Mother's day at Cibo Greenbelt 5

Every year, we celebrate one special day to show how much our mother means to us.  It is a day in which

she could be at ease and just enjoy.  This year, we decided to bring her to CIBO located at Greenbelt 5.

You could already see from afar how great it looks from the outside.  As soon as we entered, the staff was very friendly and even greeted my mom "Happy Mothers Day".  Once we were seated, we were given their large laminated menu.

Spinaci Zola

Insalata Di Verdura alla griglia

For starters, we ordered Spinaci Zola (spinach,gorgonzola) (235 php) and Insalata Di Verdura alla griglia (grilled eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, red pepper, yellow peppers, red pesto) (208 php).  The Spinaci Zola came with slices of french bread served in a hot steel tray.  It was the best spinach dip we have ever tasted.  The spinach bits were well complemented and not overpowered by the gorgonzola cheese and olive oil.  We would probably come back for it.  The Insalata Di Verdura alla griglia was served with large chunks of grilled eggplant with the sliced zucchini, sliced button mushrooms and red and yellow peppers that have a hint of pesto.  The combination was just brilliant.

Napolitana and Caviale Salmone Pizza

We ordered a pizza for sharing.  It was half Napolitana (tomato, mozzarella, olives, capers , anchovy) (330 php)  and half Caviale Salmone (Mozzarella, lumpfish caviar, smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives) (365 php).  The Napolitana had red tomato sauce with mozarella cheese spread over topped with olives, capers and bits of anchovy.  It was a mixture of sourness from the red sauce and a bit saltiness from the anchovy.  It was good but not the best.  On the other hand, the Caviale Salmone had virgin olive oil, mozarella cgeese spread over topped with lumps of lumpfish caviar and cream cheese and small slices of smoke salmon and chives.  We really liked this.  This was a unique pizza with perfect taste.  It was the sensation from the caviar and the taste of the salmon made this dish both delicious and fun to eat.
 

Verdure Tartufate

My mom ordered Verdure Tartufate (Tuscan wholewheat, asparagus, zucchini, fontina, mushroom-truffle, paste) (205 php).  It was wholewheat panini with mozarrela cheese, bits of asparagus, fontina and mushroom.  It had potato chips as a side dish.

Tagliata Di Manzano Fontina Pomodoro

My brother chose Tagliata Di Manzano Fontina Pomodoro (beef tenderloin, roast, sliced, foccacia, topped by fontina tomato) (443 php).  This was our first time to try this.  It was delicious.  The thinly sliced beef reminded me of another italian dish called Carpaccio.  But this was different.  It was roasted thinly sliced beef marinated in olive oil with a hint of wine.  On top of it were sliced tomatoes and cheese.  Aside from the unique presentation, it was very tasty, flavorful and tender.  It was also serve with foccacia bread.

Spaghettini Alla Pecatora

Rigatoni All'Alfonso

Farfalle Alla Genovese

Spaghettini Ala Primavera

We then tried the pastas, all of which were requested to be whole wheat (15 minutes waiting time) and were served with foccacia bread: Spaghettini Alla Pecatora (sauteed seafood, stewed tomato) (263 php), Rigatoni All'Alfonso (shrimps, chives, stewed tomato, cream, chili peppers) (325 php), Farfalle Alla Genovese (mushrooms, basil, pesto, cream) (263 php) and Spaghettini Ala Primavera (asparagus, zucchini, eggplant, mushroom, red & yellow peppers, cream) (240 php).  The Spaghettini Alla Pecatora had chucks of tomatoes, bits of seafood and a pinch of salt in red tomato sauce.  Although it was good, it was nothing extra-ordinary.  The Rigatoni All'Alfonso was the best pasta we ordered for the night.  Its sauce is a mixture of red tomato sauce and cream.  It was topped with bits of chives and chili peppers that add spice and mixed with shrimps that enhance its sweetness.  The Farfalle Alla Genovese were bow-tie noodles with bits of pesto, basil and mushroom mixed in cream.  Although I'm not a fan of pesto based pasta because I always find it tiring to finish towards the end, Cibo's version had a lighter pesto taste among all I've tasted so far so it wasn't "nakakaumay".   The Spaghettini Ala Primavera had bits of zucchini, eggplant, mushroom, red & yellow peppers and chunks of asparagus all mixed in cream.  It was delicious.  It was light yet fulfilling.  We liked its simplicity for taste.  (NOTE: Kurt found the whole wheat pasta a bit tougher than the ordinary one but I hardly noticed since we were used to whole wheat for bread and pasta because of its health benefits.)


Overall, the modernistic ambiance, excellent service and great-tasting food makes this place still highly recommendable.  It is quite admirable that they were able to maintain their good quality over the years and in all branches too.  The price is expensive but worth every cent!  We will definitely come back and visit again although we would prefer if they open branch nearer to us.   We also bought their Carta Di Musica (Flat Bread) (105 php) on the way out and have yet to try it out.  What about you? What are you Cibo favorites?






Update: The Carte Di Musica was a plain tasteless flat bread covered with flour.  Its fun to eat with dips.


Cibo, Greenbelt 5
2/F Greenbelt 5, Legaspi St., Legaspi Vill,
Makati City, Metro Manila
(02) 758-24-26