Waking up my Neighborhood : Kanto Freestyle in Greenhills

Rise and Shine, Manila!

I've been meaning to write this entry all throughout Holy Week but the farthest I've went was to edit and upload the photos. We've also been taking the twins out for quick trips to the supermarket, to my Kongkong's place, to the playground..anywhere just to spend more time with our little twin stars before Mommy and Daddy goes back to work. True enough, as soon as Monday rolled in, we've both been so busy catching up with all the backlogs and meeting endless deadlines. What do you know?! It's Friday already and I'm honestly not looking forward to the next two weeks as Yaya M will be gone for her holiday and it means we will be yaya-less for 10 whole days.

Don't get me wrong. My twins are adorable and they're so much easier to manage now but when you have a full time job and a million things needed to be done, it's really hard to find time to juggle mommyhood, your career and everything else in between. So, if I suddenly disappeared after next week, you all pretty much know what happened. :) Catch me on social media though as I will try to update that more since I can easily be on my mobile phone.

Speaking of backlogs, I tried to organize all my photos and pending blog line-up and I realized that I have about 2 months backlog on my food stories and 4 YEARS worth of stories on our travel adventures. ACCCKKK! I haven't even told you guys about our trip to Japan which happened back in 2016. Oh dear...oh dear! I'd better start now!

Anyway, before that. Let me tell you about a new restaurant find here in San Juan. It was upon the invite of my sweet friend Mareng J who asked us if we're game to check out the newly opened Kanto Freestyle branch. Since it was very close to home, Paul and I said yes as we have been so curious about Kanto after hearing lots and lots of good things about it from friends and fellow food bloggers. They have branches in Mandaluyong, Quezon City and Makati but since our mornings are always so packed with Mommy and Daddy duties, we never had the time to go out for breakfast or brunch. Finally, with Kanto Freestyle located along Annapolis street, we do not have any reason now not to go out for our family brunch.



What sets Kanto Freestyle different from the traditional Kanto restaurant is the way the dishes are presented. Here, the Chef allowed himself to be more playful, more experimental thus expect for your regular Tapsilog to be served as the New Zealand Tapa (Php. 170) with 65 degrees egg and garlic rice. The rice, as may be upgraded to the Sagada Red Rice which is definitely a more healthier alternative to your regular garlic rice. But seriously, who's judging? Go for whatever kind of rice you fancy! The egg is super runny and perfectly cooked at 65 degrees Celcius. The beef is so tender, it literally melts in your mouth and it has very minimal litid and just the right amount of fat. This was clearly one of my favorite dishes and one of the more memorable ones too.

Another dish that I liked was the Kanto Longanisa Scotch Egg (Php. 170). This is a very interesting take on how you can enjoy your Longsilog. Minced longanisa patty served in an egg-like mold encasing a precious piece of egg and deep-fried thus making it really crunchy. We tried this with their regular garlic rice which I find to be very flavorful. That syringe in the middle is filled with vinegar which you can enjoy squirting into your longanisa patty.

Moving on, we had the Honey Garlic Chicken (Php. 150) which I am so sure will be a hit with the kids. I don't know what's with chicken and kids but they sure can eat chicken all day long. I love how fried chicken can also go well with egg (which came first, the chicken or the egg?) and a generous portion of garlic rice.

If you're a seafood lover and you love dried fish, then you have to try the Pusit, Danggit, Espada at Dilis (Php. 160) it's basically deep-fried dried squid with 3 types of fish. I personally love danggit most especially one swimming in vinegar. I would always have this whenever I'm in Cebu and I'm glad that I can enjoy that here in Manila too.

I also enjoyed the House made Baked Beans topped with Cumin cream and Puri Bread (Php. 140). This one reminds me so much of those Indian curry dishes with naan bread. The strong cumin flavor solidifies that link and I love the puri bread too. I don't normally eat and like baked beans but when it's done this way, then why not?!

Another winning dish is the Sitaw and Kangkong with Hashbrown, Poached Egg and Pesto Tomato with Hollandaise (Php. 150). I got to admit that they really have to work on naming their dishes as this one just went on and on and it leaves nothing to the imagination. But hey, what's important is the dish and this one was so good! I love how the vegetables are so fresh and delicious, the hashed brown gave it a very interesting take and who can ever say no to creamy hollandaise that's spiced up with pesto and tomato too. I will definitely order this again on my next visit.

We also tried the Twice Cook Crispy Pork Belly  (Php. 135). Do you agree with me that the sound of this dish is enough to make your heart skip a beat? Served with Sagada Red Rice (yes, because we need a bit of balance in life), 65 degree egg and a generous portion of pork belly strips, I also love the addition of tomato slices and fried basil in this dish too.

Now, if you are an avid beef fan, don't miss the Roast Beef Pares (Php. 180). It's melt-in-your-mouth roast beef slices served in sweet/savory pares sauce. Good!

When it comes to sweets, they have the Chocnut Champorado (Php. 135) which I find to be very interesting. Unlike your typical dark chocolate champorado, this one has a nutty flavor brought about by the "chocnut". Kids will surely like this and the fried fish on top goes well with it too.

Finally, the dessert that got us so happy! Kanto Freestyle served their own Ice Scramble (Php. 70)!!! I haven't seen a scramble vendor in years decades and so I was so happy to be able to try this again. It tastes just like the ones sold in the street.

Amidst moving plates, shifting seats and cameras clicking left and right, what made our Kanto Freestyle brunch extra special was the presence of our foodie friends whom we truly admire and who's company we enjoy all the time.

Check out Kanto Freestyle at Unit 02 Continental Court Condominium, 47 Annapolis, San Juan. It's near the entrance of Greenhills Promenade.