REVIEWS: Project Pie (Alabang)

Who doesn't like pizza? Well, I for one does not know anybody who wouldn't have a go for a slice or two. I think it would be safe to say that everybody loves pizza. Cheese, New York, Hawaiian, All Meat, Deep Dish...oh I'm drooling already!

Even the A-List celebrities during the recent prestigious Oscar Awards had their fill at it when Ellen Degeneres did rounds to offer slices from Big Mama's and Papa's Pizzeria. Yes, even Meryll Streep sank her teeth into her slice while Brad Pitt jumped from his sit to get his share for him and his wife Angelina. Who wouldn't have a go once you've sniffed the heavenly smell of freshly baked pizza, piping hot with lots of gooey mozzarella and spiced pepperoni. Oh dear!

What else could you ask for in a pizza? One might wonder, wouldn't it be great if you could customize your own pizza to your liking? No, not just great, that'd be marvelous!!! And lo! Yes it is possible now! James Markham, the maker of Project Pie is a genius! He's gotta be real pizza lover to have thought of a custom pizza parlor. No more plucking unwanted bell peppers for the choosy ones or grunting over pulling out onion rings when all you want is an all-meat pizza.

Located along Commerce Avenue in Filinvest City Alabang, we decided to hold our business meeting with our wedding clients over pizza for lunch. The pizzeria was strategically situated right beside Jollibee and McDonald's, probably to lure in customers who'd rather have some real food over greasy fast food. Project Pie is the very first international franchise of the company outside the United States. They first ventured into business in 2012 and instantly became a success. And now, they are making waves here in the Philippines, first along Shaw Blvd., and now in the South.Our first try at custom made pizza at Project Pie was shared with a couple of friends. Mabelle and Melan, one of our bride and groom to be clientele friends for the month of April 2014.

We were there to do some contract signing and food tasting for their wedding cake, together with my darling husband and our little boys. My team loves pizza, especially my oh so adorable little Keiran who prefers eating his pizza upside down. I don't know why, but he prefers to have all the flavors directly touching his taste buds as soon as he bites through a slice. Needless to say, he too had his own custom pizza, ordering his way to his own liking. It was refreshing to see that Project Pie also offers greens for the health conscious and the health buffs. This was a good thing for our Mr. and Mrs. to be since Mabelle already informed me ahead of time that her husband-to-be prefers fish and vegetables and she herself is trying to eat healthy for their big day. I wanted to have salad too, but I held back since I'm actually craving for Banapple's Super Caesar, next time maybe.

So, off we went to discover the rave about this new pizzeria for ourselves. The place was almost packed at 11am, so we opted to be seated at the 2nd floor where it was more spacious. The second floor was more ideal to hold a meeting, with less excited buzzing and musings from customers ordering their pies.

Keiran decide to have a red pizza (with tomato sauce), topped with his choice of ingredients; mozzarella, ricotta, feta, parmesan, pepperoni, grilled chicken, bacon and more ricotta on top. Since he's having a red one, I decided to go for white pizza (olive oil base). I wanted to experiment with my pizza, but decided to go with toppings I am sure to love, mozzarella, ricotta, feta, parmesan, red onions, mushrooms, black olives, fresh basil, pepperoni, prosciutto, bacon, italian sausage and more ricotta on top. We also had some soda priced at P65 and bottled water for P50. The soda was refillable, I was advised that it's up to three refills only, but by the looks of it, one can refill as much as they can since nobody is really in charge of keeping watch at the refill station. I would have loved to have some Chardonnay, but since I am still very much into being a breast feeding mom to my 8 month old Kollin, I resisted the temptation.

What we went here for, Artisan Pizza

This machine presses the dough balls into thin round pizza crust ready to be prepped.

From doughy balls into scrumptious pizzas...

This guy is in charged of taking down notes of EVERY ingredient on every customer's personal pizza. He kinda messed up with our orders, got Keiran's pizza switched under my name and vice versa.

Busy, busy staff. See how much pizzas are waiting to be baked and eaten?

The pizza oven. Caution: It's really, really hot!

Chilled drinks beside the counter.

I would have loved to have some Chardonnay, but since I am still very much into being a breast feeding mom to my 8 month old Kollin

Organized  and tidy :)

Trial and Error. I guess this is the staff room slash main kitchen slash stock room.

The soon to be Mr. & Mrs. Bajada

Our custom artisan pizzas, at P285 a pie, not bad. Keiran's Super Pizza...

...and Rika's Scrumptious Pizza

Wall of inspirations? It's actually scribbled with quotes from various people which kept diners amused while waiting for their pizzas.

Mabelle's choice of pizza, Pizza #8 by Kat Cruz, the Pizza of the Month.

Melan's healthy meal, a salad of course.

