Quezo de bola cheesecake & other Pinoy treats at Elias
MANILA, Philippines - It’s total injustice to begin this foodie piece by writing how a slice of melt-in-the-mouth quezo de bola cheesecake can change my mood in a jiffy — from a humdrum existence to being frenetic. This slice of that sweet ending, for me, is enough to put meaning into the mundane. Then I remember all over again everything I put in my mouth. Such is the experience at Elias, a Pinoy restaurant on 7th Avenue corner 30th Street in Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City.
It has only been five months in operation and yet Elias is flexing its arms in the area as a dining place to be for serious foodies. Trust Florabel Co-Yatco to serve very good food at a very reasonable price. Elias is the newest baby of Florabel in her growing list of 14 restaurants that include Florabel, Floring, Felix, Sweet Pea and Crisostomo.
The dishes I will discuss in this article are the summation of the more than 18 times I have eaten at Elias in the last 31 days. I have shared a table at Elias with my shadow, or with my family. But many times with my friends who, like me, enjoy Pinoy food with a twist.
Filipino twist: Adobo pizza For an appetizer, the ensaladang ereje surely whets the appetite. Diced green mango shares equal billing with tomato, onion and salted egg on a platter that is good for a group. The combo comes with the ubiquitous bagoong (shrimp paste), which in itself — because it’s tasty and not that salty — is already a dish.
Tinapa ni Tiburcio is another appetizer that combines smoked fish flakes and salted eggs in filo pastry. Fried to golden perfection, its covering is as crisp as it gets. And the filling is divine. Best eaten with spicy vinegar.
My friends who are hardcore carnivores swear by the scrumptiousness of the morcon, binagoongang baboy and crispy tapa. When food evokes joy from the one partaking of it, one is assured that it is good. The morcon at Elias, says my friend J, is reminiscent of his grandmother’s home cooking in the province, except, of course, that at Elias, Florabel kind of put a sophisticated touch to this delectable barrio fiesta entree.
Very tasty: Pinoy paella The binagoongang baboy, on the other hand, according to my girl friend C, “will end the search” for the best dish that serves pork with shrimp paste. Just by the look of this dish, one can see how lip-smacking is the crackling skin that loosely holds on to the meat that lies on a bed of bagoong. “Crunchy and sinful,” on the other hand, is the way to describe the crispy tapa. It’s tastier because Florabel says she uses “batok ng baka.” There was a crackling sound as my friends ate the crispy tapa.
Tables and chairs at Elias are conversation pieces that mix well with the artworks on the restaurant’s walls. The painting on the left side of the wall is Igan D’Bayan’s “Ivee 2.” Meat lovers will also fall in love with the very tasty Pinoy paella of Elias. This rice dish is served piping hot in a paellera with chorizo, inihaw na liempo and grilled prawns. Put this in your mouth and you’ll clap in joy and crave for more. Surely a bestseller!
The grilled pompano at Elias is served with pomelo salad. The sweet tang of the sea is maintained in the plump flesh of the fish. Its juicy taste also reveals a certain sweetness in the mouth — an undeniable truth about the freshness of the fish.
Even pizzas at Elias are treated in style, served with reverence to Pinoy cuisine. For example, the adobo pizza is a sweet and savory harmony of adobo flakes, boiled eggs and cubed ripe mangoes. On the palate it leaves a fresh and divine aftertaste. The laing pizza, on the other hand, is spicy and bursting with mozzarella cheese, laing and a lot of peeled prawns.
The restaurant does not only serve a feast for the stomach, the interiors of Elias also serve a feast for the eyes. The tables and chairs at the restaurant are reminiscent of turn-of-the century Philippines. 
Contemporary artworks, which surprisingly mimic the ilustrado feeling, are mixed and matched on the walls. One artwork worthy of mentioning is titled “Ivee 2” by STAR assistant Lifestyle editor Igan D’ Bayan.
Now let me go back to my quezo de bola cheesecake. Just a serving of this will send you to dessert nirvana.
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Elias is open every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, please call 621-3195.
