Kusina Moderne: Filipino comfort food cooked with french techniques

Kusina Moderne is a restaurant that prepares contemporary Filipino food through french techniques while staying close to its traditional taste. – This is what their Facebook page says. And I was able to witness how they make their food with some french technique indeed.

This restaurant is the newest in town that offers our very own Filipino comfort food with a twist. Located in Poblacion, Makati, this place will surely wow its customers by the way the food was presented, and of course, with its taste, too.

The place might look a little bare as there’s not much decor aside from its wooden tables and chairs. But what I liked about this place is the open kitchen where you can watch the Chef does all the wonders with the dishes.

Mechado Tacos (Php195) – Braised beef mechado. avocado, pickled red onions, fried wanton, sour cream, cilantro and kalamansi

That juicy beef was well marinated in Mechado sauce topped with the vegetables present in Mechado. Who would’ve thought that fried wanton is a great pair? This is one tasty appetizer.

Crispy Pancit (Php185) –Pancit Bihon wrapped in lumpia wrapper then deep-fried served with vinegar sauce

This isn’t the first time I’ve tasted one so this wasn’t a surprise. Their version is good, too. The firm noodles in a crispy lumpia wrapper were a great combo.

Some side dishes to choose from are Marble Potatoes and Baguio Beans.

Marble Potato (Php85)

Baguio Beans (Php80)

Adobong Manok (Php285) – twice cooked chicken adobo, quail eggs, papaya, fried potato, fried shallots, fried garlic, fried green onions

This is one delicious Adobo. The chicken was tender and well marinated. It has a balanced sourness and saltiness, too. I liked that all its vegetables were crispy and fried that gave a little crunch. I just thought I find it a bit salty. But maybe with the rice, it could be perfect.

Tanigue (Php395) – Pan seared Tanigue, calabaza puree, malungay, papaya, carrots, baguio beans, charred green onions, confit tomatoes and fried sotanghon with Sauce vierge

The Tanigue was cooked really well. There’s no fishy taste to it at all. I appreciated the crispy skin yet its meat were soft and moist. All the vegetables in it added more flavor. This is a must try.

Binagoongang Baboy (Php395) – roasted pork belly, roasted eggplant, confit cherry tomatoes, green mango salad, radish, with Binagoongan sauce.

Just look at the presentation of this dish. That’s pork belly with crispy skin yet soft-melts-in-your-mouth-fat. The roasted eggplant and cherry tomatoes gave its smoky flavor. The brown sauce was the bagoong and the green was the green mango puree. Really really good!

BIstek and Frites (Php615) – Bistek marinated top blade steak, fries, and salad with fried onions and fried garlic

The steak was cooked to tender. It was succulent in every bite. I love that it was very well seasoned, too. I also enjoyed the salad here as it has one tasty vinaigrette.

For Desserts, it’s a must that you try one of these. Not only that it was well thought of, but it was also decadent. With its presentation, you would have a hard time naming it.

Cheesecake Flan (Php175) – creme caramel cheesecake, mangoes , candied nuts
Imagine a cheesecake and leche flan together. Yum! So, this has the consistency of the cheesecake but has the custard taste on its top. The crumbled cookies there is one of our childhood favorite cookies – Marie!

Chocolate Bar Brownie (Php315) – layer of brownie and chocolate mousse
I love this so much! The dark chocolate mousse really is so sinful! I could eat this all day.

Turon (Php115) – bruleed poached plantains, candied jackfruit, crispy lumpia wrapper, vanilla ice cream, and caramel sauce

Deconstructed Turon! <3

I enjoyed the time spent here at Kusina Moderne and I enjoyed the food much more. This place is highly recommended specially if you wanted your favorite Filipino dishes to up their ante.

Address: Bel-Air Soho, Caceres Street, Poblacion, Makati City