Always made from scratch and with playful creativity, Filipino dishes at Neil's Kitchen are different, delicious, and decadent — including a Christmas favorite that they make extra special with buco jelly and toasted coconut.
Found all the way in Westgate, Alabang, is probably the sexiest thing ever to happen to puto bumbong. Neil's Kitchen serves their pieces of velvety-smooth purple sticky rice swimming in butter. And what's that on top of the puto bumbong, you ask? It's buco jelly–and on top of the jelly, it's a disc of toasted coconut.
Puto bumbong happens to be the favorite dessert of owner Neil Ramos, so it makes sense that his all-time favorite kakanin is part of the menu, and given his own "Neil's Kitchen" twist. In the restaurant, he reinvents the Christmas delicacy with fresh buco, cooked first to make it last longer (as coconut spoils pretty quickly), then he gelatinizes it with coco cream.
What you get when you order this is a buttery, sticky rice dish with three kinds of buco on top: buco jelly that is torched before being served, and a disc with two kinds of coconut–toasted coconut and freshly grated coconut–sweetened with muscovado sugar. Suggested serving: a big spoonful, making sure you have the appropriate ratio of butter-puto bumbong-jelly-coconut in one go. Best of all, no need to wait for the holiday season to enjoy this one — it's a best-seller and regular dessert at Neil's Kitchen worth driving down south for.
The Dish: Puto Bumbong with Buco Jelly and Toasted Coconut (P250)
Where to Find it: Neil's Kitchen, located at Westgate Filinvest, Alabang, Muntinlupa. The restaurant is open daily from 11am to 9pm. Like their Facebook page (/neilskitchen.bonellis) and follow on Instagram (@neilskitchen).
