Dragon Foodie Review: Asian Fussion Cuisine at Fika

F1Hello Sweeties!

Last week I found myself at the Capitol Greenstreet Golf Course. While I am neither a resident of Quezon City nor a Golfer, you might be wondering what I am at such an unlikely place. Well, Zomato Philippines invited me to this hole in the wall Asian Fusion Restaurant called Fika.

Fika, in Swedish means to have  Coffee Break. According to Head Chef and First Gourmet Academy Director Mats Loo  The word “fika” is an example of the back slang, in which syllables of a word were reversed, deriving fika from kaffi, an earlier variant of the Swedish word kaffe (“coffee”). From fika also comes the word fik (a colloquial term for “café”).  As a young man, he told himself he will be an owner of a cafe and he will name it Fika.

Although this small inconspicuous restaurant serves coffee based drinks, it is NOT just a Cafe, but more of an Asian Fusion Restaurant.

F8

From a Cafe Fika was built to help the young chefs in training from  their school First Gourmet Academy (located at the top floor of the same building) to test their skills in food preparation and service. Fika`s menu grew to as the talented young chefs learn and develop their talents.

Capitol Greenstreet Golf Course

Locate at the right side of Capitol Greenstreet Building,  with a great view of the golf course greens and the sunset. This is the perfect place to hold intimate gathering with family, friends or to pop the question to THE ONE.

If you want to see more, Read on!

Place Setting

Place setting

Their place setting is simple and minimal,  but don`t let that fool you. The food here is neither simple nor minimal. A great mix of flavors, smells and sights is what I experienced while sampling their cuisine.

At the start of the food sampling we were asked for our choice of drink. I decided to try their coffee based drinks since the store was named Fika after all.

Drinks:

Iced CafeLatte & Iced Cafe Mocha

Iced Cafe Latte (L) and Iced Cafe Mocha (R)

I really enjoyed Fika`s Iced Cafe Mocha with Whipped Cream, I had two (Shhh) because I enjoy the slight sweet mix of the whipped cream and coffee.

Appetizers:

Filpino Pork Cracking

Filpino Pork Cracking

Filipino Pork Cracking (110php) Oven Roasted salted Pork Rinds Sticks with Vinegar Dip is so sinful but you can`t stop yourself from having just one.

Chinese Fire Cracker Shrimp

Chinese Fire Cracker Shrimp

Chinese Fire Cracker Shrimp (215php) Spicy Crispy Fried Shrimps Wrapped in Rice Paper, I enjoyed the texture of this dish mixed with the sweet and sour sauce reminds me of a fried lumpia that have leveled up! Of course I like any meal that involves Shrimp.

Cantonese Pork Siu Mai

Cantonese Pork Siu Mai

Cantonese Pork Siu Mai (165php), Steamed minced pork dumplings drizzled with sesame oil, and served with chili oil and soy sauce dip. The meat is juicy and although I found the wrappers almost falling off releasing the minced meat this dish which is really inconvenient.

Indonesian Chicken Satay

Indonesian Chicken Satay

Indonesia Chicken Stay (200php),  Grilled Seasoned Chicken Breast in Cubes Skewers with Peanut Sauce considered one of their bestsellers, I have to say the peanut sauce was extremely tasty and it goes very well with the chicken that is still tender and juicy.

We got to try Fika`s breakfast menu.

Breakfast:

Omelette with Toast

Omelette with Toast

Omellete with Toast (100-130php) Their omelette as requested. You can asked it be filled with ham and cheese or veggies or as is.  Typical light breakfast before a round of golf.

Beef Tapa with Garlic Rice

Beef Tapa with Egg, Garlic Rice and Atchara

Beef Tapa with Egg, Garlic Rice and Atchara (220php),  I enjoyed this dish a lot. I am a tapa eater, I enjoy going to breakfast places just to try out their tapa. This ranks among the top ten go to places to have their Fika made tapa. The tapa is prepared perfectly with just the right mix of salty, sweet and spicy.  They also make their own atchara. I asked Chef Mats to bottle and sell it. I was the one that fished off the tapa and the achara on this plate.

Salad and Soups:

Japanese Crabstick and Mango Salad

Japanese Crabstick and Mango Salad

Japanese Crabstick and Mango Salad (120php) Served with mixed lettuce and wasabi dressing

Chinese Chow Mien

Japanese Shoyu Ramen

Japanese Shoyu Ramen. They make their own egg noodles with seafood, vegetables in a dashi broth seasoned with Japanese soy sauce. The soup/broth is made from scratch without any artificial flavorings.

Birthday Noodles

Chinese Chow Mein

Chinese Chow Mein (215php), Stir-fried Egg Noodles with Chicken, Seafood and Vegetables. I know this dish as Birthday Noodles. I found this to be excellently seasoned. I am not a fan of Chinese Noodles but I really loved this dish, the noodles not soggy the vegetables still fresh.

Vegetables:

Chinese Styled Stir-Fried Vegetables

Chinese Styled Stir-Fried Vegetables

Chinese Styled Stir-Fried Vegetables (95php),  Mixed Sliced Vegetables from the market.  Its nice that this dish is prepared really fresh.  I would also suggest they add broccoli and baby corn to this dish for the texture and added flavor.

