I've been wanting to pay Todd English Food Hall a visit for a long time now, but I never had the chance to until a few weeks back when Aldous invited the gang for his pre-birthday dinner.
I immediately said yes! Finally, a excuse to drive down and dine at one of the most talked about restaurants in Manila - and for good reason!
Two years ago, Chef Todd English and Food Link Group collaborated to bring Todd English Food Hall to Manila. It's a huge deal, because there are only two places in the world where you can find it - here and New York. Aside from that, it's actually the first celebrity chef restaurant in the country!
The Todd English Food Hall is a European-inspired specialty food hall that offers nine diverse culinary stations to satisfy the most discerning palettes.
The nine stations that make up TEFH are the following: Cheese and Charcuterie, Sushi Bar, The Grill, Noodle and Dumpling Bar, Flatbread Pizza Bar, Pasta Bar, Ocean Grill and Oyster Bar, Wine Bar and Patisserie, and Taqueria.
Since we were early, we took a tour of the 900-square meter food hall. The huge space reminds me of a fancy buffet restaurant, except at Todd English Food Hall, they only serve ala carte.
Offering the finest food with freshest ingredients matched with impeccable service, The Todd English Food Hall definitely gives a delectable dining experience set in a stylish and convenient atmosphere.
Here's what we had:
Frito Misto (P490)
It didn't take long for this plate of deep fried calamari, shrimps, and oysters to disappear from our table. The seafoods used were fresh, the outsides were crispy, and the chipotle chorizo sauce it came with put it together perfectly.
Lobster Guacamole (P420)
Lobster Guacamole (P420)
Guacamole is a dip with ripe avocados, onions, salt, and lime juice. But for this dish, they also mixed in some tomatoes, cilantro, and lobster to enhance the flavor, then served it with their homemade crispy chips. It's basically the much fancier cousin of nachos.
Tuna Tartare (P350)
I can never resist a good tuna tartare. Todd English Food Hall makes use of marinated sushi grade tuna paired with crispy marmalade shrimp and finished with scallion cream and spicy aioli. To be honest, I wouldn't mind if they took out the shrimp, so long as they give me more tuna. Haha! I probably could've finished an entire serving on my own if there weren't other dishes waiting to be eaten. :P
Simple Salad (P285)
Spinach Salad (P290)
Between the two salads, I would go for the Spinach Salad since it contains more texture and flavor in it. It's a mix of fresh spinach, bacon balsamic dressing, cranberries, baby heirloom tomatoes, fried onion, and grilled peach. Make sure to mix it before serving though, as the balsamic dressing tends to set. The Simple Salad, on the other hand, is exactly as the name suggests - simple. It contains fresh mixed greens, grilled corn, baby heirloom tomato, shallot vinaigrette, and olive oil. There's really nothing unique about it, really, but it is a great alternative if you're not a fan of cranberries.
Next, we had the flatbreads. It was the station I was most excited to try because I read somewhere that their flatbreads are really popular in the United States.
Next, we had the flatbreads. It was the station I was most excited to try because I read somewhere that their flatbreads are really popular in the United States.
Chorizo and Shrimp (P650)
piquillo sauce, manchego cheese, chorizo, sexy scallions
piquillo sauce, manchego cheese, chorizo, sexy scallions
Fig and Prosciutto (P530)
fig jam, gorgonzola, rosemary, prosciutto, scallions
fig jam, gorgonzola, rosemary, prosciutto, scallions
Bronx Bomber (P490)
tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, caramelized onion, parmesan cheese, basil
tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, caramelized onion, parmesan cheese, basil
Truffle Fungi (P700)
truffle vinaigrette, mixed mushrooms, fontina, parsley
My flatbreads ranking is as follows: (1) Chorizo & Shrimp, (2) Truffle Fungi, (3) Bronx Bomber, (4) Fig & Prosciutto. I know the Fig and Prosciutto is one of their top bestsellers, but I don't like figs very much, so I ranked it last.
Pork Dumplings (P199)
handmade asian dumplings; ponzu reduction
Pork Dumplings (P199)
handmade asian dumplings; ponzu reduction
One of my favorite Japanese dishes is gyoza, so when the server placed this on the table, I was the first to get a piece! Haha!
