We had dinner and cocktails last night at WYLD Kitchen x Bar. It’s located on the second floor of The Grandia Place along Mother Ignacia, in front of ABS-CBN.
WYLD Kitchen x Bar opened a few months ago. WYLD is the manifestation of Chef Kenn Gonzales‘s love for nature. He spent a year in the mountains and forests of Colorado. Coming back to Manila, he wanted to share the beauty of nature. You’ll notice that the food and drinks are inspired by plants, fruits and flowers. The decor used in WYLD utilize reclaimed wood and recycled materials. They also don’t use straws and avoid using plastic as much as possible.
Many of the ingredients are sourced from a farm in Laguna.
THE FOOD
If you love cheese, check out WYLD’s cheese dips! They don’t reuse cheese dips, and in fact, have a different cheese dip for each of the dishes that use cheese.
Pretzel Sticks (P180) – the cheese dip is a blend of mustard, ale and cheddar. This is a lighter, mellower cheese dip.
Spinach Dip (P300) – the cheese dip used here is my favorite – it tastes smoky. This dip is heartier and tastes like blended creamy smoked cheese. There are some spinach leaves mixed into it.
I also really liked the Ale Cheddar Soup (P250) – thick and cheesy and has small bits of crunchy, smoky bacon
Grilled Herb Marinated Flank Steak (P550) – mildly-seasoned, thinly-sliced, juicy flank steak served with potato wedges
Pan-seared Salmon (P450) – a strip of salmon served with black rice, corn salsa and lemon aioli
WYLD Beef Burger (P450) – That’s not blueberry sauce, it’s local mulberry sauce. I like the addition of the mulberry sauce to the burger. Local mulberry is called “moras” and it is sourced from a farm in Laguna. It adds a sweet, slightly tart flavor to the burger that has a similar effect as adding a balsamic glaze. It goes well with beef 🙂 the onions and tomatoes on the burger were also fresh and crisp.
Arrabbiata Pasta (P350) – this is how an arrabbiata should taste like – spicy but not overpowered by tomato. They nailed this one.
COCKTAILS
WYLD has some of the most unique cocktails I have seen. Hummus in a cocktail? Chichaworms? Radish? Ampalaya? They’ve got it.
I didn’t try all the drinks because I was driving, but here are a few of their unique cocktails:
Pinalaya (P250) – At first, I was very hesitant to try this drink because it’s pineapple and ampalaya (bitter gourd)! I expected it to be so bitter, but it wasn’t at all. It was sweet and tasted like pineapple juice with just a hint of a bitter aftertaste that just smoothed any cloying sweetness from the pineapple. I actually finished a glass of this 🙂
Here is WYLD’s signature drink, the Flora x Fauna (P280), which includes a chichaworm! I didn’t dare eat the chichaworm, but Gerry from Dude for Food did! I did try a sip of the drink sans worm, and it was a fruity, floral sweet drink that I liked – flavors include rose, basil, grapefruit, lemon, etc…
This drink that they developed for Valentine’s day is the most delicious one that I tried last night. It’s a sweet, girly drink with lychee and guyabano flavors, and decorated with cadena de amor flowers.
For the piece de resistance, take a look at this sparkly chocolate-y cocktail called In Love with the Cacao (P295)!
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SUMMARY
WYLD Kitchen x Bar is currently included in Zomato Gold‘s 2+2 on drinks promo. Take this opportunity to try their drinks (get 4 drinks, only pay for 2)!
WYLD has unique combinations for their drinks, and beautiful presentation. For food, I recommend the Spinach Dip if you love cheese dips! I also recommend the Ale Cheddar Soup.
Parking is free but very limited and an extra challenge if you are not an expert in parking in reverse in tight spaces.
WYLD Kitchen x Bar
Second Floor, The Grandia Place, 143 Mother Ignacia Avenue, South Triangle, Quezon City 1103
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wyld.ph/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wyld.ph/
