BGC eats: Amici gets more adventurous at flagship store

MANILA -- What started as a cafeteria in the '90s is now a flourishing restaurant chain with nine branches all over Metro Manila. Amici is undeniably one of the go-to restaurants for pizza and pasta-loving Filipinos.

The brand recently opened its ninth branch that is considered as its flagship store. Located on the third floor of One Bonifacio High Street mall in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig, Amici expands its reach in one of the Metro's most competitive restaurant markets.

“If you're a restaurant and you want to matter, you have to be in BGC especially now. We didn't have any presence in BGC prior to this so it's a big deal for us to open this,” explained Amici and Cara Mia general manager and chief operating officer Philip Moran.

Founded by Salesian priest Fr. Gianluigi Colombo at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati City, Danny and Tessie Moran acquired the brand in 2007 and were responsible for its expansion.

Today, it's mostly run by the couple's kids Philip, Pammy, and Paolo. The brand has been doing well despite the stiff competition.

According to Philip, what is helping them now, and other restaurants in general, is the strong delivery market. Amici has its own delivery system but the brand is also partners with major delivery service providers.

BGC is a big market and has a lot of potential. This new branch in Taguig's central business district seats 70 in the indoor dining space. There's an al fresco area but it's yet to be furnished. The interior has the familiar green and red colors, synonymous to the Italian flag, while murals decorate the wall with colorful images of Italian food.

Philip said they've designed the space according to today''s standards. That goes the same with the food.

“That's huge factor now when we come up with new dishes, it has to be 'Instagrammable.' And the store needs to be Instagrammable as well,” he said.

This new branch is not the biggest, that distinction goes to the brand's Ayala Triangle branch. The original branch in Don Bosco still stands. So what makes the BGC store the flagship?

“We wanted this venue to be a little bit of a playground. Amici is a chain and we want to try out new things and given the location, it allows us to be at the center of the metro and it allows us to really play around a little bit more,” he said.

Since Paolo joined as the executive chef three years ago, he has introduced new dishes that have become bestsellers. Trained in Italy, he has successfully married his Filipino palate to the flavors of authentic Itlaian cuisine.

“Over the years it's been good for me to try and be a little bit more adventurous. Of course, we want to stick with traditional Italian but sometimes it offshoots and we come up with something special,” chef Paolo explained.

Some of the dishes he created are now among the favorites of customers. For example, his Seafood Diablo became a surprise hit. It's a spicy seafood pasta with a creamy tomato-based sauce served with a lot of shellfish like mussels and clams.

“Me coming in brought new dynamic to the dishes coming out. Originally, of course, we try to be very authentic Italian starting with Fr. Colombo. He was Italian so he did what he knew. With me it's a little different because I can only claim to be Italian but I'm not,” he said.

“Working in Italy exposed me to Italian cuisine but since I grew up here, I try to marry the two ideas together. So far it's been good based on customers' feedback. They're not really traditional in a sense of Fr. Colombo but there are still a lot of Italian elements through the new dishes.”

Another new dish that found its way on the menu is the Salmon and Zucchini Pizza. He also added new dips that goes with their parmesan-coated pizza dough wedges, like the creamy smoked salmon dip and truffle mushroom dip.

The Creamy Pesto Proscuitto is another pasta dish, chef Paolo personally picks when it comes to favorites. Some classic dishes like the Il Supremo pizza continue to be favorites of customers.

Chef Paolo plans to come out with more dishes. In fact, this branch will serve exclusive chef specials twice a week. And they will only be available when the chef is present at the restaurant.

“Several reasons why we want to do it here because one, it's our first store in BGC so we're excited about that. So I wanted to maybe try dishes that are little bit outside our comfort zone here in Amici. We think that the guests that come here are the perfect guinea pig for that. Aside from that, we just want to make some noise while we're here because there's a lot of competition out there,” the chef explained.

One of the chef's exclusive dishes is the Beef Striploin Salpicao -- strip steak served salpicao style with a generous serving of white rice.

“I'd like to serve more pasta, more elevated dishes. I'll probably revisit old recipes. There's a salmon dish we're going to do, then a good steak. This is one of the new dishes [striploin]. It's comfort food, something we like to eat at home,” he said.

Like all Amici restaurants, this branch is also attached to a Cara Mia. The dessert shop is famous for its cakes, gelato, and gelato cakes. Their ube cake is considered to be one of the best in the metro.

When asked about the brand's future, chef Paolo simply said: “We will be more adventurous.”