With all the new eating places cropping up, it’s safe to say that there’s no shortage of pasta places to go to in Manila. The issue rather is where to go for good pasta that’s more imaginative than usual, tasty and yet won’t clean up your pocket as fast as you can clean up your plate. Your Happyfoodies happened to chance upon Pasta Box at the far corner of The Collective along Malugay in Makati and the clean, spic-and-span interiors worked like a charm in pulling us in and giving this place a try.
Lagal[og] says: One look at the Pasta Box menu and we knew it was a fusion-or-bust matter. There are interesting takes on Italian fare with Pinoy twists. The usual problem with fusion attempts is that the recipe looks good on paper but falls short in the taste department. Happily, this is not the case with Pasta Box.
Ironwulf says: We came at a late afternoon hour and were famished so we have to have some appetizers. We settled for Nachos & Italian Dips. We ordered three dips to go with it and the Garlic-Tomatoes Dip came out the most-liked (loads of garlic with every dip!) but I must say that the Sour Cream-Basil wasn’t bad either.
Lagal[og] says: The Pasta Box format is: 1) Choose your pasta and 2) choose your sauce. I have this predilection for chicken so the Holy Chicken Fussilli became an automatic choice. While I wish it could be spicier, I liked the medley of shredded chicken, the hint of spiciness in the peppers and chili garlic sauce along with the crunch of cashew nuts. The serving size is on the large side, good enough for sharing (not for me as I could eat another bowlful of this stuff).
Ironwulf says: At a time when people are more conscious of eating healthy, Pasta Box banners that their food has no MSG or trans-fat. Their pasta sauces are all home-made. And I could believe the claims.
The first pasta dish I tried was the Seafood Pomodoro. I was (pleasantly) surprised by the wonderful presentation of the pasta with all the clams, mussels, shrimps and tuna. The tastes of seafood and herbs blended well in a medley of flavors . I also enjoyed their Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta (not on the menu) as I dig through the tasty layers of pesto pasta to get those flavorful bits of crunchy sun-dried tomatoes.
Lagal[og] says: We had the Italian Panini during our shoot day. It was okay though I like the Pinoy Panini more. Made with Ciabatta bread and served with cassava chips, the Pinoy version has adobo flakes instead of salami and laced with caramelized onions and melted kesong puti (local white cheese). It’s a really nice take on Panini with soft, flavorful adobo (pork cooked in soy sauce, vinegar and oil) shreds melding beautifully with the kesong puti .
Ironwulf says: While I liked the Italian Panini, I thought the Pinoy Panini made more of an impression as its taste really stands out. For drinks, I simply had their refreshing Sago Gulaman.
Lagal[og] says: For drinks, I would’ve loved to try the Sago Punch but I’m a teetotaler so had to settle for the Sago Gulaman. Nothing really spectacular about it but it’s a curious pairing to a predominantly French-Italian fusion fare.
Pasta Box
Located within The Collective
7274 Malugay St., San Antonio Village, Makati City
www.pastabox.ph
Accepts deliveries within the Makati area;
call 881-6188 or text 0910-7995916
I have a little thing with Italian food, pasta specifically.
My husband cooks very well and his pasta dishes taste better than the ones we can get at any restaurants we’ve been and at a quarter of the price, so we hardly go to Italian restaurants. Same thing with pizza. OUr home-made shrimp pesto pizza is far better than what I’ve had out there so far.
But I think I like the concept of Italian-Filipino fusion here. It’s worth a try.
Hi guys, thanks for this great write up!!! would love to see you all again at Pasta Box!!
ps, and your photos are amazing!!