Catch and Hooch: An Unlikely Delicious Combination of Refined Seafood Dining and Bar Chow
Despite having to wade through traffic day-in and day-out, working in Makati does have its perks. One notable perk is that you’ll never run out of new things to try for that much-awaited weekly lunch-out, or that weekend-starter dinner we all lust for as early as Monday.
Although I work in the vicinity of food-rich Legaspi Village, I do wound up every now and then in Salcedo Village to sample its own offerings. This is how I ended up wounding grabbing lunch a couple of times in Catch (which shares a common space with its sister concept, Hooch).
CATCH FISH AND CHIPS (P650)
Catch’s concept revolves around its fresh seafood selections as evidenced in its perfectly executed Fish and Chips, where fried scallops and shrimps make a surprise appearance amidst the fish and chips pieces.
Each main offering comes with one bowl of soup and a one-time trip to its salad buffet; making you think that it’s just good for one person. Don’t be fooled by this as each main dish comes with a sizeable portion suited for sharing.
The salad display was oddly sprawled across Hooch’s bar. Rows of liquour provide the background as you fill up your plate with greens, dressings, dips, and pasta salads that form part of this one-time-visit buffet. Hooch’s lighting and interiors were noticeably darker as compared to the bright and sunny ambiance of Catch. The contrast can be likened to the experience of jumping to Yardstick after a meal in Your Local.
ORGANIC PORK BELLY BAGNET (P320)
Although the shared space of these two diverse concepts doesn’t really make sense aesthetically for me, I love how they allow cross-orders. Although Catch has a handful of meat items on its menu, nothing beats the bar chow selection of Hooch. Its Organic Pork Belly Bagnet features a 36 hours-sous vide pork belly, thinly-sliced, perfectly crisp, and immensely tasty. The pork slices are served atop a bed of pickled vegetables and with a killer spiced vinegar to pair it with.
CATCH PASTA (P598)
I found the Catch Pasta to be quite disappointing as it was too sweet for my liking. The fresh tiger prawns that were served with this aglio-olio based dish were not enough to compensate for this. A better pasta option would be the Seafood Puttanesca (P498), whose tomato sauce was simply a taste of heaven. Apart from its delectable sauce, the pasta makes every peso spent worth it as more than half of the dish featured generous pieces of fish, squid and shrimp.
12-HOUR SOUS VIDE MOROCCAN LAMB SHANK (P750)
A testimony to the brilliance of their cross-ordering strategy is that Catch doesn’t seem to do its meat dishes well; at least, with regard to its Moroccan Lamb Shank. Sure, the fact that its lamb shank was tremendously tender does deserve some merit; but it was excruciatingly bland. The regret kicks in more once you smell the glorious aroma of Hooch’s sizzling sisig dishes wafting in the kitchen which come with a price tag that’s half the price of the lamb shank. Thus, I think we can establish a rule of thumb when dining in Catch and/or Hooch. Order seafood dishes from Catch and load up on meat dishes from Hooch! Don’t make the same mistake that I did of not trying out that sisig dish (and let me know if it tastes as good as it smells)!
Droolworthy Dishes: Fish and Chips, Organic Pork Belly, Seafood Puttanesca
Catch/Hooch
GF V Corporate Center, 125 LP Leviste St, Salcedo Village, Makati City
Dates of Visit: February 12, 2016 with Michelle Cruz and Gwen Oliva; March 29, 2016 with Lily Chua
