Receta Restaurant Review: My Kitchen by Chef Chris (The Oasis Hotel)
I have read so many positive reviews about My Kitchen by Chef Chris. Housed at The Oasis Hotel near Paco Park, the restaurant is just a five-minute drive from where we live. I’m not sure what took us so long to try it out, but I am thinking that it must be the intimidating price range of their food. That’s why when I saw an online voucher being offered by Deal Grocer, I immediately told Joie about it. We bought two vouchers, and we got to redeem them a couple of weeks before the deal ends. Haha! If I remember it correctly, we got a 50% discount on their rolled pizza selection.
I called the restaurant the day before to make a reservation. When we arrived the following day for lunch, I noticed that every table has a RESERVED sign on top of it. I also noticed that a lot of the guests were voucher holders.
The restaurant is facing the hotel’s swimming pool. This made me really happy because my photos turned out quite well because of the natural lighting. But I think the boys were happier because they were able to do some “sightseeing”, haha! :p
Anyway, Boyet and I arrived earlier than Jeff and Joie. As soon as we were seated, the waitress served us with small bowl of complimentary freshly-baked bread. The bread’s crust is a bit crunchy, but its core is very moist. It goes perfectly well with the pesto dip. The first bowl served to us has 4 slices of bread. Boyet and I ate a piece each, and we left the remaining two pieces for Jeff and Joie. But when they arrived, the waitress served us this bowl. I think the waitress saw the way I looked at the bread! :p
We scanned the menu and got really surprised with the many choices of panizza staring back at us. We got two vouchers so that meant that we were entitled to two orders of panizza. Good thing that the waitress told us that we could have their “half and half”, meaning we can get two flavors of the rolled pizza in one order. We just asked our server what their bestsellers are, and we started choosing from there.
Miguel / Pancetta e Chippoli PHP790
Miguel has sausage, sundried tomatoes, mushroom and olives. I liked the spicy kick of the sausage. It’s perfect with the hint of sweetness of the tomatoes and the pungent taste of the olives. Pancetta e Chippoli is a straightforward choice. Topped with only bacon and caramelized onions, this choice is the true testament that there is beauty in simplicity. Anything with crispy bacon is absolutely divine. So what more if it’s mixed with caramelized onions? It was indeed a perfect marriage of sweetness and tanginess.
Pamela is topped with salami, ham, bacon, fried garlic and chili flakes. This will surely be a hit to all meat-lovers. I loved that every bite of the panizza gives you protein overload, and not to mention that spicy and garlicky punch at end of every bite. The Formaggi e Erbette is infused with different kinds of herbs – sage, parsley, oregano and marjoram. The citrusy and earthy flavors of the herbs mixed with four kinds of cheese – gorgonzola, parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella, orchestrated a very unique and delightful treat to my taste buds. In other words, ang sarap! :p
Pamela / Formaggi e Erbette PHP790
Did I like the panizza? Yes, of course! But... yes, there is a BUT to it. The crust is soft enough making it easy for us to roll the panizza. The edge has a slight crunch which adds another layer of texture. When it comes to flavor, I have nothing but praises for My Kitchen. However, each panizza costs PHP790. If not for the vouchers, I don’t think I would be willing to shell out that much, considering that the panizza of Focaccia can compete very well with it. In addition to that, I asked the waitress if the serving of arugula and alfalfa is unlimited. I love putting tons of alfalfa and arugula to my panizza so I was a bit disappointed when we were told that it was only limited to two servings.
Thinking that the two servings of panizza would not be enough for the boys’ big appetites, we decided to try out other choices from the menu.
Spaghetti con Frutti di Mare PHP720
Spaghetti con Frutti di Mare is like sea in a platter. This pasta dish has a generous serving of salmon, dorado, snapper, prawns and mussels. That alone is enough to explain the hefty price tag of this dish. Every bite is like a burst of different kinds of flavor inside my mouth, with the saltiness of the capers, the mild acidity of the tomatoes and the pungent taste of the olives. I had initially mistaken the olives with something else. “Ay, ano ‘to? Ahhh, parang pickled ubas! Ay, duhat yata?! Ah, ok fine, olives pala!” Bwahahahaha!
I know that salad is usually served at the beginning of the meal, but ours arrived last. We decided to make a last-minute addition for lunch. Joie suggested we get the Rustico Salad.
Sitting on a bed of lettuce and arugula are chunks of tasty grilled chicken. The sweetness of the pear slices balanced out the strong flavors of the thin strips of red onions. The arugula gave a much needed contrast to the subtlety of the lettuce. The salad also has walnuts which added texture at every bite. The sour cream dressing was a bit bland for our liking so we asked for more. The dressing may have fallen short when it comes to flavor, but the grilled chicken definitely made up for it! The chicken is very flavorful, it made me forget that I was eating salad.
My Kitchen by Chef Chris has some hits and misses. Some swept us off our feet, but some didn’t. The rolled pizza are really good, but once again, I am not sure if I am willing to come back and pay for the original price. So yeah, thank God for Deal Grocer! :p
My Kitchen by Chef Chris
The Oasis Hotel (near Paco Park)
1032-34 Belen Street,
Paco, Manila
* All photos were taken with a Nikon D60
All opinions expressed here are my own. Just because something worked for me does not necessarily mean that it will work for you too, the same way that I don’t post selfies just because everybody else is doing it. Everything on this blog, unless otherwise stated, belongs to me. Plagiarism is stealing. And the Bible made it clear that thou shalt not steal. =)