BENCH CAFE : The Glamorous Pinoy Turo-turo Version

  

Two days before the opening day, we were able to take a sneak peek of the controversial "glamorized turo-turo" as Eric Dee said. Such a brilliant idea to bring in food inside a clothing line establishment.

Honestly, what's the after effect of doing your shopping? Of course, you get hungry! Better yet, what about having some meal first before doing your shopping? This act of innovation is something!

The BENCH Café is situated inside Bench Flagship Store in Bonifacio High Street. Now offering sumptuous Filipino dishes that will surely give you comfort while dining in. 

 

Now, let me share with you the our BENCH CAFE EXPERIENCE

SALAD

 

We started with the healthy choice of salad. Mr. Ang is a suha lover. This salad was served with prawn and pomelo with coriander and calamansi dressing.

SOUP FOR THE DAY
 

We have three choices of soup. Our young foodie picked her favorite Tinola while mommy foodie got her all-time favorite Monggo! Good thing, my uric acid stat is just fine. The mung bean soup goes with pork, prawn and smokedfish finished with Malunggay chicharon, it's divine!

If there's bento with Japanese restos, here we have BENCH/TO meals. Everything is served with side dishes that you will love. The atsara is good, plus the salsa. Also including two ulam (viands). Yes, a complete rice meal! Whatelse can you ask for?

The main dish of  Mr. Ang's choice was the  US Angus Short Ribs Bistek. It goes with inihaw na pusit on the side, spicy ginatang sigarillas or gising gising with Bench salsa, atsara and Ifugao rice.

The Bongamusal is your BONGGANG ALMUSAL! This is good for sharing. You have almost everything from the Silog menu. It has a slice of spam, tocino, daing na bangus, longganisa at U.S. beef tapa. All you need to do is order an extra rice or two if you'll share it. You may also upgrade your rice to Talangka rice, Dilis rice, Bagoong rice Garlic rice or Ifugao rice. It's your call!

 

If in case you came in not wanting for rice meal, you may also have their Panini version of silog. All Panini is served with egg and camote chips. While all Silog is served with garlic rice, crispy egg, roasted tomato and atsara.

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I got my personal favorite. The Sisig Lettuce Cup! With this video I'll show you how to do it... how to eat the sisig with a twist. Almost the same as  Korean style of eating grilled meat wrapped with lettuce. The sisig is given sinful, but the lettuce can give a balance to this. By the way, the utak aioli can even make the sisig creamier. Wondering what the bubble on top was? No, it's not Joy soap, it's the calamsi foam.

 

Just don't mind how I look with this video, was not able make myself colorful...kidding aside. Just came in with eyebrows because "kilay is Life."

 

DRINKS 

 

 

The first drink from the left is the Mindanao Hot Chocolate, our young foodie's personal choice. Since we're eating Filipino food that moment, I decided to go for Sago't Gulaman, the one from the right side on top.

 

They also have the special beverage called Pandan Latik. See the one with pandan leaf from the handle. Yes, it's a coffee but some kind of extra-ordinary. The aroma was so good as well as its taste. Like each sip can bring me joy. The coffee was just right! Mixture of Robusta and Arabica coffee, if I am not mistaken. It's a perfect mix!

  DESSERTS  

 

The FLAN B is another sinful agent. However, I was proven wrong. The so smooth texture and its creaminess made me take like three spoons, it's not that really sweet...yet Mr. Ang has to stop me. Chef Carlo Miguel shared to us that he got it from his grandma's recipe and just did some modification. Well, he did a great job!

 

Now, the UBE Halo-halo, our Pinoy Bingsu is a mus-try too! Ube Bingsu with macapuno, garbanzos, caramelized banana, leche flan, nata de coco and coconut ice cream. Abi, our young foodie need no help to finish a cup of this.

    THE AMBIANCE  

 

Such a cozy place to spend a relaxing meal with family and friends. High ceilings, gold hanging lights and pastel color of the walls is just cold to the eyes. The plants wall décor on the stairways was so lovely too. 

