Passionate about food at Bonifacio Global City (BGC)

MANILA, Philippines - We recently joined a walking and tasting tour in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), and acknowledged that the area, which is chock-a-block with restaurants, is fertile ground for the BGC Food Tour, a component of this year’s Passionfest. The annual festival at Bonifacio Global City is intended to celebrate people’s diverse passions. And for sure, the passion for food ranks high for Filipinos who love feasting.

It was interesting to note that participants came from a variety of backgrounds. Apart from students and young people who maintained food blogs, there were businessmen, professionals, housewives and some semi-retirees. The common denominator was that all enjoyed food; were unafraid of new and unfamiliar flavors. Facilitated by Ivan Man Dy as food and culture guide, the tour took us to seven food outlets in about four hours. Ivan is known for “Old Manila Walks” and he first gained popularity by guiding groups through Binondo. But unlike cramped and busy Binondo where one needs to carefully watch out for vehicular traffic or occasionally dodge pedestrians hurrying the opposite way, Bonifacio Global City is a pedestrian-friendly area where walking in the airy walkways can really be enjoyed.

“What makes this tour different is that it has a more contemporary feel,” says Ivan who counts history, architecture and food culture as among his particular interests. He shared nuggets of interesting trivia throughout the tour, but tried to abstain from sampling the treats. “I’m trying to watch what I eat.”

The First Two Stops Were Sweet

Starting in Serendra where the first stop was Cupcakes by Sonja’s, famous for its tempting cupcakes. (“Its Sonja where you pronounce the ‘j’,” says Ivan. “You know, as in junior?”), the group was served variants like choco cream pie (rich, luscious Belgian chocolate cream in Oreo crust, topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with more Oreo bits), melt in your mouth flourless chocolate cupcake (dense Valrhona flourless cupcake with a rich velvety flavor that you can dissolve in your mouth) and chocolate overload (rich, moist Valrhona filled with creamy ganache and topped with velvety chocolate cream.) Our favorite blue-colored vanilla sunshine variant (classic fluffy yellow cupcake topped with vanilla butter cream) was also available, but civic-minded citizens might be more inclined to choose the red velvet vixen, a traditional Southern cupcake made with Belgian cocoa and cream cheese icing. Why? Because some money is donated to the Red Cross from each cupcake sold. No artificial sweeteners are used in Sonja’s cupcakes so the relatively high sugar content of the confections might be a bit tricky to manage for those watching their blood sugar levels or weight.

But really, it is difficult to abstain from the sweets especially as Miss Desserts is just next door with its tempting lemon squares, butter cake and ultimate brownies. Since we expected to walk throughout the area however, it somewhat made sense to have the high-calorie desserts first so we can burn it all off later. Or so we hoped.

From Sweet To Savory

It was from dessert to soup and we were served pho at Zao. This is a simple northern Vietnamese beef noodle soup with a light broth made more refreshing by the addition of mint leaves. One can also add fresh mungbean sprouts to add texture to the soup. Additionally, there were skewers of grilled pork and prawn, as well as tasty spring rolls, including a fried variant that one wrapped in lettuce leaves. The use of fresh ingredients is what makes Vietnamese cuisine very popular, while the straightforward cooking methods contribute to making it one of the healthiest Asian cuisines.

Whether From West To East Or East To West, Good Food Is Always Best

From Asian cuisine, the group crossed over to Bonifacio High Street for a juggling exhibition by bartender Joseph Apostol and Western cooking at T.G. I. Friday’s where the “shareable platters” are always popular for family groups and among friends. Although our hands-down favorite in the restaurant has always been the baby back pork ribs and the crispy golden fried shrimp, we had the Triple Chicken sampler that day. This includes spicy Buffalo wings, flavorful chicken quesadillas and Jack chicken strips. An interesting bit of trivia is that Buffalo wings are so named because they were popularized in Buffalo, New York; not because they are made out of buffalo the animal. The capital ‘B’ makes a big difference.

Learning The Healthy Way To Eat

Yoh-gurt Froz inside the Hobbes & Landes store is especially popular among dieters. The Yoh-gurt Froz original and the classic fro-yo are desserts made from frozen yogurt and fruits, and are 98 percent fat-free. For health-conscious parents who try their best to encourage their children to eat healthy, the location of Yoh- gurt Froz is fortuitous. Children can flex their creativity while playing with Lego blocks or learning how to read. And should they get hungry, they can opt for a healthy snack that is readily accessible. The concept is truly quite inspired. By associating a toy store with a healthy snack alternative, the subliminal message that “healthy is fun” might just get through, so that eating right will hopefully sustain our children through adulthood.

Lotsa Pizza and Pasta

At Pasto in The Fort Entertainment Complex, pasta and pizza were waiting to be sampled. Pizza Di Carne was an all-meat variant with Italian sausage, smoked ham and pepperoni, while Pizza Bianca had a pesto base and was topped with assorted seafood. Pasta Genovese was capellini (Italian for fine hair; to describe fine spaghetti) with shrimps, arugula and pesto in tomato cream sauce.

We’ve Established That There Is Good Food Here

The final stop was Establishment and after all that we had already devoured, we wondered if we could manage even more food. But the Pan- Asian selection prepared by chef Godfrey Laforteza, formerly of Nobu in New York and Hong Kong, was too tempting to resist: tuna belly tataki with nine-spice aioli, crispy beef potstickers; chicken katsu with lemon chili sauce, cream dory katsu and baked Bluetooth tortilla chips with wasabi cheese dip. Most outstanding was the beef misozuke or marinated grilled US tenderloin on lemon miso sauce. We groaned that we were already stuffed to the gills with too much good food. And really, we will appreciate the good sense of checking out and sampling the various food stops slowly for more thorough enjoyment of the fare next time.

The Passionate Gastronaut’s Motto

“To boldly go where no man has gone before,” goes the spiel of the popular show Star Trek, and food aficionados may secretly dream of becoming “gastronauts” to discover new food planets. Fortunately, one need not venture too far since accessible eating destinations like those at the Bonifacio Global City make food exploration a whole lot easier. Fun and playful. Traditional, familiar and comforting. Strange and new, convenient or romantic. Perhaps, brave and foolhardy if you try to gorge on too much in one day. At the Bonifacio Global City where the culinary scene is vibrant, rich, and pulsating with imagination, there is surely something tasty for everyone.

The BGC Food Tour with Ivan Man Dy as food and culture guide has a second run today, May 1, from 2 to 5:30 p.m. with Polu Kai, Italianni’s, Stock Market, Ice Cream Bar, Trio and Amber. Registration is at Bonifacio High Street Concierge at B8. The special event is free of charge. To know more about BGC Passionfest, please log on to bonifacioglobalcity.com.ph