La Chinesca BGC Serves Great Tacos, Cool Merch, Snazzy Environs

La Chinesca BGC
G/F East Gallery Place, 28th Street, Bonifacio Global City
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lachinesca

(SPOT.ph) I just had an amazing meal at a restaurant I thought I knew, but don’t—at least not as much as I thought. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as restaurants do evolve after all. Maybe it’s because my perch gave me a special bird’s eye view of everything. The Mexican joint that is La Chinesca, as it was reminded to me by chef/owner Bruce Ricketts (with the other owner being his wife, Jae Pickrell) was launched in an event I had a hand in some 11 years ago. In the middle of an Ortigas area mall, he was making crazy stuff like abalone tacos, and was so successful at it he ran out in two hours. So the obsessive in him naturally drove back to BF Homes to get more ingredients, returned to Ortigas to made more tacos, and sold 'em all out again—a foreshadowing of what epic food was to come in succeeding years.

Since that hectic pop-up, Ricketts and Pickrell has opened a hole in the wall along BF Homes, the unofficial test department for Manila F&B concepts, and proceeded to sell street tacos, tostadas, and then some in a tiny space with no ventilation. Get your hands dirty, they said, and the people came and did—until they didnt have to anymore. The concept eventually winded up at The Grid, where the couple served a more upscale market. The food remained top notch but that BF vibe disappeared.

And so they coasted, working hard for their loyal customers, until they were offered an opportunity to do a pop-up in Balmori Suites. Not exactly a venue for grungy, rock-and-roll-style taqueria, but it was definitely an open door to another stage of their evolution. While retaining their blueprint, Ricketts and his team had to make nice, so to speak, and use his creativity to make special dishes and small plates for the Rockwell crowd, while Jae spread her wings and worked on all the other details, like branding and identity, and learning how to run a restaurant.

Which brings us now to the latest chapter: La Chinesca's new outpost in BGC. This incarnation is set in a beautiful corner of the city, amidst walk ways and other small restaurants, and near a park. It is certainly a world apart from the hole-in-the wall original, but that is because the proprietors have decided their establishments should connect to the community—and this being a slightly bougie enclave, it came dressed for the part.

Ms Pickrell went all in on the look, and branding, shaping the space and the branch's identity to be a true reflection of who they are. You can see it in the small retail space with their La Chinesca merch, the very cool books and magazines, the small houseware items and packets of chips with their famous salsas. They’ve even formulated La Chinesca dog treats (which are adorable, to be honest, and almost an autocop for dog owners). It gives off diner vibes, with the winner’s table being a cozy banquette overlooking the street. But really—this isn’t meant to be some fancy joint. You come here to let your hair down.

Also read:
La Chinesca's at Balmori Suites, Rockwell With Can't-Be-Missed Exclusives 
Bruce Ricketts & Jae Pickrell: How a Magazine Editor Upped an Already Formidable Chef’s Game

La Chinesca BGC

The food is, as expected of a Bruce Ricketts restaurant, arguably some of the best in the city. Authenticity be damned despite his years living in proximity of Mexico, this is taking Mexican flavors and reinterpreting it his way. This is probably most apparent in his Toro Tostada (P810). Using his knowledge of fish which he picked up as a sushi man, he has managed to treat the seafood without overcuring it, resulting in an oh-so-amazing, melt-in-your-mouth tuna extravaganza. Iconic, if you ask me.

In the Wagyu Suadero (P390), beef cheeks are cooked until its disintegrating, and then seared on a plancha, resulting in a meaty, unctous bite inside their corn tortilla. Add spoonfuls of their salsas and you’ve got a flavor bomb in your mouth. But even if you put the nice cuts of fish and beef cheeks aside, their seasonal Guacamole (P280) is already such a treat (and yes, they have their usual selection of tacos, too). Wash 'em all down with a cocktail, mocktail, horchata or agua fresca (try the herb-muddled, raspberry- and green cardamom-tinged La China Chesco, P210), and you may start hearing mariachi music in your head.

It is apparent here that all the details apart from the food were also given equal importance but still with balance in mind—it is not all branding and being in your face with logos and all. It is embracing its sense of place, telling their more casual Mexican tinted story from the opposite end of the Japanese craftsmanship of their other baby Iai. Chef Bruce isn’t taking this for granted—he knows he will have to pull rabbits out of his creative hat here while doing his sushi craft, which is music to our ears. Really good eats are to be had here, and BGC has another jewel in its crown.

Photos by Jilson Tiu