Daily TribuneA proper brunch is scarce in an era pressured to measure up reasonably with the indulgence and price of cheap buffet breakfast. Or lunch.
A new wave of lavish international flavors comes to a marathon of menus that Food on Four in SM Aura is bringing — with three times the charm — to the curious or the hungry at Fort in its latest reboot.
Yearning for burger? Bite into a messy bun hammed with lacy-edged OG smashed burger patties, caramelized onions and melted US cheese at Bored and Hungry for that dose of brown, smokey — beefy! — hit. The famous NFT burger popped in griddles in the US and Europe first landed in Manila last year at Rockwell in Makati, and now it is compelling a premier league of burger fans to drive to BGC for best-in-America patty-bun combo.
Burger a tad obscene? Nothing lox and bagels can't fix. Perhaps an iconic sandwich, curated pastramis, and designer charcuterie. Deli by Chele serves delicately preserved seafood, fresh breads and other delicatessens — a cuppa if that's your fancy.
A proper brunch is scarce in an era pressured to measure up reasonably with the indulgence and price of cheap buffet breakfast. Or lunch. That's why pancake houses are a boon. Stack on souffle, Instagrammable skillet cakes from Puffy's coated in a pool of crème brûlée, Oreo, mango and milk tea. Torched! Of course, it's from Taiwan. The envelope just gets farther and farther. That explains pancakes are the new tofu of clean cursing.
Cinnabon's is arguably the best freshly made cinnamon roll. And sticks. Moist. Creamy. Siiiiiin-ful! No second thoughts on churro chillatta as a rich cleanse for the palate. Pack a box of cinna for dearest darling, a note as a cherry on top.
What's better than canned Delimondo Corned Beef? Bunned. Go figure: Delimondo Corned Beef entwined with onions and tucked, finally, in the warm and everlasting embrace of the café's signature brioche bun. Must try harder to replicate at home.
Sushi Nori is famous for, well, nori tacos and wagyu bowls and poke balls. Here, you also gotta catch 'em all stuff that made sushi one of the most famous Japanese creations. Best-seller: Salmon overload bento, which, at P449, a lot would be going on your plate already.
From cold cuts, here's a hot item: Sizzling Plate, a hole in the wall well-deserving of its corner at the Four, where pork and beef sizzles, and dessert, too! Something easy if you want to eat Filipino but are clueless what to cook tonight. Best-seller: Porterhouse Steak, a slab of beef smothered generously — what's that secret sauce? Sisig is the most you'd be very sorry to miss. Nobody told you sisig could be that good.
Meanwhile, Teakha is a jaunt to mainland, a Lazy Susan chock with freshly crafted dimsum, hotpot and seafood — alive! Eel with tausi, nestum chicken, crab with sotanghon, go ahead and help yourself with niche Chinese food.
Tantanmen, miso, tonkotsu, shoyu; just how much do you know about the world's cross-culture love affair with Japanese noodle soup outside ramen? Try Nadai Fujisoba and its thin buckwheat noodles, hot or cold, in bonito-based broth. You'll be surprised about how much you've missed right at home.
