Metro Manila (CNN Philippines Life, Dec. 13) — Our year-end edition of Where We Eat features delightful food marriages — Joel’s Place grocerant (where grocery meets restaurant) and Dot Coffee’s dagel (the lovechild of a doughnut and bagel).
We also asked the Tantoco men, including Joel’s Place COO Christopher Tantoco, what you’ll need to make room for in your shopping cart.
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Gather your friends at Joel’s Place, a new market that’s perfect for meetups
After selling their supermarket empire off for major payday in 2018, the family that brought gourmet grocering to the Filipino makes a comeback to food retail. Just opened at The Proscenium at Rockwell: Joel’s Place, or how the Rustan’s Group translates the food emporiums of Paris and London to upmarket Metro Manila. “The premise is: ‘How can we make shopping for your everyday food exciting and theatrical?’” says Christian Tantoco of his and CEO dad Donnie Tantoco’s vision of a “grocerant” — their hybrid grocery-restaurant concept.
\tWhile it’s hard to imagine anyone saying “grocerant” with a straight face, shopping at Joel’s Place does feel like an event. With its lofty ceiling and glitzy signage reminiscent of “Wheel of Fortune,” the space is a culinary carnival of sorts, where ample seating by the entryway lets you take in the consumerist spectacle.
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\tShoppers can liken themselves to a bougie version of Belle meandering from “The Fishmonger,” past “The Butcher,” toward the in-house bakery, each section manned by upbeat staff in Breton shirts. But rather than “the same old bread and rolls to sell,” there are buko pandan profiteroles; boeuf bourguignon-filled empanadas made with croissant dough (“cronadas”); whole wheat baguettes just a skip away from the rare Italian salumi and Japanese cheeses you’ll want to stuff them with.
\tFrom fancy olive oil in hand-painted bottles to haunches of Jamó n Ibérico, there’s a lot to delight the frequent flier set here. According to the senior Tantoco, the store pays tribute to his deceased brother Joel, a man who clearly savored the finer things. Yet as itinerant and indulgent as its namesake was, Joel’s Place also feels right at home in prioritizing health and uplifting the Filipino.
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\tHomegrown goods are as celebrated on shelves as fetishized imports, where asin tibuok from Bohol sits alongside Maldon sea salt and just-harvested pako disappears quicker than the Tuscan kale. Across the sushi counter, an entire wall displays dried local fish.
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I’ll admit: browsing a grocery that’s isn’t cynical toward Filipino shoppers is a little disorienting. There is Ethiopian jazz playing in place of supermarket jingles or holiday songs. The Piedmontese cheese is cubed and free for the sampling. The deli’s ready-made adlai paella invites suspicion and curiosity, a verdict you can decide among the friends you’ve split a serving and a bottle of rosé with. This may not strike as “everyday” shopping as the younger Tantoco proposes, but what can I say — being offered the world and assured you can stay to enjoy it is something I could get used to.
Joel’s Place is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and is located at the G/F The Proscenium Retail Row, Rockwell Center Makati. Its second location is set to open at Rustan’s Makati, Ayala Center.
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Life Recommendations: Donnie, Christian, and Christopher Tantoco of Joel’s Place
New specialty market and food hall Joel’s Place could be one of the most bountiful father-son bonding sessions in the history of Pinoy entrepreneurial history, conceived at the dinner table by Rustan Group CEO Donnie Tantoco and son Christian. We ask the Tantoco men, including COO Christopher Tantoco, what you need to make room for in your shopping cart.
Christopher Tantoco, COO
In the cold cuts-side, Dok Dall’Ava Prosciutto, which they limit the production of in Italy to just 30,000 hams a year. This is one of my favorites. Also, our Food for the Gods Biscotti is another must-try.
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Christian Tantoco, consultant
I think the new thing we’re bringing into the market is when you come here for the holidays and you come here for a steak that you’re gonna cook for your friends, or things that you’re gonna make at home, you’re gonna do so with a drink in hand. You’re gonna be shopping for your groceries but you’re gonna have a coffee, a glass of wine, or a smoothie while you do it.
Donnie Tantoco, CEO
Our just cause [behind Joel’s Place] is that we want to unleash the unmatchable power of a creative Filipino, and we want to manifest it first in food. So you have this cart of artisan-made Filipino chocolates, Bukidnon dairy, Palawan lobsters, Bukid Amara edible flowers. We have jam that’s made by a European in the Philippines. [We want to tell local producers], you focus on your craft, you focus on your creativity, and we’ll take care of the other things that’ll enable you to do what you do, and we’ll give you the market, the store, the customer base.
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Slay your holiday spread with Bizu’s Salmon Wellington
If there’s one thing Manila’s ladies who brunch know like scripture, it’s that Bizu has always been that bitch. Be it through an immaculate tower of macarons or eggs benedict baptized in luscious hollandaise, the Y2K-born patisserie and bistro has always been a reliable source for pastries and mains that beg to be the center of your table’s attention.
Don’t expect any different for the holidays, of course. With a gift basket brimming with sweets, a crowd-wowing Yule Log Cake, and a selection of roasts for small gatherings, Bizu’s Christmas collection is a stress-free way to spark appetites this season.
\tRoasts include a Christmas ham and a Beef Wellington whose first slice is sure to drop jaws like a burlesque reveal. But if you’re like me and think a healthier alternative to the latter is even more revolutionary, consider the Salmon Wellington instead. It’s lighter, just as filling, and not to worry, just as effective at unholstering your guests’ smartphones for the ‘gram.
\tEach “chef-crafted” roast comes with a set menu of best supporting dishes to feed five. Save room for the beef cheek bourguignon, an absolute scene-stealer.
Reserve your roast at 09176273970 or email concierge@bizugroupe.com.
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Try the dagel, a doughnut-bagel hybrid
With so many new cafe concepts vying for attention in Manila’s already-crowded F&B landscape, the recipe for a successful cup seems harder to brew. This may be why we see a lot of new places innovating elements beyond their coffee offerings, whether it be through design or by introducing a unique menu item.
Then there’s the hybrid pastry. Just last month, we wrote about a specialty cafe chain’s adaptation of the Korean-favorite croffle. This week, pandemic-founded coffee brand Dot has thrown their special sauce into the mixing bowl. Their offering? The dagel: a pastry that is essentially a bagel, but made using the dough of a doughnut.
Dot’s dagel lineup consists of three savory and three sweet flavors, all within the ₱100 to ₱150 price range. Texture-wise, the dough might appeal to those averse to the tougher bread of a bagel. Light and airy, it is closer to a milk bread consistency, and makes more sense to pair with sweet fillings (the Milk and Cheese Dagel, at ₱130, is a level up from your standard ensaymada), but savory works too if you’re looking for a quick bite that can fill you up for breakfast or lunch (the HEC Dagel, at ₱140, has a really fluffy scrambled egg in it).