I love the concept of the 3 Kilometer Challenge, it’s helped me sink into life in Pasig and appreciate my neighborhood. The 3 (or 5) Kilometer Challenge motivates one to be curious about what their surroundings have to offer. It’s quite simple, all you have to do is open your maps, drop a pin for your current location and start exploring the map. Did anything pique your interest? Did you notice something new? Another great way of fulfilling the challenge is by walking your neighborhood. It’s amazing what your eyes can see when walk Manila by foot.

I recently challenged myself to visit 3 Italian restaurants in my 3 kilometer radius. If you are asking, yes, I gave myself a food challenge. In theory I could have walked to all these places but unfortunately I got dengue part way through and only walked to one of them.

If you are craving some fine Italian dining and live in the Ortigas/Pasig area here are 3 choices you can get to by foot and walk off all the carbs you’re about to enjoy.

3 Italian Feasts:

Amare La Cucina|

I have written before about my unique (weird) obsession with street level entrances. There is something organic and welcoming about stepping foot from car - into a small welcoming restaurant. As opposed to the rat race of going through security and up an escalator in a cold air con. Amare La Cucina won my heart over for many reasons, one of them being that I could walk straight from the sidewalk into the resto. The other reasons why it one my heart over:

1. INCREDIBLE home cooked wood fire pizza.

2. You can make your own pizza! I can’t wait to bring the boys back to make their own!

3. Dessert Pizza!

Nobody tell my kids we got dessert pizza without them. Selemet!

4. Old school Italian salad with grated carrots and all. I used to work at Mary’s Pizza Shack for a number of years and the salad was so similar to that of my childhood favorite. They just needed to add a 3 bean salad and it would be Mary’s recipe. :)

Contact Amare via FB or their many locations.

Salvatore Cuomo Cafe|

Salvatore Cuomo Café is the baby sister resto of the fine dining counterpart in BGC. Located in the new wing of Podium Mall Ortigas, this cafe is impressive. The interiors are divine. I especially appreciated that they brought the outside in, via fake trees, but none the less I am a fan. The thick pizza crust is unique to Salvatore Cuomo and the gnocchi was a delightful surprise to see on the menu. One must NEVER ever skip the native tomato salad, it sounds simple but it will knock your socks off. Oh, and don’t skip the cannoli either. Promise me?

salvatore cuomo ll.jpg — The native tomato salad that mustn’t be skipped!

Holy Cannoli!

salvatore cuomo lv.jpg — Gnocchi
Calzone
Pizza Pie

Visit Salvatore Cuomo online or in BGC & Podium.

Pizza Express|

Pizza Express is the ultimate malling restaurant. While I have a strange obsession with street level entries I will not deny that I am a mall rat. We live in Manila after all… Despite not having a street level entrance Pizza Express still gets me in their storefront without fail. I am not a fan of truffle unless it is the cheese truffle dip with soft bread rolls from Pizza Express. The locally created pizza menu is a winner no matter what you choose. The most impressive part of Pizza Express: the children’s menu. BELIEVE ME. I wrote a whole post about here. Children are given the whole dining experience with their own menu, plastic plates + utensils, hats, stickers and cap of the meal with a baby chino. Pizza Express, you rock!

Visit Pizza Express at any of their 3 locations. (Megamall not included on the website)

Challenging yourself to find place of interests near your neighborhood trains your brain to be curious but also seek out what interests you. When you appreciate your surroundings you love where you live and when you love where you live, you care. I challenge you to try the 3 Km challenge and see what treasures you find. We live in the most densely populated city in the world, I know you’ll find something.