THE LOOP at ICF@FEU Makati

it was a pleasure to meet Chef Joey Herrera of The Loop which is located at the newest campus of FEU in Makati. the campus is very interesting and my favorite is that they have a demo kitchen looking like one you see on TV. they cozy chairs for the spectators while the enjoy watching the cooking demo in front of them. i got so excited at it and ideas popped from my head that maybe someday, i'd do an event there.

the Loop restaurant also offers entertainment to those who will visit it. you can see the entirety of the kitchen from where you sit. and thus you are guaranteed that what you eat is safe and well-prepared.

the interiors are inviting and doesn't intimidate anyone. as the name of the place suggests, you'll find a lot of loops.

Chef Joey not only did he toured me around the two floors of the culinary school, he even let me try these dishes. they look and taste really good and you'll never expect that these come from a fine dining restaurant.

first we tried an unimaginable dish to appear in the menu clashing with italian, asian, and american cuisine. Miem Kam is a very vegetarian appetizer wherein coconut pieces and a cut of lemon is wrapped by a leaf. in the Philippines, it looks like nganga and the roll will be dipped in a sweet-sour, kind of a marmalade. a pinch of sourness from the lemon compliments the sweetness of the dip.

next on the appetizers list are the Egyptian Dukkah and Kesong Puti Triangle. Egyptian Dukkah tastes very Middle Eastern. you'll dip pita bread on sesame oil then dab it to ground dukkah. very curry but delicious. Kesong Puti Triangle is a variation of our kesong puti, only it's wrapped and fried. it is best to eat warm because the cheese melts.

Egyptian Dukkah and Kesong Puti Triangle.

then we had Green Pea soup. Chef Joey added a little twist by putting dry and crunchy green peas to the soup. so you'll have pieces of peas that's something to bite into.

the Crispy Chicken Pasta very much tasted like Szechuan Pasta Bowl from KFC. no offense to Chef Joey but they both taste really good. i even loved it more since he didn't make it spicy.

when it's time for dessert, he offered us rice pudding first. it's like suman in a wrap then drizzled with milk and caramel. you might think of other variations to this but it's good by itself.

to finish it all, we had scramble for refreshment. like ice cones, the flavor is poured over ice shavings. Chef Joey might have suggested that it's cool to put some gin or vodka perhaps in it. hehe..

notice that we didn't have much meat except for the Crispy Chicken Pasta. the Loop believes in wellness that they use indigenous ingredients. for my visit, almost all dishes only come from plant ingredients. and i had my fill.