Ponzu is a soy-based sauce with a citrusy flavor but surprisingly, it wasn't too salty nor sour. Their handmade dumplings has a light flavor even with the sauce, so it's not something that one will easily get sick of.
Seafood Diablo Orzo (P490)
Seafood Diablo Orzo (P490)
I thought orzo was a type of risotto, but apparently, it's pasta that's just shaped like rice grains. What I loved the most about this dish is its creamy consistency, so you really get to enjoy all that flavor in your mouth. It's spicy and sour at the same time and it's loaded with all sorts of seafood and tomato chunks! I'm trying to imagine this with spaghetti or fettuccine instead, but I don't think it would have the same impact as it did with orzo.
Agnolotti Veal (P590)
Agnolotti is pretty much the same thing as ravioli, except it's smaller. Inside, it contains veal (meat from young calves) which is more tender and has a milder flavor compared to beef. Overall, it's a creamy dish that will leave you wanting more!
Brooklyn Style Meatball Spaghetti (P330)
I honestly wasn't expecting much from this since spaghetti is a pretty common dish to have in any restaurant. But this exceeded my expectations - both the meatballs and sauce were really good. I'm not all that huge on Filipino style pasta which consists of sweet sauce. This reminded me more of authentic Italian pastas that have tomato chunks. Plus, they make their own pasta, so two thumbs up for that!
Miso Glaze Salmon (P520)
pan crisp salmon, miso glaze sauce
Miso Glaze Salmon (P520)
pan crisp salmon, miso glaze sauce
Another dish that surprised me was this pan crisp salmon served with miso glaze sauce. A lot of restaurants don't offer fresh seafood so the fact that TEFH does means a lot. The salmon was juicy and had a sweet and salty flavor from the miso. Considering the price, I think the portion is reasonable. It's enough for one or two persons, more if you're planning to eat it with other dishes.
Wagyu Fried Rice (P450)
This arrived pretty late, but we didn't mind since it's a dish you can eat on its own. I'm glad it didn't come out too oily!
The next three dishes, which are Steak N' Marrow, Lamb Chops, and T.E. Pork Chops, are just some of the mains at Todd English Food Hall.
Steak N' Marrow (P590)
U.S. hanger steak with bone marrow
Steak N' Marrow (P590)
U.S. hanger steak with bone marrow
Lamb Chops (P910)
pea orzo, silky carrot puree, mint yogurt, lamb jus
pea orzo, silky carrot puree, mint yogurt, lamb jus
T.E. Pork Chop (P440)
48 hours brined chops served with French beans, marbled potato, sweet potato, and demi-glace sauce
48 hours brined chops served with French beans, marbled potato, sweet potato, and demi-glace sauce
Among the three, my favorite has to be the pork chops! It was very tender due to the fact that it was brined for 48 hours. The steak was a good contender, but I found it more common. Lamb, on the other hand, has a strong, distinct flavor which I found that a lot of people do not like. I personally haven't decided if I'm on Team Lamb or not, but having the carrot puree and pea orzo made it more appealing for me.
When we were told that our dessert was almost ready, we were beyond excited! People talk about their desserts more than any of their other dishes, so we couldn't wait to finally try them out for ourselves!
Betty White
When we were told that our dessert was almost ready, we were beyond excited! People talk about their desserts more than any of their other dishes, so we couldn't wait to finally try them out for ourselves!
Betty White
The Bomb (P420)
homemade red velvet, ice cream cake, white chocolate dome, homemade graham cracker soil, and espresso cream
homemade red velvet, ice cream cake, white chocolate dome, homemade graham cracker soil, and espresso cream
OMG (P420)
lava cake, silky pudding, cereal crumble, chocolate gelato
lava cake, silky pudding, cereal crumble, chocolate gelato
EVERYTHING was crazy good. I'm not even kidding. These desserts are the perfect way to spoil yourself or comfort a dear friend after a long day. I mean, why order beer when you can order dessert, right? Apologies for my poor attempt at creating a GIf, I was holding my phone's flashlight on my other hand while I was taking these photos.
