It is my ultimate dream to visit Santorini, but for now, dito muna ako maglalagi — sa Kantorini Food Park!
Kantorini Food Park is the newest casual dining destination along Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City. When my cousin invited me to visit the place, I had a sudden rush of nostalgia, kasi lagi ako sa Katip dati. I spent my college life there.
Kantorini Food Park is beside Ateneo — sa right side is my alma mater, and on the other is Kantorini. It’s a haven for foodies and for those who crave a different kind of cool, relaxing vibe (insert Big Mountain music in the background). Natuwa ako kasi it’s a mini version of those whitewashed and chalky-looking structures that we see in Santorini, Greece. I heard there are Santorini-inspired places here in PH na.. I’m not a huge travel junkie so I’m not really looking forward to visiting one anytime soon. Pero syempre, if I have a truckload of money, why not? 🙂
Kantorini is not purely an eye candy. Yes I’m talking about the food. The owners are making sure that food is diverse and authentic.
A WIDE ARRAY OF FOOD CHOICES
If you’re craving for Asian cuisine, you can find Japanese, Korean and Hong Kong-style food stalls. Of course there’s also Greek food (hello Santorini nga diba? :p)
If you want breakfast food, they also have it there. Burgers? Steaks.. Wagyu? Sausages? Sizzling food? Check! Then there’s pizza, and pasta, and street food, and donuts, and desserts! Yummo overload! 🙂
So that fateful night with my dream destination + a variety of eats, my husband and I started searching for an empty table and ordering our food. FYI, you can’t get drinks from food stalls. There’s a mini pavilion at the far back, medyo nasa gitna siya, and that’s where you can order your drinks from. In fairness, it’s like a drink station and you’ll feel giddy just by choosing your beverage.
When mason jars became popular, a lot of cafes and restos followed suit. Pati ako, we have drinking mason jars that we use at home para feeling ko lang mahal yung iniinom ko LOL. 🙂
The Shrimp Basket: Quick Shrimp Fix!
Our first stop is The Shrimp Basket, first stall to the right. It felt like a shrimp kind of night. I was just so grateful that I have no known seafood allergies, LOL.
The Shrimp Basket is the perfect shrimp fix for your seafood cravings. Shrimps are cooked just the way you want it — saucy, spicy, or crispy/crunchy!
Shrimp Medley — Combo Flavors! We had Hot & Spicy Shrimp, Shrimp Scampi (cooked with garlic, butter, white wine, olive oil, and herbs), and Garlic Butter Shrimp (garlic bits and butter overload). I love my shrimp with a kick, but there’s also magic in garlic-butter-herb flavor combo. This was wiped-out within 5 minutes! 🙂
My hubby’s fave — Cereal Shrimp! We were lucky that this was the Chef’s Special during our food trip. Chef’s special changes every 2 – 4 weeks, depende siguro sa mood ni chef hahaha.
This unforgettable dish reminded us of our trip to Singapore when we tried Cereal Prawns. Crispy, sweet & spicy on the outside, and tender and juicy on the inside! Kung pwede lang mag-unli sa order na ‘to eh! 🙂
The Shrimp Surfer basket. For those with kids, this is a sure win. Deep-fried, breadcrumb-coated shrimps with seasoned fries on the side. Plus the garlic mayo dip. Netflix na lang kulang!
KYODAI: Japanese Cuisine
Our next food stall: Kyodai Japanese Cuisine. Japanese food is my weakness talaga. Sashimi, sushi rolls, ramen. 🙂 It was late when we arrived in Kantorini, past 8PM, and the weather that time was a bit chilly, so I felt like I need a bowlful of hot soup to warm me up. Charot! Gusto ko lang talaga ng ramen!
So I asked my husband to get me a bowl of ramen, their best seller, kasi ako magbabantay ng table namin. He came back with Kyodai’s Spicy Classic Tantanmen. Wow. I never expected it to be that good because it’s only PhP 200++. I can compare it to my favorite Spicy Tobanjan Ramen in Hanamaruken Ramen (I haven’t blogged about tobanjan ramen pa pala, epic blog backlog — years ang binibilang!)