Main:

Malaysian Fish Sambal

Malaysian Fish Sambal

Malaysian Fish Sambal (225)  Crunchy deep fried fish fillet with chili and garlic sauce. It`s their version of fish fillet. Crispy on the outside pack with flavor on the inside. 

Thai Chicken Curry in Peanut Sauce

Thai Chicken Curry in Peanut Sauce

Thai Chicken Curry in Peanut Sauce (200php) Chicken and Vegetables shimmered in Thai Curry Paste, coconut milk and roasted peanuts.  A very tasty dish and one of my favorites from their menu. The mix of creamy curry and peanuts really hits the spot.

Korean Spicy Stir-fried Squid

Korean Spicy Stir-fried Squid

Korean Spicy Stir-fried Squid (220php), Squid sliced in strips stir-fried in Korean Chili Bean Paste. It might be the Korean Chili Bean Paste but this dish reminds me a lot of Tteobokki, instead of soft rice cake, they use squid. Ultra spicy and for someone that enjoys spice in their meals like myself this is a must taste.

Cantonese Barbequed Pork

Cantonese Barbequed Pork

Cantonese Barbequed Pork (235php), Roasted marinated pork with Chinese Barbecued Sauce. The pork is roasted in the oven for hours then grilled and simmered with Chinese barbecue sauce with sesame seeds. The meat actually melts in your mouth. I personally enjoyed all the charred edges of this dish.

Chinese Meat Balls

Chinese Meat Balls

Chinese Meat Balls (190php), Pork meatballs and Cabbage simmered with Chinese Soy Sauce.  The pork is really tender but a bit tasteless in my opinion.

Vietnamese Pork Stewed in Honey and Herbs

Vietnamese Pork Stewed in Honey and Herbs

Vietnamese Pork Stewed in Honey and Herbs (185php),  Pork slices cooked in fish sauce, honey and herb. This reminds me a lot of the slightly dry pork binagoongan, I really enjoyed it. The pork is not swimming in the sauce, tender and I would consume this dish with a lot of plain rice.

Chinese Yeung Chow Fried Rice

Chinese Yeung Chow Fried Rice

Chinese Yeung Chow Fried Rice (195php), Chinese Style Fried Rice with roasted pork, vegetables and egg. An all in one dish that has everything in it. You can eat it on its own since it does not lack for ingredients.

When the sun goes down, Fika turns into this interesting night spot with the view of the city lights. We sampled some of their beer matches. They also have this promo when you buy a bucket of San Mig Light or Pale Pilsen with your choice of Pullman for only 295php! Check out the poster below.

Beer Matches

Mika Bucket of Pulutsn

Fika`s Happy Hour Promo

Cheese Chili Peppers

Cheese Chili Peppers (Dynamita)

Cheese Chili Peppers (Dynamita) Made from long green native chili and mozzarella cheese wrapped in rice paper then deep-fried. This is perfect with a nice bucket of beer. Spicy and oozing with cheesy goodness.

Five Spiced Pork

Five Spiced Pork Belly

Five Spiced Pork Belly Cooked using chinese five spice and  melt-in-your-mouth succulent pork. It is crispy and crunchy and similar to the pork cracking previously served, it is best consumed in moderation. I would have like this dish to have a bit more saltiness.

Tofu Sisig

Tofu Sisig

Tofu Sisig is like having sisig without the guilt.  Deep fried tofu saluted mixed with onions, green bell pepper, green chillies until season with soy sauce, calamansi juice and mayo. I would have preferred it with less mayo but I found the tofu an adequate substitute to pork.

Dessert

Dessert

Cantonese Mango Pudding (75php) in the glass goblet   Hong Kong style pudding with mango purèe. Chef Mats says the  cream is flavored with vanilla then set overnight to develop taste.

Thai Coco and Pandan Cooler (75php) Coco and pandan jelly with sweetened coconut cream. My husband would enjoy this dessert since he really like using the fragrant pandan with coconut.

Malaysian Pandan Cream Pie (75php) Pie filled with layer with pandan custard and sweetened cream.  Out of the 4, this is my favorite, perhaps because it is an innovative dessert. the combination of panda custard and the sweet cream that is not actually sweet but just right. It is a nice sweet end to a great meal.

Filipino Leche Flan (75php) Steamed egg and milk custard. Very Creamy, although I would have liked this dessert to taste more of the cream than the egg.

Mats Loo

with Chef Mats Loo of Fika

F43Fika is located in such an inconspicuous place and you will not notice it unless you seek it out. But once you taste their extensive menu, I assure you will be back to taste their flavors again.  I mean, look at this view?

Thank you Zomato Philippines for the opportunity to dine at Fika.

To learn more about Fika: https://www.facebook.com/fikaincorporated/

Curious about First Gourmet Academy: https://www.facebook.com/firstgourmetacademy/

Check out my other Zomato reviews: https://www.zomato.com/Joeydragonlady/

Until next time!

Muah!

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