“Gourmet quality at a reasonable price.” Cliché, but it’s an appropriate description for YUM Milano.

To preface my review, yes, I went here for a magazine feature. However, they didn’t do anything different apart from making sure the food was presented for a photo shoot.

Following a classic three-course menu, the saba (saba banana stuffed with ground pork) was a hefty appetiser. The semi-sweet, toasted saba and the mango-passion fruit sauce providing the sweet while the pork and parmesan gave me savory. A good start to the meal.

The Visayas rice bowl looked like a salad yet was just as filling as a full meal. The shrimp was cooked well, and its slight sweetness was highlighted by each of the fruits in the bowl. The cucumber added a nice crunch, while the vinegar fermented rice balanced out the flavors. It’s like a risotto but with way less cream.

The dessert won me over. It was a creamy-as-heck cheesecake made with ube. It would have been a one-bite-then-set-aside if it weren’t for the tangy mango sauce beneath.

The pomegranate mocktail was good. It looked like a sangria sans the wine or a punch without the alcohol. Balanced flavors, though I wish I asked for it to be alcoholic.