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Impressca : Authentic Green Foods On A Budget



IMPRESSCA...giving good food and good dining a whole new meaning

With the busy lifestyle and food choices available, everything in the market is instantly served. Prior to ready-to-eat dish and meal-to-go diner attitude, the presence of "healthy food" were more often times neglected by consumers, anything goes as long as the mind and appetite satisfies the need.
Impressca's Pasta Meal - Pasta Veggie Gourmet
Eating healthy meal need not be expensive, from the vast array of fancy organic restaurants in the Philippines, particularly in Manila, have you spotted a pocket-friendly and ultimately authentic organic restaurant? If you do, then drop down an organic comment below for our future food trips. :)
Impressca's Load-All-You-Can-Salad PhP99.00 [approx. $2]





Some of you may agreed, are we 100% sure those savvy green resto served real organically grown food as they claimed to be? 

Yesterday, I stumbled upon a Filipina green-advocate turned entrepreneur, Beth Echano-Alfane of Impressca. Going to ABS-CBN all along I'll just be having another veggie day. Instead this Bicolana not just shared her passion for healthy living, all through out she mentally hooked us with her vision in providing sustainable food and livelihood for the country. "What you are is what you eat but you don't have to sacrifice taste to eat healthy."
Organic Red Tea
Impressca originated from an Italian term for "freshly serve". The veggies are locally grown in Alfane's backyard in Quezon City where she decompose and cultivates herbs and leafy veggies the restaurant consumes. 

I must admit, we tried so many attempts on being semi-vegetarian. Semi because I can't completely give up protein-rich food as part of a balanced-diet,  it's the pork meat I totally need to eradicate and stay in low-fat  but how in the world can you ignore it when the house chef is addicted to everything with pork! :) For every moment I make an effort to compensate the guilty palate with veggie replacement and a healthy drink such as green tea, milk tea, or hot tea. But here's the tricky part - Are you guys aware, not because your having greens and veggies in your meal, means your eating healthy foods? Logically, those veggies are fertilized-injected or genetically modified. Unless its branded as organic and non-GMO. 
Too bad the real and self-proclaimed (?) organic restaurants sometimes charges the pockets, the reason why there's a division between those who can afford and the average Pinoy. Great consideration is given to overall food taste, average consumers sway from organics and all-natural by-products mainly because they deemed the dish as costly, flavorless and uninteresting. Probably the public may still need more awareness to the health benefits of organic foods.

Heads up to Impressca's healthy choices, healthy pleasures
Healthy dining is now attainable, gone are the days when fresh, healthy organic/all-natural foods are only available in certain high-end areas, particularly catering the upper market. Impressca reaches out to average Filipino by leveraging its cost, presence, and providing good-quality green foods thru different areas in the metro.
Alfane being an active environmentalist, she continues to be inspired by the late Odette Alcantara [ spearheaded an environmental causes]. Alcantara discipline her the principle of L-A-H-A-T an acronym for:
  • Lupa - land
  • Araw - sun
  • Hangin - air
  • Ako - me
  • Tubig - water
Purchases from Impressca according to Alfane "is also food for the soul because when you dine here, you support the livelihood of local farmers." Impressca launches Green Card program with a minimum purchase of PhP200, each customer already contributes to the planting of one (1) tree in their behalf.
Promotion of ecological campaign
[can't be used in US territories though] :)
Given that Impressca supports a sustainable livelihood program, the company adheres to the environmental concerns and campaigns worldwide:
The company follows a strategic solid waste management system and continues to develop its own fertilizer through composting and by having its own organic garden. They recycle, recreate and conserve every single raw ingredients and use of responsible material by implementing energy management system and use of non-hazardous paint. What's even great was it continues to elevate the health education and eco-education of the country. People are in a way [frequently] needs to be reminded even though the information has been there for quiet some time now. For Impressca its never too late to reach out.  
How's the organically-grown food?
Salad bar - greens has the natural sweetness and lightly dressed, I particularly enjoyed the baby potatoes, I used to make buttered baby potatoes with basil and other herbs on special occasions. While the Pasta Veggie Gourmet is naturally oiled and flavorful even with the absence of such meat. Pretty impressive they could come up with gourmet type pasta without sacrificing the  taste. Looking forward for The Block branch soon. 
Check out Impressca updates on Facebook:
facebook.com.Impressca-Salad2Go

Impressca Restaurant
Branches:

Mother Ignacia Place [MIP]
   139 Mother Ignacia Avenue in front of ABS-CBN
    South Triangle, Quezon City

@ SM City San Lazaro   
    Lower Ground Floor
    Sta. Cruz, Manila

@ Cyberzone SM Araneta Center
    Lower Ground Floor
    Cubao. Quezon City

@ Food Plaza - UP Faculty Medical Arts Building
    Philippine General Hospital [PGH] 
    UP Manila, Taft Avenue, Manila

Soon to open:
SM North EDSA - The Block 4th Level

Comments

  1. Wow that is a nice looking healthy pasta! Too bad Impressca doesn't have a branch near our area yet.

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  2. I love your post! This will surely help a lot of Filipinos today! Will share this also to my facebook.

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  3. i think i need to tell my husband about this -healthy food, organic ingredients - wow!

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  4. My mom needs a healthy food since she's aging na.

    Daryll what's not healthy is that I might just make tambay here each day and drool over the foods you're sharing. hehe

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  5. Wah, ang layo ng mga branches from me dito sa Paranaque. But will do keep them in mind whenever I'm in Quezon City.

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  6. been looking for a healthy/organic resto near us :) this establishment is heaven sent! looking forward to North EDSA's opening..yoohoo!

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  7. This is indeed a great and informative post. I found the red tea refreshing and delicious. I drink red tea if I am on Tokyo Tokyo :D Anyway, do you know how to make one? :D

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  8. yum...looks very delicious, am drooling :-) Dropping some love for Food Trip Friday, hope that you can return the favor too.

    http://www.adventurousjessy.com/2011/11/fried-chicken-with-corn-and-pasta-for-food-trip-friday-2.html

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  9. hmmm.... hindi ako masyadong veggie lover...visiting from FTF.

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