ROC (Recipes of Choice)

A blooming alternative to Chocolate Kiss, ROC or Recipes of Choice can be be found at the ground floor of Bahay na Alumni in U.P. Just two weeks into its operations and still on its soft opening, ROC is placing its people and its meals on test drive. Housing about 25-30 tables, it can be a regular dining place for you and your friends, but it can also double as a lunch/ merienda/ dinner meeting venue with a client.

On our visit, Rob and I were fortunate enough to have met a couple of the owners of this new restaurant -- Don & wife Rosa, and Sonny (who happens to be Italianni's Executive Chef). ROC was originally named after Don & Rosa's son Roco, but the acronym also quickly inspired the name Recipes of Choice.

Rob and I ordered the Grilled Chicken Salad, Spicy Tuyo and Kesong Puti Panini, and Whiskey Glazed Porkchop. I also tried their MIST drink, which stands for Mexican (or Mediterranean?) Iced Strawberry Tea.
We absolutely loved the salad. :) The Spicy Tuyo and Kesong Puti Panini was good - the tuyo definitely gave a kick to the kesong puti. The Porkchops were great, you can taste the marinated sauce in every bite. Food presentation though, may still be improved.

Grilled Chicken Salad

Spicy Tuyo and Kesong Puti Panini

Whiskey Glazed Porkchops

We had a nice chat with Sonny after our meal, and even discussed some of our comments and recommendations with him. He was very pleaseant and accomodating, and even gave us a slice of cake afterwards. Although some of their desserts are from Banapple, they also have dessert concoctions of their own, like this mango cheesecake he gave us to try.

Mango Cheesecake

Expect more from ROC as they raise the caliber of their staff and continue to expand their menu with your choice recipes that satisfy both the palate and pocket. Their food is most definitely worth a visit :)