Manila: Fine dine at Pepato
Tomato Pasta at Pepato
One of my favorite photography subject is food. That’s why I really enjoy it whenever I get to cover establishments like restaurants. Aside from having to take photos of their dishes, we get taste or even eat them after most of the time. The same goes here when we covered one of Greenbelt 2’s row of restaurants named Pepato.
Mushroom Pasta
As delectable Food Photography can be, it’s quite a tricky subject as well. As much as I like to shoot on natural light most of the time or have a controlled lighting of strobes (which I don’t have), there are times when you really have to compromise when you are on the field. In this case I have to settle for the indoor dim and warm lighting inside the restaurant. As much as I love the interiors here, the light is tricky. So many directional shadows cast on the food and the warm light changing the colors on the food on the picture. So thank god for my tripod, 35mm Zuiko prime lens and of course RAW files as well so I can change the temperature of the photo afterwards.
Grilled cheese
Aside from that you only have a limited time to take shots of the food on this occasion. Not only because the main chef have a gig (catering gig) out somewhere and is somewhat in a hurry. So food are served one after another. But I must admire the chef here (forgot her name) is really kind and a very good cook as well. She works a lot of magic on her dishes.
Expensive fish dish
Now on to the food. I must apologize if I can’t remember the names. They are mostly Italian or French sounding names that my tongue already had a hard time pronouncing them so let alone remember as well. So let’s go for the basic names here as I only describe them and let my accompanying writer do the wordy-work there. What I noticed on the food here are the very basic ingredients they use. But what is important is the quality of these ingredients that some are imported from Italy and even Egypt costing hundreds of dollars per pound. So the place isn’t really cheap I may say.
Salad
The first picture which has baby tomatoes on pasta is very good.The tomatoes are very delicious and sweet, which really complements the neutral tasting pasta well. The second photo of the mushroom pasta is a winner for me. One of the best pasta I’ve tasted. The cream sauce is just perfect and the mushrooms are well cooked and tasty without being rubbery in texture. We learned also that these mushrooms were imported from Egypt. Wow! Do they have better tasting mushrooms there than here? I wonder. They also served these yellow gooey thing with the top burnt. Turns out it was grilled cheese. That’s new. When I got to taste it, it was ok. But when you mixed it with the leafy veggies along with it, it’s better! They actually taste great together.
Dessert
The next photo with the fish dish is new on their menu. We never got to taste this one. But I wanted to show it here as there’s another expensive ingredient here. A handful of those brown strips are also worth hundreds of dollars per pounds. I forgot what it’s called though. As for the salad, topped with dressings and olive oil, I thought that the bottom container was taco. Turns out it was cheese. Salad taste good as well. And to cap it all is a well presented dessert. There’s these delicate biscuits with some icing which is good because it’s not that sweet. In fact, the fruits were a lot sweeter.
Large cheese cauldron
Another worthy thing to take note in this resto is their giant cheese cauldron. Actually, I didn’t know this whole cauldron is made of cheese. If any rat would stumble upon it, it would be their heaven. hahaha. Anyways, what they do here is they pour in some cooking alcohol and flame up the center of the cauldron to soften the cheese surface then they put the pasta in there to mix up with the chese. After which they put in some spices for the pasta. Impressive, but too bad I wasn’t able to taste it.
Ground floor bar
The interiors here is lavishly impressive actually, with a triangular motif patterns on the wall added by impressive triangular chandeliers. Lighting is very warm and the temperature is just about right. Going up on a spiral staircase to the 2nd level are more dining areas, usually reserved on occasions. What impressed me are the cubic styles on the walls and ceilings highlighted by back lights. And to keep it interesting are assortment of collectible items displayed on the walls, from large chess pieces, baseball bats, mini figurines and more which we were told the restaurant owner Margarita Flores, fancies. What I don’t like about this upper floor is the low cieling. I’m sure a lot of taller people would feel claustrophobic here.
Upper level dining area interiors
Pepato in Greenbelt 2 is quite a restaurant experience. The food, the ones we tasted are really good, but you have to pay quite a hefty price for it. Still if you are looking for elegant tasting food, Pepato really can deliver
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Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 6:08 pm 
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July 23rd, 2007 at 11:27 pm
I love photographing food too but sometimes I get intimidated with people esp. inside the restaurant.
The last time we were at Mandarin Chinese Buffet. I wanted so bad to take photo of the food there but I don’t my camera. Both of my cameras are in the repair shop.
Anyways I love all th photos here but you are right the light is low. You can use action if you are into it.
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:28 pm
I mean I don’t have my camera with me.
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:47 pm
AAAAHHH!! Scrumptuos! I wish I could taste them… (O.O)
July 23rd, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Ayayay! Food! The fish dish must taste good.. yum.! I love fish!
Beautiful, elegant place!
July 24th, 2007 at 12:24 am
when i go out and eat, italian restaurant is the least likely place i would go; not because i dislike pasta. i simply want something new and different. i do like the first photo, i cannot recognize the green, but with that simple dish some fresh basil is the best. yap that place does look swanky, hold on to your wallet.
yeah i agree that food photography takes a lot of art and experience to get things right. nice job.
July 24th, 2007 at 4:10 am
Yummy, cool shots and to tell you honestly I’m so hungry now… Teka kuha na ko ng foods, hehe.
