Our very own Buenisimo in Eastwood Mall Veranda

My greatest fear has come to life. We’ve opened our own restaurant…along with it is the long line of expenses, which are higher than your typical restaurant…because we’ve been picking out the best plates, best glasses, best pans, best ingredients, best candles, best flatware…you name it…we’ve been trying to get our hands on it. But so far, despite feeling a circus act trying to juggle so many jobs at a time, I still have the happy feeling that we’ve built something (now, running) from the ground up.

It’s week 3 of our restaurant, Buenisimo in the Eastwood mall Veranda…and the best and worst things have been happening..for one, I took orders and waited on tables on a Saturday night while I was in 3-inch heels and an aqua dress. It was fun though, in a painful but interestingly odd way. How many times in my life have i waited on tables? Maybe 5…maybe 6, but this is the 1st time I tried to walk around gracefully when my heels seemed to develop yarn thick sores at the end. But it was good, business was good, although our kitchen hasn’t gotten up to the speed that we want. Our kitchen is small and everything is made fresh = timing nightmare on the part of the service staff. Hopefully we will come to terms with everything by our grand opening.

Celebrities…yes. I’ve already counted 4, 2 are because they are part of our CACS family, namely China Cojuangco and Janice de Belen. 1 because she picked our restaurant for her pre-concert dinner, Regine Velasquez (yes, Asia’s songbird who is very beautiful…i hope i didn’t scare her because I asked her if I could take her picture), and Ian Veneracion, who used to be a teen-matinee idol, turned villain…he was pretty cool considering I waited on their table on a Saturday night (yes, I was in those horrific 3-inch heels). Aside from them, I probably missed the others since I still do have a day job in CACS.

Yes, what about our food. I don’t want to be biased but a lot of our guests are happy about our price-range vs. selections. We still keep our prices fair considering that our food isn’t exactly fine, haughty dining, but the interiors and service have a lot to boast so I think people have been thinking we’re some sort of a wallet-killer but we’re not. Yes, everything is made from scratch, everything is made by us and our commissary in Cafe Ysabel. The food, overall you will have to try. We have our menu online at www.ilovebuenisimo.com

98% of our customers smile and tell me how they like the food. 🙂

So what does this have to do with me being a food stylist?

I honestly haven’t found the time to style each and every dish for our website which makes me feel guilty. I hope to find some time for that soon. My brother leaves me to the task of the nit-picky details I see in the restaurant like service, cleanliness, graphics & design, website, and little details like regal-looking dog bowls (yes, we are pet-friendly) and other customer pampering ideas, especially relaying & making comments about the food.

Although, I really am happy to see how we’ve built the restaurant from the ground up. It’s something my brother and I have been planning for years. So far, after delays with our fixtures, doors, decor…things have been slowly unfolding beautifully before our eyes. I can’t wait till we finish everything!

If ever you’ll be in the neighborhood, come visit us to try it out for yourself. 🙂