kebab – Jellybeans in the City

#NoticeToThePublic: Good eats abound at Public Eatery, Robinsons Magnolia

If you’re on the lookout for the what’s new and absolutely delish, The Tasteless Food Group’s got something for you.

Drop by Robinsons Magnolia to immerse yourself in a new dining concept – Public Eatery!

Taking inspiration from subway lines, this elevated foodcourt destination is marked by energy and movement, from the stylish and modern decor to the airy open dining area layout bathed in ample natural light.

Above all, Public Eatery brings the metro’s foodies to the express lane towards good eats by bringing together a diverse collection of dining options – covering a wide range of flavors and cuisines – in one convenient location.

Ready to go on a flavorful journey? Get all aboard and take your tastebuds for a ride with these exciting food stations at Public Eatery:

Anyhow

Our favorite ihaw-ihaw goes international! Inspired by the Pinoys’ penchant for various kinds grilled meats, Anyhow offers inihaw any way you like it! Here, your can make your own satisfying meal by combining your choice of smokey grilled meat – such as this succulent US Beef Belly – with equally flavorsome rice and sides.

Bad Bird

Famous for fully embracing umami flavors, Bad Bird goes all out in using MSG in its natural and processed forms: dashi, mushroom powder, furikake, miso, and more, all to produce that complex savory taste that tickles the taste buds. Check out Bad Bird’s Fish and Chips made with meaty white fish coated in its signature umami beer batter, and served with fries and tartare sauce.

Bookoh

Even the humble buko juice gets a make-over: at Bookoh, coconut water gets mixed with various syrups and sinkers to produce a tasty thirst quencher. This Coconut Pandan Gula Melaka Juice, for instance, combines buko juice with panda syrup, nata de coco, grass jelly and Gula Melaka, a type of palm sugar made from the sap of flower buds from the coconut palm.

FRNK

Try out FRNK’s artisanal beverages that accentuate the natural flavor of milk through the addition of flavors from chocolates, teas, fruits and other ingredients. It also produces a variety bakery items that pair well with its milk beverages such as its plant-based Coffee Almond Doughnut that complements its Frozen Kokoa drink.

Konbini Karaage

In Japan, convenience stores are more than just places to grab some essentials at all hours. They also provide quick access to tasty munchables such as this Karaage, Japan’s crispy and yummy take on the fried chicken, served hot and fresh – quite conveniently – in a cute takeout box.

Le Chon

Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu celebrates savory roasted meats that define Pinoy celebrations at her newest venture, Le Chon. Aside from the hallmark lechon baboy and lechon manok, Le Chon also serves other meats, deliciously roasted lechon-style, such as this Lechon Angus Beef Belly.

Merry Moo

Our sweltering summer heat calls for some ice cream, doesn’t it? Well, chill out with some icy handcrafted confection that comes from the milk of happy cows at Merry Moo. Go for creamy and velvety scoops of Merry Moo ice cream richly flavored with Auro Milk Chocolate finished with a generous amount of roasted cacao nibs for an additional burst of cacao.

Morse

Perk up your day with a cuppa joe from the passion project of Mike Holaschke, the Austrian blogger behind “Making It Happen.” Power great conversations with your companions with The One, made with a shot of espresso topped with thick salted cream and sea salt.

New York, Cubao

Award-winning and best-selling cookbook author Chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou curates an array of much-loved, down-home, and “Simpol” Pinoy fare we all know and love, remixed for variety and rediscovery. NYC’s Tocino Ribs brings a hefty serving of salt-cured pork ribs, perfect for a very heavy breakfast with fried rice and egg.

OK Bob

Satisfy your cravings for Middle Eastern dishes with OK Bob‘s fresh takes on classics such as kebabs, falafel, hummus and curries, with recipes and methods perfected by Chefs Decker Gokioco and Jorge Mendez. How about wowing your friends with a towering serving of Hanging Kebab comprised of a skewer of grilled beef hanging over a bed of buttered basmati rice topped with grilled tomatoes.

Samyan

Bite into Authentic Thai streetfood, curated by Chef Third “Ton” Tassanakajohn and produced by Chef Gabriel Ong, at Samyan. Named after the bustling Sam Yan Market in Bangkok, Samyan brings exotic yet comforting tastes and textures of Thai street cuisine, such as in this Khao Pad Pu, also known as Crab Fried Rice.

Seafood Oyster Bar

It’s quite shuck-ing how oysters have become a big hit in food halls. As evidenced by Seafood Oyster Bar, foodies have gone crazy over the briny taste and silky mouthfeel of oysters – whether raw with spiced vinegar, doused with garlic butter, heated with a few drops of tabasco or as an oyster shot – or even Baked and topped with Miso Custard. Because, why not?

Thomson Road

Savor the flavors of Singapore at Thomson Road, inspired by the Lion City’s famous shophouses and hawker stands. Chef Johanne Wee dishes out fresh takes on Singapore’s much-loved street dishes, such as this spicy yet comforting Seafood Laksa.

Ten by Tsukemen

Sate your hunger with a mouthwatering bowl of ramen that scores a 10 out of 10. Chef Noel Mauricio helms the kitchen, taking his cues from the minimalist Japanese culture, to produce ramen bowls such as this Tonkotsu Premium, made with pork bone broth and ramen noodles topped with grilled chashu, aji tamago, sesame seeds and negi. Be sure to get the Richer broth, that’s the chef’s recommendation!

The Bev Bar

Who says you can’t make pour decisions? You can do just that at The Bev Bar which serves a wide assortment of refreshments to pair with your orders from other Public Eatery stations. Chef Patrick Go creates mouthwatering drinks such as this scrumptious Choco Chocnut Shake.

