Nomnomnom: Healthy food with a Pinoy twist

Healthy food is often perceived as “bland" and “expensive." But try to visit Nomnomnom along Tomas Morato in Quezon City and you’d be in for a scrumptious surprise. Nom what? Just click on the Urban Dictionary – it defines nomnomnom as “the sound made when someone is eating or chewing something and really enjoying it." Located in the basement of a corner building, Nomnomnom is quite easy to miss if not for its small sign up front. But going inside the restaurant makes you feel it’s worth the trip, with its rustic ambiance that makes you feel right at home. An assembly of white picture frames on walls painted with green trees and flowers, the decorative bird houses, as well as the white wooden tables and chairs add to that homey touch. A chalkboard with the restaurant’s bestsellers hints at its diverse offerings. There are salads, appetizers, pastas, rice meals, burgers, pizza, and dessert. Meat lovers may hesitate at the no-beef and no-pork menu that mostly consists of chicken, seafood, vegetables, and vege-meat. But quirky sounding dishes like V.S.T, Burgie Manotoc, Talong, and Lasting Love may encourage you to try out the healthy fare. Start off with the Fried Ravioli (P80) made of crisp pasta pockets with a creamy spinach and mushroom filling. Paired with garlic sauce, this crunchy appetizer almost tastes like a meatless shawarma. Fried is not really healthy but, in this case, at least you're eating iron–rich spinach.

Another good healthy starter is the Summer Salad (P80) that tosses up greens, tomatoes, cream cheese and broad beans in honey mustard dressing. What makes this salad extra special are green apple slices, sunflower and hemp seeds that gives it a fruity– nutty flavor, a good dose of vitamins, and essential fatty acids. If you like eating the regular fatty-but-yummy sisig, try this wholesome alternative: Nomnomnom’s version of the Good Sisig (P80) served adobo style, The crispy fried tofu bursts into that unmistakable sisig taste sans the calories but packed with a lot of protein. Can’t live without meat and rice? Have your fill with the healthy rice meals like the Lemon Chicken with Alfredo Sauce, a good portion of chicken breast marinated in lemon, drizzled with creamy cheese and served with buttered beans and parsley rice. But perhaps, the real winner in Nomnomnom’s menu is the Malinomnom pizza log (P195) with tinapa, kesong puti, itlog na pula, and onions served on top of a thin crust. The saltiness of the smoked fish blends deliciously with the creaminess of the white cheese, while the roughness of the red egg and the crispness of the crust lead to a tasty crumbly finish. For dessert, choose from somewhat-sinful-but-delectable treats like Boom Chikka Wawa (ice cream cookie sandwiches) and Peach Drunk Love (peaches flambéed in rum sauce with butter cake and vanilla ice cream). If you’re in the mood for both fun and food, check out Nomnomnom’s site for their schedule of movie nights and mini-video game tournaments held in their al fresco area. The Nomnomnom experience proves healthy food can be tasty and affordable too. You leave the place with a light yet happy stomach, echoing to the sound of “nom…nom…nom…" -GMANews.TV Nomnomnom is located at Unit 2 Lower Ground Floor GYY Building, E. Rodriguez Ave. corner Tomas Morato, Quezon City. Open from 12 noon to 12 midnight.