Terra Mare- meaning land and sea- very apt title for a limited pop up dinner by visiting chef John Buenaventura. Trained in CCA and currently working in Dubai for the royal family, he really excludes a passion for cooking. I am glad we got to taste some of it during this pop up.
I loved the open kitchen and the intimate setting of the venue (one world kitchen) . We went early and did the 5:30 seating because we don’t like late dinners and afraid of parking problems if we do the later seating. The menu was interesting and I loved the mix of Japanese and Peruvian (with the incorporations chilis)
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| Hamachi tira dito |
Lying on a bed of yuzu , the hamachi was really fresh and a great start, it wasn’t too tart and the chili on the side wasn’t too spicy. Caviar on top was a nice addition and they even have some crispy quinoa for the crunch element.
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| Salmon ceviche |
The salmon was lying on a bed of mashed avocados (toasted in the burner and mashed with lime), it also had 3 kinds of corn (which the chef hand carried in his luggage to Manila). The white one is called chulpe corn, plus choclo corn *the big kernel on the side, and some roasted baby corn (which I thought was a nice visual). This dish had more of a kick- citrusy and spicier than the first, which was nice follow up second course to elevate the dinner.
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| Dry aged beef tostada |
The beef was super juicy and tender and the aji panca sauce (which had murita chiles *also hand carried, ) was great. Spicy but not too much (not like some Indian food I have tried… which was too busy taste wise for me…heavy on the palate)
I loved the fact the chef was the one serving and explaining the dish and we can ask questions about it. He gamely engaged us in banter which was a plus. First time to try aji panca (which is roasting peppers, blitzing it and combining it with Japanese mayo.)
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| Murita chili- if you smell, it had a Smokey aroma. Quite interesting! |
The tostada was crunchy (which I loved) and had to carefully eat it lest I drip the juices on my white shirt… which I tend to do all the time. Hahaha. Pickled onions was also nice.
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mud crab broth Nikkei
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They poured the broth after I took that picture… so there is actually more broth.
The broth was made from the shells of the mudcrab (which they parboiled and took out the meat) and then made into dumplings. We were the first served and we felt our soup was under seasoned and not hot enough. We conveyed it to the chef and he quickly remedied and adjusted it for the other diners who were being served after us. He also gave us another cup of soup (adjusted taste) and it was just right. The umami of the crab finally coming through after the right seasoning. Loved that he took our feedback and was happy to adjust.
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| Pico sour sorbet |
- palate cleanser. Loved it.
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| Inca prawn halea |
We were joking that we might mistake the black coals and dip it into the aji Amarillo (another mayonnaise infused with chili). The prawn was battered with activated charcoal and squid ink. It was served piping hot and I loved that we used our fingers to eat it. Finger linking good.
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| Taco de Juan |
The taco was soft and lengua (you drizzle the lime on top) was nice. Although I liked the tostada better… I like crunchy more than soft tacos. But hey, that’s just me, there was also some pineapple on the side to balance the taste of the tacos. (Which the chef said they did in house)
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| Cazuelas |
The highlight!!! COD in a bed of mud crab risotto! The risotto was cooked with the soup of the mud crabs and shells of the prawns. (Yum). The cod was just pan fried. Simplest cooking but delish just the same. The balance of the items in the menu was good. This was just the right amount to end our tummies with a BURP.
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Picarones
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Tres leches ice cream on a bed of cookie crumble. With picarones (looks like beignets but made out of pumpkin). Loved the tres leches (I asked what milk was in it… and the chef aside white chocolate, Carabao’s milk, condensed milk)… was so yummy had to ask the chef for one more serving sans the picarones. There was a passion fruit syrup on the bottom that was sour… so you had to put the tres leches together with the picarones so as not to get a mouthful of sourness. But my second serving of ice cream was just right for the coffee I ordered.. (full crema and with a kick)
Overall, we loved the night and the experience and would love to try another pop up in the future. I would not hesitate to book the space for an intimate dinner with friends too ( I think the place just seats max 20… 12-14 on the counter and a few tables on the side.
Kudos to chef John for a great menu! Would love to try his pop ups anytime he’s in town!