But of course, the egg could have been marinated and the chashu could have more meat in it, but my goodness! This ramen is super worth it. 🙂
Korya: Modern Korean Cuisine
Let’s now go to our third, and last, stop — Korya. When somebody asks you, “Where have you been?” ang isagot mo, “I’ve been to Korya and I loved the Beef Bulgogi!” O diba, shala! 🙂 Hahaha.
So here’s what we ordered: Beef Bulgogi. I’m now confused between Bibimbap and Bulgogi, but what the heck! As long as it’s delicious IDC haha. 🙂
Just like ramen, Korya’s Bulgogi is a full meal itself – kimchi rice topped with savory slices of beef bulgogi, sauteed bean sprouts, shredded carrots, pickled daikon radish, cucumber slices, and sunny side up egg sprinkled with sesame seeds and chili flakes. What I got is a fusion of sweet, spicy, and savory flavors that is really satisfying and tummy-filling.
You can also try their Samgyupsal in Solo and Squad sizes. 🙂
That’s about it! Kantorini is now one of my favorite food destinations! If you’re planning to visit Kantorini Food Park with your friends, here’s what you should keep in mind:
- Kantorini is an outdoor food park, so prepare your raincoats and umbrellas when the weather’s grumpy. There are roofed areas so don’t be too scared, punta ka na!
- Their schedule is 4PM to 12AM. Baka makalimutan mo, umaga ka magpunta hahaha!
- The parking area (which is also the entrance) can get a bit muddy when it rains. This is actually the complaint of many foodies visiting there, but you just might get surprised because their witty FB page admin has actually turned this weakness into a strength. 🙂 Intrigued? Visit their Facebook page (like mo na rin, bes!) — facebook.com/kantorinifoodpark
- Wear boots para safe.. mag-mowdel sa putikan!
- Don’t eat beforehand. Sayang naman kung nakatunganga ka lang dun kasi busog ka na. 🙂 Ayy wait, pwede rin mag-take out!
Kantorini Food Park
facebook.com/kantorinifoodparkThe Shrimp Basket
facebook.com/theshrimpbasketph
instagram.com/theshrimpbasketphKorya: Modern Korean Cuisine
facebook.com/korya.modernkoreanfoodKyodai Japanese Cuisine
facebook.com/KyodaiJapaneseCuisine
Published: 2017-07-18 12:18:41
I’m a huge fan of food, whatever kind of food it is. I love how cool and full of life this food park is. The boatload of food that they offer is seem to be really luscious. We also had this kind of food place in Cebu where we get to taste all the delicious food in Cebu in one setting. The name Kantorini is reall interesting and surely capture not just the taste buds of many food lovers, but also their heart. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
I love the play on words with the name Kantorini and the food options look amazing. Not just for the Greek menu, but the many other varieties of ethnic cuisine available as well!
How was the price point, though? I am not sure if I’m remember it correctly but I think it’s Kantorini’s Food Park FB page that went viral a few weeks back because their admin is so witty! Haha! Anyway, I can relate with mason jars. I have followed suit din. I use them as drinking glasses and food storage for almost everything na. Haha! 😀
I’ve never been here but I read a trending post from Kantorini just recently. Napakaperky ng admin ng FB page nila, nakakatuwa. I’m not sure if we’ll ever have the chance to go here and try it out. Hopefully one day at mukhang masasarap ang food nila. 🙂
Our family loves to explore new places to eat. Have to show this to my hubby coz we’ve never been to Kantorini before. I’m sure we’d love exploring the food there. By the way, I can’t help but notice your Pastel Princess from Keena Prints. 🙂 Mine is purple too coz it’s my fave color and it would look nice with my blog too. Haha!
Nice ng name ha, “Kantorini”, ako din, dito na lang ko punta because I have no budget yet for Santorini. I wish we have food parks here in the South para makapagfood trip din. I would love to try the Shrimp Basket.