Flour power

MILLIE: Karla and I are both seriously “trying” our best to lose weight. (Laughs) That sounds like the biggest joke of the year.  We both went to a doctor who, after all the blood work, advised us to just have salads and sandwiches for our meals. That and, of course, regular exercise. Our mornings are reserved for exercise and we try to keep our diet of salads and sandwiches top of mind whenever we eat out. But believe me, it hasn’t been easy.

We heard from friends about a new place at The Fort called Wildflour, so off we went, as usual with our big appetites, ready to try a new salad and sandwich. We arrived a bit past one o’clock and the place was full with, I’d say, a 98-percent-female clientele. We were ushered to a nice table for two by the window but just as we were getting settled, a waitress came up to Karla and asked if we had a reservation. Karla replied in the negative and we were asked to move to another table outside as the table we had just occupied was reserved. We tried to argue that we were ushered to that table and how come there was no reserved sign, but the waitress was insistent. She promised to give us a table as soon as one was free.  I was hungry and did not want to argue further, so I stood up … but, of course, I was piqued.

KARLA: As soon as mom and I were seated, we proceeded to order.  Mom ordered a refreshing drink called crimson iced tea while we scanned the temporary menu, which was a photocopy of the menu printed on bond paper. Mom ordered the Bahn Mi Sliders composed of crispy pork laced with chili in tiny brioche buns for appetizers and the chicken meatball sandwich with mozzarella and tomato in freshly baked ciabatta bread, which we both shared.

I, of course, could not resist the mac ’n’ cheese. It was very cheesy and you could even taste the Gruyere. Definitely better than the Kraft Mac ’n’ Cheese that I sometimes crave from S&R. But then again, the real thing with real cheese is also more expensive.

For my dessert, I ordered hazelnut hot chocolate, which came with a small, hole-less donut rolled in cinnamon sugar and filled with chocolate chips. I actually would have preferred the hot chocolate alone, but it came as a breakfast set. The hot chocolate was very thick and chocolate-y and I absolutely loved it, but I don’t think I can finish that much. It would have been nice to have a demitasse portion or to share with someone. In my case, I shared it with mom. It was so good that after drinking it, I even asked for a little more milk and swirled it around the cup just to make it simot.

Croque Madame egghead with ham and gruyere cheese in delicious slices of Wildflour’s brioche loaf bread.

MILLIE: It was a pleasant, sunny day and quite breezy so after a while, Karla and I were enjoying it even if we were dining al fresco.  It seemed like we were in mid-Manhattan except for the flies that would occasionally land on our table, despite the vigil candle our server Mary Ann would dutifully light up as the wind would always blow it out. We were halfway through our lunch when we realized that we were never going to get the table that was promised us inside, but well, we weren’t about to move again. We jokingly complained to our server Mary Ann and we were handed the telephone number so that we could call for reservations next time. Since we realized we forgot to order a salad, we decided to come back to try the salad and a few other intriguing dishes.

To cap the meal, I ordered a Vietnamese latte, which wasn’t quite like the trung yuen we tasted in Saigon, which was served with condensed milk, but it was good coffee.

KARLA: Mom and I were supposed to come back the next day for lunch but when we called to reserve a table, they said they didn’t accept table reservations. Well, the place is new so I guess they are still experiencing birth pains, so we decided to give it another chance and instead came at dusk on a Saturday, early for dinner so we could easily get a table without waiting.

It was my turn to order a drink and I had the non-alcoholic green tea mojito with pineapple and basil. For dinner, Mom and I shared a fresh green salad with arugula, caramelized walnuts, goat’s cheese, and ripe mango chunks in a mango vinaigrette dressing. For appetizers, Mom ordered the foie gras mousse topped with a port-wine aspic. The waitress said it was just a small portion but it looked like it was for at least four people. One can only have so much foie gras if you don’t want your cholesterol level shooting up. What I enjoyed most that evening was the baked escargot in garlic butter housed in tiny ceramic pots covered in puff pastry.  Usually escargots are served in a dish that kind of looks like a painter’s palette. And once you’ve eaten the escargot, you dip a piece of bread to absorb the garlic butter with parsley. But since Wildflour’s version had puff pastry on top, all I had to do was push it in the ceramic pot and it instantly absorbed the garlic butter, unlike Mom who dunked pieces of her brioche to finish off the melted butter. So much for the diet, hala! We also ordered the crispy potatoes with sour cream, bacon and chives, and I guess you can ask for more sour cream because their portion on this was very little.

Mom and I split a Croque Madame with ham and Gruyere topped with a sunny side-up egg. For dessert, we shared a Valrhona chocolate pot au crème sprinkled with sea salt, caramel and chopped peanuts. It was a good balance and after two teaspoonfuls I felt guilty while Mom had a bit more. We’ll have to suffer 30 minutes more of brisk walking!

Mom and I originally ordered a lot of sandwiches because Wildflour is first and foremost a bakery. They make their own breads from scratch. Their style is very rustic, which is a nice change from commercial bread. You’ll see that the ciabatta isn’t uniform in shape, more brown than usual and isn’t coated with flour. The crispy potatoes looked like they were just smashed and not even cut into pieces. And yet, surprisingly, it worked well with the dish and the overall concept of the café-bakery.

MILLIE: Karla spotted something that looked like pizza, so we asked and were told these were tartes flambees, crusted flat bread with caramelized onions, bacon and Gruyere, something to look forward to the next time we chance by.  I’d like to come back when my best friend Verne is back in town from LA to try the steak ’n’ fries with a glass of pinot noir. By the way, Wildflour is kind of pricey and they don’t accept credit cards, but the food was delightful and the ambience casual and feel-good. The location is perfect, with parking available on the upper floors of the building.

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Wildflour Café & Bakery is located at the ground floor, Net Lima Building, 4th Avenue and 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City. Call 856-7600 for inquiries.

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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.