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This 2014, we got served. From homegrown hits to food from across the seas, we got served good food and it made for a definitely satisfying year. There were so many dishes that had us licking our fingers and sitting back with utter contentment. And then there were those that conjured eye rolls, regret and calories that were too late to take back. Collectively, they made the local dining scene vibrant, rich and complex—and we can only hope that next year will be just the same, if not more. In the meantime, let’s look back at the gastronomic year that was.
Customized food
We were made to do a lot of thinking this year. As if simply choosing what to eat wasn’t enough, we were given the responsibility to pick what goes in it. The fad started by the likes of Slappy Cakes (G/F New Eastwood Mall, E. Rodriguez Jr Ave, Quezon City; +63 2 9093501. Daily 7am-12am) , Project Pie (515 Shaw Boulevard cor Laurel St, Bgy Wack Wack, Mandaluyong; +63 2 6500925), Ramen Nagi (5/F SM Aura, 26th St cor McKinley Parkway, Taguig; +63 2 8286793), Juju Eats (BCS Building, 2297 Pasong Tamo Ext., Makati; +63 2 5513968) and The Burger Project (122 Maginhawa St., Teachers Village, Quezon City; +63 915 5202266), isn’t exactly a bad thing — we got more of what we wanted and less of what we didn’t really care for.
Pop-up shop Magnum Manila (5/F SM Aura, 26th St cor McKinley Parkway, Taguig; +63 933 4390733) let us indulge on the ice cream bar of our sweet dreams. Scout’s Honor (5/F Hole in the Wall, Century City Mall, Kalayaan cor Salamanca St., Poblacion, Makati; +63 2 8872698) did the same with craft cookies. Tuan Tuan Chinese Brasserie (3/F Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong; +63 2 6327483) in SM Fashion Hall gave us the license to build our own halibut broth-based noodle soup.(Photo: gojackiego.com)
Trendy dishes
There were a lot of outstanding dishes this year and many of them populated our social media feeds. There were some though that came out one too many times, like fried chicken. We saw a lot of posts on Peri-Peri Chicken (2/F Promenade Mall, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan; +63 2 5655146. Daily 11am-10pm), Señor Pollo (G/F F7 Building, 49 Sct Rallos St., Bgy Bagong Handa, Quezon City; +63 917 8331033), Tom Sawyer’s (Bldg A, Stall F&B-1A, Tiendesitas, Ortigas cor E. Rodriguez Sr Ave, Pasig; +63 2 9662291), Bad Bird (5/F Hole in the Wall, Century City Mall, Kalayaan cor Salamanca St., Poblacion, Makati; +63 2 8872076), Kyochon (G/F SM Megamall B, Mandaluyong; +63 2 9973333) and Hoolala Korean Chicken House (7 Amber Square, Escriva Drive, Ortigas, Pasig; +63 2 6386465).
Pork buns became quite a thing too thanks to Tim Ho Wan (G/F SM Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong; +63 2 4708836), Choi Garden (12 Annapolis, San Juan; +63 2 7268987), Crystal Jade (Unit SEUG201, Bonifacio High Sreet , 30th St cor 7th Ave, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig; +63 2 8085233) and Tuan Tuan (3/F Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong; +63 2 6327483).
Cupcakes took a break this year and made way for cookies, which pastry shops and homebakers like The Bald Baker (Facebook; +63 917 5116370) enjoyed playing with.
Foreign Restaurants
The invasion of many international restaurant brands in Metro Manila is slowly making the city a flourishing dining hub in Asia. The confidence of these foreign labels is attracting many other industry players and we are all to benefit from it. This year alone, we were honored to have the presence of Asian greats Tim Ho Wan (G/F SM Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong; +63 2 4708836), Ippudo (3/F SM Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong; +63 2 4701837) and the most recent addition to the growing list, Bistro Du Vin (G/F Edades Tower and Garden Villas, Rockwell Center, Amorsolo Drive, Rockwell, Makati; +63 2 9586712).
In the first quarter of the year, Todd English Food Hall (5/F SM Aura, 26th St cor McKinley Parkway, Taguig; +63 2 6214002) rocked the scene, while at the latter part there was La Cabrera (G/F 6750 Ayala Ave, Makati; +63 905 2900703), Hawaiian-export Teddy’s Bigger Burger (3/F Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati) and Nobu (The City of Dreams, Asean Avenue cor Roxas Boulevard, Entertainment City, Parañaque).
Next year is looking to be just as exciting. There are already a number of foreign restaurants confirmed and slated to open in the metro. (Photo: yedylicious.com) (Photo: yedylicious.com)
Promising young chefs
Youth was well represented this year with a crop of twentysomething chefs showing much promise and emerging from the pack. What they have is the type of fame that wasn’t born out of some endorsement, TV show or worse, controversy. It’s their ethics and evidently their food that had people noticing and talking. Bruce Ricketts of Mecha Uma (RCBC Savings Bank Corporate Tower, 25th cor 26th St, BGC, Taguig; +63 2 8012770), Miko Aspiras of Scout’s Honor (5/F Hole in the Wall, Century City Mall, Kalayaan cor Salamanca St., Poblacion, Makati; +63 2 8872698), Gab Bustos of 12/10 (7635 Guijo St., San Antonio Village, Makati; +63 915 6632823), Josh Boutwood of The Bistro Group (who, by the way, harvested top awards again in this year’s Philippine Culinary Cup), and Allen Buhay of Wildflour Bakery + Café (4th Ave cor 26th, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig; +63 2 8567600) inject hope in the future of our country’s F&B landscape. And we are all waiting with excitement on what they’re about to cook next.
Beverages—healthy and otherwise
We never suffered from thirst this year as we had a bevy of beverages to quench it with. Like the previous year, the coffee culture continued to be active with the opening of many more cafes. There’s Third District (41 E.Abada St., Loyola Heights, Quezon City; +63 2 4341079), Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters in Duck and Buvette (2/F Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong; +63 2 6310675), Refinery (G/F Joya Lofts and Towers, Joya Drive, Rockwell; +63 2 7810344), Toby’s Estate (L.P. Leviste St., Salcedo Village, Makati) and Local Edition (116 Perea St., Legazpi Village, Makati; +63 905 4448797).
As for liquors, craft beer and homegrown spirits like Manille Liquer de Dalandan and Don Papa 10-Year-Old Rum had people in high spirits. At the other end of the spectrum were healthy juices that had people detoxifying and complaining of hunger. (Photo: pinaytraveller.com) (Photo: pinaytraveller.com)
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