For food tasting (please excuse how weather beaten they are due to  the scorching heat that day) Hershey's chocolate cupcakes with Dark English Ganache and Creme de Menthe Ganache

Our pie plates after we've wolfed down the pizzas

Friends since College Days (Shh, baby Kollin's discreetly enjoying his lunch of breast milk)  

The Menu

My take on Project Pie? The thin crusted pizza was great, really delectable and crisp. However, once cold, it becomes rather chewy and hard to bite through (but it's still good). Service was good, friendly and prompt staff, though the lady staff who took our orders was a little hard at hearing, we had to repeat our choices a lot (well, the place was packed with buzzing customers, so it's forgivable). Like I've mentioned, our orders got switched, but the server was nice enough to fix it for me with a courteous smile. Though the cashier said our orders upon paying will only take three minutes to serve, I waited downstairs for about at least 15 minutes. The place was really clean and organized, they could use some improvements though with their music as it was a little too loud for those who wants to have some little chit chats. Overall review, Project Pie is worth a try for pizza lovers and definitely worth the money. Our dining experience was considerably good, we'll be back soon definitely.

RECIPES: Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry

Spice.

This word reminds me of three things, Spain, India and the famous all girl British pop act, the Spice Girls. 

(grabbed from Google)

(grabbed from Google)

No, seriously. I was also once a fan of these girls clad in flimsy dresses and towering heels. They are well known for the cheeky acts and the different persona they portray as they belt out about Girl Power. Who hasn't heard of this girl act? They must be one of the most famous music act in the world (after The Beatles and The Backstreet Boys), Sporty Spice (my first favorite tomboy), Baby Spice (the cute one), Scary Spice (I'm not sure why she's branded as "scary". Is it coz she's always clad in leopard or big cat prints? For me, she has the most beautiful face of the five), Posh Spice (the ever chic and elite, now my favorite) and Ginger Spice (the cheekiest redhead of them all)...all five of them make up one empowering girl group. Different personalities combined makes the Spice Girls one interesting music act.

This is just the same with food. We incorporate different tastes, aromas, spices and textures to make one delectable dish. When we say spice, often, chili is what pops to mind, ain't it? Of course it is. But little do we know, there are a whole lot more when it comes to varieties of spices. There's hundreds of them, and most of them are usually, if not always present, used in Spanish and Indian dishes. So, yes, let's talk about Indian dishes. Their dishes are always loaded with spices and I suppose they don't have a tongue for bland or light dishes. Brimming with strong flavours and aroma, Indian dishes make for one of the most flavorful food in the world, and the most famous of them would be Curry.

A common curry dish we Filipinos make is none other than Chicken Curry. Some like it green, some like it yellow. Whichever color it is, they both taste wonderfully aromatic.  But did you know that our love for this dish came not directly from our Indian brothers? Yes, it was handed done to us from our Hispanic colonizers. In their search for spices all over the world, the Spaniards came upon India and discovered the strong flavor it gives to dishes. This discovery was then brought to the melting pot of Asia, the Philippines. The Spaniards first brought the spice to the Philippines long before the Indians were able to barter or trade the said spice to our country for a living.

What makes a curry dish special? It is the blend of various spices, vegetables, coconut milk and meat combined into one flavourful viand. Just like the Spice Girls, it's a medley of different characteristics/flavors. What I love most about it is how the coconut milk gives it a creamy texture and a hint of sweetness from the carrots. But of course, since my dear husband's tummy is sensitive to coconut milk, I often resort to the commercialized coconut milk in powder form. There are several versions of Chicken Curry, this one that I'll share with you is what my boys love the most (ahem!)  I like my chicken curry a little hot, but since I have little boys, I omit the chili flakes from the dish and just add it to my own fish sauce for condiments. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small ginger, julienned (ginger is optional)
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into cubes
2 medium carrots, peeled and cubed
1/4 kilo potato marbles, peeled and halved
5pcs (1/2 kilo) chicken breast fillet, cut up and washed
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp curry powder (can use commercialized or pure curry powder)
1 cup fresh coconut milk OR 1 packet of coconut milk powder
1 tsp fish sauce (optional)
Chili flakes (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in a wok or skillet on medium heat.

2. Add carrots and potato marbles. Give it a good stir until vegetables are subtly browned on the edges. Once cooked, remove from heat and set aside.

3. In the same wok or skillet, saute garlic and onion (and ginger) until soft.

4. Add the chicken and cook until browned or until juices run clear.

5. Add curry powder, coconut milk and chicken stock. If using commercialized coconut milk powder, dissolve coconut milk powder and curry powder first in chicken stock. Make sure all lumps are dissolved before adding to wok.

6. Stir gently, cover and let simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure the chicken cooks thoroughly and does not stick to the pan.

7. Add carrots, potatoes and bell pepper. Add fish sauce to taste, if desired. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

8. Remove from heat and serve hot with steaming rice. (If desired, fish sauce with red chili works best as a condiment for this dish for those who loves to have more spice.)

Spice up your life :)