 



The ANG Foodie Family

It's another Dae to Remember for TAFF!
Thank you so much KTG for the invite!   With local flavors as its core, Bench Café updates your favorite dishes by fusing Filipino with Filipino, bringing in traditions from all over the islands to create a bold character that is undeniably distinct. Through food, we tell stories of the past, present, and the future by making local traditions accessible to more Filipinos and Filipinos at heart.  --BENCH CAFE     BENCH CAFE
2nd Floor Bench Flagship Store
9th Avenue corner Lane O.
 Bonifacio Global City,
Taguig, Metro Manila

 

Operating Hours

11:00am – 10:00pm (Mon-Fri)

11:00am – 11:00pm (Sat-Sun)
 

Facebook @BenchCafe Instagram @BenchCafePh
 

The Taste Of Tradition and Celebration

We Filipinos have a special relationship with food. It goes way back to our family’s unique recipes only served during special occasions. Be it birthdays, fiestas, and Christmas Eve, everyone has their own version of classic Filipino favorites

But you don’t have to wait for a special occasion to have that delicious home cooked meal flavor. Goldilocks, the country’s Number One bakeshop, is finally serving delicious Pork Menudo-- just in time for Christmas!

It has the right balance of savory and sourness that will surely make you feel at home. Cooked especially for the Pinoy palate, it is a masterpiece mixture of pork meat and liver stewed in tomato sauce, spices, hotdog slices and other vegetables.

Make everyday a celebration with Goldilocks’ new Pork Menudo, now available in all stores nationwide.

 

For more information, you may follow Goldilocks on Twitter or Instagram at @GoldiclocksPH, on the Goldilocks Facebook page, or the official Goldilocks website at www.goldilocks.com.ph

A Weekend To Remember At F1 Hotel Manila with Gastronomic Days Experience of LuzViMinda

A weekend well spent with my family is something I could always treasure! But this time, our weekend was made extra- ordinary because we got to spend it with our extended foodie family, The KTG ( Kain Tulog Gang). The growing bunch of foodies gathered once again to experience F1 Hotel's LuzViMinda feasting that is now on it's 5th year.

F All-Day Dining, where the launch was held recently, will be continuously delivering the advocacy of LuzViMinda, showcasing Filipino dishes, adding the twist of today’s modern culinary artistry, but living the traditional essence of classical cuisine.

Visit F1 Hotel Manila from June 9 to 30 to experience a gastronomic fusion for only Php1,699 for lunch or dinner buffet.

I could say that this annual tradition of F1 Hotel's LUZVIMINDA is their simple way of celebrating Philippines Independence Day (month). And I could also recommend to Filipino people to celebrate our independence here at F1 Hotel. We can take a break from our foreign food cravings and give LUZVIMINDA a chance to bring you the taste from the three different parts of the Philippines.

 

 

This is The Ang Foodie Family's (TAFF) first visit to F1 Hotel. We love hotels and we definitely love dining and trying the hotel restaurants.  And TO EAT TOGETHER is our simplest way to bond.

 

As most of you know, we are the family who explore food together. It's so timely for the annual Filipino Feast LuzViminda 5 with a theme of Gastronomical Fusion, three amazing chefs where invited to showcase their talents to give some twist to the heritage Filipino dishes. 

 

Chef Mikel Zaguirre for Luzon, Chef Dennis Uy for Visayas and Chef Kalel Chan for Mindanao

We got so excited to try all the dishes from the buffet tables.  Everything looked so delish, that I could not even imagine how I could manage to taste them all.  Well, of course, I have to do my usual thing... Always put just a little bit of everything.

 

 

 

But as early as now, I want to share with you our best TAFF FIVE favorites! From Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

 

 

LUZON



Crispy Pata Roulade
TAFF Favorite #1

 

The Crispy Pata that "melts in your mouth"! Like, this is a friendly dish for kids even for the kids at heart. So tender that you'll need no effort to chew it. Imagine that!

 

TAFF almost tried everything from Luzon line up, it was all good! But this Crispy Pata is our most unforgettable pick.

“It’s an honor to do Filipino food and uplift Filipino cuisine,” said Zaguirre

 

Thanks to Chef Mikel Zaguirre, who represents Luzon.  Each item was inspired by an heirloom dish which was meticulously crafted by research and adjusted a little bit to adapt the modern palate, added Zaguirre. Unleashing creativity by presenting classical cuisine in a modern setting has what challenged him the most.

 

 

VISAYAS





Cochinillo de Cebu
TAFF Favorite #2 



TAFF are lechon lovers.  I found pleasure for lechon  and it all started when I first tasted the lechon from Cebu, since then my standard of lechon stayed that way. If it's not a Cebu lechon, it's nothing but a second rate trying hard...ah sounds familiar? Yes, if you'll give me lechon it must be Cebu's Best Lechon!

 

And this Cochinillo de Cebu, is now my New Best Lechon! I can't resist its juicy and tasty meat plus the oh so crunchy sinful skin. I think I've eaten more amount of this than any other food on the table. But I'm also warning you, you can not enjoy this baby without RICE please! Or EXTRA RICE PLEASE!

