Sunday, February 16, 2020

Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory Cafe, Estancia Mall

Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory Cafe opens its second branch at Estancia Mall, Pasig City!



For the longest time, Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory has been known to offer various snack items from cookies, ice cream, and cheesecake. Late last year, they opened their first ever full service restaurant, and guess what, it's right here in Manila! 

On December 20, 2019, Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory opened their first cafe (in the world!) at Ayala Malls Manila Bay. A couple of weeks later came the second cafe - yes, still in Manila - at the new wing of Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons. According to Bryan Tiu, the founder and CEO of I-Foods Group, the company that brought Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory to the Philippines, ingredients are sourced from Japan and brought to Manila on a regular basis to make sure the dishes are not only delicious but also unique. The all-original dishes are then created and prepared in Manila by their Japan-trained team of Filipino chefs and crew.
Since Ayala Malls Manila Bay is pretty far from where I live, I happily settled on visiting the second cafe instead. It's definitely bigger compared to the stalls and pop-ups we're used to. I even heard that the first cafe has a 75-seater capacity. That's huge!

As for the food, well, here's what to expect: 
For the appetizers, they have items like House Potato Chips with Nori Aioli, Sweet Corn Tempura with Truffle Mayonnaise, and Crispy Kani Salad.
We devoured each and every single one of these items - I kid you not. The House Potato Chips and Nori Aioli (P180) were a great match, very Japanese. The Sweet Corn Tempura (P260) and Crispy Kani Salad (P360) were both pretty unique but if there's one item I'll order again, it's probably the salad. Don't get me wrong, everybody loved the sweet corn tempura, especially the kids, but overall, the Crispy Kani Salad won for me. It had shredded cabbage, edamame, caramelized walnuts, and kani fries (fried shredded crab sticks) over citrus dressing. There's nothing I didn't love about this one.

For the mains, we each ordered a different one so we could take photos. Haha. Photos always come first. :P
Ebiko Carbonara (P345)
soft-boiled egg, bacon, nama cream


Baked Three-Cheese & Tomato (P399)
tomato cream, fresh basil, mozzarella cheese, basil panko


TMC Tamago Sliders (P335)
brioche buns, tamago, asiago cheese, truffle mayonnaise, house chips


12-Hour Short-Rib Sandwich (P485)
sourdough loaf, tender pulled beef ribs, parsley, aioli, picked red cabbage, mixed greens, house chips


Grilled Cheese & Tomato Jam (P325)
sourdough loaf, asiago cheese, fresh basil, house chips


Hayashi Beef Omurice (P395)
tomato rice pilaf, beef, onions, tomatoes, egg


Pork Mille-fuille Furai (P390)
mozzarella, fresh basil, tomato sauce, truffled mash


Salmon Teriyaki Gratin (P485)
truffled mash, cured salmon, mozzarella cheese, teriyaki sauce

Upon reading the menu, I immediately went for the Hayashi Beef Omurice. I don't know, but I just had this idea in my head that it would be curry beef on rice, but it wasn't. It was Japanese beef stew with demi-glaced sauce and red wine. It was okay, to be honest. What I loved was the Salmon Teriyaki Gratin. It was sweet and salty and smooth to the tongue (almost melt-in-your-mouth).

For dessert, they have Japanese pancakes, waffles, and my now favorite, the Milk Pie! 

Pancakes: Choose from plain, creme brulee, chocolate, and summer berry

In photo: Summer Berry Pancake (P315) 

Waffles: choose from classic, cheese, summer berry, and caramel banana

In photo: Caramel Banana Waffle (P240)

Milk Pie (P100)

Cow Cow Ice: Choose from Hokkaido Milk, Hokkaido Cheese, or Hokkaido Mix
In photo: Hokkaido Milk (P150)
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Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato