The BGC Eats Food Tour - July 13, 2013

I've counted down the days from when we got the tickets for the food tour until the day of the said event. ELEVEN DAYS. It's a short wait and it made me overjoyed. I already had my vacation leave plotted on this day and I was so ready to just dive myself into this exciting and much-awaited event.

Let me give you a background of what this food tour is about. JJ Yulo, a well-known chef, food blogger and co-founder of Pinoy Eats World, headed this tour where you will enjoy your Saturday afternoon visiting four lovely food outlets around BGC. The tour will run for about two to three hours and you will get a progressive meal while travelling using the BGC Hop On, Hop Off Bus (HOHO). The food tour will be held for 4 weeks. They started on the last Saturday of June up until the third Saturday of July. So the last tour will be on July 20th. We happen to join their third week last July 13th. No tour is the same and the food tourists have no clue of where the HoHo will take them.

On to our experience! My food buddy, Cyril, and I were so excited to hop on the BGC HoHo but we're a bit shy to be the first participants. They might think we're too excited (Of course, we are!) so we waited for a few minutes before we approach the organizers. We were welcomed with BGC Food Tour pins and Food magazines. 

JJ Yulo introduced us to Pat Fernandez, Solar News Channel's news anchor and 2008 Binibining Pilipinas Miss International, and Monica Llamas, commercial and print ad model. He also gave us a brief story of how he lived there for around 10 years. He even gave us recommendations of the restaurants/bars/shops that he often visit.

We arrived on our first stop and boy, we are so fired up to get the tour started! There, we were greeted by Ukulele Manila, a band of 4, playing ukulele (duh?) and singing their cover of certain songs. I remembered they covered a Jason Mraz, Bruno Mars and Vanessa Carlton song. They actually play on every stop before JJ introduces the owners and give a brief background about the place. They're quite good, though I'm not sure which of them are the original members since I've seen some other faces on other posts about them.

1st Stop: Kasbah

Kasbah is a Moroccan restaurant and a Boracay favorite. They opened their first branch there and I can imagine the look on their patron's faces when they first heard that Kasbah opened a branch here in Manila. No need to visit Bora if you're craving for their food.

They served us first with the authentic Moroccan Mint Tea. The server explained that serving it comes with a ritual. He poured the tea to our little glasses, poured it back to the teapot, then back to our glasses. I don't know what that meant but it's a Moroccan thing. Haha

Since it's our first destination, we were there for their appetizers. They served us with their Kemia, which means cold appetizers. According to their website, a Moroccan meal starts with cold appetizers and is usually served with bread. They are mostly left on the table as side dishes with their main course.

Kasbah served us with their Zaalouk, which is a an eggplant with tomato dip. I think they grill the eggplant because it has this smoky taste and it also goes well with their Pita Bread.

The Mechouia, which are roasted sweet peppers with tomato dip, for me is best eaten with their Pita Bread and it just kind of reminds me of the typical salsa, which I am not a fan of. Sorry!

The Falafel is a deep fried ball of ground chickpeas and fava beans sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is served with a dip, which I think is cheese. Not really sure.

One of their chefs served us their Hummus Harissa, which is a spiced chickpea and tahini puree. I was scared to try it at first because of the red spices, which I thought is spicy. Good thing it's not! It just tastes like chickpea. Period.

Their place is commendable because you will really feel like you're in Morocco. They are passionate in making their guests feel that they are indeed in the country enjoying their food, music and ambiance.

We also met the co-owner of Kasbah, Mrs. Madonna English.

I am not really a fan of Moroccan food and we only tasted some of their appetizers so I don't have much to say about their dishes. I'd love to try their Tagines some other time and their coffee offerings, too.

2nd Stop: URBN Bar & Kitchen

This is the most exciting part of the tour for me. I repeat. This is the most exciting part of the tour for me.

From Kasbah, we walked our way to URBN Bar & Kitchen. It is located at the 3rd floor of Fort Pointe Building, formerly Pier One.

