It took me a long while to finally visit Stella Wood Fired Bistro at BGC, and when I finally did, it was such a nice experience. There are plenty of restaurants within Bonifacio High Street area of BGC but I deem Stella, which specializes in wood fired dishes is one of those well worth checking out.
Yeah, you must not follow my foot steps. I waited for too long. Had it not been for a writing assignment I am working on, I probably missed another round of awful lot of bliss that only food at Stella could yield.
A lot has been said about Stella Wood Fired Bistro. A little Google search and you'll be presented with some factoids about this bistro and its sister bar lounge located just right beside it, the Rocketroom.
I did a little research myself and majority of which I have found online were all praises and thumbs up. It actually did not surprised me since knowing Raintree Group of Restaurants, they wouldn't let any of their concept be anything less than stellar. Such is the case for Stella Wood Fired Bistro.
It was almost brunch time when set foot at Stella. Couple of minutes into my feast, the place was already packed with hungry patrons - mostly are young professionals in groups.
I was told that it was mostly the scenario on a daily basis during lunch service. Come night time, the place is still buzzing including the next door Rocketroom where after work drinking sessions are most likely to transpire.
Our feast started with a serving of Stella Salad (Php375) which is a generous bowl of butter lettuce, sundried tomato bits, candied rosemary pistachios, buttermilk chive-ranch dressing, malagos pecorino, and crispy bacon.
It wouldn't hold the honor of having the restaurant as its namesake for nothing. This salad is one of the best out there in terms of complexity in flavor, thrilling texture, and hefty serving.
Despite the salad having crisp bacon strips, it is till under my healthy food radar so I am all well and good by the virtue of those greens. I figured it's time to indulge. And indulge, I did. Case in point, the Bone Marrow (Php550).
The bone marrow was baked in wood fired oven alongside the crisp bread as thin as my chance to give up on this dish - if there's any (I tell you, there's none). Served on the side were the balsamic cherry campote and Stella's gremolata - both of which did a great job in masking the fatty texture of the marrow and eliminating the high probability of the marrow to be cloying after couple of bite.
Stella recently released new line of their Wood Fired Pizza and one of them was the Cured Bacon (Php350). Impressive in its flavor with just the right serving portion size, the thing that made me love this pizza was the distinct flavor it has which made it clear that it was indeed baked in wood fired oven. The freshly made dough was another because hey, who doesn't love freshly made dough on a pizza? Not I.
While I am not a big fan of chorizo, I wholeheartedly made an exception for Stella's Homemade Chorizo and Garlic Spaghetti (Php295). It was by far the best pasta with chorizo that I have ever tried. And I have tried many in the hope of finally appreciating this little sausage I have yet to love. Stella did a great job.
If the pasta with chorizo knocks me off my feet, Stella's Fire Roasted Seafood Aglio Olio (Php395) reminded me why I have affinity for seafood. The prawn, octopus, and calamari thrown in the mix fought so hard for their flavor to emerged, and they succeeded. They succeeded since every forkful and blissful bite reminded me of the sea.
Then there was the Wood Fired Ultimate Lasagna (Php495) which stole my heart. The combination of beef, pork, and 4 hour fennel sausage ragu was astounding, yes. The herbs, spinach, and pecorino cream were equally delightful. But what made this lasagna special was the manner in which it was cook - through wood fired oven, which gave off distinct flavor and not to mention texture to the edges of the pasta.
My love for this dish goes beyond the corners of this blog. You will get to read it somewhere, soon. In due course, I will announce it here.
Staying true to their goal of serving impeccable dishes cooked wood fired, Stellas has this dessert called Wood Fired Cookie Dough (Php195) and dare I say it was the best goddamn dessert I have had in a long while. Excuse my French, but I am telling the truth here.
It's the kind of dessert that I would want to introduce to my parents. It's the kind of dessert that I want to marry. True story.
Also a heart-stealer was this Stella's Signature Chocolate Cake (Php295) one of the signature cakes of Stella. This one got all the things I love in my chocolate cake. It's fudgy and downright chocolatey. The salt on top isn't just for mere decoration, trust me, it lends a delightful flavor when eaten together with the chocolate cake.
For drinks, there are three which came as highly recommended. There's Cococabana (275) which is made up of fresh ripe mango, coconut dust, vanilla essence, and coconut cream. It's a kind of drink that both kids and kids at heart might enjoy. There's also The Stella Sip (Php125) which is basically the signature iced tea of Stella served in a cute quirky mug. And there's Cha Cha Chia (Php225) which is essentially a refreshing lime soda and passion fruit drink with chia seeds.
My visit at Stella Wood Fired Bistro was a delightful experience. It made me question my self why I turned down several invites from friends, to be honest. But I don't want to dwell on such sad thoughts, what's important right now is that when craving for some wood fired meals in an affordable price, I got Stella Wood Fired Bistro at BGC I could count on.
And oh, just a heads up, Stella is having awesome lunch promo, you might want to check out.
Stella Wood Fired Bistro
G/F Level Bonifacio High Street Central,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
Contact Number: +63 (02) 621-3222
Website: raintreerestaurants.com/stella.html
Facebook: /stella.rocketroom
Twitter @stellarocket
Contact Number: +63 (02) 621-3222
Website: raintreerestaurants.com/stella.html
Facebook: /stella.rocketroom
Twitter @stellarocket