LIST: Gourmet food by chefs, restaurants beyond fast food that deliver during ECQ
Feeling the lockdown blues in this third Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ)? Missing your favorite restaurant or food trips with friends?
Compared to the first ECQ in 2020, restaurants and food merchants are now more ready to cater to your food cravings. They simply switched from dine-in to pick-up and delivery mode, and are just a phone call (or PM, DM or text message) away.
Here are some food delivery suggestions during the ECQ.
19 food merchants in one order
When you order from the newly opened Mercato United Kitchen, you have the privilege of ordering different cuisines all together. Only one number to call. All menus are available via one app and coming from one cloud kitchen. One delivery charge!
An offshoot of the popular Mercato Centrale offering the convenience of citywide delivery, Mercato United Kitchen brings together 19 exciting food merchants offering a variety of food choices—The Cheesecake Factory, Cebu’s Zubuchon, Cavite’s PizzaDidi, Cabanatuan’s Harvest Café and Bistro, Above Sea Level, Bounty Sprouts, Capa’s Seafood Crisps, Chef Rocky’s Kitchen, Green Meat Hub, Ibarra’s Kitchen, KahateaPH, Khuttz Diner, Kuranosuke, PARES Express, Takoichi, The Gourmet Kitchen, Tipsu Cream, Wildsmoke, and Wok Brothers.
Visit https://favorites.mercatocentrale.ph/ or call 7719-0808.
Crab specialties
You can still treat yourself to your favorite seafood even when you’re stuck at home. You can order from Alimango House by Red Crab via www.trcdelivery.com and you can have your food trip albeit at home.
Restaurateur Raymund Magdaluyo designed this pivot from Red Crab, the restaurant, to its delivery brand Alimango House in anticipation of the continuous need for home dining.
Celebrating the superiority of the local mud crab over other varieties, Alimango House has just introduced new crab specialties for everyone to try: Chavacano Curry Crab, Crab Talipapa, Toasted Coconut Crab, Ms. Bea’s Beehoon Crab, and Red Crab Sarsuela.
Gourmet treats
Since the pandemic happened in 2020, chef Gino Gonzalez has been delivering frozen gourmet seafood and meats to customers under his very own Chef Gino’s Kitchen brand—US Angus Ribeye, Maine Lobster Tails, Seabass Collar, Farmed Hamachi Jaw, Irish Angus Corned Beef, and Smoked Longganisa.
From there, he created a menu of party trays for those who need to stay home but want to enjoy good food cooked by a professional chef. Available for delivery: Lasagna, Roasted Seabass Jaw with Veggies, Mushroom Truffle Pasta, Salmon Creamy Gratin, Galician Style Ribeye, Baked Prawns with Lemon Herb Butter, Japanese Scallops with Butter Garlic Noodles, and Quattro Callos. Except for the Quattro Callos, which is good for 2 to 3, the rest are good for 6 to 8 persons. Customized dishes are also possible given four days’ lead time.
To order, message Chef Gino via IG (@chefginoskitchen) or FB (Chef Gino Gonzalez) or Viber/text 0917-7919798. Pick-up is an option, and delivery via riding apps can be arranged on client’s account.
Online paluto
Tito Toto’s, powered by chef Lawrence “Toto’” Erfe, has through the pandemic evolved into an online paluto of seafood dishes. They have access to the freshest seafood every day and can deliver them raw, cleaned and ready to cook, but recently customers have been requesting more of cooked seafood dishes in party trays, and chef Toto obliges.
The online paluto offers Prawn Sotanghon, Crab Fat Crabs, Squid and French Beans Stir-fry, Singaporean Style Crabs, Steamed Pompano Chili Garlic and Black Beans, Swordfish Fillet with Mushrooms, Crab Sotanghon, Seafood Paella, Vongole Pasta, and Sashimi Platter. Other seafood requests can also be custom-cooked.
Order through FB akikaytoto erfe, IG Toto Erfe, viber 0922-8141761. Pick up in Cubao, Quezon City, or delivery via courier.
Chinese food
If you’re craving for dimsum and Cantonese food, King Chef Dimsum Kitchen delivers a wide range of steamed and fried dimsums, noodle soups, stir-fried noodles, Hong Kong style roasted items such as Roast Duck and Barbecued Pork Asado, rice toppings, main dishes, and desserts.
A number of dimsums are also available for sale in frozen form.
Order from www.kingchefph.com or through GrabKitchen or Pick-a-roo.
Chicken
Whether you like Fried Chicken or Chicken Teriyaki, you can now order for delivery from KooKoo (from the Greek word Kookoopoulo, which means chicken), a cloud kitchen and virtual food store. Its fried chicken is seasoned with 12 spices and fried twice to achieve crispy skin and juicy meat within, and it comes with a generous serving of herbed gravy.
Both Fried Chicken and Chicken Teriyaki are available with rice and or two pieces, and a la carte in 6, 8, 10, 15 and 20 pieces. To order, call or text 0917-6267211 or utak.10/store/midnightbakers2020. Allow two hours’ lead time.
Italian specialties
If you’re craving for authentic Italian style pizza and pasta, Parmigiano Ristorante and Pizzeria will be glad to bring them straight to your doorstep. So no more ordinary pizza and pasta for you! Instead, enjoy a real Italian feast. Parmigiano also carries a wide selection of antipasti, salads, main courses, risotto and paella to try. The even better deal is that with a minimum purchase worth P1,000, get free delivery around Metro Manila.
To order, call Parmigiano at 02-7767259, 02-8040032 or 0915-7911173, or order through Grabfood, foodpanda or Pick-a-roo.