Dinner at Tourné by Chef Sandralyn Hataway

It was Jin’s turn to treat us after our first dinner at Myron’s. A discount coupon and my need to find a restaurant that served healthy food brought us to Tourné at The Fort Strip.

Tourné was the first restaurant you will see when you enter the parking lot of The Fort Strip.

If you want to know what Tourné means read Lori’s excellent description. I’m too lazy to write about it.

Chef Sandralyn Hataway and her sous chefs

We all liked the unique tofu chips served with salsa. It was a welcome change from the usual carb loaded bread. It’s a good thing the salads came out already or else we would have asked for a third round.

tofu chips w/ salsa

Jin had the salad with strawberries, Malagos blue goat cheese, jicama and mixed greens tossed in fruity vinaigrette with crispy pinipig.

California Inspired Summer Salad P228

Fran ordered the house salad made with crusted goat cheese, mixed greens, candied Bicol pili nuts, pickled sweet onions and cherry tomatoes in honey & balsamic vinaigrette.

They were quietly eating their salads and the next thing I saw the plates were wiped clean. I guess that meant they were happy and satisfied with their salad.

Tourne House Salad P228

Fran chose the chicken fajita grilled pizza with kesong puti. She loved it. I tried a small piece of the chicken and there was a strong flavor of cilantro. Since Jin and I couldn’t stand cilantro we didn’t like the pizza very much.

Chicken Fajita Grilled Pizza P198

moi, Jin and Franny

This dish wasn’t on the menu. Chef Sandralyn specially prepared it for Jin’s upcoming party for her dad’s birthday. Jin loved the flavors of the chicken but didn’t enjoy the tough chicken breast. She had it replaced with chicken thigh for the party and I heard it was a big hit.

Spiced Chicken Breast with Orange Rice Pilaf

I tried a bit of Fran’s pili encrusted tilapia and I didn’t really taste the pili. Fran loved, loved, loved the garlic mashed potatoes.

Pili Encrusted Tilapia P270

If you are on the Cohen diet or any other diet then you have to eat at Tourné. I discussed my food restrictions with Chef Sandralyn and she weighed my chicken and veggies to my exact portion. Wasn’t that fabulous of her?

My dinner was based on her Southern Airline Chicken with cornbread stuffing. I was really, really sad not to eat my favorite cornbread stuffing and since I rarely see that on the menus in Manila.

Stuffing became raw veggies. She served me raw baby bok choy. I never knew you could eat it raw. It was a bitter and peppery similar to arugula. Even without the skin my chicken tasted good but like Jin’s it was also dry and a bit tough. Chef Sandralyn explained that it was because free range chicken get a lot of exercise that’s why it’s leaner.

Southern Airline Chicken (Cohenized) P298

The highlight of our dinner were all the delicious desserts. This simple chiffon cake topped and stuffed with uber sweet pineapple from Ormoc and chantilly cream was just heavenly The cake was so moist from all the juices of the pineapple. Yes I cheated and took a teeny weeny bite.

Pineapple Cloud

The pili pie was Chef Sandralyn’s take on the American favorite pecan pie which was never my favorite. But her use of pili totally changed my opinion. The strong and distinct flavors of the pili gave the perfect balance to the sweet filling. They should keep this on the menu forever and ever. Well, until they run out of pili nuts sourced straight from Bicol. Obviously I tried it too.

Pili Pie P108

The chef took pity on me and brought out a mango for my dessert. Yummy!!!! (I can’t believe those two ate my mango after they demolished the two desserts! hmmmph ;p)

Fresh Mango

I just had to post the pretty picture of the tiramisu even though it was a disaster and the chef has banished it from her menu. I’ve never had a tiramisu with warm coffee before. And there was more than enough coffee to drink too.

Roaster Juan’s Tiramisu P90

The coffee was specially blended just for Tourné by Roaster Juan. It was good but I prefer a bolder brew.

Roaster Juan’s Tourne Blend Coffee P90

After dinner we spent a lot of time chatting with the super friendly Chef Sandralyn. I asked her a simple question, “what is flank steak in Filipino?” She quickly got out her thick training book and showed me the different cuts of beef from a cow.

Alas, she told me that the cut known as flank steak doesn’t exist in the Philippines. I wonder why the butchers and markets in the Philippines have their own unique cuts with strange names. It makes it hard to follow international recipes that call for flank, chuck or tri-tip.

I will definitely give this restaurant another chance since I want to try out the their new menu which changes every two weeks. It’s really hard to find a restaurant in Manila that will cater to my specific food requirements. And I can’t wait to try what Chef Sandralyn will prepare for me next.

Tourné by Frannywanny
Tourné by Jin Loves to Eat

Tourné by Chef Sandralyn Hataway
Unit 5 and 6, The Fort Strip, 
7th Ave. cor. 26th St., 
Bonifacio Global City
telephone: 555-0267