The place is very spacious and according to their chef and co-owner, Chef Benjo Tuason, they used raw materials to design the place. They also have a separate area for smoking and non-smoking guests. They are open even until 7am. They also have VIP areas! I am so curious of what the place looks like at night. Goodbye Seventh High! (Not that I've been there. Haha)

Raw materials, indeed.

The place is huge!

The VIP Area

Chef Benjo introduced us with the food that we are about to consume. I heard Mac and Cheese, soufflé and cheesecake. I wanted to jump with glee and clap my hands but that would be embarrassing so I just smiled from ear-to-ear. 

Their crew started to put plates of mini burgers, fries, chips and dips, macaroni and soufflé on their huge table. Cyril and I had a quick photo-op before we took our plates and serve ourselves with their scrumptious meal.

Each table is given a bucket of Home Made Potato Chips. The potato chips are typical but it comes with an aioli and pesto dip. I've tried both dips and loved it. Pesto is something that I am very fond of so this made me thrilled. I also liked the aioli since the garlic flavor is not too strong. I can eat buckets of this while watching my favorite series or even bring this to a moviehouse.

Assorted Crostinis; this is a plate of crostinis topped with smoked salmon and capers, Jamon Serrano, tomato and basil. I took the one with the smoked salmon and loved it. I've always hated the look of raw (or sort of raw) fish on a dish but this is just delicious. Those little Italian toasts won't be just an appetizer for me, I can definitely have that for lunch.

We were served as well with a Manchego Souffle. It is very fluffy and is covered with truffle cream sauce garnished with crispy Jamon Serrano. I'm not into cheese unless it's pasta, pizza or burgers. What is wrong with me? Nevertheless, that Jamon Serrano strip is to die for! It is so crispy and sinful!

Next is the Mac and Choreese. Yes, you guessed it! Choreese means chorizo and cheese! I only got a small portion of it but it was packed with flavor. I even saved a spoonful on my plate for my last bite. Save the best for last, right?

I only had one of these little treats, the Caramelized Onion and Bacon Tartlets. I'm not much of a fan of tarts but I loved that pesto cream cheese, man!

We also feasted on their Mini Blackbenny Angus Burgers and Mini Curried Shrimp Burgers or at least the latter 'cause I wasn't able to taste the Angus Burgers. We were the last to get our food since we took some photos first. That's alright because those Shrimp Burgers are a delight. SHRIMP on a BURGER, FTW! Oops, I got carried away.

The Angus Burgers are made up of brioche buns, mild cheddar, bacon, onion-jam and aioli. It comes with Hand Cut Fries. The Shrimp Burgers also has brioche buns but used curry mayonnaise, romaine lettuce and tomato. It is served with Onion Rings. You can order extras of these. Yey!

Whenever Cy and I take a bite of those burgers, we would literally look at each other and laugh 'cause it just tasted so good that our faces light up. The other food tourists in front of us are also giggling because the burgers are one hell of a comfort food.

They are not done yet! They also served a huge board of cheesecakes, not just one huge board, TWO! URBN bid us goodbye with a taste if their new cheesecakes. We got to sample their Salted Caramel, Mango, Maple Bacon and Brownie. It all tasted so good that when we were about to leave, I even took a last bite of their Mango Cheesecake from the board a few feet away from the door! BTW, they are also generous with their Iced Tea. I simply love them. I will definitely come back for more.

I wanted to hug Chef Benjo for all his creations that they shared with us but I am demure and reserved (LOL) so I just asked for a picture with him. HAHAHA

My long lost brother. Thanks for the pic, Cy!

I am not much of a drinker nor a clubber but I am definitely coming back for their food. I would like to discover more of their Kitchen side than the other.

This is the most exciting part of the tour for me. I repeat. This is the most exciting part of the tour for me. Bwahahahaha

A few reminders.

Stop #3: Cue Modern Barbecue

This place is a haven for carnivores. They surely took barbecuing to a whole new level. Seriously.

