May 9, 2016

Todd English Food Hall: New York-Manila

Since its opening in 2014, I've been meaning to try Todd English Food Hall at SM Aura, but didn't have the chance to, until a few weeks back when one of my blogger friends Aldous and Todd English Food Hall invited me to try out their best selling dishes and desserts. It was actually Aldous' birthday the next day, so it typically became the leader of #TeamAldous' pre-birthday celebration.




Todd English Food Hall has been creating a big buzz among foodies and regular restaurant-goers since it opened in 2014. Why? Well for one, it's the first international celebrity chef restaurant in the Philippines by Chef Todd English. Another thing is that, of course, the quality and the taste of the fresh gourmet food that they offer. It actually set a trend for the "food hall' concept in Manila. 




Todd English Food Hall is originally from the city that never sleeps: New York! It is located in the famous and posh Plaza Hotel of NYC. The Manila flagship store was brought to the Philippines by the same owners of Mesa, Kai, Cevesaria and Isogi. The area was designed by Ms. Ivy Almario,the same creative genius who interior designed well-known establishments in the Philippines and abroad: Arya Residences. Stratford Residences, Astoria Boracay, Cafe Romulo, Movenpick Hotel Cebu and Midas Hotel to name a few. 




Todd English Food Hall  has 9 food halls namely: salad & charcutterie station, sushi bar station, raw bar station, Asian station, flatbread pizza station, pasta station, the grill & ocean grill station, wine & tapas bar station and Todd English retail store. But it isn't a buffet restaurant mind you, you order ala carte and each station is an area where dishes are being curated based on what category they fall on the menu. 




We were seated in one of the communal tables which was perfect for our big #TeamAldous group that night. The lights are a bit dim at this restaurant but we were able to find ways to take good photos of the food that were served to us. But staying at the communal table was great because it was easier to move around while taking photos and eating haha! I think I was standing more than I was seating the whole time that we were there.




So anyways, we tried 19 items from the extensive Todd English Food Hall menu. Yes 19! Can you believe that? Well, I still can't imagine eating that much food in one night, especially that I need to go straight to work that night (yes I got super sleepy). 


Communal (Appetizers):

Frito Misto - Todd English deep fried sampler (calamari, shrimp, oysters) with chipotle chorizo sauce. I like that it wasn't greasy and the calamari was easy to chew. The dip was great as well. 


Tuna Tartare - marinated sushi grande tuna, crispy marmalade shrimp finished with scallion cream + spicy aoili. It wasn't that too spicy which I really liked.


Lobster Guacamole - home-made crispy chips served with fresh lobster tail guacamole. I actually didn't taste the lobster on the guacamole, either way, this was a fun appetizer.


Pork Dumpling - handmade, boiled and seared pork dumplings with Ponzu reduction. I love how tasty the meat mixture inside these dumplings. One of the best pork dumplings I have ever tasted in my life.


Salad:

Simple Salad - fresh mixed greens, grilled corn, baby heirloom tomato, shallot vinaigrette & olive oil. Simple and unpretentious.


Spinach Salad - fresh spinach, bacon balsamic dressing, cranberry, baby heirloom tomatoes, fried onion, grilled peach, cranberries. This salad is packed full with flavor. I like the balance of fruit and greens that it had.


Flatbread:
Fig and Prosciutto - fig jam, Gorgonzola, rosemary, Prosciutto, scallions. Ireallyliked the combination of the saltiness of the Prosciutto and Gorgonzola with the sweetness of the fig. A lot of flavors bursting in one bite.


Chorizo and Shrimp - Piquillo Sauce, Manchego cheese, chorizo, sexy scallions. I am not really a fan of chorizo sausage but this is good especially its pairing with shrimp.


Bronx Bomber - tomato sauce mozzarella cheese pepperoni caramelized onion, Parmesan cheese, basil. A good rendition of the classic NY-style Pepperoni pizza.


Truffle Fungi - Truffle vinaigrette, mixed mushrooms, Fontina, parsley. This flatbread is my favorite among the four that we got to try. They didn't scrimped on the truffle and you can really taste them. 


