POP CUISINE, or Cucina Pop in Italian, is a highly associated term with Davide Oldani, if not an outright creation by this Italian chef. Pop Cuisine reflects Chef Oldani's belief in making simple ingredients very well made, thus elevating the food experience while making it fairly accessible to people. I certainly found this in Foo'd, where the hero of one of the dishes was... drum roll... the humble onion. Foo'd is the latest restaurant to open at Shangri-la at the Fort, in the area between recently opened Maisen and Toby's Estate. Geographically, it's walking distance from Boni High Street to one side, and Burgos Circle / Mind Museum to the other. Closest parking is, of course, Shang itself, but if you find parking there a tad scandalous, there's newly opened Three Parkade along 30th and Lane A, across Boni Central Square.
Backtracking a bit, Chef Oldani, after working with renowned chefs such as Chef Marchesi of Italy (the first chef in Italy to earn 3 Michelin stars), Chef Herme of France and Chef Ducasse of Monaco, opened his own restaurant "D'O" in Cornaredo, a small town just outside of Milan, back in 2003. With the objective of serving simple, humble and high quality cuisine that the locals can afford, D'O would eventually earn its own Michelin star. The 40 seater restaurant has had as much as an 8 month waiting period. Seriously. To dine, people needed to reserve 8 months in advance??? Then again, if an Italian only had to cough up the equivalent of $14 (PhP700) then for a 2 course Michelin star meal in Italy, it would be a no-brainer, wouldn't it?
Entering Foo'd, I found the restaurant was well designed and elegant yet welcoming. Fine dining feel with a modern design. I particularly liked the slim bookshelves full of different items which divided sections of the restaurant, the sleek lighting fixtures, and the open kitchen at the back where one can see the high tech (read: expensive) kitchen equipment and the many chefs preparing the dishes to be served.
We were welcomed by FooDee Global Concepts group's Eric Dee and his lovely wife, Kidd, to Foo'd, and they gamely stayed with us throughout the evening while explaining the background of Foo'd, the story of Chef Oldani, the challenges hurdled in building Chef David Oldani's first restaurant expansion outside of Italy, and the description of every dish of the four (4) course meal we enjoyed, plus how best to enjoy each dish. Eric also dished out a few insider anecdotes of his restaurant ventures, which was cool.
Consistent with Chef Oldani's Pop Cuisine is the base price for a 3 course meal, PhP800, and even PhP1,200 for a 4 course meal. For less than P1,000, you can taste a 3 course Italian meal conceptualized by a Michelin Star awarded and world renowned chef. Nice. Or if you're game for a heavier meal, go for the 4 course meal, which adds a Primo (first dish) between the Antipasto (appetizer) and the Secondo (second dish). For each course, however, one can opt to "upgrade" to a nice list of choices in the menu (with corresponding add-on prices per upgrade). Quite workable and not an obscene incremental price.
Before the dishes arrived, there were breadsticks and toasted wholegrain bread on the table served with an olive oil and balsamic dip, plus butter. Both bread were made in-house, which was pretty impressive. And I loved how the bread sticks were very thinly done, yet sturdy and crunchy. We also were served with white wine, which was nicely dry and refreshing to start the evening while we were waiting for the others.
Once the group was complete, we started with their Bagoss Mousse, which was Aged Grana (Padano) Mousse as the main highlight, with Balsamic Pearls for zest, Caramelized Pear for the sweetness, a lightly sweet and crunchy thin pastry for crunchy texture, and topped with Aged Grana (Padano) Foam for that airy contrast to the creamy grana mousse. I've truly come to respect Grana Padano cheese, which is comparable to my favorites Parmesan Reggiano and cave-aged Gruyere cheeses. What a fine start to the evening. I'd rate this a 5/5, because I love cheese and I give respect to the combination of all these ingredients that formed a very well made appetizer. Try it without the pear first, but make sure you get all the other ingredients especially the thin pastry and the two grana's in every serving. Then try all ingredients together, which is how it's best enjoyed, according to Eric.
