MANILA, Philippines - There’s no door in this restaurant so you don’t have to be ushered in. You step off the escalator and sashay into the new CPK (California Pizza Kitchen), its first store worldwide that’s designed with an island concept without walls at the lower ground level of Century City Mall, Makati. All at once, you get more than a pizza of the action and the delicious whiff of freshly baked pizza wafting through the open kitchen. This resto sure has nothing to hide.
“I wanted to do something fresh and new so we came up with this idea — a store with a cafe feel with no borders,” reveals Archie Rodriguez, president/CEO of Global Restaurant Concepts, Inc., local partner of CPK. “The more inviting cafe setting is well suited to the mall crowd and lends itself to all-day dining. People can just come here, have a snack or merienda, late lunch or dinner. It’s very casual, which is what California is all about.”
Archie shares the labor pains that went into the birth of this store, “I started pitching this idea to the US about three years ago — they weren’t as accommodating, as interested, perhaps because they didn’t know if we could do it or not. It took a lot of convincing, a lot of variations in design. We went through many design studies — from classic to modern to extremely futuristic — and worked on a design footprint in collaboration with our US principals and suited it locally.”
Like an excited dad proud of his new baby, Archie adds, “All the partners of CPK worldwide are coming here in November to see this store.”
The no-borders CPK store can only seat 80 persons (or 100 max) and its kitchen measures only about 35 sq.m. “The smallest kitchen in the US is probably about 100 sq.m.,” Archie describes. “So, when you have a small kitchen, you necessarily have to be efficient and have the most efficient people with you, people who are highly skilled and cross-trained to work very fast so you can have your pizza within eight minutes.”
Having himself learned how to make pizza — the do’s and doughs of the job — when he trained in the US, Archie now enjoys the sweet taste of success. “I’m happy that we’re given the opportunity to be a little bit more creative not just with CPK but with all the other brands we’re putting up in the Philippines. And I’m happy to be now part of the Century City Mall and its fast growing community.”
The new CPK model is A-OK and Archie wants to create more island spaces in other malls. “The best part of it for a developer is we make good use of space that would otherwise not be used. We’re underneath an escalator.”
I didn’t realize we were eating under an escalator as I was too engrossed in unraveling the all-new dips, pizzas, and more in this new store, the 11th in the country’s CPK chain of restaurants.
Amid a cozy, convivial atmosphere, we dig into our dips and pass them around: the all-new four cheese (hearth-baked fresh mozzarella, queso quesadilla, smoked Gouda, and Velveeta, P175); mushroom (abalone, shiitake, and button mushrooms oven baked with queso quesadilla & Parmesan cheese, P195); chorizo + queso (fresh mozzarella, queso quesadilla & mozzarella cheese dip topped with Spanish chorizo, P275). The dips are served with crostinis, which I happily smother with my favorite dips.
If you’re a salad person and you like mangoes, you’ll love the new green mango salad (a mix of fresh Napa and red cabbage, cilantro, carrots, basil chiffonade with roasted peanut and bean sprouts, tossed in toasted coconut and our very own Philippine vinaigrette, and topped with julienned green mangoes, P195).
View allBefore the main event — the new pizzas, but of course! — Archie, ever the most gracious host, offers us the new milkshakes: Red Velvet (rich and decadent red velvet milkshake) and Truly Vanilla (French vanilla milkshake topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce). Truly slurpingly delightful! The sweetness of the milkshakes (what with the caramel sauce) melts away the saltiness of the cheese in the dips. Such a perfect combination!
Now, let’s shake a leg and move on to the next on our “eat-inerary”: the new pizza flavors. Soak up the fresh and warm goodness of a seafood medley laid out on a crispy thin crust with caramelized onions, red and yellow peppers, mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, and shaved Parmesan. I dare say Ocean’s Harvest is bound to make waves! And then there’s the new chorizo pizza, a truly meaty treat spiced up with mozzarella, sauteed red onions, yellow and red bell peppers.
Archie also introduces us to the new fettuccine with mushroom truffle cream sauce (rich and creamy black truffle sauce and shaved mushrooms, P395). Its aromatic smell instantly warms our hearts as soon as it’s laid down before us.
And what’s new on the dessert menu? Archie sweetly enumerates: Pecorino Romano cheesecake with raspberry puree (a fabulous combination of cream cheese and Pecorino Romano on a traditional Graham cracker crust with raspberry puree); Halo2 (our twist on halo-halo, a mix of coconut jelly, sweetened jackfruit, black beans, corn, bananas with caramel sauce, and vanilla ice cream, topped with caramelized walnuts — a treat for two or just for you); Red Velvet cookie sundae (red velvet cookies layered with vanilla ice cream and chocolate fudge). Velvety-licious!
Getting us all heady with excitement, too, are CPK’s new sangrias: White Mango (a refreshing blend of chardonnay and mango juice) and Manila Sunset (our own rich blend of red wine and mango juice).
On top of the all-new dishes, CPK habitues can continue to enjoy its time-cherished favorites — the original hand-tossed pizzas like the pepperoni pizza and the crispy thin-crust pizzas like the macho Meat Cravers, as well as the pasta bestsellers, salads, and appetizers.
CPK caters to everyone’s heartstrings without busting your pursestrings. At CPK, an average check per person is less than P500. Archie points out, “CPK may look expensive because of our classy interiors, but that’s part of our strategy. We want you to go to a place that’s nice, where you can enjoy the experience and products using only the highest quality ingredients with portion sizes that are large enough they offer value for money. Why should you have to go into a place that’s not nice and pay the same price when you can go to a place that’s nice, has the best quality ingredients, and where you can enjoy the experience and pay more or less the same? You don’t have to go to a restaurant that doesn’t want to give you everything. We want to give you everything.”
And there’s surely a lot more Archie wants to give Pinoy lovers of great pizza and good food. He wants to incorporate even more Pinoy ingredients into CPK pizzas (did you know that CPK uses Davao’s fine Malagos cheese?).
No wonder it’s easy to get cheesy these days!
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California Pizza Kitchen in Century City Mall is located on the lower ground floor. Other CPK branches are located at W Global Center, BGC: TriNoma; Greenbelt 5; Alabang Town Center; Promenade Mall; Power Plant Mall; SM Mall of Asia; Eastwood Mall; and Harbor Point Subic.