In Quezon City, a monthly tasting menu rises with the full moon

Just when you thought BOA Kitchen + Socials made the Quezon City dining scene a lot more exciting and dynamic, here they come again with another concept: Buwan, a monthly tasting menu, served during the full moon.

The idea for Buwan came to sales executive-turned-restaurateur Joey Marcelo III, in January 2020 and within six weeks, Joey, together with his 28-year-old chef Julius Necor, laid out their first tasting menu event, in time for Valentine's Day.

“I wanted to give him [28-year-old chef Julius Necor] an outlet to exercise his culinary creativity, because the food we serve here [BOA Kitchen + Socials] are creative but he still has to somewhat tone it down a bit because we have to cater to the market we have, which are usually yuppies on weekdays and families on weekends,” Joey adds.

“It’s something that we wanted to do so we can break the usual connotation of tasting menus. We want more people to try it because it’s still kind of new here in the Philippines.”

When the words “tasting menu” are involved, people misconstrue it to mean expensive high-falutin cuisine. It might involve a certain upgrade when it comes to the dress code. These are the usual connotations that Joey and Julius want to break with Buwan.

“We want to take the pressure off it. We just want to serve really good food. You don’t have to over-analyze it or deduce it. Just come as you are, sit down, and enjoy your food — the finest you can get in this price range,” the two men concurred.

Their five-course Valentine’s tasting menu was priced at P1,400 — definitely a lot more affordable compared to most tasting menus available today. And that includes an amuse bouche and a drink. As for the quality? It was highly comparable, if not better. The dishes that flew out of Chef Julius’ “limited” kitchen at BOA were at par with those from world-class hotels and premium restaurants.

They’re actively looking for the perfect place to be Buwan’s permanent home, but for now — according to Joey — they’re content with doing Buwan pop-ups in other restaurants and cafés who are looking to offer something new. One thing is for sure: No two tasting menus will be the same. — LA, GMA News

For updates on Buwan’s upcoming pop-ups and hopefully soon their permanent location, follow them on Instagram at @buwan_ph.