I like their display in front of their restaurant. The chairs look cool and is also comfortable. It compliments the bulbs inside and you can also learn the cuts of meats when you checked out their place.

So modern. Look at the meat cuts on the lower right photo!

We met Ms. Pebbles, co-owner of Cue Modern Barbecue. Ain't she pretty?

We were seated with Monica's mom and her friend. They are so cool to talk to and we enjoyed their company. While Cue is preparing their carnivorous treats, one of their waiters asked us if we'd like a glass of Lemon Margarita or Watermelon n' Mint Fruitshake. Hah! Of course, I took advantage of the Watermelon! That drink was so refreshing! I never thought I'd like anything with mint but this was an exception. Maybe because it wasn't too minty that's why I loved it. Cy wanted to try the Margarita but we had to leave for our last stop so he didn't get a chance to taste it. Next time!

They placed their boards on the some of the tables for the tourists to dig in. We grabbed our plates and checked out their offerings.

On the table, they served Bone Marrow and Steak Tacos, Make Your Own Fish Tacos and King Henry-Cut Pork Chop. Each dish has its own signature sauce/salsa.

The Bone Marrow and Steak Tacos come with flour tortillas and for its salsas, they have roasted corn and sweet n' spicy salsa verde. It was spiced just right for me and I love how tender it is. I just love my steak a bit more peppery so I guess I would ask for more pepper next time. I wasn't able to taste the bone marrow. Too bad.

Their Make Your Own Fish Tacos is a panko-crusted white fish and similar with the first one, it is served with flour tortillas and roasted corn salsa. But this time, they replaced the salsa verde with a cilantro-lime tartar. The fish tasted good but my mom can also make them so I didn't find it special at all.

King Henry-Cut Pork Chop is salty but I sometimes like salty food so this was okay for me. Cy find it too salty, though. The pork skin is just so crunchy and divine! I gulped it down again with my second glass of Watermelon n' Mint Fruitshake.

Stop #4: Gourmandise Patisserie

We hopped on the HoHo again and went to our last destination. We hoped that it would be at Cold Stone Creamery because JJ mentioned it. Turned out that it's Gourmandise Patisserie, the cute store beside it. JJ told us that it is owned by Sunshine Pengson, which is the wife of Chef Rob Pengson so I forgot about Cold Stone.

We hopped off the bus and I was easily captivated by the ambiance of the patisserie. It was small but is nicely decorated. They offer Parisian eclairs so what's not to love? Plus, I have a sweet tooth. Did I mention that I have a cupcake business? Oh okay, you get the picture.

Mrs. Pengson looks very cheerful and I should say that she smiles a lot. I think I know why. We sure do. Hehe Anyway, she told us that this patisserie is her new baby and her husband promoted another baby, this time a larger bakery called Shine that will open in SM Aura around September.

Cyril and I got a sample of their Coffee Eclairs and a Chocolate Mini Cupcake. I love how the cupcake is not too sweet but the icing is. I wish I ate it cold. I think the Coffee Eclair needs more coffee though. I was thinking of dipping it in espresso to kick it up a notch. I'd love to try some of the other Eclairs soon!

Minions inspired macaroons

Mini cupcakes

The food tour was over. Breathe in. Breathe out. JJ and Monica thanked us and I wanted to thank them personally so we waited for a few tourists to leave so we could take pictures with them. Cy forced me to approach Chef Rob and JJ so I did.

I'm glad Cyril forced me! *kilig*

I obliged Cy to get his photo taken with Monica and Pat so he did.

The lovely ladies

I hope they will conduct this tour again next year. I really enjoyed this day and I felt the genuine hospitality of each of the restaurants that we visited. There's nothing more exciting than a food tour! I've really experienced the diverse food options here. Now I can say that the best things in life are free, literally.

Thanks JJ Yulo, you're a great guy. And THANK YOU Mr. and Mrs. Pickiest Eater, I wouldn't have known this if it weren't for your blog.

Jeez, that was a long post. Ktnxbye.

Please watch out for what happened after this food tour on my next entry!