Humba Cebuano
TAFF Favorite #3

 

Yes, I love to eat, but guess what? I can also cook! And one of my babies favorite viand is Adobo. I have tried cooking it with different twist and they always appreciate it. Now it's my time to taste somebody else's version. Chef Dennis Uy's Humba is a winner!

“Sharing our cuisine by giving back to guests & clientele is what food is all about,” said Uy.

 

Staging as the featured chef for Visayas, Dennis Uy’s technique is about blending flavors and getting inspiration from his travel around the archipelago – cooking in most traditional way and plating it contemporarily. Cochinillo de Cebu and Pork Humba are just some of Chef Dennis’ masterpieces we should look forward to not only for the month of June if possible...

 

 

MINDANAO

Sweet Potato Ukoy
TAFF Favorite #4

Ukoy, as one of my top meryende is also best as ulam (viand) too.  Just dip it with a special suka (vinegar) and everything is a history!

 

Just can't get enough of this so crispy and crunchy yet still flavorful in it's own way.

 

“You should try everything, as we (with his team) started from experimental stage, plus the time devoted to research & development trying these dishes, are the things that make these worthy,” when asked what to anticipate from his creations.

So good to know that even though he’s not a Mindanao native, Kalel Chan accepted wholeheartedly the challenge of showing us an array of sumptuous dishes from Mindanao. With his passion for food, Chan started out by studying the classical Mindanao cuisine, reached out to some of his friends for research, and injected his modern way of cooking.



Nilasing Na Mangga

After all the main courses, I decided to try the Nilasing na Mangga.  This is one of the most famous street foods in Manila.  You can see it in most public places like outside the schools or market place. Eating it with a little spread of bagoong (shrimp paste) is truly a delight!



Sinuglaw

 



Grilled Bagaybay On Oyster

Oh no, was not able to try it but it did caught my attention.  See the light brown thing on top of the oyster? That's bagaybay or Tuna sperm that was grilled.

 

Purple Maja Blanca and Cheese
TAFF Favorite #5

Creamy maja blanca and cheese. Corn and cheese together.

It's a perfect combination!
 

 

with Chef Decker, F1 Executive Chef and with guest Chef Kalel

And that's it for the TAFF gastronomic lunch experience at LuzViMInda!

 

But wait, there's more!

 

Scroll it down and you'll see!

F1 Hotel Manila is located in the heart of Bonifacio Global City.

I love their spacious rooms!

We stayed in a suite, big enough for the three of us!

 

 

And look at this welcome plate waiting for us!

We found it on the center table upon our entrance to our room!

A real Filipino hospitality!

 

Now, dinner is served!

 

A special dinner to remember. The Kain Tulog Gang did not only shared the food together. The famous Videoke session also completed the night plus some chit chat!

 

Take a look and be amazed with the common yet uncommon dishes! 

 

Bacon & Cheese Lumpia

What a beautiful starter! And I'm a first timer! I only know the bacon and cheese in a sandwich or croissant. Now wrapped with lumpia wrapper, so brilliant!



Dinuguan Vol au Vent

Not all Filipino's has the heart for dinuguan  (pork blood stew).  But some nationalities finds it odd yet interesting to try this one. I myself am super a fan of my Aunt's home-cooked version.

This Dinuguan Vol au Vent is the most sophisticated twist of dinuguan that I've ever seen and tasted. It's served as appetizer like tart. So, i'll call it the simple way as bloody tart! Hahahahahaha! I love it!



Kalabasa Gratin

Mr. Ang's favorite vegetable. I saw him filled his plate with this creamy but healthy option.



Salt and Pepper Bangus



Chicken Piyanggang Skewer



Longganisa - stuffed Lechon Belly

You see the skin? Yes, it's crunchy! And the red thing in the middle is the longganisa, stuffed inside the lechon belly. And yes, where is diet? That's  my question to myself too. If this kind of food is just within your reach, why not grab it?

Thanks to Aging's Food Delight for the special KTG suman cake!

 

Suman Espesyal w/Ube Leche Flan

  

 

The dinner party will not be complete without refreshments and cocktails!
Cheers to my favorite Nilasing na Manga!   Filipino celebration will not be happy and complete without the Videoke session!



Yogo & Cream singing their love song



Jaz so serious finding her song while Eric chills for a photo op hahahaha!

The KTG
Kain Tulog Gang

Cheers to more KTG dining and staycation experience!

Come and enjoy our Filipino dishes. Don't miss the dates. 
 It's so worth it to have a taste of LuzViMinda!

 

F1 Hotel Manila
32nd St. BGC Taguig City

For reservations and inquiries
call 908-7888
visit the website www.f1hotelmanila.com