So let this be my Notice to the Public: Go full steam ahead on your next foodie adventure at Public Eatery. With so many cuisines to explore, you can always count on a flavorful and satisfying food trip.

Public Eatery is located at the Fourth Floor, New Wing, Robinsons Magnolia, Aurora Boulevard corner Doña Hemady Street, Barangay New Manila, Quezon City, open daily from 10am to 9pm. For inquiries, call +63 976 2810277 or email publiceatery@tasteless.ph.

For more information on Public Eatery, visit its website or follow it on Facebook and Instagram.

Disclosure: I attended a food tasting held at this venue. Food items mentioned here were served at no cost to facilitate this feature.

Middle Eastern classics at OK Bob

If you’re a fan of Middle Eastern cuisine, here’s something that’s sure to catch your fancy.

OK Bob, the newest stall in The Grid Food Market, recently launched new menu items crafted by Chefs Decker Gokioco and Jorge Mendez, giving the metro’s foodies more chances to sate their cravings for kebabs, curries and more.

Middle Eastern food is comprised of a variety of cuisines from a long list of countries, it is generally characterized by the frequent use fragrant spices, olive oil, nuts and creamy elements.

The resulting flavors and textures from this culinary tradition come into play with OK Bob’s newest dishes.

Crab Biryani (Php2,500).

Indulge yourself with the flavors of the sea and spices with OK Bob’s Crab Biryani. Fresh 500g crab is braised in curry-spiced yogurt and served on a bed of spiced Basmati rice with fried onion, cilantro, papadum and coriander cream.

OK Bob Plate Meat Combo (Php450).

Grilled chicken and beef served on a bed of spiced Basmati rice accompanied by fresh tomatoes, onions, lettuce, buttered Naan bread with garlic sauce and Tikka spiced hot sauce.

Beef Kabab Roll (Php320).

Grilled marinated ground beef skewer on top of romaine lettuce and cilantro encased in a bread roll and served with Persian-spiced fries, cucumber raita and sumac salad.

Don’t miss this chance to expand your food horizons with these exciting dishes from OK Bob!

OK Bob is open for pickup and delivery at thegridfoodmarket.com. It is also available for dine-in at Stall 2 at The Grid Food Market, Powerplant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Rockwell Center, Makati. It also delivers via GrabFood, FoodPanda and Pick-A-Roo.

For more details on its menu items and offers, follow OK Bob on Facebook and Instagram.

The Grid Food Market is the resident food hall of Powerplant Mall which offers a wide range of flavors to cater to various cravings.

Check out my previous posts on other cuisines available at The Grid Food Market:

Disclosure: Product samples were provided to facilitate this feature.

A gastronomic trip at The Cafe Mediterranean, Rockwell

Mediterranean cuisine is said to be identified with a trinity of basic ingredients: olive, wheat and grape, yielding oil, bread and wine respectively.

Two of these key ingredients came into play during a lunch with my family at The Cafe Mediterranean while we were on our way to a movie screening at the Powerplant Mall. (I was with my hubby and kids so wine was not ordered, hehehe!)

The Cafe Meditteranean prides itself on bringing the “flavors of the sun.” True enough, biting into its tasty offerings brings to mind images of sun-drenched vineyards against a wide azure Mediterranean sky.

Even the restaurant’s premises evoke a similar vibe through the use of brightly colored or strikingly patterned artwork and design accents against whitewashed walls.

For our appetizers, we ordered:

Hummus with Grilled Vegetables (Php300). The classic chick pea and sesame dip from the Middle East accompanied by grilled vegetables. I love scooping it up with a folded piece of pita bread together with a grilled onion or tomato.

Moutabal (Php165). A grilled eggplant and tahini dip, also great with wheat pita bread.

For lunch, Hubby and the kids went for an order each of Grilled Beef Kebab (Php535). Small cubes of grilled beef served with Tabouleh and Labneh (the Lebanese version of cream cheese), together with buttered Basmati rice.

As for me, my choice for lunch was a Grilled Beef Gyro Plate (Php450). Tender slices of well-seasoned grilled beef accompanied by Moutabal, Tzatziki (a creamy combination of cucumber, yoghurt and garlic), Tabouleh (cracked wheat, tomatoes and parsley) and pickled chillies. I loved how the smokey flavors of the beef and eggplant dip were complemented by the cucumber dip and other elements of the dish. Together with buttered Basmati rice, this made for a flavorful and filling meal.

With these combinations of tastes and textures from different Mediterranean cuisines, dining at The Cafe Mediterranean seemed like we went on a gastronomic tour.

Too bad we didn’t have time (or room!) for dessert. I would have loved getting myself some Baklava.

Oh, since both Hubby and I are Zomato Gold members, we each got a 1+1 deal on food which basically rendered one of the beef kebabs and my grilled beef gyro plate as free! What a sweet deal, right?

This Cafe Mediterranean branch is located at Lower Ground Floor, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati City. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 8981301 or +63 2 7565010.

Other branches may be found at:

Basement 1, Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons, Oranbo, Pasig City
Fifth Floor, The Podium, ADB Avenue, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City
Third Floor, One Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Level 1, Greenbelt 1, Ayala Center, Greenbelt, Makati City
Ground Floor, Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Mall of Asia Complex (MOA), Pasay City
Second Floor, Alabang Town Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa City

Want to score a similar discount? Zomato Gold provides members with 1+1 deals on food or 2+2 deals on drinks. All you have to do is sign up for a Zomato Gold membership here as soon as slots open. (They tend to get snatched up pretty quickly so be sure to sign up as soon as slots become available.) Use my code JELLYB to get 20% off the membership fee.