Fine Filipino Food with a View at Fika, Capitol Hills

A Swedish chef whipping up Filipino delicacies.

That’s the way the cookie crumbles at Fika, the restaurant located in the out-of-the-way Capitol Greenstreet Commercial Center up Capitol Hills in Quezon City.

Head chef and CEO Mats Loo hails from Sweden where the word “fika” means “having coffee and talks with friends.” Having long dreamed of having a restaurant name Fika, he made his dream a reality right up Capitol Hills in Quezon City.

Diners of Fika are treated, not just to fine Filipino food, but also to a stunning view of the city. Being located in the Capitol Greenstreet Commercial Center, near Capitol Hills Golf and Country Club and Celebrity Sports Club, it is surrounded by lush greenery with a view of Quezon City all the way to Antipolo.

Also housed in the same building is the top culinary school First Gourmet Academy. It trains aspiring chefs in various courses that will prepare them for jobs in both local establishments and those abroad. Its working kitchen is also where the fantastic dishes in Fika’s breakfast and all-day menus are prepared and cooked.

I recently joined a foodie meetup held at Fika where, together with fellow foodies, I was able to sample delectable dishes from Fika’s all-day menu. These include:

Chicken Inasal (Php255). A popular Ilonggo dish, it is grilled chicken marinated in a special sauce that gave it its distinct color.

Laing (Php135). Dried taro leaves, coconut milk and chili peppers make this a winner among lovers of spicy food.

Pancit Luglog (Php195). Thick noodles sauteed in a rich savory sauced and topped with hard-boiled eggs and chicharon. A party favorite!

Pinakbet with Bagnet (Php265). A classic Ilocano dish, it’s made of stewed vegetables seasoned with bagoong and topped with crispy bagnet.

Fika Fried Rice (Php135). A recipe that came from Chef Mats’ mom, it’s a great breakfast fried rice made with chopped Chinese sausages, scrambled eggs, pork bits and various chopped veggies.

Binagoongan Rice (Php135). A flavorful dish made of rice, pork bits and kangkong sauteed in bagoong paste then topped with salted egg and ensalada.

Bangus Steak (Php285). The fish version of Bistek Tagalog, it features boneless bangus marinated in soy sauce and calamansi and served with lightly sauteed white onion rings.

Dinakdakan (Php140). An Ilocano dish made of various pork parts such as cheeks, liver, ears and tongue.

Sisig (Php150). Chopped pork parts are deep fried and seasoned with calamansi, mayonnaise, soy sauce and chilis.

We washed down our meal with ice blended drinks such as Choco Frappe (Php165) and Green Tea Frappe (Php175).

And since any meal wouldn’t be complete without dessert, we indulged ourselves in some freshly baked cakes, all at Php110 each:

Tres Leches

Ube Queso

Chocolate Cake

Chocnut Cheesecake

Clear winners for me are the Pinakbet with Bagnet, Fika Rice and – dare I say – all the cakes!

These Fika food sure are Fika good! Do check them out!

Fika is located at the Ground Floor, Capitol Greenstreet Commercial Center, Capitol Hills Drive, Old Balara, Quezon City, open Sundays to Thursdays at 6.45am to 10.30pm and Fridays to Saturdays at 6.45am to 11pm. For inquiries and reservations, call + 63 917 7006588, +63 2 3553132 or +63 2 5142480.

Disclosure: Together with other food bloggers, I was invited to attend a foodie meet-up held in this restaurant. All the food items mentioned here were served to allow us to sample the fare and were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.

Check out my reviews of other Filipino restaurants: