BISTRO AURORA at The Podium has found its groove, four months since it ventured to its new Ortigas home.
Serving elevated Asian comfort food, the restaurant has been hard at work to maintain the reputation it gained over the past two years at the original Aurora branch at the Pacific Star Building in Makati. Most of all, it remains a tribute to a mother’s love.
“It is named after the mother of the founder, Atty. Nilo Divina, and so our goal is to evoke that warmth of a home,” Ginger Ann Fabella, president of Aurora, told BusinessWorld over lunch on Sept. 17.
“The original branch was deeply personal, and there were at first no plans of opening another, but he decided to share this experience with more people,” Ms. Fabella explained.
There are 36 dishes on Bistro Aurora’s menu. Just from the starters, one can tell the level of detail and craftsmanship that chef Mark Sanchez has poured into the food.
There’s the tuna ceviche topped by kimchi aioli and quinoa furikake, served with crunchy rice crisps, to kick things off. Another scene-stealer is the Wagyu beef dumpling, spiced up by some Szechuan oil and Thai yellow curry sauce. A bestseller is the smoked salmon donburi, a cozy yet elevated rice bowl.
For the main dishes, one must try the pulpo with shisho gremolata, cooked to a soft texture, and the hofan with clams and mussels that provide a bit of heat to the table. The star of the meal, however, would be the restaurant’s juicy Australian Tomahawk steak, seared perfectly on a large platter.
“The concept here is the same as the original — Pan Asian comfort food,” said Ms. Fabella.
Restaurant Aurora in Makati opened in 2023, serving an upscale office crowd. “But in Podium, we found a wide variety [of customers]. Initially, we thought it would be a younger crowd but’s a mix of older people, professionals who work nearby, sometimes families.
“It’s really mixed. We cater to a wide demographic,” she added.
Aside from the bestselling dishes, Bistro Aurora has an all-day breakfast menu as well as a drinks menu for intimate meetings.
Mr. Divina’s food and beverage enterprise is also delving into other concepts. If Aurora is a tribute to his mother, the all-Filipino mid-market restaurant Norlando (located at Eton Tower, Dela Rosa St., Makati) is a tribute to his father.
Finally, the mass market has Mr. Bogchi, in the food court of Enterprise Makati, launched just last year. “It’s a kiosk that sells cheaper meals, catering to employees and staff of the offices there,” explained Ms. Fabella.
“In short, there are a lot of expansion plans for Aurora and the other dining concepts envisioned by Mr. Divina.”
Aurora in particular is being courted by certain locations for their third branch — but no decisions have been made just yet.
“We will have to wait and see,” Ms. Fabella said.
Bistro Aurora is located on the 6th floor, Podium Social, The Podium Mall, Ortigas Center. Reservations can be made by messaging Bistro Aurora on Facebook and Instagram. — Brontë H. Lacsamana
