For our Tuesday lunch I suggested Kanteen in The Fort which served Ilonggo food and my friends quickly agreed.
The restaurant had a good lunch time crowd. I liked the high ceiling of the restaurant which made the place look and feel bigger.
Kansi is the Ilonggo version of bulalo soup made with beef shank and bone marrow. This one was quite good with a rich beef broth that can only be achieved with a lengthy cooking time.
Just to have a break from our pork-centric lunch we ordered the grilled squid. When we first ate it we thought it was undercooked because it had a bit of a raw slimy texture. We had it grilled a little more and it came back hard and rubbery. We surmised the squid wasn’t fresh or it was frozen before cooking.
Generally their pork dishes were extremely soft but other than the crispy lechon kawali they were under seasoned and underwhelming. Both the grilled pork and the binagoongan baby lacked flavor and oomph.
Lechon Kawali (Fried Pork Belly) P225
Luckily the fish was well marinated and cooked to perfection. It was one of the best dishes we ordered.
Kangkong seems like an ordinary dish but I loved how they cooked it in rich coconut milk and spiked with small chilies. I would have eaten more but it was a bit too spicy for me. It was just right for my other friends who had a much higher tolerance for spicy food.
I was very disappointed with the ultra sweet kare kare. I’ve never eaten any savory dish that sweet. The sauce was very, very thick too.
I have mixed feelings for Kanteen. Overall the food was just satisfactory. Nothing really blew me away and made me want to go back. The prices were very reasonable though.
My friends wanted to have Kanteen’s buy 2 get 1 free unlimited halo halo which started at 2:00 pm so went next door to Kuppa to have coffee and pass time. Kuppa originated from Bacolod according to my friend. Kanteen and Kuppa are owned by the same group.
Asides from coffee, tea and dessert Kuppa has a full International menu.
I never order cappuccino since I feel it’s more milk and foam than coffee but I took exception with Kuppa’s Ben’s cappuccino (P80) which was served in a espresso cup and just had a small amount of milk and foam. Delish!
We were surprised with how sublime the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bombe (P140) was. A firm chocolate cake base was topped with a light peanut butter flavored mousse and the whole thing was covered with chocolate ganache. It’s a must order for those who love peanut butter.
Funny but they forgot about the halo halo. These are my Tuesday group eating buddies.
Kanteen
Unit 32 Commercenter Building, 31st St cor 4th St. Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
telephone: 0917-8274264
Kuppa Roastery & Cafe
Commercenter Building, 31st St cor 4th Ave Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
telephone: (02) 623-5120
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