All of us felt eager to get a taste of this healthy goodness.
For our appetizers, we tried their Mushroom Spring Roll and Prawn Spring Roll. Both spring rolls were equally good even without the sauce. The vegetables used were fresh and the spring roll was juicy with every bite. The wrap, unlike other restaurants, was not too thin nor too thick – it was just right!
Prawn Spring Roll – Prawns, organic/naturally produced herbs and greens with lime hoisin sauce (P290)
Mushroom Spring Roll – Organic/naturally produced Shitake Mushrooms, herbs and greens with lime hoisin sauce (P280)
We then moved on the the salads. The salads at Earth Kitchen were fresh and “crispy”. I asked owner Melissa how often they bring the vegetables to Manila and she said they get fresh resources EVERYDAY! Wow! No wonder their vegetables were so delicious!
The Watermelon and Rocket Salad was perfect with its mix of fruits, vegetables and nuts. The vibrant colors made this dish even more appetizing! Looking at it made it feel like an artist painted my dinner! Fellow co-writer Joanne Tan shares how she loved the peppery rocket leaves combined with the bursting sweetness of the watermelon and crunchy pili nuts to top it all off. This salad had a mixture of colors, tastes and textures – just what every dish needs!
Watermelon and Rocket Salad – organic/naturally produced Arugula, Edible Flowers, Pili Nuts, Local Feta Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette. (P245)
Earth Kitchen’s Farm’s Harvest, on the other hand, may look simple when compared to the Watermelon and Rocket Salad, but it was actually my favorite dish that night! It’s amazing how a simple egg when grown and cooked right can taste so good! The vegetables also had just the right amount of salt and pepper to compliment with the soft boil egg. The egg, besides adding flavor to this dish also added to the texture.
Farm’s Harvest – organic/naturally produced vegetables, fresh mushrooms and organic soft boiled egg. (P320)
Moving on, it’s time to taste Earth Kitchen’s own-made pasta. As mentioned earlier, they make most of their dishes and ingredients from scrap – including their pasta noodles! What made their pasta stand out was that since they made it themselves, the texture was just right and was not at all soggy as compared to other pastas.
We first tried 4 Mushrooms and Egg which was Earth Kitchen’s version of Carbonara. In all honesty, it tasted very much like the authentic Italian carbonara. The only difference was that this was the HEALTHIER version.
4 Mushrooms and Egg – Slab Bacon, Shitake, Milky and Button Mushrooms, Organic Egg (P290)
Next up was the Pumpkin and Goat’s Cheese Paccherri which was like an open faced ravioli. This was another one of my favorite. Again, the pasta was handcrafted and its texture was just right. The creamy cheese and tasteful pumpkins were very fulfilling. The bacon bits were the perfect topper for this dish!
Pumpkin and Goat’s Cheese Paccheri – Goat’s Cheese, Roasted Pumpkin and Bacon (P310)
Moving on to the main course, we had the Beef Kebab! What immediately struck me about Earth Kitchen’s version was that the beef was separated from the other vegetables like the tomatoes, onions, etc. According to Melissa, some people don’t like eating the vegetables in a kebab so they decided to separate it. This was just what I needed since I was one of those people! I would often just do away with the vegetables hence wasting it. This way, someone else could eat the healthy vegetables as I devour the juicy beef! (heehee)
Beef Kebab – Boneless beef ribs, tzatsiki, grilled vegetables, organic Ifugao rice pillaf (P355)
And of course, to complete our healthy meal that night, we tasted some of earth kitchen’s healthy and organic desserts! Who would’ve thought that ice cream could be healthy too? We tried three different flavors that night – the Vanilla Peanut Butter Crunch, the Tablea and the Goat’s Cheese. Each of us had our favorite so let me start off with my personal pick.
My favorite was the Vanilla Peanut Butter Crunch. The taste of peanut butter wasn’t too strong but complimented well with the vanilla. It was a different feeling to eat peanut butter in an ice cream rather than a sandwich. My favorite part of this dessert however was the turon! I’ve always loved eating peanut butter with bananas, but this is the first time I tried it with turon. The crunchy turon added to the sweetness and texture of this mouth-watering dessert!
Vanilla Peanut Butter Crunch – homemade carabao’s milk vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and turon (P165)
Co-writer Philippe Villareal on the other hand absolutely adored the Tablea. He didn’t like to share once he got his hands on it! I think this would also be most children’s favorite dessert as it is filled with yummy chocolate chip cookie crumble! Who doesn’t love chocolate, right?
Tablea – homemade carabao’s milk tablea ice cream, chocolate chip cookie crumble (P165)
Joanne, on the other hand, preferred the Goat’s Cheese. I always felt that the taste of Goat’s Milk was too strong but for Earth Kitchen’s tasty dessert, the taste was just right. Moreover, they mixed in several different ingredients such as wild honey, dried figs and cashew nuts to complete the texture.
Goat’s Cheese – Frozen Cheese Cake – goat’s cheese ice cream, wild honey, dried figs and cashew nuts. (P220)
Who said being healthy means eating tasteless food? At Earth Kitchen, customers get the healthiest and most delicious treats!
So, When In Manila and wanting to stay healthy, look no further coz Earth Kitchen is the perfect place to go! You get a relaxing garden view, healthy foods and you get to help partner farms and communities in the process. What more could you ask for?
P.S. Since Earth Kitchen is still on its soft opening, there is no air conditioning yet at the moment. However, I found that this actually complimented with the entire “green” and “natural” set up of the place. The wind is really cool anyway as December is right around the corner!
Since you plan to go healthy with these healthy options, why not start a new healthy sport, as well? Check out Fitbox Technogym for a classy yet hardcore feel of boxing!
Earth Kitchen
Open from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Tuesday to Sunday)
White Plains, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City
0917-584-3278, 961-0572, 577-9138
facebook.com/TheEarthKitchen