A weekend afternoon snack at Bonifacio High Street triggers fond memories of childhood summers for a tasty and memorable culinary throwback with the dishes you love. And still do...
Raintree Restaurants' Executive Chef, Kalel Chan, draws inspiration from comforting family and childhood favorites at their newest dining concept, Friends & Family. Weekends become even more special with a sumptuous serving of Birthday Spaghetti and Ube Champorado, and it's all here at Friends & Family...
From the bright interiors and walls clad in pristine white tiles to the thick plates lined with its nostalgic and distinctive thin green rings, Friends & Family is like a portal that just takes you back. Their comforting homestyle cuisine completes that trip down memory lane for another exciting dining concept from Raintree Restaurants. 
A bowl of thick porridge always hits the spot, but when Executive Chef Kalel Chan adds his own inventive spin, it becomes a new and refreshing flavor experience. The Ube Champorado (P 195) is just one of many reasons to visit Friends & Family with sticky glutinous rice simmered with purple yam, drizzled with Chef Kalel's indulgent Tres Leches Ganache and topped with crispy fried danggit for that familiar and contrasting texture and salty notes.
The servings are huge and perfect for sharing, but you can probably do quick work on Friends & Family's Ube Champorado on a leisurely weekend afternoon. Thick and sweet with the tres leches adding an decadent layer to the nutty notes of the purple yam, this is definitely one satisfying merienda highlight to cap the week.
The play on sweet creamy notes are tempered by the salty hints of the dried fish for balanced flavors. Don't be surprised when you end up finishing this bowl...
But there was just one more curious item on the menu of Friends & Family that seemed to call out like a flavorful blast from the past...
The Birthday Spaghetti with Hot Dog and Marshamallow (P 250) is just hard to resist, with soft yet firm noodles draped in a rich homemade beef sauce with that hint of sweetness topped with grated cheddar cheese and completed with a hot dog and marshmallow on a stick. Though our palates have evolved over time, there's just something about the familiar childhood staple of spaghetti and hot dogs that you never forget...
Many say we enjoy certain flavors because of the memories associated with a particular dish. This is one of those dishes. You just never outgrow spaghetti with hot dogs. Served with soft warm dinner rolls, why not go old-school? That's right, stuff it all in. Other comforting local merienda dishes include the Pancit Palabok (P 295), Pancit F & F (P 395), Pancit Seafood Cham-I (P 420), Arroz Caldo (P 195), Lomi a la-Eh (P 250), Lumpiang Shanghai (P 220), Day 2 Dinuguan at Puto (P 275), Tokwa't Baboy (P 195) and Fresh Lumpia (P 220).
Even if your sophisticated palate tells you this is so wrong on so many levels, it just feels right after that first bite. And deep inside, you know you still love it.
Executive Chef Kalel Chan has one more tasty surprise timed for Valentine's...
...taking another familiar and comforting merienda staple infused with some Pinoy humor for yet another satisfying merienda dish at Friends & Family. Friends & Family's You Bilu-Bilong with Me is just what you need. Weekend afternoons & good vibes, Ube Champorado & Birthday Spaghetti...it's all here at Friends & Family.
Friends & Family is located at the ground Floor, Bonifacio High Street Central, 7th Avenue corner 30th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City or call 0917-891-7053 for inquiries. You can also visit their FB Page at https://www.facebook.com/raintreefriendsandfamilyph/ for more information.
Dude for Food is now on Facebook and Instagram, check out the FB Page and IG Feed for regular updates on good eats. Better yet, click "Like" and "Follow" and enjoy the ride...just look for the FB and IG widgets on the right sidebar.