Discover a secret garden of culinary delights with Citi Credit Cards

Portia Dee Baluyut, who runs Rustic Mornings brunch restaurant in Marikina City, knows the value of secrets. When she and her mom, Stephanie Dee Baluyut, decided to convert part of their 1,200-sqm compound into an outdoor dinner nook complete with gazebos, mellow wines and slow-cooked dishes like Pork Crackling, it began as a “secret restaurant” called Isabelo that quickly caught the attention of those from far outside Marikina.

“People would come from all over, Makati, Quezon City, even Tagaytay,” Portia says, even if they were a little hard to find. “It seemed the more people can’t find you, the more they look for you.” Word of mouth spread to word of blog, and when Our Awesome Planet raved about the place, magazine spreads and TV attention followed. The secret was out. Realizing that they had nothing to serve during the hours leading to dinner, Portia next came up with a breakfast-brunch concept, and Rustic Mornings was born last year.

Located along narrow Isabelo Mendoza street, a place lined with trikes and hidden behind a concrete wall overgrown with vines, Rustic Mornings and Isabelo bring something different to Marikina: call it a little bit of Tagaytay. Sitting in an enclosed breakfast nook decorated in blue and white — from the checkered placemats and hanging blue bottles to the curtains and floor tiles — Portia and her mom, an artist whose paintings decorate the various outdoor gazebos, tell us how Rustic Mornings came to be.

“I was in advertising, and got burnt out. So I was idle for several months, and I just started to cook. I did a spinach dip, that started everything.” She would sell it to her aunts, then her aunts’ friends. “I said to my mom, ‘What would you think about putting up a small cafe?’” She notes she had no culinary background (“Just Google University”) and used her market research background to scout the competition in Marikina and carve out a food niche: “I went around Marikina, to see how Marikeños eat, their attitudes to food… I realized my target market was those in QC, Makati, Tagaytay, the south — they would come all the way here to experience something like Tagaytay.”

It took two years to get Isabelo to a successful place — through online bookings only (“I bring out the Indiana Jones in you, we just give you a map and directions to get here”) and memorable slow-cooked food with an Italian vibe. Then Ondoy happened, and the restaurant was suddenly waist-high in floodwaters and mud. Rather than pack it in, Portia and her mom had the place cleaned up and rebuilt — one gazebo at a time. “I had to,” says Portia. “We had a magazine spread coming out, so we had to have someplace for them to go!”

Rustic Mornings is a counterpart to the evening experience. With comfort food like crispy waffles, portabello and arugula omelettes, and buttermilk pancakes with homemade buttercream served in generous portions, it’s matched by the rustic décor — recovered narra floorboards converted into tabletops, 1950s wooden chairs picked up from Evangelista st. in Makati, and tiles sourced from Mariwasa Siam Ceramics. (Division of labor is strict: Stephanie handles the décor while Portia rules the kitchen.) They call it “shabby chic,” and it’s been voted one of the top breakfast places by sites like Looloo and Spot.ph.

And now, starting in February, Fridays are special days for Citi cardholders at Rustic Mornings.

“We want to offer our cardholders the best deals as well as unique dining experiences, and our partnership with Rustic Mornings affords us the chance to do both.  Many of our cardholders have sophisticated and discerning dining tastes, and a growing number love to dine in unique, sometimes out-of-the-way restaurants that give them a different dining experience,” explains Bea Tan, managing director and consumer business manager for Citi. 

The restaurant has tied up with Citi Philippines for its Dining Privileges program, which assures cardholders the best deals when they dine at partner restaurants in Metro Manila, as well as more than a thousand nationwide. “When you use your Citi credit card at Rustic Mornings, you will receive 50 percent off on its Brunch Buffet, every Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Feb. 1 to March 31, 2014,” says Alma Gruenberg, Citi senior vice president. That means the P700 Brunch Buffet costs only P350, if you use your Citi card. “We know our cardholders would love this place, a secret garden tucked in the middle of the city. That’s why we’re always on the lookout for establishments like Rustic Mornings.” 

Citi cardholders will definitely enjoy partaking of truly rustic delights like the buttermilk pancakes, and the crispy waffles, dusted with cinnamon to crunchy perfection. The buffet itself is a casual masterpiece, with its fresh omelette station and mason jars stuffed with bacon strips. “You can get a few strips, or just bring the whole jar back to the table with you,” notes Portia.

A second Citi Dining Privileges offer allows Citi card users 50 percent off on Dinner Group Set Meals from Monday to Friday at Isabelo. For instance, a Group Meal for 15 persons featuring Isabelo bestsellers like spinach dip, squash soup, roasted vegetables, mussels in white wine, four-hour roasted Pork Crackling, beef ribs, orange herb chicken, lemon rice, Key Lime Family Pie and iced tea is offered at P5,150, half of the regular P10,300 meal price. Other Group Meals are available for five to 10 persons. (Make your reservations in advance online at isabelogarden.com, and pay using your Citi credit card for the discount.)

Isabelo and Rustic Mornings are two reasons that customers call this a quiet respite from the surrounding city. And with February coming up, Portia notes that Isabelo — with its Italian garden ambience — is a favorite place for marriage proposals. “We get them almost every night. I’ve seen different kinds of reactions of women. Some won’t answer right away, but lately they’ve all said yes.”

And saying yes to good food in a rustic location at 50 percent off does seem like a no-brainer.

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Rusting Mornings by Isabelo is located at No. 11 Isabelo Mendoza St. San Roque, Marikina City.