See you at Cicchetti!
Iwould always hear about Cicchetti, an Italian restaurant in the Bonifacio Global City area, but never got to try it. This hidden gem is the latest concept in all-day dining from the group that brought us Belle & Dragon and Mandalay Whisky.
Cicchetti (pronounced chi-ket-tee) means savory snacks or small side dishes, typically served in a bar or informal restaurant.
Each month, the restaurant collaborates with chefs and industry partners to host a “Four Hands Dinner,” which is the combination of ideas, techniques and cultures by two chefs through a multiple-course dinner paired with crafted cocktails and usually wines sponsored by Pernod Ricard.
I finally got the chance to visit the restaurant when chef Dan Koh of Alaska Prime Seafood partnered with the restaurant’s chef Kim Suva for a seafood dinner. I knew I could not miss this particular collaboration.
The dinner started with local organic nama uni. We had it plain, no condiments, no sauce. We slurped it off our fist (just like tasting caviar)... it was delicious, one of the best local sea urchins I’ve had. Next were three Irish Gallagher oysters: plain, with dill lemon oil, and with Thai mignonette. All were so wonderful. They were washed down with Perrier Jouet champagne.
The uni and beef carpaccio ssam (a Korean wrap) made my expectations for the dinner go even higher. This was paired with a pepperoncini sour made with Chivas Regal, grapefruit and chili honey. This was followed by a charred octopus salad with parsley oil and tarragon foam, which was paired with a birra pepperoncino (beer, lime juice, syrup and cayenne powder).
A yuzu (Japanese lime) gelato was served to cleanse the palate before my live Maine lobster tail crudo arrived with Jacob’s Creek chardonnay. The crudo was perfectly seasoned with pomelo and turmeric dressing, which did not overpower the taste of fresh, raw lobster. Served next was the cooked lobster claw with Japanese soy sauce.
My favorite during the dinner was the poached cold crab meat with a tomalley (lobster liver and/or fat) hollandaise on a lobster reduction and pepperoncino oil — pure heaven. It was washed down with Amara Limone made with limoncello, aperol, lime juice and sesame oil.
The last dish was uni and shiitake ravioli served with almonds, shiso (a Japanese herb), and a porcini cream sauce. This amazing meal was capped off with an azuki bean and
matcha (powdered Japanese green tea) tart accompanied by fresh fruits and a hazelnut chocolate ganache.
After the memorable dinner, guests enjoyed cocktails at the restaurant’s outdoor bar.
With a wonderful first impression from the four hands dinner, I would definitely love to go back to Cicchetti to try more of its Italian dishes. Kudos to chefs Dan and Kim!
(Cicchetti is located at 8th floor, MDI Corporate Center, 10th Ave, corner 39th St., Taguig City. For inquiries and reservations, call 987-4756. For more information, visit @cicchettiph on Instagram and Alaska Prime Seafood on Facebook.)