Bondi and Bourke arrived on the Makati restaurant scene last summer, and it already seems to have collected quite a lot of fans. The One and Only discovered it at its ‘NOT-A-Soft-Opening’ back in June, and I finally got to check it out this month. Twice.
An Australian Gastro Pub in Legazpi is certainly novel. Well, the menu says gastro pub, but the decor actually suggests fine dining with its cream leather chairs, edgy bar and open plan kitchen. The menu, however, is full of dishes o-so-familiar to the pub-dwelling Aussie. Here you can happily indulge in fish and chips, burgers, schnitzels and pies – even Oysters Kilpatrick, an old favourite that I haven’t tasted since the 90s. (For the uninitiated, this is an Aussie classic: oysters in their shells topped with diced bacon and Worcestershire Sauce and lightly grilled till the bacon is crispy. Particularly tasty for those not mad about oysters au naturel.) Chicken parmigiana also gets a look in – with a personal note to local bloggers: Americans may familiarly call it a chicken ‘parm’ but in Aussie-speak, it’s a ‘parmy.’ (Colloquial Australian adds ‘y’ or ‘ie’ to everything.)
My first visit involved a cosy dinner for three, with said oysters, salads and a cake with a candle to celebrate a 
birthday. Don’t start imagining the usual Filipino birthday cake, with multiple layers and inches of icing, though. This was an iconic Aussie offering in the form of a light, fresh lamington. Never heard of it? Lamingtons are cubes of sponge cake dipped in chocolate and then rolled in grated coconut. This one even had a thin layer of jam and cream in the middle. (I highly recommend trying them here, as making them at home can be a thoroughly messy business.) As a special treat, it was large enough to share a spoonful each with the birthday girl, after we had been joined by most of the staff for a round of singing.
Last week I went back for lunch, eager to try the home-made pies. For the non-Aussies amongst you, meat pies are as ubiquitous to Australian street food as pizza is to Italy, or siopao is to the Philippines.
So here I sit, at a table by the window, beside a living wall of green pot plants, waiting for my friends to arrive. I watch a large group of businessmen pour through the door into The Roast Room, a large, private dining room. I admire the elegantly Spartan décor, and spend some time describing what I mean by a lime and soda to a baffled waitress. (It’s a standard Aussie pub drink, often served in pint glasses when alcohol is not required. The original South Australian variety needs Bickfords lime cordial, but fresh lime juice will do just as well – minus the sugar syrup please.)
Then my friends arrive and we chat for a while before turning to the menu.
The service here is decidedly slow, but the staff is friendly and engaged. And, as promised by my One & Only, my pie is terrific. I have found it hard to find decent pastry in Manila – any tips welcome – but this is puff pastry at its best: light and a little crisp around the edges. And the filling – classic steak pie – is sumptuous and rich, if a little runny. And hot! (Just refer to the now blistered roof of my mouth, and take your time. Don’t rush in, as I am always inclined to do.) Surprisingly, no tomato sauce was forthcoming, but luckily my friend – who had got an espresso cup filled with homemade tomato sauce for her fish and chips (go figure), was happy to send it my way. She was also able to take supper home to her husband, as the serve of fish and chips was more than generous for one.
So I am going back soon to try the parmy, the chicken pie, and the sticky date pudding, to see if it is as good as Mum’s. I would definitely recommend Bondi and Bourke as the ideal dining spot for the homesick Aussie, but it also seems to be very popular with the locals, which is great news. And just remember to ask for sauce with your pie – coz in Australia pie’n’sauce go together like fish’n’chips – or love’n’marriage!