July 24th, 2007 at 9:17 am
great shots… nagutom ako… hehe
July 24th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Hundreds of dollars per pound? Sheesh! Talk about high society.
I wonder what’s so great about Egyptian mushrooms. hehehe. Nice gig you got there. 
July 24th, 2007 at 11:01 am
now, i AM starving. it is all your fault
seriously, great shots.
July 24th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Wait, those green veggies at the bottom of the fish dish - those are native vegetables. Ang daming ganyan sa palengke natin dito. We call it ‘pal-lang’ in Pangasinan. One of my favorites.
Nice food pics, Ferdz!
July 24th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I love the photos; ang galing!
And yes, I do agree with you that food as a subject is interesting to photograph … Hehe.
By the way, how much does it roughly cost per pax over there in Pepato?
July 24th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
yeah, love pepato, too. on second thought, almost anything that margarita fores serves
July 24th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
oh my! they all look so mouth watering! especially the 1st and 2nd picture.
July 24th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Pepato is quite pricey for the average Filipino pero kung paminsan-minsan and there’s an occasion, ok lang. Masarap talaga ang food dyan. I love their pastas. Yung cheese pasta tikman ko next time.
Nice shots, Ferdz! Nakakagutom tignan yung foods
July 24th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
yummy food. impressive interiors. kakagutom yung tomato pasta!
July 24th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
you are the 2nd person today that i read that wrote about a cheese cauldron. im not sure cauldron ba yun.. pero basta cheese yun!
i love the pictures.. im hungry already.
anyway you still managed to take a good pic.. despite the light.. hehe
nice… 
July 24th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
I can’t believe food could look as handsome or goodlooking as the one in your pictures…truly scrumptous.
July 24th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Yo’ ferdz,, nKakagutom itong mga ShoOT mo ahH’ Galing_Lufet mo s Food Photography’ IDOL MASTER k talaga hehe’ ASTIG!
July 24th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
WOW… binili mo lahat yan.. edi lio gastos mo..hahaha
July 24th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
though i do love to try different foods, taking photos of them is quite challenging. ang hirap i capture yung pagiging masarap nila. kaya bilib ako sa mga food photographers.
July 24th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
When I first came back to Manila, my cousins and I went to several fine restaurants in the Metro Manila area, and I must admit, the foods here are just as good as those in Manhattan’s fine restaurants.
Mouth-watering pictures, Ferdz. Good job!
July 24th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
the mushroom pasta looks good and yummy. also the fish and the salad.
elegant place, too1
July 25th, 2007 at 7:19 am
“giant cheese cauldron”– cant wait to get ahold of this.
July 25th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
I am drooling over my keyboard!! Grabe, the photos look good enough to eat…I envy you for having this wonderful job–travelling and eating good food…and getting paid for it!
July 25th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
kala ko nasa foodblog ako hehe
gorgeous shots super nam nam silang lahat tingnan
July 25th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
ginutom ako doon ah
July 26th, 2007 at 2:34 am
Frikkin’ nice pics Ferdz! Would have loved to try it there kaso baka mamulubi ako afterwards. Haha. Are these pics taken as they are? Di ba kasi some photogs try to make food look really tasty by adding some stuff to it (not necessarily edible)?
July 26th, 2007 at 5:56 am
goshness nakakagutom naman ito! i want that mushroom pasta! =) ano ang price range ng pepato?
July 26th, 2007 at 11:30 am
nakakagutom na mga shots! at talagang tinawag mong “expensive fish dish”hehehe.
i am always intimidated to enter pepato, too classy for me and too expensive, o di lang talaga ako fan ng fine dining?
July 26th, 2007 at 11:43 am
The mushrooms look sooooo good!! nice photos! Im hungry
July 26th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
you really have the knack for this kind of photography Ferdz. why don’t you propose a publishing house to produce a coffee tablebook of dishes? ganda eh. i am not too keen on pasta dishes but good photography is good photography. galing. pati tamang angulo ng pagkain kuhang-kuha mo. siguro kahit hindi masarap nagmumukhang masarap dahil sa mga macro shots mo. ganda ng texture at kulay.
p.s. i tagged you by the way. i know you’re familiar with the game. and part of the rule is to inform the person being tagged that he has been tagged. get it? hehe. ang kulet.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
I didn’t know there was that much technical skill involved in food photography. I love how you focus on certain parts of the plate more and leave some stuff blurry. Really nice looking food and everything looks organic. (Just the way I like them)
When I first saw the cheese cauldron I thought it was fondue! hehe…
Lovely interior. It reminds me of Le Corbusier’s Unite d’Habitation. I guess the low ceiling can make it cozier for us but I wonder how much an inconvenience it can be for foreigners. hehe
July 26th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
These are almost too pretty to eat!
Now I am hungry for these food…which would be really expensive to get, starting with plane ticket!
July 27th, 2007 at 8:52 am
i have to go. ginutom mo lang naman ako. byes! *lol
July 27th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
I’ll try to visit that resto sometimes this year…to indulge…
are they serving vege-food?
the food seems to be sumptuous and palatable.
July 27th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
I can’t help but to slurrp since the foods were so mouthwatering.
July 28th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
yummyness!!!
August 2nd, 2007 at 11:57 pm
wow! grabe you made it even more mouth frothing to us. but really, pepato is 4.5 stars to me. (i can’t say 5 cos of the slow service). but hey! the wait is all worth it!
teka..food blog na ba ‘to?