A Taste of Buwan: Celebrate Valentine's Day with a Southeast Asian Tasting Menu

Celebrating Valentine's Day differently can be challenging if you've been with your special someone for years. R and I usually take the practical route and celebrate it another day. But there's this new dining concept that would make braving the Manila traffic worth it. And that is Buwan's tasting menu.

Hello, Buwan.

Buwan is the newest dining concept of Chef Julius Neccor and the group behind BOA Kitchen + Socials.

Love at First Bite: Bistro Kalzada

I always think of fancy and expensive whenever I hear the word degustation. I first had my first degustation experience at the lovely abode of Dedet de la Fuente for her massive Pepita’s Lechon holiday degustation which lasted almost 5 hours. Since then, I tried other degustation menus and some cost an arm and leg. With more and more establishments offering fancy tasting menus, I would have never thought that I’d get to discover a restaurant that would challenge this and at less than PHP600 for two at that! 

Hello, Bistro Kalzada.

Located along the busy Magiting Street inside Teachers Village, this small and homey restaurant is owned by a dynamic chef couple who have professional culinary training abroad. Pursuing their dream of starting their own restaurant, they opened Bistro Kalzada last July this year and have been slowly getting the attention of locals who frequent the area.

A tasting menu was prepared for us when we dropped by a few Sundays ago and for starters, we were treated to a lovely plate of Beef Brisket Enchilada (PHP95). 

I was surprised when I found out that this beautifully plated appetizer only costs PHP95. And it was not just beautiful, it was actually tasty too! The beef brisket bits were succulent making each bite packed with flavor. 

First Bite: Mecha Uma by Bruce Ricketts

I’ve always wanted to visit Mecha Uma by Bruce Ricketts ever since I read wonderful and mouthwatering reviews. But the fact that I have to shell out PHP3,000++ for the tasting menu made me think twice since that’s equivalent to a Spiral dinner buffet or a Kapitolyo or Maginhawa food trip. But thanks to R and his family, I got to give this place a try.

Hello, Mecha Uma.

The dim lit restaurant was packed when we visited. (Well, the restaurant can only accommodate maximum of 30 persons at a time.) Despite the small crowd, the place still gives a seemingly romantic vibe. It must be the ambient lighting.

It took them a bit before they served the first dish, Tomato. It was peeled tomato with white chocolate, a dash of sansho pepper and cucumber. It was paired with tomato juice with gin and soy sauce. I must say, the presentation was impressive.

As for the taste, I love it yet I hate it too. I loved the peeled tomato, cucumber bits and sansho pepper but I didn’t like (at all) the white chocolate and tomato juice. Despite my craziness with tomatoes, I absolutely hate tomato juice.

Next served was Tostadito. It was a combination of scallop, pico de gallo, scallop and mussel crema. It was a play of textures. The taco was also made of scallop and squid ink. It was refreshing thanks to pica de gallo. The only downside was that it was a bit messy to eat.

Lobster was the next dish and it was a mix of octopus, lobster, plantains, scorched coconut leche de tigre and mung bean puree. Again, there was an interesting play of textures here. There was the smooth yet charred octopus, rough yet soft puree and refreshing pomelo bits.

St. Pierre or the atlantic dory and local crab dish was scrumptious! The asparagus and broth of vegetable sauce was heavenly. R got so upset when I allowed the server take my bowl with some sauce left. He really loved the sauce.