jin loves to eat: Green Pastures ♥ ♥ ♥

Green Pastures is probably the hottest restaurant in Manila right now, and rightfully so.
The place is always full, the wait always looooooooooonnnnng.

But don't worry, you can nibble on the planter box while you wait.

Now don't be too greedy, there's a whole wall of it! :P

Chef Robby Goco champions local farmers and uses natural and healthy ingredients available in
the country to create dishes so delicious they do not taste natural and healthy at all! It's like magic!

I am so glad he decided to go all-out rather than just do a salad bar as he originally planned.
I cannot imagine my life without his suckling pig pasta.

Still water, my favorite drink in the world, is free at Green Pastures (LOL!),
but we could not resist trying out his liquid concoctions.

Organic Melon Tea and Hibiscus Iced Tea

Manager's Pick Smoothie with pineapple, blueberry, orange, spinach and yogurt

"To Satisfy" Elixir - beetroot, carrot, Fiji apple, cucumber, lemon and parsley
cold-pressed to preserve all the valuable nutrients. Robby swore there was not
a granule of sugar in this sweet liquid. Elixirs are served in wine glasses so
you can swirl and play around with the juice because, well… it is really special
and deserves all the attention.

The house-made cheeses sounded so tempting we couldn't decide which one to try
so we ordered both

Ricotta with onion jam and roasted garlic. Combine everything for a mild, somewhat sweet,
somewhat garlicky treat.

Stracciatella - buffalo milk pulled fresh daily, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and topped with
peppery arugula. Add a pinch of salt to bring this creaminess to a whole new level of awesomeness!

The September Salad, a mix of organic arugula, shredded kale, watermelon, cherry tomatoes,
cucumber, mint, housemade ricotta, sunflower seeds, champagne berry vinaigrette, was just ok.
It was too "clean" for my palate and left me wanting more. I am, however, very excited for next month.
Chef Robby mentioned the November Salad will have organic turkey and pumpkin!

The Pinoy Egg was a stunner. I cut the crunchy duck egg open and its perfectly runny yolk
oozed out and dressed the fiddlehead fern salad. A whole production in itself!

Braised Suckling Pig and Arugula Pappardelle - the pork was tasty and as tender as a baby's butt,
and the pasta was… wait for it… cooked in suckling pig broth! Enough said.

Tequilla Joe's Organic Beef Sloppy Cow in homemade oyster jus and mushroom glaze.
And that in the other tub was not rice. It was cracked wheat which contains half the calories
of white rice and four times the fiber! Yehey! More allowance for dessert!!! :)

The Crabmeat and Sea Urchin Spaghetti was as delicious and creamy and briny as I imagined
it to be. It was everyone's favorite dish of the night. I dream about it still.

Duck Shepherd's Pie with fennel mashed potato

Blue Ribbon Burger - grilled freshly ground Kitayama wagyu short rib, chuck and brisket
with Malagos roquefort blue cheese on grilled brioche

Robby's enthusiasm is contagious. When he talks about food, his eyes light up like a little kid's
on Christmas morning. That's him showing us his house-made chili sauce.

House-made "siliracha" and that is his all-natural tomato ketchup inside
Holly's milk bottle.

He also let us try his roast organic chicken. I'm not a fan of chicken (EXCEPT SAVORY
FRIED CHICKEN, OF COURSE!), but I trust this guy's talent and will eat whatever he feeds me

OMG!!! This bird was another one of the chef's magic tricks. How organic chicken can be so
fall-off-the-bone tender was beyond my comprehension. The trick, he explained, was to brine
the chicken in seaweed and roast it under very low heat for 4 straight hours.

We were at Green Pastures to celebrate the birthdays of the 3 Virgos in our family.
The parentals and all the oldies were away on a trip so it was just us kids (at least for now).

Bebe Rouge cakes on fire!
Matcha Shortcake, Strawberry Shortcake, and Mousse Chocolat

Happy Birthday, JR, Jamie and Benjie!!!

No one wanted to touch the matcha saliva cake after that blow. Hahaha!

Complimentary desserts. Thank you, Chef Robby! :)

Salted caramel ice cream with popcorn crunch, house-made chocolate sauce and whipped cream

I couldn't get enough of this honeycomb dessert. And there wasn't even chocolate in it!
Natural honeycomb topped with creamy homemade Greek yogurt, a dollop of zesty lemon curd,
and a sprinkling of cashew nuts. A MUST at Green Pastures!

Happy stomachs make happy peoples!

On our way out, Robby asked if we wanted to see his newly acquired toys, the Hario V60s.
He serves single-origin coffee from the provinces of Benguet, Matutum, Kitanglad and Sagada.
All organic, too!