Pasta: 

Seafood Diablo Orzo - Orzo is pasta in the shape of rice grains and it goes really nice and creamy. It is an alternative to risotto. I really thought it was risotto until I looked it up. Eitherway it was a fun dish and had the right amount of spiciness to it. 


Brooklyn Style Meatball Spaghetti - old-school meatball spaghetti meets gourmet. The two huge meatballs were super flavorful. 


Agnolotti Veal - Agnolotti is a type of pasta made with small pieces of flattened pasta dough, folded over filling of roasted meat or vegetables. This version of Todd English is filled with veal, which is actually deer meat. It was my first time to try deer meat and to be honest, I as so surprised on how yummy it was compared to beef. I actually enjoyed this dish among all the courses that we tasted.


Mains:
Miso Glazed Salmon - pan crisped salmon with Miso glaze sauce. Ahhh, salmon... whatever way it was cooked, I will always be biased with salmon. Loved this one of course!


T.E. Pork Chop - 48 hours brined chops served with french beans, marbled potatoes, sweet potato and demi-glace sauce. Can you just see the size of that thing? That pork chop is huge! It was supoer tender and oozing with so much flavor. 


Steak N’ Marrow - U.S. hanger steak with bone marrow. Another favorite of mine from all that we got to try. I love that the steak was medium rare and the bone marrow was a complete heaven!


Wagyu Fried Rice - fried rice topped with  Wagyu beef strips. I paired this with the bone marrow and it was downright awesome! This is already a complete dish on its own.


Lamb Chops - Peas orzo, silky carrot puree, mint yogurt, lamb jus. Ok, here goes another T.E. dish that will go straight to my fave list. I love  the mint yogurt that came with the lamb. It did gave the lamb a whole new meaning. Yum!


Dessert:

OMG - Lava cake, silky pudding, cereal crumble and chocolate gelato. Desserts are always the highlight of any meal, and Todd English did not disappoint. I actually love each dessert that was served to us. The OMG looks like it's shit, but really and seriously, it will make you say O.M.G! Because it was sooo good! This is actually my fave among the three taste-wise and because i am a chocolate lover.


Betty White - caramel overload, this one. Surprisingly it was not too sweet and intimidating. Such an enjoyable dessert. I think this is a weekly special because it is not in the dessert menu.


The Bomb - home made red velvet ice cream cake, white chocolate dome, homemade graham cracker soil and espresso cream. Well this dessert lived up to its name! It's a show on its own plus the taste is ah-ma-zing! It's red velvet which is one of my favorite cake flavors. Check out the video below to see how cool this dessert is.


Drinks: 
Todd English have a variety of drinks, but for that night we settled on shakes: orange shake, watermelon shake,mango shake and guyabano (I think...)
Well I can now finally say that Todd English Food Hall is one of those restaurants that must be visited as often as one can. Every dish is close to perfection! I actually love everything that we tried although there are dishes that went straight to my top-notch fave list of course. 
It was truly a fun night to celebrate! Too bad I wasn't able to stay until the end of our dinner because I need to be at work that night. And yes, I was so full and content that I was dozing most of the time while I was at work hehe..It was truly an awesome feast!

TODD ENGLISH FOOD HALL
5th Skypark SM Aura Premier,
C5 Corner 26th Street, Bonifacio Global City, 
Taguig City, Philippines
Contact Nos: 02 6214002; +63 9178633364
Email: toddenglishfoodhallmnl@gmail.com
Website: foodhall.toddeng.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/Todd-English-Food-Hall-Manila-446633605469010/
Twitter: twitter.com/TEFoodHallMNL
Instagram: instagram.com/toddenglishfoodhallmnl/
For more information, full menu and restaurant reviews, check out their Zomato profile: 
The Food Hall by Todd English Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
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1 comment:

  1. I always look forward to going out. A good tip would be to look out for those places with interesting concepts. This place is pretty amazing. I came up here to the lofty spaces with a friend. The place was spacious and food was great.

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