If you feel that you are as tough as Antonio Banderas in Desperado or as bad as Danny Trejo in Machete head to Burritos and Tacos Mexican Kitchen at the ground floor of 368 Sekai Center, Ortigas Corner Madison Street, Greenhills, San Juan City. This is where you can enjoy authentic Mexican dishes. They offer Burritos, Tacos, Chicken Mole, Torta De Al Pastor, Tostada, Mexican Chipotle, Nachos, Mexican Pizza and a lot more.
Order taking is mind-boggling at first. It really got me confused. First you have to choose a meal Burrito, Frito Burrito, Burrito Bowl, Mexican Salad, Mexican Taco, Taco, Quesadilla, Guaca de Frito, Chimichanga, Tostadas then choose which filing you like. You can have it with steak P350; chicken P330; Fish P340; Shrimp P360; or any 3 combo P490.
Then you choose your filling Alpastor, Barbacoa, Carne Asada, Carnitas, Chicken Jalapeno, Chicken Mole, Chili con Carne, Fish, Shrimp, Vegetarian, and Chipotle Chicken. And lastly, choose your sides.
Chicken Mole has 26 ingredients including chocolate. This meal alone made Iron-Man go all the way from the US just to get a taste of the Chicken Mole not because he was looking for the best creatine supplement to flex his muscles. You can’t blame him. Most of the ingredients are imported, guaranteed to give you authentic Mexican taste.
Like most traditional Filipino families, my family loved to celebrate with a feast. I still remember an uncle who used to tease us during reunions “here comes the Robinsons family” referring to the classic show Robinsons Crusoe, because we are all hearty eaters. We still are.
I have siblings. Four of us are boys who were (take note- I used past tense) athlete had a smalls and have very healthy appetites. My mother took up nutrition in college and had this uncanny skill of tasting a dish from restaurant and guessing at least 80% of the ingredients. All of us inherited our mom’s love of food, so although none of us had any formal training, we all at some point took to the kitchen armed with the confidence to whip up dishes that we had a craving for. At times, even copy ones that we enjoyed from a previous restaurant visit.
At home, I have passed on my love of food to my kids. This is both good and bad. My wife and I take turns cooking at home so my children are exposed to different cuisines. In fact, even when kids their age seek comfort in Jollibee and McDonalds, my kids request for Japanese night or Spanish night. They loved salad, can handle spicy food and my eldest son craves for foie gras every so often. Maybe someday anyone of my kids will be a chef.
B&T Mexican Kitchen is not our first food venture. My mom had a small bakeshop in Shaw and used to make croissants and Russian tea cookies in the 80s. She also went into small catering business here and in LA since my other siblings were based there. My sisters and parents managed a café for several years near the cancer center of my dad… aptly called Coffee Theraphy. I had a Mexican place too years ag called Cabo Wabo when the Mexican arena was monopolized by two other Mexican restaurants, but I was in med school then and couldn’t juggle my time so after 2 years, I needed to close it down.
My brother Philip goes to La to visit my 3 siblings every year. All they did was eat and eat. They would visit all the best Mexican joints around LA. This gave my brother the idea of opening his own in Manila. He gathered some friends and a famous chef to open a successful Mexican place. He managed the kitchen for 1 year and a half with the supervision of friend chef. Artistic differences caused a parting of ways between his friends and chef. My brother was caught in between. Everyone decided that a three way split was the best.
The family saw how hard my brother worked and how much he loved cooking for people. We decided to open our own. My parents together with my sister were about to move to LA, but sacrifices had to be made for this family venture. They decided to stay and pursue B & T.
They say never do business with family and friends. The good thing going for my family in this venture of ours is that each member of our family has a different role and interest. Although we all have input on the food, we leave the kitchen duties to Philip. My mom does the purchasing/marketing. My sister handles the cashier/billing. I manage marketing and customer service. Big daddy is the financier.
Those who have seen our house know that it was built for parties. Setting up this restaurant shows the kind of people we are. We love to entertain, and every single day at B&T is like welcoming people into our home. We are delighted when we see the smiles of people when they try the food we prepared. B&T Mexican is truly labor of love.
