Dining Snippets: White Flower Tea House x Sourdough Café

WHITE FLOWER TEA HOUSE

I’ve ordered from White Flower Tea House a couple of times for delivery; but I’ve never really dined in The Grid to try White Flower Tea House's dishes prepared fresh from their kitchen. As I was dining with my family, we pooled in multiple orders from the different stalls and dug in. Staples on our table would definitely be my favorite Taiwanese Beef Noodles from Pilya's, while someone would definitely order a bowl of noodles from Tsukemen so I decided to get a couple of appetizers that have always piqued my interest from White Flower Tea House’s socials: its Mapo Tofu Dip and Golden Mushroom with Spice Dust to pair with our hefty main dishes.

MAPO TOFU DIP (P250)

Mapo Tofu’s always best paired with a bowl of piping hot steamed rice; but the idea of pairing it up with giant crisp wanton chips did sound a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it didn't translate in its actual self, as it was a bit underwhelming to see how anemic the color of the mapo tofu dip was – the flavor – even more so. The wanton chips were also greasily fried – that made it unappetizing to hold and eat.

I have a particular weakness for Mapo Tofu, that admittedly, I can happily wolf down an order of it even if it’s not really up-to-standard; but unfortunately, White Flower Tea House’s Mapo Tofu Dip was simply too unbearable for me to finish.

GOLDEN MUSHROOM WITH SPICE DUST (P210)

Another appetizer we got was the Golden Mushroom with Spice Dust – which was loads more appealing to eat than the Mapo Tofu Dip; yet, this nest of well-seasoned deep-fried golden mushrooms does fill you up quite quickly that a few handfuls of it would make you tap out. They could have paired it up with an addicting zesty creamy dip. Unfortunately, such suggestion can’t be made anymore as this dish was pulled out from its menu already as of writing date.

White Flower Tea House

The Grid Food Market Stall No. 8, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Makati City

Date of Visit: January 15, 2023 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua

SOURDOUGH CAFÉ

We were seated on the second floor of Sourdough Café and I loved how it had a speakeasy bar ambiance which was an interesting contrast from its sunny and vibrant Sunday brunch mood downstairs.

FLAT WHITE (P170)

My friends and I initially planned to meet up for dinner so we specifically eyed Sourdough Café for its unlimited wine promotion; but since we moved it to brunch, we decided it’s more appropriate to treat ourselves to a cup of coffee each instead. I opted for a Flat White and was happy that it was a decent cup of joe.

AKLAN OYSTERS (P550) + ROCKEFELLER STYLE (+P100)

We started out with their Aklan Oysters – you have the option to have these served fresh or in Rockefeller style. I loved that the oysters came in sizeable portions - and since we opted for the Rockefeller Style, each piece was lathered with an indulgently torched cheese topping which was simply too delicious to waste – so make sure you scrape off each drop of this!

PRAWN RISOTTO (P475)

We got two of their risottos – the first would be the Prawn Risotto – which boasted of beautifully charred large-sized prawns. The risotto – on its own, would have benefitted from some prawn essence (if there was, it was not evident); so make sure to pair each bite with the well-seasoned prawns (quite hard to do as we opted to dine family-style but if you're having this as a solo dish, it shouldn't be such an issue). The Mushroom Risotto (P425) surprisingly edged out the Prawn Risotto in terms of flavor despite its generally more subdued look.

TUTTA CARNE (P525)

I was pretty excited to try out its Tutta Carne Pizza – as its crust was made of sourdough – which was the namesake of the restaurant itself – however, it was just okay. The meat toppings were scarce – salami, prosciutto and chorizo cab barely be seen – but it did make up for it with its thick and gooey mozzarella layer. The dough though was simply unexciting. If you’re looking for great sourdough pizzas, Prologue and Duck and Buvette would be better options – yes, these would come with higher price tags – but rest assured, it’ll be worth every peso you pay it for.

KUROBUTA PORK TOMAHAWK (P2950)

For our main dish, we opted for their Kurobuta Pork Tomahawk – we were treated to a huge slab of juicy tomahawk pork chop. We initially requested that it be cooked medium – but, we sent it back in the kitchen as we wanted a little bit more char and heat to the meat. The hefty cut of the meat came with roasted mushrooms, garlic and asparagus.

LE GRAND CHOCLAT (P245/Slice)

The unexpected plot twist was that my favorite dish from what we’ve ordered was the Le Grand Choclat – and yes, we helped ourselves to a slice of this decadent cake each. I don’t really have a sweet tooth – so five layers of cake covered in Belgian Chocolate doesn’t really appeal to me – but one bite of it, and I was completely won over. It’s a rare feat for me to be impressed by cake, so kudos to them!

Sourdough Café

JSB Bldg, Tomas Morato Avenue, QC

Date of Visit: January 29, 2023 with Billy Alcid, JV Fulgencio, Veron Requejo