Spices: Borough

Most 24/7 restaurants are fast food chains that can be found near BPO offices. I was so surprised to find out about a resto which is also open 24 hours but is located inside a mall. What's even more surprising is that this resto doesn't serve your ordinary fast food staples but it instead claims to serve gourmet comfort food.

Borough

During my initial spur of the moment visit, I didn't bring my camera so pardon my super blurry pictures. 

It was already past 12am when we entered the resto and yet the place was still packed. We quickly grabbed  a table and ordered. We started with the Grilled Portobello Burger, I couldn't help to compare it to Charlie's Portobello burger since I just tried it a few weeks back.Charlie's Portobello burger was covered in too much bread crumbs that I didn't get to enjoy the taste of the mushroom. Borough's burger had generous amount of grilled Portobello mushroom slices plus grilled eggplant and tomatoes topped with a lemon aioli and mozzarella cheese. Borough's Portobello Burger was delectable and delicious, it trumps Charlie's version.

Grilled Portobello Burger - Php320

The BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich is one of the best sandwiches that I've tried. Super tender pork shreds with a tangy, sour, salty and mildly sweet barbecue sauce topped with a crunchy green mango coleslaw on a soft bun. I love the harmonious blend of flavors and textures of this sandwich, this is a must order. The sandwich is also served with a delicious crispy homemade potato chips.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich - Php220

While eating our sandwiches, owner and head chef, Cuit Kauffman was making his rounds, asking guests about the food. We had a blast chatting with him, his passion for food was so evident. He suggested to try out a dessert he created, the Cracker Jack Caramel. It consist of a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce, bacon bits and on the center was a candied peanut and popcorn bar. The dessert tasted good, the addition of the bacon bits on the bottom of the bowl added a unique crunchy and salty savory component to the dessert.

Cracker Jack Caramel - Php330

On my 2nd visit, I made sure that I brought along my camera to take better pictures. First on the table was the Chocolate Chicken Wings. I am not a fan of chocolate and I got to admit when the dish was placed on our table it didn't looked appetizing. But it turned out pretty ok, the cocoa and cinnamon powder gave the wings a sweet aromatic smell. It had a mild bitter taste and what I like is the spiciness of the wings.

Chocolate Chicken Wings - Php280

Dipping it in the cream cheese brought about the sweetness of the wing's coating. A very interesting combination of flavors that works.

The All Beef Cheeseburger tasted like what it said, the burger pattie was all lean beef, it had no extenders or what so ever. The burger was perfectly cooked into a medium doneness like how I requested. A slice of cheddar cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce and tomatoes topped the burger.

All Beef Cheeseburger - Php400

The burger tasted excellent though I found it a tad dry, I would have wanted a tiny bit of fat in the pattie to add a little juiciness in it.

When I was trying to get a piece of the Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli on to my plate, I got frustrated trying to do so. This is because every piece of Ravioli was stuck to each other, the pasta was overcooked and it looked like more of a wanton than a pasta.

Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli - Php250

I was already expecting the worst but when I took a bite off the dish, it caught me by surprise. It tasted fantastic. I'm not a fan of squash but the filling tasted great, it was so creamy and tasted sweet with the aromatic flavor of garlic. Eaten together with the brown butter sauce and basil puree garnish, this is one delicious dish. Crunchy walnuts and dried cranberries topped the dish, it added texture to the pasta. I do hope next time around they'll cooked the pasta correctly.

The All Beef Cheeseburger and Grilled Portobello Burger came with a bag of French Fries, in my opinion this is one of the best french fries that can be found in the metro. The thick cut fries was crunchy and it had a soft moist center. For those who watch their carbs intake, I suggest you refrain from tasting a piece of fry because I'm pretty sure you won't be able to hold back.

French Fries

As what Chef Cuit Kauffman said, the resto serves his comfort food. Though it wasn't mine, I really enjoyed the food. Simple dishes that was made to taste great. I'll be looking forward to dine here again.

Borough
Address: Ground Flr. The Podium,12 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City
Tel No: 570 8906