Kazu Café launches Japanese-French brunch

Chef Miko Calo brings together French techniques and Japanese culinary traditions in a new brunch collaboration at Kazu Café at Ayala Triangle Gardens.

The Miko Calo Menu at Kazu Café features 13 offerings, including eight brunch offerings and five desserts. These are available daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the café’s location in Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati. Miko will be supervising the Kazu kitchen until September, but all the dishes will be permanently included on Kazu Café’s menu. 

This collaboration centers on the concept of Yoshoku—a style of Japanese cooking that emerged from the long history of adapting Western dishes to local tastes and ingredients. This menu shows how familiar European preparations can evolve through Japanese techniques and ingredients, resulting in incredible French-Japanese dishes.

This approach aligns with Miko’s culinary background. She was raised in Butuan City, Mindanao, and graduated at the top of her class from Ferrandi Paris before spending seven years at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, working in Paris, London, and Singapore. She returned to the Philippines to open Metronome (2019-2024) and Taquería Franco in Makati, which received a Michelin Bib Gourmand distinction.

The all-day café, led by chef Kazunori Kuramochi and operated by Nippon Hasha founded by Ryan K. Cruz, focuses on Japanese interpretations of Western café fare, offering dishes that balance familiarity with technical precision.

Among the highlights is the Pâté de Campagne Sando, one of the menu’s signature dishes. Built around a house-made pâté de campagne that takes three days to prepare, the sandwich is served on soft Japanese shokupan (milk bread) with umeboshi (pickled plums) and pickled vegetables.

The dish combines the rich character of French charcuterie with the accessibility of a Japanese café sandwich. She also offers a Croque Monsieur Sando—Nama ham and Emmental cheese also served in shokupan bread and complemented by a rich béchamel sauce with a touch of karashi mustard. This ham and cheese sandwich I can’t get enough of is served with tonjiru soup, a hearty and savory Japanese miso-based comfort soup.

Another signature item is the French Onion Maze Soba, perhaps the clearest expression of the menu’s central idea. Inspired by the flavors of French onion soup, this dish marries noodles with caramelized onion, Gruyère espuma, and onion fondant. This combines two comfort foods from two cultures, resulting in my favorite dish on this menu.

There is also the Kazu Curry Parmentier, which are layers of curried beef ragu, potato purée, and gratinéed Gruyère cheese; the Steak and Eggs, which pairs a juicy flank steak with Café de Paris sauce on the side, served with a delicately soft egg tornado over rice.

The Unagi Tarte Fine combines grilled eel, bleu cheese, and red onion fondant on puff pastry, while the Mabo Reblochon Tarte Fine has spicy pork ragu, melted Reblochon cheese, and potato crisp on a puff pastry base. The third tarte fine offered was my pick—the Spicy Salmon Tarte Fine with spicy salmon and herbed cream cheese. 

Desserts in this collaboration are not to be skipped. The Yuzu French Toast is brioche soaked in custard before being toasted and finished with yuzu curd and topped with meringue. The dish draws from classic French toast while introducing the bright citrus notes of the Japanese citrus yuzu. The Hojicha (green tea) Tiramisu offers another example of culinary translation, incorporating roasted Japanese tea into the familiar Italian dessert. Imagine layers of hojicha-soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone cream finished with passion fruit gelee and hojicha powder! There is also the Kurogoma Tarte Tatin, which pairs caramelized apple with black sesame brittle; the Matcha Raspberry Crêpe Brûlée with matcha ganache and raspberry gel beneath a caramelized sugar crust; and my favorite dessert, the Mont Blanc Kakigori, Miko’s interpretation of the Japanese shaved-ice dessert inspired by the classic French Mont Blanc dessert, served with chestnut cream, blackcurrant compote, and toasted sesame creme anglaise.

Guests can also enjoy the Matcha and Hojicha Kumo Collection, alongside signature cocktails crafted by Arcadius Rybak, and a specialty coffee program by Good Cup Coffee.

This Miko Calo Menu at Kazu Café is designed for daily service, and the program allows guests to experience Miko’s cuisine in a casual café setting, with dishes intended to be enjoyed throughout the week rather than reserved for special occasions. Check it out now.

Kazu Cafe is located at the Ayala Triangle Gardens. Call (0917) 502 0320 for inquiries or reservations.