Playing Favourites : Cibo (Philippines)
As a food bloggers, friends and even strangers would come up to me and ask one common question: What is you most favourite restaurant? What may seem like an easy question to some is actually one that has left me stumped a couple of times as I rack my brain like it's some kind of a filing cabinet as I try to recall all those amazing, I-could-die-now dining moments.
After having the privilege to dine in hundreds of restaurants in the Philippines alone, I realized that finding my favourite restaurant wasn't exactly all about focusing on the swanky and classy ones that serves caviar, foie gras and a lot more dishes most of us could hardly pronounce properly. It's all about being extremely comfortable when dining in there that it will definitely be the one that I'd automatically go to when I'm feeling down or when I'm just craving for a surefire good meal.
That said, one of my favourite restaurants in the Philippines is none other than Cibo. I have been a loyal fan of Cibo for more than a decade already and I always end up ordering the exact same things every single time. I loved it so much that I can easily give my order without opening the menu. Let me share my Cibo must-haves with you all.
Patatine Fritte (Php. 155)
I always start my meal with this amazingly good platter of crispy potato chips with Cibo's signature garlic aioli sauce. I believe the potato chips aren't store bought as it has this perfect thickness (or thinness if you will) that makes every piece so crunchy and crazily addicting. Now, the garlic aioli sauce is another thing that we love. Creamy with a slight hint of tangy flavour, we just love dipping every single piece into this before popping the potato chip into our mouths. The mere thought of it now is starting to make me crave for it again *drool*.
Spinaci Zola (Php. 255)
Together with the potato chips, Cibo has successfully made us eat our veggies with gusto. Served piping hot so you'll always be reminded by the server to be careful and keep your fingers away from the white ramekin. We always manage to finish up the crostinis with a few more spinach dip leftover. The trick is to spread it on to the garlic bread that comes with the pasta or not to be shy and to scoop it up with your spoon. Yummy!
Crema di Zucca (Php. 215)
Cibo's Crema di Zucca (Squash Soup) has been our benchmark for all succeeding pumpkin soups that came, failed in comparison and left. We can't get over the thick and rich pumpkin soup with bacon bits and served with a scoop of foam on top. We normally share one order as it can get extremely filling plus we still want to have room for the next must-order.
Farfalle alla Genovese (Php. 295)
Ahhh I can't remember the day when I first had Farfalle all Genovese but I tell you, this has been my Cibo staple for every single visits that followed. It's quite embarrassing actually as I've been meaning to be a bit more adventurous but after browsing through the menu, I would always end up getting this. It's a vegetarian pasta dish with ribbon noodles cooked in pesto cream sauce and the best thing about it -- the generous serving of mushrooms. I love it so much that I attempted to re-create it at home. Not bad but nothing beats enjoying the real thing at Cibo.
I love Cibo simply because of it's consistency. Regardless of when or which branch I go to, I can expect to taste the exact same thing from the time I had my pasta dish or the potato chips years ago. Service has always been spot on and the price is pretty reasonable. I can truly go on and on about Cibo but I'm pretty sure you all can see how much I LOVE it! It's the restaurant that will always be part of my itinerary every single time I fly home to Manila. Oh how I wish Cibo would open here in Singapore and with that my life will be complete (well... just one teeny bit more).
I love love love you Cibo!
Cibo is located at Greenhills Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan City. There are 9 other Cibo branches all around Metro Manila. Click here for the complete list.
After having the privilege to dine in hundreds of restaurants in the Philippines alone, I realized that finding my favourite restaurant wasn't exactly all about focusing on the swanky and classy ones that serves caviar, foie gras and a lot more dishes most of us could hardly pronounce properly. It's all about being extremely comfortable when dining in there that it will definitely be the one that I'd automatically go to when I'm feeling down or when I'm just craving for a surefire good meal.
That said, one of my favourite restaurants in the Philippines is none other than Cibo. I have been a loyal fan of Cibo for more than a decade already and I always end up ordering the exact same things every single time. I loved it so much that I can easily give my order without opening the menu. Let me share my Cibo must-haves with you all.
Patatine Fritte (Php. 155)
I always start my meal with this amazingly good platter of crispy potato chips with Cibo's signature garlic aioli sauce. I believe the potato chips aren't store bought as it has this perfect thickness (or thinness if you will) that makes every piece so crunchy and crazily addicting. Now, the garlic aioli sauce is another thing that we love. Creamy with a slight hint of tangy flavour, we just love dipping every single piece into this before popping the potato chip into our mouths. The mere thought of it now is starting to make me crave for it again *drool*.
Spinaci Zola (Php. 255)
Together with the potato chips, Cibo has successfully made us eat our veggies with gusto. Served piping hot so you'll always be reminded by the server to be careful and keep your fingers away from the white ramekin. We always manage to finish up the crostinis with a few more spinach dip leftover. The trick is to spread it on to the garlic bread that comes with the pasta or not to be shy and to scoop it up with your spoon. Yummy!
Crema di Zucca (Php. 215)
Cibo's Crema di Zucca (Squash Soup) has been our benchmark for all succeeding pumpkin soups that came, failed in comparison and left. We can't get over the thick and rich pumpkin soup with bacon bits and served with a scoop of foam on top. We normally share one order as it can get extremely filling plus we still want to have room for the next must-order.
Farfalle alla Genovese (Php. 295)
Ahhh I can't remember the day when I first had Farfalle all Genovese but I tell you, this has been my Cibo staple for every single visits that followed. It's quite embarrassing actually as I've been meaning to be a bit more adventurous but after browsing through the menu, I would always end up getting this. It's a vegetarian pasta dish with ribbon noodles cooked in pesto cream sauce and the best thing about it -- the generous serving of mushrooms. I love it so much that I attempted to re-create it at home. Not bad but nothing beats enjoying the real thing at Cibo.
I love Cibo simply because of it's consistency. Regardless of when or which branch I go to, I can expect to taste the exact same thing from the time I had my pasta dish or the potato chips years ago. Service has always been spot on and the price is pretty reasonable. I can truly go on and on about Cibo but I'm pretty sure you all can see how much I LOVE it! It's the restaurant that will always be part of my itinerary every single time I fly home to Manila. Oh how I wish Cibo would open here in Singapore and with that my life will be complete (well... just one teeny bit more).
I love love love you Cibo!
Cibo is located at Greenhills Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan City. There are 9 other Cibo branches all around Metro Manila. Click here for the complete list.
