The letter Ñ, pronounced as "enye" is a quite unique character. It is considered a letter in its own right and has its own place in the alphabet. This letter has its roots in many other ancient languages and has its influence in many other vernaculars in the world, Ñ has been chosen to represent the identity of the Spanish language, especially as a result of the battle against its obliteration from computer keyboards by an English-led society.
A homegrown restaurant that I visited quite a while ago chose to name its business as Cafe Ñ (Enye). Just like the alphabet character, the restaurant's menu line up is greatly shaped by the Spanish cuisine, its influences to its then colonized lands, as well as states that occupied them in the past. Thus it won't come as a surprise to see dishes from Northern Morocco, Argentina, The Latin Americas and the Philippines.
I live quite close to Eastwood City where the Cafe Enye flagship restaurant can be found. I was always intrigued of what they have to offer and for many times attempted to dine there but always gets interrupted because whoever I am with when I am at Eastwood would suggest another pace to eat and I would usually lose. Early this year I met two of my closest blogger friends for a post-holiday lunch and we visited their second branch at BGC.
The branch in BGC is on the mezzanine floor of Citi Plaza, on the quieter and business-inclined side of this district. This branch is more colorful and hip than the original, with dimmer lights, faux brick walls, colorful mural and an attention-catching neon sign.
These are what we had for our late lunch while catching up:
Chicken Mojo Skewers - two sticks of citrus marinated chicken skewers. Served with Enye rice, cilantro yogurt, harissa and Latin salsa. I think this is one of those dishes that is influenced by Morocco because of its Mediterranean flavor.
Pancetta De Cerdo - twice cooked crispy pork belly served with escalavida. The meat was good and has a good crunch to it my only concern was that the plate contained only three pieces of the pork.
Carne Asada Cubano - a Cuban Panini of grilled marinated beef with chimichurri, cheese, Latin slaw. Served with fries. I love how crunchy and crispy the bread was. The mixture of the filling was good too. The large fries were very fun to eat.
Paella Negra - classic paella cooked with squid ink and sofrito topped with chorizo, prawns, mussels and squid. The squid flavor was pronounced but all in all it was an ok paella for me.
Lemon Lava Meringue Cake - Café Enye offers a couple of desserts to complete your meal, but I as drawn to the appearance of this cake and somehow begged/convinced my friends that this is what we should order. I like it so much, the meringue frosting was sweet and yummy. The sponge cake was good and the lemon filling was nicely sweet and tangy.
Cool & Tangy - blended fresh cucumber and calamansi. The size of the shake is worth its price. It was super sour and only had hints of the cucumber taste but it was truly refreshing.
Mango Tango -blended ripe mango shake and as always you
can never go wrong with mango shake.
The servings, IMO, are good for 1-2 persons and service is ok. Cafe Enye, also serves coffee, craft beers, cocktails and other alcoholic drinks at both their branches. Which I guess the people working in the offices on the same building and the nearby ones are quite happy about since they can go for after-work hours dinner and drinks in one cozy place. We know our history very well and we haven’t forgotten our Castillian influences and Café Enye can be one of those places to get in touch with our heritage and with no other than what we Filipinos love: food and like to do: eat.
CAFÉ Ñ (ENYE)
Mezzanine Floor, Citi Plaza, 34th Street,
Lane D, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Contact no: 026713230 / 025811315
Facebook: facebook.com/EnyeEastwood
Instagram: instagram.com/cafe_enye
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