8/12/2005 - A Trip to the Kitchen

My favorite place in the world is the kitchen.

So reads the opening line in Banana Yoshimoto's iconic novelette Kitchen.  It's a line I've agreed with for such a long time, that I sometimes see parallels between my life and the events of the story.  But: I digress.  This post is neither about my life nor is it another review of Yoshimoto-sama's novelette.  This is about a lovely little restaurant that hasn't been in the limelight for quite some time now.

Kitchen, spelled with a reversed "K", used to be the talk of the town in the days when it was still on the ground floor of Greenbelt I in Makati.  It was quite a startling change from the usual casual dining establishments in the sense that it looked like a cafeteria: open kitchen, long tables, benches instead of individual seats, paper placemats, communal boxes for cutlery and chopsticks.  That is, of course, if your idea of a cafeteria happens to be dimly lighted, the benches are cushioned, and the kitchen appears well-stocked with balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs, imported cheeses as opposed to generic cheese-food, and fine wines!

Moreover, while iced tea has become the drink of choice for Filipinos in the habit of dining out, the iced tea here isn't the pre-packaged, over-sugared, somewhat acidic Lipton/Nestle product common to even the most sophisticated dining establishments.  No, sir: the iced tea here is freshly made with good brown sugar and your choice of either refreshing green mint or soothing pandan (screw pine leaves).  As it's an all-you-can-drink deal, it's most definitely a healthier option.

The food may best be described as fun fusion comfort cuisine.  Rice plates (platters, actually - their plates are huge!), bowls of pasta, and substantial sandwiches are the vogue here; the portions (as seen above) are generous to a fault.  Trust me: you won't leave feeling empty.  Far from it, as a matter of fact.

Ingredients are combined to make fabulous, playfully-named dishes that are neither Eastern nor Western, but are a wonderful cross-cultural experience.  Too Good It's So True is a remake of the classic bistek Tagalog (strip steak cooked with onions in a soy-calamansi sauce), but uses salmon instead of beef.  On Barbie's Cue is a wonderfully seasoned take on the skewered grilled staple so common to birthday parties and drinking sprees.  My personal favorite, the Lazy Oaf (pictured above), is nicely roasted chicken topped with a knob of chili-flavored butter on a bed of spinach and herbed rice.

Best of all, prices are most definitely reasonable.

Kitchen @ Robinson's Galleria - 2nd Floor - Rodeo Drive, Robinson's Galleria, Ortigas Center, Pasig

8/11/2005 - Nice!

8/11/2005 - Thanks!