Local establishment Half Saints brings a vivacious color to Quezon City's dining scene. We've seen them toy around with familiar flavors and elements to whip up novel dishes that are completely their own—think chicharron plus cream cheese and nori turned into a wrap-it-yourself appetizer, or their updated crema de fruta with fresh fruit, a calamansi-coconut water gelee, and edible flowers—and since opening in 2018 they've only steadily gained a following over the years. Preview is certainly one of them, as we've hailed its chefs and founders Jo Arciaga and Christine Roque in this year's Creative 25, thanks to their ingenious creations. But it seems they're far from done, as Half Saints recently opened their own branch in the Land of the Rising Sun!
Homegrown resto Half Saints is now in Japan:
Give 'em a round of applause, Spotters: Half Saints' Japanese leg opened their doors in Hongo, Tokyo (specifically, at a residential area near the University of Tokyo) on November 1. It's all about "multicultural" flavors here that remain "Filipino at heart," says Christine, as with the Philippine branch they make it a point to source ingredients from local food producers ("to ensure the best quality and celebrate local products of the season and the people behind them," Christine quips!) where possible.
True enough, the dining spot serves pastries given Half Saints' playful touch—including the Mushroom, Goat Cheese, and Balsamic Puff Pizza (a bestseller in Manila!), Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies, Cloud Cheese Cookies with Hokkaido blue cheese, and Filipino specialty coffee. Soon they'll also be peddling Japanized versions of their signature Merci Buko Cream Puff and aforementioned Crema De Fruta desserts—so it's well worth shooting them a visit should you happen to be in the country.
Half Saints Tokyo is at Kato Bldg. 1F, 4-2-4 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. For more information, check out the Facebook pages of Half Saints and Half Saints TOKYO.
* This story originally appeared on Spot.ph. Minor edits have been made by the Preview.ph editors.
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