Foodies who frequent the Mandaluyong-Makati places will attest that since Kitchen opened, many places have sprung up following the influences that the restaurant followed, both in design and menu.
So, here’s our own Top 5 list of why we love Kitchen. Call it our pledge of loyalty, our testament to the good times we have shared here with friends, and the good times we’re still going to have.
1) Stylish owners equal hip restaurant. Owned by restaurateur Rikki Dee and top retailer Ricco Ocampo, Kitchen is that place that one never gets tired of going to because the restaurant makes it conducive for dates with friends or lovers. It’s the place you can be seen without shame. And the place you can never be accused of hanging out in just to be seen, because you have a very good reason of going there: the food.
2) Cool music. When I’m at Kitchen, I feel like I’m in my own living room listening to my Cafe del Mar albums (pre-Jose Padilla’s departure, of course!). Or, as a fashionista friend of mine put it, the music makes you feel like "you were watching a fashion show." Maybe that’s Ricco’s influence – his having mounted a gazillion fashion events since he started his career. It’s pretty nice not to have to listen to Mariah Carrey or Britney Spears or elevator music in a restaurant. Instead, you have Talvin Singh’s electric sitar (Sex & the City sure does like him, using one of his song’s opening riffs at the end of one episode); or David Bowie’s version of Volare. I once heard Dusty Springfield (hey, she’s not even from our generation) followed a few songs later by Groove Armada.
3) They sure pay attention to details. The water bottle with a sprig of mint tops our list. Second is the honey holder with a mini-batirol! Third are those humongous Thai plates that you get when you order any of their rice specials. Fourth is their fresh buco, which you get still in its shell and a large K stamped on it. Fifth is the shot glass into which your bill is inserted. I could go on, but you just have to see for yourself.
4) The food, of course! It bears repeating that despite Kitchen’s no-borders cuisine, the taste is decidedly Filipino, so is the spirit of experimentation. For instance, spaghetti with dulong or tuyo. Who’d have thought these would make great entrees? The food presentation is worth mentioning, too: It’s not overdone like mediocre food hiding behind great presentation. The food is presented tastefully, but best of all the substance is really in the food. Because in the end, no matter how great the presentation, people come back for the food, period.
5) Kitchen has a new address. Kitchen Makati has transferred from the old Greenbelt Mall to Greenbelt 3, beside Ebun (also owned by Rikki Dee and Ricco Ocampo, plus Maritel Nievera of Cabalen). Greenbelt 3 is the perfect spot for the restaurant, what with its dynamic atmosphere.
The new Kitchen in Greenbelt 3 has a different look from the Kitchen in Megamall. This one is more homey with red bricks and soaring, open cabinets. The signature halogen-light boxes are mixed with chandeliers from the Pietro Collection in the back section, which can be closed off to contain a private party (the floor-to-ceiling curtains are incidentally denim fabric – in true Kitchen fashion, nothing is ever that straight-laced).
What makes it even more warm are the personal collections of owners Ricco Ocampo and Rikki displayed on the shelves. There are black-and-white photos by Neal Oshima from Ricco’s own house; jars from Rikki’s house; and ordinary cookie jars from a department store.
"It was influenced by Philippe Starck," Rikki Dee says. Yup, the guy is a true-blue fan of the designer; his own house is furnished by many of Starck’s designs (including his bath towels! says his wife Beng Dee). So why did they change the look when it was so successful? Rikki laughs and says, "Maybe it was too successful. We noticed that other restaurants tended to have the same influences as ours, so we decided to be different again. You can be sure we’ll be changing things once in a while."
Ah, but before they change things again, we asked Rikki for his own Top 5 answers.
2) The acceptance of customers. We even have a lot of franchise inquiries, but it’s something we don’t want to jump into right away.
3) It’s a chance to work with a good friend. Ricco and I have proved that friends can work together.
4) We can experiment here.
5) It took out something in me that I’ve always wanted to do. For instance, I put up a drinking place, Krokodile, because I like to drink. I like steak, so I put up W. I like fusion food, hence Kitchen.
2) Wow, the portions are big!
3) It’s surprisingly reasonably-priced.
4) Sarap mag-date dito.
5) Nice ambience.
2) Badings, artists, people with good taste.
3) Well-traveled people.
4) Gourmets.
5) People on a date.
2) Waiters’ uniform. We set the trend of black uniform with denim apron and red bandana.
3) Water with mint.
4) Communal dining. People are now learning to share their tables with perfect strangers.
5) White condiments holders.
2) The seared tuna.
3) Our salad selections.
4) Penne pasta with tuyo flakes
5) Vegetarian sandwich with all-grilled vegetables
2) "Sorry, we don’t have it." My partner Ricco Ocampo opened this restaurant because he wanted to satisfy his own cravings. We’re not very strict about the menu, we can be flexible, adding ingredients or removing them to accommodate, say, vegetarians.
3) "Are your water bottles for sale?" Well, at least customers don’t ask this anymore. In the beginning, we would get so many requests to sell our bottles!
4) "Why are you all in black?" In the first few months our diners were asking our waiters that question but not anymore.
5) "Why are the spoons and forks so big?" At first they kept asking that, but they’re used to our style now.
2) A customer accidentally put salt instead of sugar in her coffee. Maybe she was too engrossed in her conversation.
3) People put too much chili sauce and then complain it’s so spicy. It’s our being Pinoy that’s at work here, we put so much seasoning even before we taste the food. Our food does not need any seasoning. But just in case, we do have them like different types of chili sauce: Tabasco, chili oil, chili pepper and black pepper.
4) We had a new waiter and he probably wasn’t used to seeing celebrities up-close. On several occasions, when he saw Judy Ann Santos, Donita Rose and Gary V. eating in Kitchen, he was starstruck he totally forgot what he was supposed to be doing.
5) No, we rarely run out of food items, like, say, pasta. We do have an 86 board, a code for out-of-stock items, which we update every 10 minutes or so. All the waiters are aware of this. So when they take the order, they know what’s out.
2) For dessert, it’s Grand Slam, our own version of tiramisu, it’s crunchy.
3) For the pasta, it’s Clamming Up, our version of vongole.
4) From our salad selections, it’s Eat your Spinach, which is drizzled with citrus lemon vinaigrette, and with different vegetables and pili nuts that we mix together. That’s the signature salad of Kitchen. Also, caesar salad because everybody is familiar with it. What makes ours different is that our croutons are topped with pesto, which we make ourselves.
5) From the sandwich selection, we have the Quack Doctor. Where else can you get an adobo sandwich this good?