Melbourne’s ST. ALi is Manila’s Newest Brunch Place: Here’s What to Order
Restaurant Background
ST. ALi finds a home amid the dynamic melting pot of Melbourne, Australia. A quirky café and restaurant best known for specialty coffee, ST. ALi comprises of a multi-cultural team. Chefs from Europe, bartenders from Asia, and C-suites from Australia come together to pioneer flavors and foodstuffs. It’s obvious that this diversity has influenced the way ST. ALi operates and finds success.
Founded in 2005 and owned by an Italian keen on coffee, ST. ALi is in fact named after Sufi cleric, Ali ibn Umar al-Shadhili. Ali is believed to have introduced coffee to Yemen and is now considered to be the patron saint of coffee.
Today, ST. ALi’s cheeky branding is something of a signature, even in the way each restaurant looks. With branches around Australia, and a growing following in Indonesia and Manila, ST. ALi has found resonance in a multitude of populations. “No two ST. ALi branches look the same,” shared Lachlan Ward, CEO of ST. ALi. “We love to take inspiration from wherever we find ourselves.”
Vibe and Venue
Manila’s first branch of ST. ALi is found at Opus Mall, though the restaurant does have plans to expand to BGC by 2025.
Amid the backdrop of Quezon City’s newest luxury mall, ST. ALi offers a relaxed, somewhat bohemian atmosphere that is welcoming and cheerful. Guests are immediately welcomed by a glass display of homemade cakes, plus a Polaroid board of past clients and friends. A black and white checkerboard floor brings a homey feel to a dining room that is replete with wood and metal accents. While guests are welcome to lounge around on couches on the first floor, those looking for a more relaxed area can head upstairs to the second floor, where quiet corners are decorated with framed photos and artwork.
How Much Does It Cost
An international brand, ST. ALi’s menu items come at moderate prices. Food can cost anywhere from P300 to P600 pesos while drinks come at around P200. Of course, true fans can’t ignore ST. ALi’s creative merchandise. From caps and mugs to tumblers and sweatshirts – most of which can range from P600 to over P1,000 – the ST. ALi brand is one that’s worth it in more ways than one.
The Menu and its Highlights
Something to note: brunch and brunch food are two different things. While some people may consider “brunch food” to be anything served during that time of the day, a meal at ST. ALi will prove otherwise. Proper brunch food has a feel to it; it is light, bright, and delicate. The menu at ST. ALi consists of foods with dynamic textures, citrusy twists, and a delicate balance of flavors and aromas. Think: fruity breakfast foods such as homemade granola and coconut rice pudding and filling entrees uplifted by spice (not to mention, the signature ST. ALi chili oil).
Make sure to constantly check back on the ST. ALi menu as a significant handful of offerings remains seasonal and can change year-round.
Of course, the cornerstone of any café – coffee – is present as well. ST. ALi is famous for certain variants. Their signature drink is “magic”, quite literally. It is a ¾ full, double-ristretto-based flat white that is uniquely Melbourne. Blends are also available for people to take home, not to mention drip coffee and Nespresso-compatible pods in variants such as Orthodox (traditional Italian-style coffee with a ST. ALi twist), Wide Awake (bright, bold, flavorful coffee), Feels Good (organic Australian blend), and Italo Disco (with notes of chocolate and butterscotch).
What We Tried
The meal started off with contemporary breakfast favorites. First off, the coconut rice pudding. A familiar sweet treat to most Asians, this rice pudding comes topped with Filipino ingredients such pinipig, desiccated coconut, and sweet, yellow mango. The pudding itself is creamy, with a mild sweet, coconut taste. Mixed together, it becomes a playground for sensorial textures: crunchy, creamy, and sweet – a perfect start to sunny mornings.
ST. ALi’s homemade granola follows. Served with a mango and passionfruit quenelle, the granola comes with a side of milk to be added as preferred. When mixed together, ST. ALi’s granola breakfast brings together a crunchy, chewy flavor explosion that is further lifted by the bright, fruity flavors of tropical fruit.
Adding a bit of savoriness is the restaurant’s signature hummus breakfast. A filling brunch entrée, ST. ALi’s take on hummus brings together sexy, spicy ingredients. Parsley pesto, crispy chickpeas, and curry leaves sit atop a bed of hummus; front and center is a perfectly poached egg and a dash of ST. ALi’s chili oil. Best served to those who adore heat, this dish is best eaten all mixed up, with a spoonful of hummus, egg, and pesto atop freshly-baked bread.
All these pair beautifully with ST. ALi’s Coco Mingle. A unique – and surprisingly refreshing drink – this fun take on iced chocolate removes any doubt that chocolate can be a breakfast indulgence. Made with a layer of cocoa powder and cream atop coconut water, the Coco Mingle is best drunk in three parts: first, with a sip of just the top layer, the second, a bigger gulp to encompass both chocolate and coconut water, and lastly, mixed all together. When done like so, one can taste the slight bitterness and rich darkness of cocoa, followed by the soothing refreshment of coconut water. When all mixed up, the drink becomes a fully compatible beverage that removes the usual heavy, syrupy texture of chocolate drinks and replaces it with something that is light and uplifting.
Of course, lunch menu items cannot be discounted. We tried the squid ink risotto, Turkish eggs, and Tokyo omelet. These fusion recipes add a unique twist to dishes that would otherwise be deemed as run-of-the-mill. For example, the squid ink risotto adds red grapes unto charred octopus and chili salsa. The addition of fruit and spice invigorate the dish, giving it a fruity, floral twist that brightens the distinct taste of squid ink.
Meanwhile, Turkish eggs are made with an aromatic herb labneh. While labneh, which is made with yogurt, is often thick, creamy, and somewhat heavy, ST. ALi’s chefs have turned their version into one that is airy enough not to be overwhelming. It is topped with a generous drizzle of homemade chili oil, plus two poached eggs, and a side of naan.
Rounding the meal off with another egg dish, ST. ALi served us their Japanese-inspired Tokyo omelet. The recipe calls for bonito flake butter atop a fluffy omelet that is wrapped in nori and topped with pickled enoki mushroom and a sauce of oil and smoked eel. A complex yet well-balanced dish, ST. ALi’s Tokyo omelet is reminiscent of another Japanese favorite, sushi.
Capping the course off is the Matcha Mansi drink. Made with tonic water, matcha, and calamansi, this energizing beverage is something of an acquired taste. Nevertheless, it is as refreshing as it sounds: a sip will surprise you with multiple sensations. There is the slight bitterness of matcha, the sourness of calamansi, and the sensorial fizz of tonic water. Should you need an energizing pick-me-up for a busy day ahead, then we’ve found the perfect one for you.
Cakes are also ready to tempt sweet tooths at this Melbourne-born eatery. Our favorite? The blueberry and lemon cake! The taste is vibrant: citrusy, sweet, floral, and fruity. Its texture is just as fun: whole blueberries are baked between sheets of cream and vanilla chiffon; lemon rind is grated atop to add brightness to the entire dessert. While the café’s strawberry shortcake and ube cake – which is made with layers of cake, cream, and real halaya – are deserving of one’s attention, the true star has to be its vibrant lemon and blueberry counterpart.
Location: ST. ALi Manila, Opus Mall, Bridgetowne Destination Estate, Quezon City
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