The second course was another appetizer, a signature Chef Oldani dish, the Cipolla Caramellata, or the aforementioned onion, which is a Caramalized Onion, placed inside a sweet puff pastry exterior that's lined with Grana Padano Hot Cream and topped with a mildly sweet Grana Padano Gelato. As a fan of both cheese and puff pastry, I also loved the experience of this. I like the crunchy texture of the crust with the soft sweet caramelized onion and the creamy gelato. Probably the only change I'd suggest is to lessen the sweetness of the puff pastry as the sweet pastry and caramelized onion makes for a double sweet combo, balanced out only slightly by the grana padano gelato. Between this and the first appetizer, though, I'd stick with the Bargoss Mousse. Still, I'm impressed with this (one wouldn't normally think of an onion as the main feature of a dish), as this is very much in keeping with the use of simple everyday ingredients that's just elevated with the use of the pastry and grana padano gelato and grana hot cream. Rating: 4/5
The third course, or technically Secondi, is the Iberico Pork Ribs. The Iberico pork is, of course, flown in from Spain, and is placed atop Porcini (mushroom) Sauce and topped with muscovado sugar and licorice so that adds the crunchy texture with a sweet and lightly salty sour taste. The iberico pork, though only 4 cuts, was enough, and it was oh-so-tender. Perfect sauce with the porcini base, which is a good mushroom flavor, and reminds me of a more subtle shiitake... I could not get enough of this sauce. Wow. 5/5
For the Dolce (dessert), we got to try the Dark Chocolate Mousse and the Lemon Curd. Let me tell you, both desserts could not be more contrasting yet equally compelling to eat.
The Lemon Curd had the nice tartness to it, with small bits of Meringue for sweetness and crunch, then when you mix that with the Lettuce Gelato (yes, LETTUCE gelato) on top of a bed of Cacao Crumble and Curry Almonds (though the latter was not as apparent), it just worked. The tartness, sweetness, creaminess and crunchiness all blended well together for that light and refreshing dessert. What a combo. Rating: 5/5
While I'm not usually going to select chocolate-based pastries or cakes primarily, I also enjoyed the Dark Chocolate Mousse, with its Dark Chocolate Gelato topping, Cacao Crumble and Framboise Powder, it's a rich, chocolatey dessert that will satisfy those who appreciate chocolate based dessert. I also tasted berries, I believe to be dehydrated raspberries. Nicely designed and quite a rich dessert. 4/5
Service was impeccable. The wait staff made sure all dishes were served at the same time, our plates were cleared in between courses quickly, our drinks refilled fast and proactively. Very professional and well trained in only their 7th day of operation. Eric also said a unique feature of this resto is that the chefs will bring the dishes to the people themselves and describe or talk about the dish. Something I experienced in a fabulous and incredibly popular restaurant in downtown Toronto last October. It's a personalized approach that struck a chord with me then and I hope that they deliver the same to diners of Foo'd moving forward. Shout out also to the chef's for the impeccable plating of the dishes. All well done except perhaps for the Cipolla Caramellata which had its challenges with the hot and slightly uneven onion, thus the melting and sliding off of the grana padano gelato.
Foo'd is a perfect new addition to the line-up of restaurants opened by FooDee Global Concepts, like Tim Ho Wan, Todd English & Pound, plus Sunnies Cafe and Mesa. According to Eric and Kidd Dee, their vision is to bring quality food and ingredients that delivers taste and dining experience with bang for your buck, which is, in many ways, aligned with the Pop Cuisine idea by Chef Oldani when he started Cucina Pop 13 years ago.
Food wise I'd rate my experience a 4.5/5, which I'll round up nicely to a 5/5 when I consider the value for money's worth, a true testament to the accessibility promise by Chef Oldani and FooDee. Plus it's always a good thing when I'm looking forward to coming back here with my wife. For the return trip, I'm already eyeing the Wagyu beef cheeks (having tried Le Jardin's awesome version) or Chilean Seabass for my upgrade, plus the choices of Risottos among their Primi upgrades. I liked the review of Mary Love Siy on her risotto.
They'll have lunch specific courses soon, like maybe priced P500, so you'll get the Gastronomical experience, high class ambience and Italian next level cuisine at reasonable prices. Meantime, have a nice P800 meal. I promise it's worth it.
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