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What's New At Half Saints? This Blissful Weekend Brunch

Indulge in dreamy brioche, eggs and mole, seasonal pies and more! 

Article (news)

Ching Dee

<p>The culinary tag team behind <a href="https://www.instagram.com/halfsaints/" target="_blank">Half Saints</a>, chefs Christine Roque and Jo Arciaga, recently launched their new weekend brunch menu—answering the prayers of South Triangle residents for one-of-a-kind brunch options in the neighborhood.</p><div><br/></div><p>“People were asking for breakfast and our neighborhood is also a breakfast crowd,” Chef Christine points out. “It also caters to people having meetings in the morning.”</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/b4d7edb5-2467-4d9b-b5bb-2d6ac9fe1e34_brunch.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Weekend brunch at Half Saints <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Half Saints   </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>Available from <strong>Friday to Sunday starting 9:00 a.m.</strong>, their brunch menu is a curated list of personal favorites and brunch classics with a Half Saints touch.</p><div><br/></div><p>“The menu is a more approachable take in opening a café,” shares Chef Christine. “So the lunch and dinner menu has a different voice and expression in terms of food. It has an experimental innovative voice. Here (brunch menu), it’s a little more casual. No-frills comfort food.”</p><div><br/></div><p>She explains, “We had a hard time because we&#x27;re so used to expressing our voice in our lunch and dinner. This is the path we chose to take and it felt like we&#x27;re opening a new café in our own restaurant. So this is where we injected more of our Half Saints spirit... Everything is still well balanced and grounded.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/food/features/where-to-eat-this-april-2024/37814" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Metro&#x27;s Guide To Where To Eat This April </a></div><p>Aside from giving the people what they want and having new outlets for culinary creativity, the duo made sure to include sustainability in their priorities while working on the new brunch menu.</p><div><br/></div><p>“It’s not just about caring for the people or like caring for the market or putting out innovative gastronomy. All of our advocacy is also sustainability and food security. And that&#x27;s why everything here is a very, very conscious and deliberate choice because it&#x27;s part of the entire security of the food system. Choosing suppliers that are choosing small suppliers from pili to ube to our coconut, in which every single part of the coconut is used in a lot of our desserts. So this was even before sustainability was a thing that was also a conscious decision that we had,” explains Chef Christine.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/ac4c79f4-81ff-4d13-a6bd-8a17a91f6f80_00 brunch spread.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Are you ready to tuck into brunch? <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Ching Dee  </em></span></span></span></span></div><div><strong>Sinfully good brunch must-tries</strong></div><p>The brunch menu is divided into two parts: <strong>Breads &amp; Pastries</strong> and the <strong>Specials</strong>. You’ll notice almost every component is made in-house, which is part of the brand’s commitment.</p><div><br/></div><p>“That&#x27;s the main goal: everything made from scratch, make everything in-house,” Chef Christine said.</p><div><br/></div><p>The <strong>Bread &amp; Butter</strong> is an absolute must-try. It’s the simple things that are usually the trickiest to pull off, but Half Saints beautifully nailed the bread (we had a slice of the pillowy brioche, but you can choose sourdough or whole wheat croissant) served with salted butter on the side. This is simplicity at its best and we could imagine it going so well with coffee or tea. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/6abd2258-52a9-4ec9-9ff3-7c35d51083ec_01 bread &amp; butter 2.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Bread &amp; Butter<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Ching Dee  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>While Chef Christine is a self-confessed bread lover, Chef Jo shared that it took them several years before they became confident enough to share their breads with the public. Once they were personally satisfied with their breads, they knew it was the perfect time to finalize their brunch menu.</p><div><br/></div><p>For brunch, Half Saints also offers <strong>Earl Grey Cream Croissant</strong> (dried butterfly pea flower-infused croissant filled with rich and fragrant Earl Grey tea pastry cream), <strong>Ube Overload Babka </strong>(made with real ube and served with white chocolate ube jam sauce), and a <strong>Bread Sampler </strong>(assorted slices of sweet and savory breads) so you can get a taste of their offers.</p><div><br/></div><p>They only have seven items under the Specials part of the menu and every single dish is worth the trip to Quezon City and this is the hill I will die on. </p><div><br/></div><p>Let’s start with the most unique of all their brunch offers, one that Chef Christine claims to have the most Half Saints touch out of all the dishes: the <strong>Eggs &amp; Mole</strong>. We rarely see mole sauce in restaurants, let alone on a brunch menu. But this take has red mole—robust without being too hot or overwhelming—comes with two poached eggs (whose creamy yolk balances the subtle spice from the mole) topped with crumbled goat cheese and sour cream for balance, mint for freshness, and sourdough toast on the side to make sure you can wipe your plate clean after your meal. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/1950cdb1-8fc4-47c0-8a99-44ac90c75593_02 eggs &amp; mole 2.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Eggs &amp; Mole<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Ching Dee  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>Their take on this classic comfort food is three times better than the original because it has three times the cheese. The <strong>Grilled Three Cheese Sandwich</strong> has Gruyère, aged cheddar, and mozzarella in between slices of house-made sourdough bread. Once the bread is wonderfully crisp and brown and the cheese oh-so-runny, they top it with a sunny side up egg (with a jammy yolk, of course) and served with cherry tomatoes and arugula on the side. Everything is drizzled with a balsamic glaze to tie it all together. