Food on Four is how you level up a food hall
Is there a dish more beautiful than a bone marrow sliced in half and served on a sizzling plate? It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s a dish that attracts envious glances from the next table. It looks indulgent, smells heavenly, tastes garlicky and melts in your mouth.
The bone marrow is just part of the Bulalo Steak that Lé Chon Prime offers to diners at Food on Four. The plate comes with beef that’s slowly roasted until it’s soft and tender, egg, a generous heap of rice and a pile of banana cue chips. If you’re not a big eater, then the serving is good for two.
“It’s a playful take on roasts,” said Happy Ongpauco-Tiu. “That’s why the spelling is Lé Chon. It’s my French take on lechon. I used French technique but all-Filipino lechon spices in all my meat and seafood.”
Ongpauco-Tiu serves lechon in her two other concessions, but Lé Chon Prime has the most extensive menu when it comes to meat and seafood. She mentioned Bangus Stuffed en Papillote, Angus Beef Belly and Lechon Manok as the must-tries.
“I like my lechon baka. I have to use very low fire and long hours of roasting, but again with some French technique, like I sous vide some of my meat, and this is why my meat is very tender,” she said. Some meats are marinated for more than 24 hours, then sous vide for two hours, and then roasted for another three hours.
“It’s a long process, but it’s worth it. It’s worth the calories for sure,” said Ongpauco-Tiu. The servings also come with a choice of sauce. Ongpauco-Tiu’s favorite is mixing all of the sauces together—the adobo white sauce, lime labuyo and muscovado liver sauce.
New concessionaires
Food on Four is the newly renovated food hall at SM Aura. It’s located on the mall’s fourth floor, thus the name. It has a spring theme, with greenery and holograms of hummingbirds. The skylight was also spruced up.
The food hall is more open and feels more airy compared to before. The partitions are no longer set up higher than the diners’ shoulders and the tray and washing area were moved to the side. The color palette has also taken a more neutral hue.
Of the 12 concessionaires, only five remain from the original lineup of the food hall: Cinnabon, Frankie’s, Pepper Lunch, Sizzling Plate and Sushi Nori.
Delimondo vacated their popular spot at the basement in favor of the bigger space at Food on Four. Their full menu will be revealed once they are up and running. The new concessionaires offer exciting choices for mall-goers.
Deli by Chele currently offers Pastrami Tacos exclusively at Food on Four. “It has a bit of avocado sauce, pickled jalapeno, smoked pastrami and cilantro,” said chef Carlos Villaflor.
Of course, their popular items such as NY Style Brisket Pastrami Sandwich, Tuna Melt Sandwich, Chika (Cheesecake Bibingka) are also available.
Nadai Fujisoba returns to SM Aura with their wonderful tendon bowls and of course, their soba. Choose Mentaiko Cream Udon if you prefer creamy noodles over the dipping sauce. Bored & Hungry solves cravings for hamburgers, while Teakha offers Honey Glazed Prawn and Stir-Fried Beef Tendon Noodles. Puffy’s has milk teas and they are proud of their Biscoff Cheesecake Soufflé Pancakes.
Special mention should be given to Kevin Ong Patisserie as they set up their first physical store at the food hall. Some might be familiar with them because of their artful bonbons, but their cakes are also very whimsical and fun. They have lemon-shaped lemon cakes and cakes shaped like teacups. They also offer coffee to go with their bread or pastries.
SM Aura regulars have been waiting for the reopening of this food court for months. It does not disappoint with its unique offerings. INQ
