It was a Sunday afternoon and the husband and I had just finally finished our Christmas shopping. We decided to grab a bite to eat before heading home. Shangrila Mall is our favorite mall but since we had moved out and away from Kapitolyo, this was our first visit here in 4 months.
Since we were mostly familiar with the original mall, we wandered off into the new wing until we almost reached a dead end – or so we thought. From afar, I saw a funky sign “Epicurious” and knew instantly that we had to try it out. I knew I had heard that name before somewhere.
Epicurious Manila is a combination of deli + bakery + cafe + shop for foodies/food lovers. My husband and I love meat and so it was a real treat to see all kinds of meat and cheeses on display. They can serve you slices of ham and cheeses of your choice in a platter, or they can choose for you. It’s like Santis except that Santis does not have a sit-down area for meals.
The lady at the counter suggested Jamón Serrano (cured Spanish ham) for us paired with Mancha Durado (dorada?) cheese. We grabbed two mini baguettes from their bread basket and they prepared everything else for us – lightly toasted the bread and sliced the meat and cheese. Husband took a couple of bottles of juice from their fridge (without realizing they were Php 200 per bottle!) to complete the snack.
The meal was oh so satisfying although I should have opted for water instead of the very acidic lemonade that I got. We enjoyed the ham which reminded me of a slightly less salty prosciutto. The cheese tasted like any other hard cheese – well I’m no cheese connoisseur but it did taste like gouda or gruyère which wasn’t too bad because I like either cheese. I guess cheeses really don’t have big differences in taste – they only differ in where they were made. The Mancha Dorada is a Spanish cheese while Gouda is Dutch and Gruyère is Swiss.
We found out that they also had cuts of steak and lamb that you can ask them to cook for you. Prepared meals are also available like sandwiches, salad and pasta. They had an executive chef on staff who can whip up a special meal for you.
The goods they were selling were very interesting. Bacon mayonnaise, flavored quinoa and even local artisanal goodies. I got very excited when I saw black and white truffle oil which I had never seen before, not even at Santis. They cost about Php 250 per 30 gram bottle. I made a mental note to make pasta for the hubby using truffle oil. They also had all sorts of olive oil, plus those infused with herbs such as rosemary or sage.
It was a pleasant experience although it can get expensive. It’s always good to try and learn something new though. I did hear that the steaks can go as low as Php 600+. I can make my own ham and cheese platter at home (paired with inexpensive boutique wine), but I know that I will definitely return for the truffle oil.
