The Crispy Pata Confit
We heard that there is a “secret” restaurant by the chef behind Culliere in Serendra. The restaurant is in a commercial building called Alphaland, located at the corner of Pasong Tamo extension and EDSA. Hidden on the 6th floor of Alphaland (southgate towers) is my latest discovery: The Alpha by Chef Katrina Khun Alcantara.
Alpha has two specialties — the Duck Confit and The Crispy Pata Confit. We chose the latter since we haven’t eaten a Crispy Pata Confit before. We would like to share with you our experience:
The restaurant is formal, modern in styling, and setup with a semi-circle booth tables lighted by overhanging lamp above each table.
The Alpha Menu: Appetizers, Salads, Soups, Pastas | Main Dishes, Side Dishes | Flammekeuche, Sandwiches, Non-Alcoholic Drinks
The place feels like you can have really private conversations. I would say that this is conducive for business meetings, brainstorming sessions or just hanging out with business friends. Frankly, it is so business formal that it reminded me of our office interiors when I was still working at P&G.
Wine Menu: Drinks, Coffee | Cocktails, Martinis | House Wines, White Wines, Rose Wines | Red Wines and Sparkling Wines | Other Alcohols, Shooters, Beers, Non Alcoholic
They have a function room which you can reserve and its good for 6-10 people
(no minimum consumables at this point).
A Tabacalera cigar lounge is located beside the restaurant where you can smoke and seal the “deal” 🙂
Truffled Cream of Mushroom Soup (P195 +10% service charge). Rich, Creamy Blend of Portabello and Shitake Mushrooms, drizzled with Truffle Oil.
The Tuesday Group is raving about Chef Katrina’s Truffle Mushroom Soup. We had high expectations but we can’t taste the truffle oil that much. We like the creamy taste of fresh mushroom and it was served hot.
Summer Salad (P145 Full +10% service charge). Mesclun Greens with Apple, Grapes and Grana Padana slivers and Candied Walnuts drizzled with Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.
We like the salad which is simple combination of greens and apple + grapes with the sweet raspberry sauce. Although, there are only a few slices of cheese and walnuts, we think that this salad is priced well. The serving size is definitely shareable.
Sarangani Bangus Belly Teriyaki (P295 +10% service charge). Grilled Prime Sarangani Bangus Belly with Teriyaki Sauce, served with Japanese-style Fried Rice.
I personally like this Bangus Belly with Teriyaki sauce. The sauce is somewhat overpowering so I would request the sauce to be served on the side next time. We like the huge chunks of belly fat and the freshness of the fish. The Japanese rice is actually a perfect side to this protein.
The Crispy Pata Confit (P845 +10% service charge). Pork Ham Hock slow cooked in Goose Fat and Fried to a Crisp Skin finish. Served with Sauerkraut, Comichon, Mustard, and Crispy Pata Sauce. (For sharing)
The skin is served chicharon fried and the pata meat is served bonesless. A big warning to those with heart conditions: this is deep fried on goose fat and it is served with big slimy chunks of fats.
I like the garlic mash that is served with the confit although the Sauerkraut, Comichon, and Mustard sidings reminded me of eating Hungarian Sausage.
This is one of the most expensive Crispy Pata we ever ordered but the overall taste does not justify its price.
L’ Opera (P145 +10% service charge). Traditional French gateau, layers of thin Biscuit Joconde soaked in Coffee syrup, light coffee buttercream and dark Chocolate ganache.
Check out the Alpha Desserts. The line-up is not unique and when we tried the L’Opera similar to the ones we see in Bizu, it is a bit dry for our taste. We don’t see anything unique from the desserts list.
This is the entrance to the Tabacalera Incorporated Cigar Lounge beside The Alpha.
Overall, I think the experience is a a bit formal and business-like which I guess is the intended target mood. The food is decent but I won’t go out of my way to eat here not unless I am attending a meeting.
The Alpha by Chef Katrina Khun Alcantara
6th Floor, Alphaland Southgate Tower
2258 Chino Roces Avenue corner Edsa, Makati City
Telephone: +632 310-5201
Telephone/Fax: +632 310-5614
Email: the.alpha.contact@gmail.com
They are only open for lunch and dinner Mondays to Fridays.
Parking is in the basement of the mall for P20 for 2 hours and P10 for succeeding hours.
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Disclosure: Nothing to disclose. We paid for our meals and we are NOT connected with the owners in any way.
P.S. Although the chef herself dropped by to say a few words, we didn’t really had a chance to chit chat about why setup a different restaurant in an office building. I wanted to confirm if it is true that she is not connected anymore with Culliere? Would anyone know?
Looks interesting. Well, you’re right i can see that the place is too formal. gotta try to go there sometime.
arent they open only Monday to Friday and like office hours lang?
I love confit and crispy pata but for some reason, the idea of them together is already making my head spin. My favorite crispy pata in Manila is still at Max’s because the meat inside is very soft & tasty, there’s a nice amount of fat and the skin outside is super crunchy! And the best duck confit I have eaten in Manila so far (being the barok Pinay that I am, I ordered white rice to eat it with…..) is at Terry’s Segundo Piso on Pasong Tamo Extension. 🙂
now that’s just wrong. crispy pata–don’t care what you do with it–should never be priced that high. come on, people, seriously? o see, di rin naman ganun ka-remarkable ang taste.
i think she’s not with cuilliere anymore. heard she had problems with her partner.
L’Opera and Crispy Pata Confit look really delicious. Will try this soon. 🙂
Looks very promising. But the crispy pata is quite expensive though
I think serving crispy pata deboned takes the fun out of eating it.
Yeah, that's true. But I like deboned Crispy Pata lately just because of convenience…
Anton
That building was idle for a very long time. Thanks to Alphaland now people can shop and dine and apply for work in a BPO company.
Nice discovery Anton!
Anton I think you should be more descriptive and insightful beyond what is obvious when you talk about food if you really want to be called a food critic. I suggest you read Sam Bruni’s food reviews at nytimes.com to have a clue about what I’m talking about. That’s one guy who really understands food, chefs, and the restaurant business.
You also may want to check your grammar and understanding of cooking techniques before you post. Case in point: “A big warning to those with heart conditions: this is deep fried on goose fat and it is served with big slimy chunks of fats.”
Confit is a technique of cooking a protein submerged in fat over a low heat for an extended period of time, and cooking pig’s feet in this method will yield an exceedingly unctious and sublime product. The “big slimy chunks of (sic) fats” that you talk about are not necessarily fat but are in fact cartilage, tendons, and other connective tissue.
Hope this enlightens you.
It’s Frank Bruni and Sam Sifton. Not Sam Bruni.
Hi Frank,
Thanks for the tip and will checkout Bruni and Sam in the NYtimes. I don't really want to be a "food critic" because becoming one would take the fun out of blogging. I personally don't know how to cook (yet) and that is why we eat out a lot.
We just really like to discover and share our experiences with the people who reads the blog.
Anton
What time do they open and close? Do we have to make a reservation? Thanks!
No need for reservation
But to be safe, call them
Sent from Mobile
whatever frankie endriga..
Hope to try it soon.. Thank you for sharing about Go Greek! My friend and I loved it!
Looks good. How does this pork confit compare to normal crispy pata?
Serving pork with sauerkraut or choucroute is a custom in the northern part of france. Maybe the chef was giving an filipino twist to a french dish?
The confit is like boneless crispy pata lang…