Open Kitchen by 48 Concepts – That Saturday Night Feeling

Back in the days when I would own my Saturday nights, I’d usually drawn the worries of work behind and just enjoy the night over great food, great music and great company until the restaurant would close and we’d  literally be the last customer asked to leave.

Days like these don’t come by too often anymore, except last Thursday night, when my husband, son and I found ourselves in the compendium of restaurants in Kapitolyo, looking for the Open Kitchen by 48 Concepts  which would be located at 71-B East Capitol Drive in Kapitolyo, Pasig City.

Open Kitchen by 48 Concepts

It’s a relief that the restaurant’s exteriors were all painted in white as the color was a contrast to all other nearby restaurants that all looked red to me.

Getting in, I was immediately hooked by the white, brown and brick theme within the cool, spacious and minimalist interior. For whatever limitation in parking the restaurant apparently had, the ambience certainly made up for it, especially when I heard my favorite Astrud Gilberto playing on the background. Part of the décor would be two trumpets hanging on the wall. Couple these with a wooden table with a bottle of wine, and immediately they all gave me an impression that the man who owns this place must really understand what good taste is all about.

48 Bowl of Happiness

Pasta with Roasted Garlic, Olives and White wine

Four-cheese Pizza

Vanilla Ice Cream with Caramel and Muesli

More Photos of Open Kitchen by 48 Concepts here

The staff was attentive and handed the menu immediately. However, I was also intrigued by the handwritten menu on the wall using neon colored pen. Seeing my mouth hung open as I intently looked at each offering, Chef Miguel Pacheco approached me and recommended that I try the pizza. “Which variant should try?” I asked. To which, he replied “Our pizzas are all good. It really depends on what you like.” To which, my son joined the conversation and said “I like four-cheese pizza.”

When it was served on the table, it was my first time to see a four-cheese pizza that’s colored green instead of the usual yellow. Later on, I realized that it was cooked in brick oven and fresh greens that topped our pizza came from its own backyard/garden right at the back of the restaurant.

Open Kitchen Menu

Meanwhile,  I ordered pasta with roasted garlic, olives and white wine. My husband preferred a dish called “48 bowl of happiness,” which was a glorified rich braised beef shank stew served with steamed rice.

Dessert was vanilla ice cream with caramel and muesli.

If all these were free, you would expect all of us to order a second helping, as everything we ordered tasted great and we hardly felt that we’re just in Kapitolyo. While inside, I thought we were in Tagaytay.

“Masarap ba?” Chef Miguel later asked my son if what they served were delicious. To which, Kyle replied “Oh yes, and you know, when I grow up, I’d like to be a chef.”

The Open Kitchen by 48 Concepts operates from Tuesday to Sunday for Lunch at 12:00nn – 3:00pm, and for Dinner  at 6:00 – 10:00 pm. It’s closed on Monday.

Open Kitchen Official Facebook Website here

9016 Total Views 2 Views Today
Tagged with:     , ,

About the author /


Denice Christine Garcia-Pilla is a freelance published writer and editor in between her profession as a market research professional. Her works have appeared in numerous print and online publications in Asia and the United States including the Asia Pacific Business Guide, Launch Asia, Quantum Spirit, Men Zone, The Philippine Star and Lifestyle Asia. She has profiled a number of CEOs, Presidents, entrepreneurs and tycoons of top corporations in the Philippines, as well as renowned international authors such as Mark Victor Hansen of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and Philip Kotler. After a decade of hiatus from the writing scene with motherhood taking center stage of her schedule, Denice is once again picking up from where she left off via the Side Tripper, where she shares her travel adventures and side trips through the lens of photographer Kit Elton Pilla, also known as her husband and father to her son Kyle David.

Related Articles

Flickr

    The Side Tripper

    “Make sure you don’t take any side trips,” warns Schumler, from a phrase in the 1993 American film Swing Kids. If you are someone who does not have time to lose, then it is better for you to stick to your main agenda, because there is something about side tripping that submerges the soul in experiences that sometimes make you hope that time would stand still, as the experiences they bring can be more impactful than the main trip itself. It is that free flowing agenda, an unexpected sleepover or a detour that has unintentionally brought pleasant surprises. You can live without it, like you can eat a cake without its icing, but your journey may not be as meaningful. If travel is the ‘best medicine for the heart’,* then for me, side trips are secret ingredients to the most memorable travels and other events that can happen in between or off the main route of one’s itineraries. Welcome to Side Tripper, a collection of photographs and blogs about the many side trip adventures of our family and friends. *Source: The Global Commission on Aging and Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, in partnership with the U.S. Travel Association (Los Angeles Times, December 17, 2013 by Chris Erskine)