Kiss the Cook Gourmet

There's a new resto in Maginhawa... Teachers Village is getting more and more interesting every time. Their sign can definitely be improved, but this tarpaulin sign saying Kiss the Cook Gourmet caught my eye as we passed by, and I wanted to give it a try.

Interiors are clean and simple, music may be improved though. Their hiphop sounds didn't quite suit the place. There was even a time I had to ask them to lower the volume; I do hope they keep that in mind.

Food was good though. A bit pricey for the area, but their menu was pretty interesting. We had the Antipasti Mix for appetizer: sundried tomatoes, artichoke, olives, feta cheese in olive oil with baguette toasts. It was a good start to our lunch, and the flavors blended well with each other. You might even have to ask for a little more baguette to finish it off.

For the main course, Pistachio Crusted Chicken and Afghan Chicken. I didn't actually taste the Pistachio in the chicken, though I did see pistachio bits in the chicken crust. It was a bit dry but was generally OK, additional sauce would have been a plus. And if I didn't have the mashed potatoes on the side, although the dish was OK, it would have been a bit of a bore.

My friend, who was familiar with Indian food, said that Afghan chicken was supposed to be cooked in the corn karma sauce, not just placed on top of it. Despite this, the blend of the chicken and corn karma tasted good.

Antipasti Mix, P195



Pistachio Crusted Chicken, P245

Grilled Afghan Chicken, P225

I think Kiss the Cook Gourmet deserves a few more visits before I finally say if it's a go or not. For now, I was happy with the Antipasti Mix, and main courses was generally OK. But for its price, one should be careful to pick the correct dish.