Angelo Garcia, Ali Vicoy (photos)
Live Cows Resto and Ice Cream Bar is famous for its sweet desserts, the different ice cream concoctions fill half of their menu.
But for a dessert restaurant, there is no shortage of good hot dishes.
The restaurant is owned by five partners – Michelle Chang-Co, Emerson Lim, Chef Eugene Raymundo, Ard Latinazo and Joel Tuquid – thus the name. "The concept came from our first restaurant, the Nestle Creamery, from there, we brought in the same concept but with a different name, a different look and with a different menu line-up," Chang-Co explains.
Located on the 5th level of TriNoma Mall, the 5-month old restaurant is a fusion of western eats and a long line of dessert concoctions in a country-inspired interior. Boasting an array of desserts, which actually made them famous in just a few months time, they also offer classic hot meals that originated from the first restaurant and new ones that’s pulling in the customers.
"What makes us stand out is our complete line of desserts because basically, with other restaurants, they usually carry two to three desserts only. Here, if we have 60 hot meals, we have more than 60 desserts concoctions, it’s a very extensive line," she says.
The restaurant is slowly making a name in the industry not just because of its cool desserts but also because of their good food. Eugene Raymundo, the resident chef and the other partners created the menu line up for the restaurant.
"We integrated the best selling dishes from Creamery like burgers, fried chicken and the 20-year-old spaghetti recipe, then we just upgraded the menu to fit the market," she relates.
Catering to the family, the restaurant does not only serve dishes for adults’ taste but dishes that kids would actually eat. The restaurant even takes good care of their little customers by giving toys to play with while dining.And, for sure the kids will find it hard to choose from the numerous ice cream desserts.
"Our menu is made for the family, our dishes is specifically cooked-up to satisfy the kids’ and adults’ taste," Chang-Co says.
For the food consistency, the restaurant’s own chef trained cooks that came from culinary schools and they also ensure that all ingredients are fresh. Their friendly and accommodating staff will also make sure that all is well.
So what’s in the menu?
For starters, the soup of the day is a choice between creamy soups. The Prawn Bisque soup served with grilled brushcetta is perfect to warm things up. While the Five Cows Asian Salad is a mix of assorted greens, kani crab and apple strips, fresh oranges and topped with nori strips and tossed in a wasabi-tuna dressing is a good light start for a meal.
No menu is complete without pasta dishes. The Seafood Cream is penne pasta with shrimps, clams and squid in a cream sauce with pesto and white wine topped with grated Parmesan cheese.
On the other hand, the entrées is a mix of grilled meat and seafood and one of their specialties is the Grilled Lamb Skewer. Grilled lamb chops served with mint gravy, buttered vegetables and grilled corn on the cob. While the Monster Rib Eye Steak, is a 250-gram US beef rib eye served with wild mushroom gravy, buttered vegetables and garlic pasta.
Now, it’s time for dessert! One of their famous ice cream treats are their marble slab concoctions. Different flavors of ice ream mixed with different toppings – from fluffy mini marshmallows to crunchy chocolate cereals – on a frozen marble slab.
One of the best sellers is the Ferrero Crunch Supreme. This famous creation is a mix of classic vanilla ice cream mixed with crunchy bits of chocolate cereal and waffle cone with their very own concoction of chocolate hazelnut filling served in a chocolate waffle cone.
Ice cream is not only served by scoops and in cones, they also have ice cream cakes. One of which is the Tarta de Manila, their sophisticated version of the classic pinoy turon. Made with crunchy caramel and lumpia wrapper layers with caramelized banana-nangka caramel sauce filling sandwiched between layers of frozen vanilla ice cream.
One of the visually entertaining treats is the Flaming Alaska. A French treat with a twist of spiked sponge cake dome filled with three kinds of ice cream – vanilla, chocolate and strawberry – with chocolate cookies and nuts smothered with meringue and served with flaming rum. Now that’s the perfect way to end a meal.
This menu created a small following for the restaurant and inquiries started coming in after just few months it opened. "We’re happy with the results, sales wise. The many inquiries for franchises really boost our moral because our concept and service is noticed," Chang-Co realtes
Early next year they will be coming out with a new menu to really fit the market of the mall and the plans for expansion is not until late next year.
For someone who loves to eat good hot dishes and still have room for big desserts, this is definitely the restaurant.
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