Chill out at The Box Café

Once upon a time, before there were restaurants, a man with a box would mysteriously appear during town fiestas and would cook for everyone. He would gather whatever produce the community had and would concoct a delicious feast in his box. For instance, if it was a fishing village, they would have a fish fiesta; if it’s a corn-growing center, they’d have a corn fiesta, and so on.

It didn’t matter how many townsfolk and guests there were, since the box was never empty. And when this cooking man left, the town would experience happiness and prosperity. Or so the legend goes.

"It’s the same spirit of good food, happiness and prosperity that we opened The Box Café," says Lito German, one of five partners of this cozy resto on Pearl Drive Ave. in Ortigas Center, Pasig.

"We tried to imagine the different places the man with the box visited. Our menu is a fusion of the cuisines we imagined he mastered: We have Korean and Japanese dishes, Italian pasta, American sandwiches and Filipino adobo," says Ditas German, who’s in charge of operations and who happens to be Lito’s wife.

This is not Lito’s first foray in the food business. He used to own a bar at Pasay Road. It was doing well until one day, someone decided to build a skyway. He took his losses and one suki, Ted Almeda, a contractor, and invited three others to join him in opening another resto: Alan German, his brother, handles finance; Jo Montes, a San Francisco-based DJ, is in charge of music; and Rod Nepomuceno, MTV-Asia marketing director, is in charge of, well, bringing in cool people to The Box Café.

"We’re the only chill-out bar cum café cum dance bar in Ortigas Center," says Rod. "I think we’ve got everyone covered."

At lunch, The Box Café is a smart resto for yuppies based in Tektite and yuppie-wannabes from nearby UA&P. After 5 p.m., it’s a chill out bar where DJ Jo plays lounge music. After 8 p.m., it’s a romantic-second-floor-dinner-place-with-a-view. At 10 p.m., it becomes a dance bar, where anything goes.

The resto opened two months ago and it is still a work-in-progress.

"We just installed the lights and the sound system. Jo wants to install a mirror ball and hold ’70s and ’80s nights. We also used to have a much larger menu, but we couldn’t manage it, so we tossed out some items and we’re adding pizza, crepe and more desserts," Lito explains.

How’s biz so far?

"Not too bad. We’ve gone past the novelty stage. We have regulars. There’s been a lot of interest as well. We’ve been featured on MTV. Young Star Magazine did a spread on us, and we have a tie-up with Summit Publications," says Rod.

"A lot has to do with the place. It’s cozy and relaxed. It has good food and drinks. It has sofas where you can chat all night or listen to music. You can even bring your own CDs and have a party," he adds.

Chill-out with a glass of wine or a bottle of beer and do it with The Box Café’s tasty appetizers. Ditas recommends Chicken Sisig (sizzling boneless chicken), calamares (tender rings of squid served with balsamic vinegar and hoisin sauce) and for people who hate greens, it’s Eggplant Fritters.

"They look like French fries, but yummier. Actually, they’re slices of eggplant fried to a crisp," she says.

Want something light? Then it’s soup and salad. Try the Cream of Miso (sinigang sa miso complemented with adobo toast) and choose between crowd favorites Oriental Chicken Salad (grilled chicken breast served with fried vermicelli noodles) or Fried Calamari Salad (fried squid rings tossed in balsamic vinaigrette).

The Box Café also serves noodle dishes and pasta. The most popular are Grilled Beef Sukiyaki (soy-mirin broth, vermicelli, shiitake mushrooms and tenderloin beef) and Penne Pesto (basil cream sauce served with Parmesan cheese).

Beef eaters should try the Open-faced Roast Beef (roasted tenderloin beef served over greens), Burger Steak Napoleon (100 percent ground beef served with fried egg, mushroom sauce and real mashed potatoes) or the Fried Tadyang ng Baka (fried beef ribs served with rice). Choose from garlic fried rice, Korean rice or bagoong rice.

Vegetarians, order the grilled vegetable panini (lettuce and other greens with pesto, mozzarella and cream cheese).

For dessert, Ditas suggests Nirvana, Buko Pandan, Decadent Chocolate Cake, or Banana Cream Pie. All are baked fresh and disappear fast, especially on weekends.

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The Box Café is located at Pearl Drive Plaza, Pearl Drive Ave. (in front of CRC, beside Starbucks), Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Call 637-78-05 for inquiries. It is open from 10 a.m. to midnight on weekdays, and stays open till the wee hours on weekends.