Tags: Food Establishments, Truly Pinoy Food and Drinks
By KC Santos
MAKATI CITY, METRO MANILA – Inconspicuously located along Pasay Road is a restaurant that might just have exactly what you’re looking for in home-style cooking.
I am almost always allured to hole-in-the-walls that have garnered much talk but are yet to get written about. The fact that people who have tried dining in this kinds of places opted to keep mum about their experience intensifies my motivation to visit and write about it from my perspective.
I would consider The Café a restaurant of that sort. Yes it’s just along a bustling route in Makati but due to its small space and somewhat concealed signage, people would often drive past it.
During my first visit, I learned that The Café is owned by the Suarez family. Most, if not all, of the dishes served here are heirloom recipes that have been passed on in the family.
From the new and old pictures hung against the restaurant’s walls, it was very evident that the owners really wanted guests to feel as if they were just having a luncheon or sharing an intimate dinner in their family’s dining table.
Beatles posters flanking one part of the restaurant clearly shows the owner’s fondness of music. Everything – from the interiors to the food – delivers a message of the family’s fascination for good food and good vibes.
I’m adventurous when it comes to food but every once in a while, I still crave for classic Pinoy comfort food. Good thing they serve precisely what I’m looking for like the Beef Steak Tagalog (P178), Pork Lechon Kawali (P175) and Chicken & Pork Adobo (P185).
The Beef Steak Tagalog was cooked just the way I like it. In any steak meal, the correct cut of the meat determines the texture, flavor and its overall quality. The fact that they nailed all three and that their version was very buttery made every single bite fulfilling.
For its perfect deep-fried crunch, I had to resign to their Lechon Kawali. If I had to eat something that’s as cholesterol packed as this dish, I would like to make every munch worth it.
Of the bunch, their version of the adobo was the stand-out. The chicken thigh and pork belly was perfectly tenderized. This gives adobo connoisseurs an assurance that it was correctly simmered in soy sauce and soy sauce.
All these meals go with your choice of steamed, garlic, adobo, parsley or pimiento rice. If you ask me, their specialties are tasty enough to go perfectly with just plain rice.
For dessert, nothing beats the classic Minatamis na Saging (P55). This comes with a heap of crushed ice and evaporated milk for those who can tolerate a few extra drops of dairy.
If you can still handle additional starch, The Café has its very own Bibingka station where fresh bibingka is cooked upon order right outside the café.
The mystery as to why The Café was never written about in the past has been solved. It’s probably because previous customers would like to retain the homey dining experience the way only this café has consistently made them feel.
Visit The Café in Makati and you’ll never look at homestyle cooking the same way again.
Get more information about The Café
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