The one takeaway from growing up in a family of pasta lovers then working for an Italian fastfood joint later on is that, cheap but good Italian food is hard to come by – especially when you’re a provincial dweller like I am. Even Shakey’s pizzas isn’t good as it used to be in the 90s.
The we met Our Kitchen.
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| Scampi pasta. |
I have to admit I didn’t up expectations for this small Bulacan-based dining hole despite the sticky “Where East Meets West” slogan. There is after all a very small percentage of Euro-centric restaurants here that truly live up to their names. We went to the Bocaue branch on neutral (they have another one in Meycauayan) .
There’s a limited selection of Eastern grub on the menu, so I’m guessing the east portion of the slogan attributes to the interior design: an eccentric mix of utilitarian wooden dining sets, Buddhist ornaments and Moroccan mats. It’s an atypical and weird combo, but for some reason, it works. It’s refreshing and quite honestly, smart.
But the western part, there are many. In fact, it’s probably the smallest Western fusion restaurant I know that dedicates an entire page of the menu to Italian dishes alone. There are considerable options for pasta too. First, you choose the noodle (spaghetti, penne, or linguine), then what sauce to go with it. Pasta dishes come with a slice of baguette – no garlicky butter and hardly toasted. Just dry bread.
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| Menu. I heard the homemade deserts are good too. |
We tried their pomodoro e basilico (P95) and scampi (P120), both with tomato-based sauces though the pomodoro is way more sour. The clean taste of fresh tomatoes in the sauces is something to love. If you like your sauce with a punch though, go for scampi. Infused with chili, it has that light, wonderful zing that mates well with tomato and prawns.
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| Pomodoro E Basilico. |
The pepperoni pizza (P170, 10-inch) is another amazing surprise. It looks like a simple and flaky thin crust pizza(very thin actually, as are their other pizzas), but that swath of mozzarella really makes a world of difference. It’s creamy and alive like no other mozzarella I’ve tasted before.
Their famous Slowly Roasted Baby Back Ribs (P130 with rice) was sadly, not as stellar as their pastas and pizza. It’s soft alright, but it’s like eating meat soaked in formaldehyde. I’m sorry, other people my have had different experience, but that was ours.
Also on the so-so side is their Herbs Chicken Burger with cheddar cheese. Underwhelming, peppery, and served with cold fries on the side, I had to ask, tell me that tough, low-grade chicken nugget didn’t cost P95?
The rest of Our Kitchen’s western dishes may not be impressive, but as far economy and so-good home cooked Italian food goes, this one definitely sticks. And the free WiFi, too.
Our Kitchen
Sunday to Thursday, 10am to 10pm
Friday to Saturday, 10am to 2am
G/F Esperanza Mall, Mc Arthur Highway, Calvario, Meycauayan, Bulacan (Main)
130 R.M Mariz Building, Mc Arthur Highway, Bocaue, Bulacan (2nd branch)
