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There's something new brewing in BGC where you get to pair your beer with your food
MANILA, Philippines – A love for good food, beer, and company led 3 brothers to open their own gastropub in the burgeoning area that is Fort Bonifacio Global City.
Alec, Noel, and Raymond Tempongko were corporate professionals all their lives and they all knew what’s it like to crave fo good company over a couple of drinks after a long, tiring day in the office. Perfect Pint, they say, is there to offer customers the ambience and the gastronomic experience they’re craving for.
“We decided to look for something that can be good enough offering for a notch higher experience,” Noel said. “We define it as a notch higher because [it is] something that is more flavorful, something that will enhance the experience of our customers – so in the search process, we discovered craft beer.”
Beer in Perfect Pint is served preferrably from the tap, giving priority to its freshness. Imported taps from Belgium also carry the names of the local craft brewers to promote them to their customers. “This is our way of trying to give them a chance to survive. These are small- and medium-scale enterprises. At least, in our own small way, their brands become known to customers who visit us,” Noel added.
Food pairing
We’ve all heard of wine pairing – but beer pairing is something new to the local diners. Some may find the concept a bit foreign at first but the explosion of flavor in your mouth brought about by drinking the right beer with your food is a rewarding experience on its own.
Perfect Pint’s menu offers pairing suggestions, telling you which of their craft beer offerings can enhance the flavor of their dishes. Cafe Ysabel’s Chef Gene Gonzales came on board as a consultant to design Perfect Pint’s menu and their food pairing selections. The Tempongko brothers brought in the craft beer and Chef Gene whipped up dishes specifically designed for the brews.
Craft brewers themselves
Not only does Perfect Pint promote local craft beer, they’ve also started brewing their own. Their Irish red ale home brew has become an instant favorite – only a couple of weeks after it was introduced. The more known craft beer brands like Katipunan and Pivo are the usual favorites.
Noel said the good thing about beer is that it’s a democratic drink. Unlike wine where food pairing rules are strict, beer pairings can differ among drinkers, given their varying tastes.
Their recommended pairing for a certain dish can be highly satisfactory to one diner, but once a different beer tastes better with the same dish, it should be perfectly fine. That’s why the owners encourage their guests to try the sampler first.
The Stinky Cheese Pizza which is perfectly paired with Pivo’s Weizen or Craftpoint’s Summer Sessions is made up of 5 cheeses that provide a contrast to the fruity taste of the Weizen and the creamy custard of Summer Sessions. The 5 cheeses are also arranged by taste – from lightest on the slice’s tip to the strongest. Noel explains that this is to make sure their customers are able to taste each of the cheeses without stronger flavors overpowering the light-flavored variants.
Pivo’s Classic brew or the Wild Ride make for good pairings with Mussels cooked in Beer. The strong flavors of the mussels are not enough to undermine the taste of the beer’s malt.
Ah, bacon. Where do we even start? Salty, crisp and crackling, almost everyone craves for it. A generous serving of bacon – a “heap” in Perfect Pint – complements light beer with strong flavor. The bacon at Perfect Pint is crispy but melts in your mouth. The house pickles it comes with also evens out the taste and gives it an extra kick.
After being open for only a couple of weeks, the gastropub is starting to pick up, even getting reservations for huge groups. Noel said they’re also starting to get regulars, blaming the steady influx of customers to news about them that’s gotten around.
“When people like your food and your beer, they will tell their friends who would visit and like something we offer. In turn, they will also tell their friends. Word gets around. If you keep on coming up with good food and great service, people will like it and visit more often.”
Would you be willing to try beer pairing? Let us know in the comments section below. – Rappler.com
Perfect Pint is located at 2nd Floor, Crossroads Building, 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
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