch for the fourth of six buildings in its Pasig River-side development Acqua Private Residences, Acqua Livingstone by Missoni Home. All the buildings are named after big waterfalls in the world such as Niagara, Sutherland and Dettifoss. The showroom ingeniously used a plant wall for its waterfall feature. With the sound of water and lush foliage, it felt like being in a mini-rainforest.

In town for the launch was Vittorio Missoni himself. He is a second generation Missoni and the marketing director. Edoardo Roda from T&J Vestor, a leading Italian home furnishing company, was also present. 

 I love the vivid colors and prints of Missoni!

Margarita Fores catered the event.

After lunch we were given a tour of the showrooms.  The Dalia is a 50sqm one bedroom apartment

The Magellano is a two-bedroom apartment

Check out these candles made to look like yarn. Adorable!

The Bianconero is 3-bedrooms

Just look how cute this living room is. Dapat your outfit needs to complement your home.

This is my favorite color combination for this summer.

The entrance to the bathroom. Even she is wearing Missoni!

The Plunge at the Pebble is a multi-functional space for the residents' use only

Check out their model of the entire structure. The Pasig River is blue!

 Century was setting up for the launch party to be held that evening.

It was wonderful to meet Mr Missoni and Mr Roda at lunch and see the ingenuity and creativity of this new development, just a ride over the river. It's ultra hip and trendy and they plan to open shops and restaurants on the ground floor, called the Riverwalk. Can't wait to see this rise and become part of the skyline!

Acqua Livingstone by Missoni Home
Century Properties
Tel +632.793.5500 to 04
www.century-properties.com