[OK na Food Trip] The Girl + The Bull

Intro:

It's our first year as a married couple and we've been looking for a place to have a fancy celebratory dinner. We've been aiming to dine here since last May but we either end up on another place because they are fully booked or forget about them altogether. This time Misis K made sure we are booked way ahead of time so woot! Sa wakas!

when you see this, that's it

The restaurant is quickly becoming famous in the south, being just opened late 2013 and already jam-packed most of the time. The place is quite difficult to find for those not familiar around BF Homes and it doesn't have a conspicuous signage either, so looking for this gem is part of the experience. In fact, they're a bit congratulatory about it because they have this cute calligraphy on their door that says "Yep! you've found us" [sic]. 

yup, we found it

Food:

• Mushroom Salad
• Chicken Confit Bibimbap
• Grass-fed Beef Tenderloin
• Homemade Faux Twix Bars

mushroom salad

We didn't wait that much before the mushroom salad is served. It's mainly shitake and enoki with salad greens, shredded pear, blue cheese, and walnuts in balsamic and olive oil. The flavor's a bit too salty for us, overpowering the hints of bitter-sweetness. We like how the enoki was fried though, and the salad greens are crunchy. It gave the salad an interesting mix of texture.

chicken bibimbap

Misis K got the chicken bibimbap which is slow-cooked chicken slices and poached egg on top of a Korean-flavored rice surrounded with julienned vegetables (we can spy mushrooms, cabbage, kimchi, eggplant, and seaweeds in there). In true bibimbap style, we stirred everything together in the bowl; the egg yolk giving the components a good "seal". It's not outright spicy compared to it's more Korean versions but the ingredients make for a very flavorful meal. Andami pang kanin! Great for my "construction worker" appetite.

beef tenderloin

I ordered for the beef tenderloin, cooked medium. It's very rich in taste and really tender. It has mushroom, leeks, and cabbage for garnish but the highlight for us is the butter and squid ink concoction where the tenderloin swims in. It complemented the beef very well. Ito ang mukang babalik-balikan namin dito. Sa sobrang sarap, nakaka-bitin yung servings (about four hefty slices of meat).

heaven must be full of this

I initially have reservations about the faux twix but everyone who tasted it has been raving about it ever since. Add us to the list! It's paradise on our palates. It's shortbread, caramel (did we taste condensed milk in there too?), and bittersweet chocolate layered on top of each other then sprinkled with salt to work on highlighting the sweetness some more. We want to copy this at home.

Kaching:

Main dishes goes for P400 to P600. Service charge is 10%.

Expensive, yes. But it's not bad for a fancy dining experience, justified by good food, terrific service, and chic ambiance.

Misis K

Comments:

It's owned by two young entrepreneurs and we can feel the youthful vibe imbued in every element of the restaurant. The place is not that spacious but they managed to put up quirky and artsy stuff on every corner, keeping the visual appeal a treat without making the place look cluttered. It's like any angle inside the resto is an instant Instagram platform. LOL.

The staff are all smiles and very accommodating all the time. The owners are hands-on and mostly present. Don't be fooled though, they don't mind rejecting walk-in customers (albeit respectfully) on a busy day so it's almost always wise to get a reservation.

photo wall

There's not much on the menu but the variety is enough not to look for more. We dropped by on a Sunday so we were not able to try their Buttermilk Fried Chicken which is their house specialty. Sounds to me like another reason to go back.

Summary:
Perfect for a fancy date or a relaxed family bonding moments over food.

happy first!

Ratings:
7 out of 7




[obi.Dec.7]