Review: Kusyna

Konnichasssuu!

Well, it has been a while since I actually blogged. Been very busy lately, especially now that its just a few weeks before Christmas. Hopefully, I will be able to post three more before this month ends because I will put the site in maintenance mode for some well-earned updating (yup! Overdue for an overhaul!)

Now! This entry is a bit special because I rarely do reviews of restaurants. But I shall make an exception for this one!

If you find yourself travelling the old Cagayan Valley Road off to Baguio, Pangasinan or Nueva Ecija, you will find yourself passing by a quaint Bulacan town, San Ildefonso. The town is where yours truly grew up and has been my safe haven from the rustle and bustle the city provides whenever I come visit.

Although a majority of the town is rural in nature, there are certain areas in the town (and its small barangays) where you can still have a taste of what’s offered in the city and one of them is the small restaurant, Kusyna.

Kusyna by Chef Wilbert (from the word Kusina (or Kitchen in English) + Yna (the nickname of the owner)) is owned by my elementary school classmate Katrina Sunpayco-Yu and her hubby, Chef Wilbert Yu, and offers a rich variety and definitely huge serving of Filipino, American and Italian dishes to their customers. The restaurant used to be the old Sunpayco home, where Katrina grew up until a new and much larger house was built behind the old home. I actually remember visiting the old home back in the olden days (yeah olden days LOL)

The restaurant is fairly new, having its soft opening on December 8, 2018 but I was able to pass by it with my mum yesterday and for a meeting with an elementary friend and classmate (Whom you will see in the photos below) today. So, check out the pics below for more details about Kusyna.

Here’s the restaurant front of Kusyna. It’s located at the same place as that of the old Sunpayco Residence and is actually the residence itself. The Yus just renovated the place to make it more modern and accommodate the tables, chairs and other furnishings needed to turn it to the restaurant that it is today.

Interior of Kusyna. When my mum and I visited yesterday, we got the place to ourselves since the weather outside was not really good for business (light drizzle to borderline it’s going to rain cats and dogs). Everything was well-lit and homey. I did recognize the original layout of the house, like the mini step heading to the second floor of the house (Which was converted to more sitting room, a mini office, rest rooms and the bar (which I didn’t get a good picture of)).

Photo of the menu, which, at first glance, looks pretty expensive but actually, it isn’t. Most of the dishes you see there are actually priced like that because it is good for sharing already. According to Yna, she and her hubby designed the menu based on all the dishes they tried and loved during their various food trips in the past. The others were her hubby’s picks. Her hubby, a certified chef, will be the one cooking these dishes for you (thus the “by Chef Wilbert” part of the restaurant’s name)

Oh, and a quick promotional: The menus, tarpaulins and the placemats were printed by our elementary classmate and Yna’s friend Jastine Vizconde-Caro’s business, Just Print (you can check them at http://instagram.com/justprint129)

Here’s an example as to why I said the prices in the menu were good for sharing. This was my first order in Kusyna and it’s their Chicken Pesto Pasta. For 210 pesos, it is already good for 2 to 3 people. I was not expecting this much for that price coz in Manila, 200 pesos is just good for 1.

For the taste, usually I find pesto pastas tricky to love because in the past pestos I tried out, they were very spicy and too overpowering. In this? The pesto they used isn’t overpowering and everything is all balanced to the palate. It’s definitely good.

I was only able to finish half of the dish because when we went, I haven’t had lunch yet. The remaining half, I took home… and turned it to dinner.

My mum ordered Beef Salpicao and she was able to finish her one cup of rice because it was good. She did take the rest of the salpicao home because again, it was good for two.

Their burgers are also good for sharing (unless you are used to the jumbo burgers served in Brothers Burger, Zark’s and so on). This one, their Burger Deluxe, has two very juicy patties, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and melted cheese that is sinfully delightful. You also get fries, which my younger brother swears by now.

Who will not die for this burger?!?!

Here’s an example of their starter, Chicken Pizza. Found the whole pizza unique because when I think of pizza, its usually the one with dough crust. This one, the chicken is the crust. Also good for sharing.

Snapshot of me with my elementary classmates Lorena (whom I was meeting to hand some stuff for the incoming grand reunion for elementary and my usual companion whenever our elementary school has a big event) and Yna (yes, she’s the one in white and she’s the pretty owner of Kusyna).

If you guys are in the neighborhood, drop by! Kusyna is open from 10 am to 10 pm. If you are from the area, you can hold your parties there and they also do catering.

I will definitely return back for more of their dishes soon!