Metiz
I’ve been fortunate enough to have visited now a few amazing places here in Manila, but the search is not over yet. My classmates and friends have given me quite an extensive list of places still to visit. Metiz came up to our conversation earlier part of the week and after researching it looks like a place that is very interesting.
We got to the restaurant around 6:30 pm tonight after a brief interaction with traffic from EDSA which is expected. As we pulled in, I was already impressed with the setup that they have with their outdoor seating. The interior was also nicely decorated, and the kitchen was in sync as I watched them sending beautiful dishes out course per course.
We started the evening with a gin cocktail of course and we were served some garlic peanuts when they arrived. This to me is a sign of a true Filipino restaurant that serves some form of “pulutan” when their drinks arrive.
After our drink we were ready for our meal to commence and Karen, chef’s wife was taking care of our table, so we knew we were in excellent hands.
Our first course was the papaya with poached tamarillo and smoked “gata” or coconut milk. This was a flavor bomb with sharp notes of citrus that just exploded in your mouth.
The next dish was ubod and squash with a whipped smoked “tuyo” dried fish and “bagoong” condiment. The flavors just keep on getting deeper with each dish and showcases the talent of Chef Stephan Duhasme.
Our third dish was the beef poached potato with a mechado glaze and a Sampaloc condiment. This was by far my favorite as the layers of potato were nice and crisp and the smokiness of the mushroom bagoong complimented the Sampaloc condiment.
Next was the “pancit” dish which was fresh wheat noodles with the clam coffee sauce and fermented carrot. This was one of the best pancit dishes I have ever tried and perfectly set up our main course.
I opted for the aged native pork belly grilled on banana leaves for my entrée and it was an excellent choice. The pork was nice and tender and the salted egg dressing and with the fermented “langka” jackfruit condiment balanced the fattiness of the pork belly well.
For our dessert we had the reduced carabao’s milk ice cream with fermented guava and buko pears which was the best way to and an amazing degustation.
Thank you to Chef Stephan and Karen for an amazing experience, serving up a gastronomic meal that just crossed borders and made you feel happy with where Philippine cuisine is headed…
#KULINARYATRAVELS is off to CAFÉ FLEUR next…