Canteen at Trilogy

A long, long time ago, back when Doogie Howser was still straight and Krispy Kreme boxes were the carry-on luggage of choice of millions of California-based Balikbayans, there was a little restaurant in Greenbelt 2 called Uva, which many consider to be one of the harbingers of the Chilean sea bass craze in Manila. Its chef, Fernando Aracama, had gained popularity among dining circles in the city on account of Aracama?s sea bass and his homemade chunky Chocnut ice cream. Several years later, after the demise of Uva and Chef Aracama?s relocation to the more fashionable albeit also defunct Cuisine, we find ourselves pleasantly surprised to discover that the man of Chocnut fame has set up shop in the most irreconcilable of places ? Canteen at Trilogy in the heart of Makati?s central business district.

Hidden among BPI branches and cement, Trilogy is a boutique owned by the same group that brought you Embassy and Greyone Social including DJ Steve Aoki of Benihana fame (yes, he?s known for his music but we choose to recognize him for the Japanese franchise his father built); and in one side of this hip lifestyle shop is a row of clean white tables which pretty much makes up the space known as Canteen. It?s quite daunting to attempt to describe Trilogy?s concept, because this place is definitely unlike anything you?ve entered before, at least anywhere in the greater Manila area. We were initially confused with the layout, with a row of dining tables flushed against one wall, a counter lined with photos of Canteen?s dishes at the far end of the shop, and in the rest of the space, displays of hard-to-find sneakers, apparel, Lomo merchandise, Lego watches and basically anything related to popular culture that can be bought. We must admit that we didn?t know how to react to the idea of having brunch next to a shelf of sneakers, but the place eventually grew on us. We reckon though that this kind of place, ripping at the seams with unconscionable doses of youth and hipness and energy, appeals to a specific crowd composed mostly of the young, young at heart, and possibly those that dress too young for their age.

Inside Trilogy + Canteen

We had read about their menu which was built upon everyone?s favorite comfort foods, like deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, beer-battered fish and chips and of course, the famous Chocnut ice cream. So when we arrived at Canteen on a quiet Saturday afternoon, we were mildly dismayed to see that the regular menu had been overshadowed by breakfast favorites in a charming gimmick they call 80?s Weekend Brunch.

Mad Madam Mim

We tried the Mad Madam Mim, which is Canteen?s fanciful take on the classic Croque Madame. Layers of ham and cheese piled generously between two slices of whole wheat bread, topped with a sunny side up egg, and smothered with thick béchamel sauce ? sounds delightfully sinful and laden with calories, doesn?t it? To see Croque Madame or any of its derivatives on any Manila restaurant?s menu is a blessing in itself, because not a lot of affordable places have this on their menus. To be honest though, in spite of the double layer of ham and cheese, we found the dish to be ordinary and rather pedestrian. So pedestrian is the 80?s Weekend Brunch menu in fact that you can actually walk over to your own kitchen and construct your own Spam and eggs sandwich, which Canteen happens to market for over two hundred pesos. Anyone who has picked up a frying pan before knows how elementary it is to fry up a couple slices of Spam and stuff them between two slices of store-bought bread and eggs. And by elementary, we mean that it certainly does not cost over two hundred pesos to do, even with a 100% gross margin.

Luckily for us, the regular dessert menu was available, which made our trip an opportune time to try their ?Trailer Park Monte Cristo?. It is practically impossible to go wrong with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich deep-fried to golden-brown perfection, so we were happy to see that this dessert turned out okay, nay, pretty darn good. When we split the sandwich down the middle, we were initially disappointed to find that not a single dollop of peanut butter or jelly oozed out from between the two slices of crispy bread. But we discovered after a couple bites that the sandwich actually had enough filling to be sweet and tasty without being overwhelming. And the sandwich was deep-fried so perfectly that it had a crispy crust and a warm and melted center. The powdered sugar on top made it even more perfect, if that is even possible.

As if the fried PB&J sandwich was not sweet enough to merit a trip to the dentist, we also tried the bananas foster. As with the PB&J sandwich, failure had to be close to impossible with this dessert. After all, with sugar, cinnamon, dark rum and banana liqueur, you?d have to be a flaming idiot to get this wrong. While Canteen?s was not of the knock-your-socks-off kind, it certainly was delicious, with banana slices so thick you wouldn?t have to worry about running out of banana bits before your ice cream is finished. And yes, the Manila Vanilla ice cream, which slowly melts as it drowns in the piping hot cinnamon, sugar and liquor concoction ? need we say more?

Perhaps one of Canteen?s signature dessert dishes is choc-not ice cream, aptly named for its chocnut flavor. This dessert is distinctly Filipino; after all, where else can you find corner shop peanut-infused chocolate bars that retail for about 50 cents apiece churned into gourmet ice cream? Despite its somewhat rural origins, this ice cream is smooth, rich and loaded with chunks of Chocnut. A similar flavor was launched by Selecta several years ago, perhaps to rival Chef Aracama?s, but it paled in comparison to the latter. Chef Aracama?s ice cream is lighter on the palate and it tastes more like Mantecado ice cream interspersed with bite-sized shards of what feels like freshly pounded Chocnut bars, rather than Selecta?s rich and overwhelmingly Chocnutty version.

Maybe because we had browsed Canteen?s creative and unique menu prior to checking the restaurant out, we couldn?t help feeling a little let down with the quality of the dishes and the style of presentation. The place is admittedly affordable considering that the dishes were developed by someone who once graced the kitchens of Uva and Cuisine; however, when we talk solely about the taste of the food, you can go to better places that are easier on your pocket. Whereas Canteen?s regular menu looks interesting and unusual, its 80?s Weekend Brunch menu is mundane, ordinary and simple enough to make on your own. While hearty and home-cooked dishes are always a hit in restaurants, we must admit that they are only palatable if priced less than what you would spend if you bought even the finest and freshest ingredients and had Mario Batali make them for you at your home.

It has been a while since we last heard of Chef Aracama?s adventures, and we are happy to have discovered where he has planted his clogs for now. And although we do miss his Chilean sea bass over at Uva, and even though his breakfast spamwich at Canteen is only okay, we would definitely return to Canteen for deep-fried PB&J?s and a scoop of his famous Chocnut ice cream. And maybe we?d give the regular weekday menu a try; who knows, it might just live up to his previous restaurants.