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/8da0ed61-177b-48fe-bb15-58e457270d15_03 grilled three cheese sandwich 2.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Grilled Three Cheese Sandwich<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Ching Dee  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>The <strong>Pastrami Sandwich</strong> is a taste of New York in Sgt. Esguerra. Aside from the house-cured New York-style Pastrami and house-made sourdough bread, the sandwich has horseradish sauce, cheese, fresh lettuce, and tomato slices. The result is a straightforward, honest-to-goodness sandwich that just hits the right spot when you’re looking for something savory and satisfying in the morning. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/fe098db1-02f4-4457-b415-4c36f06191d9_04 pastrami sandwich.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Pastrami Sandwich<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Ching Dee  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>Did you know that they also cure their own gravlax? Their Gravlax &amp; Schmear uses house-made toasted bread topped with cream cheese, their house-cured salmon in salt and dill, mirin-pickled red onion, dill, lemon, olive oil, and black pepper. The taste is clean and subtle, nothing too crazy, but that’s the beauty of restraint and letting good quality ingredients speak for itself. If you’re up to something a little bit more indulgent, you can also add poached eggs to your Gravlax &amp; Schmear.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/bc9a1b3f-7c5d-41f3-af8c-179042541c91_05 gravlax &amp; schmear 1.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Gravlax &amp; Schmear<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Ching Dee  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>The <strong>Pie of the Week</strong> is something worth checking out, well, every week. During our visit, it was a buttery galette with spinach, cream cheese, and goat cheese. It was creamy and savory, nicely balanced flavors with a subtle earthiness from the greens. Can’t wait to find out what other kinds of pies await excited brunch lovers.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/f137fd95-b18d-4a78-ab5f-6558ae66dbbe_06 pie of the week 3.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Pie of the Week<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Ching Dee  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>If you’re looking for something healthy yet satisfying, a bowl of their <strong>Greek Yogurt &amp; Seasonal Fruits </strong>will get you going in the morning. The locally made yogurt is drizzled with honey, crushed walnuts, and some mint. The yogurt tasted so fresh and light while its tartness complimented the fruits’ natural sweetness. The freshly grated Asin Tibuok makes everything slightly sweeter (as salt does to tangy stuff), while giving it a unique kind of saltiness. You just have to try it to fully understand how something so simple could be so beautiful.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/d38f22b4-9dd4-4f1e-9961-a29745fd9d48_08 greek yogurt &amp; seasonal fruits 1.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Greek Yogurt &amp; Seasonal Fruits<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Ching Dee  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>Lastly, if you’re looking for dessert for breakfast (we all have one of those days), their <strong>Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding </strong>would be perfect for you. The pudding is warm, creamy, and not too dense, while the house-made vanilla semifreddo offers a wonderful contrast of temperature in your mouth and the crisp sesame tuile provides an interesting texture. </p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/f67e1385-ba28-4388-a3fa-462da5c2feb8_07 cinnamon apple bread pudding 2.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Cinnamon Apple Bread Pudding<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Ching Dee  </em></span></span></span></span></div><p>They also have affordable add-ons to amp up your brunch, like <strong>Whipped Cream Cheese, Soy Sauce and Chili-cured Egg, Poached Egg</strong>, a serving of<strong> Seasonal Fruits,</strong> and some <strong>House-made Jam</strong>.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Private Dining with a Half Saints-style Tasting Menu</strong></div><p>The culinary tag team behind Half Saints is proud to unveil their latest venture: a multi-functional haven for food enthusiasts and creatives alike.</p><div><br/></div><p>This new project is set to offer a unique blend of private dining, tasting menus, and versatile event hosting. With a seating capacity ranging from 10 to 20 guests, the venue provides an intimate setting for private functions.</p><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/food/restaurants/new-restaurant-inato-by-toyo-eatery-s-jp-cruz/37545" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Meet Toyo Eatery&#x27;s Amazing Next-Door Sibling, Inatô </a></div><p>What sets this space apart is its versatility. Whether you&#x27;re craving an exclusive dining experience curated by the masterful hands of Chefs Jo and Christine or seeking a picturesque backdrop for your next content creation endeavor or even hosting a private event like a product launch or art exhibit, this venue has you covered. </p><div><br/></div><p>From innovative tasting menus to personalized culinary experiences, every visit at Half Saints’ new space promises to be a feast for the senses. And since it doubles as a studio space, it offers content creators a blank canvas to bring their visions to life. With engineered lighting ensuring every angle is captured in the best possible light, the content possibilities are endless.</p><div><br/></div><div><em><a href="[https://www.instagram.com/halfsaints/" target="_blank">Half Saints </a>is located at G/F The Ignacia Place, Sgt. Esguerra corner Mother Ignacia, Quezon City. For online orders, visit<a href="https://halfsaints.com/" target="_blank"> www.halfsaints.com</a>. For updates, follow Half Saints on Facebook and Instagram (<a href="[https://www.instagram.com/halfsaints/" target="_blank">@HalfSaints</a>).</em></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/food/features/metro-recommends-best-burgers-in-manila-2024/37848" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">5 Juicy, Delicious Burgers That Will Rock Your World </a></div><div><em>Photography by<a href="https://www.instagram.com/chingsilog/" target="_blank"> Ching Dee</a>. Lead photos: Ching Dee, Half Saints </em></div>