Imagine Dracula at Mad for Garlic's Korean-Italian fusion adventure

Most of the time I avoid garlic, which triggers my headaches. Despite this, attending a media day at a restaurant called Mad for Garlic sounded like a good idea. Compared to the usual workday lunches, this was an adventure.

 

Although the restaurant is from Korea, it's an Italian Wine Bistro, with pizza, pasta, salad, risotto, steaks, and rice dishes, which many Pinoys look for. The unifying theme, as the name suggests, is garlic. Even the dessert has garlic.

 

"Koreans love a lot of garlic, and they want it a little spicy," said Manuel Zubiri, co-chairman of Global Concept Restaurants, Inc., which opened Mad for Garlic's first Philippine branch at W Building, Bonifacio High Street last March 22.

 

A riot of flavors

 

While the sauces and dressings are imported from Singapore and Korea, the garlic they use is from the Philippines. "We sent the garlic to Korea and they approved it. It's very similar. The only problem is it's smaller. The taste, they say, is stronger, and more or less sweeter," Zubiri said during the media day on April 16. 

 

He added that since Filipinos also like sweets, they thought the restaurant would be a good experience for local diners.

 

At Mad for Garlic, the dishes are a riot of flavors and textures. Soft mushrooms and fresh, crisp lettuce; crunchy garlic and juicy tomatoes; rich, pasta in creamy sauces with a whisper of spice. And of course, garlic in everything.

 

I imagined Count Dracula on a date with a beautiful beloved who secretly wanted to kill him.

"You vant to bring me verrr!?" the Count would protest in his Transylvanian accent, but his beloved would convince him, arguing that garlic doesn't actually repel vampires. 

 

They would arrive at the restaurant, intimidating because of the address at the upscale Bonifacio Global City.

 

"Can we afford this?" the Count would ask, and his date would shake her pretty head. "Don't be silly! You have a castle full of treasure. Surely you can afford a pricey meal," she would say, leading him into the two-story restaurant.

 

Walking up the stairs, a wreath of garlic hangs on a garlic-shaped lamp, and the smell of roasted garlic floats in the air. Dracula shudders, and his date reminds him that garlic won't hurt him. "It's just a myth. It's all in your head," she chides him.

 

Tomatoes so red, pizza so rich

 

At the table, a feast awaits. The appetizer looks lovely — a plate of soft garlic bread served with garlic cooked in olive oil and anchovies. The garlic doesn't even look like garlic — more like bits of melt-in-your-mouth cheese swimming in a sauce with tomatoes that were a lovely shade of red, all the better to entice the bloodthirsty Count.

 

Still, Count Dracula would hesitate before taking a bite. Centuries of avoiding garlic isn't that easy to overcome, no matter how beautiful and persuasive his hypothetical date might be.

 

"Go on, try it," she says, quickly hiding the menu which reveals the dish is named Dracula Killer (P195).

 

Dracula takes a bite. His eyes grow large. "This is... not bad," he murmers, chewing slowly.

Next they try the Zuppa di Pesce, a crimson soup that is full of seafood. It is a bit spicy, so Dracula decides to drink from his glass of Yuja_Ade (P110). The traditional Korean herb tea of honey-preserved Yuja fruit is too sweet for the Count, so he reaches for some Wine_Ade (P170), a deep, dark red concoction of wine and soda.

 

Dracula ignores the Tutto Mushroom Salad (P665), but his date enjoys the three kinds of mushroom drizzled with a Teriyaki Sauce. "The sweetness of the sauce balances the spiciness of the arugula," she says. "Arugu-vat?" Dracula frowns, and reaches for a slice of Gorgonzola Pizza (P475).

 

The Count finds the pizza delicious, despite the sticky sweetness from the honey that complements the sharp Gorgonzola cheese. Dracula is not a fan of pizza that tastes like desert. However, his beloved is, and she is already on her second slice of Garlic Snowing Pizza (P545).

Light, crisp flakes of garlic cover the pizza like a blanket of snow, and underneath, the flavors from juicy pineapple slices and plump shrimp blend with the rich, creamy cheese.

 

"You should try this," she says, batting her thick eyelashes at the Count.

 

Garlic cookie, is good enough for dessert

 

He remembers his great-grandmother, and how she always told him to "alvays, alvays stay avay from garlic!" He looks at his beloved and her irresistible bright red lips, so appetizing as she chews the garlic-covered dish. He takes a bite.

 

Then another. And another. Soon he has consumed an entire slice. As he reaches for a second, he begins to feel strange. But he takes a large gulp of Wine_Ade, and the strange feeling passes.  

When a large bowl of Crab and Lobster Pasta (P475) arrives, the Count no longer hesitates.

He piles the noodles high on his plate, and asks for more of the garlic cream sauce. His beloved smiles and asks the waiter to bring them the dessert.  

Dessert is Garlic Sprinkle Gelato (P175), a sinful bowl of garlic ice cream, sprinkled generously with garlic and topped with a garlic cookie. This is the final part of the murderous plot. The ice cream has more garlic than all the other dishes combined.

 

The murder plot isn't complicated. In fact, some may object that it is too simple. But this Count Dracula, for all his years of existence, lacks intelligence. He is also in love, which is to say, he is foolish.

 

He eats the dessert and licks his spoon clean. He begins to feel strange again. There is a heat that spreads from his stomach to where his heart should be beating, were he human.

 

He feels a tingling sensation in his fingers and toes. His head throbs with pain. Despite this, he is able to think clearly.

 

"I see vat you did verrrr," he slurs. He knows it is too late, and as he dies, he thinks it was not such a bad way to perish, this death by a fine meal of garlic-filled dishes. – KDM, GMA News  Mad for Garlic is at W Global Center in Bonifacio Global City. For more information, visit their Facebook page.