Purple Reign

Even before it unveiled its name or opened its doors to the public, the name aubergine has given me many, many fond memories. First of all, purple is my favorite color, so obviously I would love that.

Next, when my sister Margie got married, I was her maid of honor and her theme was aubergine. My dress was beautifully designed by the Frenchman, Pascal Banet. Unfortunately, he borrowed Margie's gorgeous silver wedding gown for a shoot and, due to certain circumstances, left the country in a dash and today, the dress is nowhere to be found.

Purple also has a meaning: it is the color of good judgment and spirituality. Now I only found this out Googling it a few seconds ago, but there are many reasons to love purple.

Now the restaurant Aubergine, headed by Chef Norbert Gandler and Hans Schallenberg, gives you a plethora of reasons to love it too.

Here is a teaser:

The photo above shows what Aubergine does best, which is give you one food item, in this case, duck, and turn into several choices on the same plate for the diner to enjoy. From left to right, you have duck pate topped with aspic, then next to it is duck pan-fried foie gras then next to that is smoked duck breast. Now what I love most about this dish is the little ball of ice cream (yes, you read that right) ice cream foie gras. You may think its weird but its truly delightful and innovative.

Their menu items are meant for sharing

beef carpaccio

I swear this is only 3/4 of this photo of beef carpaccio. Love the pine nuts, arugula and fresh mozzarella that they garnish on it.

Oysters Rockefeller

Now who can resist the lure of succulent oysters on a fancy restaurant's menu? Certainly not me. Now the main courses also like to give you several choices on one plate. Here's a rib eye topped with pan-seared foie gras

And then here's the version for the person who wants it all (such as me). It's got steak, lobster and the pan-fried foie gras. I can just hear my beautiful blonde friend Geri's voice saying, "Now, you're just being greedy."

The dessert selection also gives you many choices, but this is where I like to KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Again, even though this is one dish- it is huge. That's a whole bowlful folks.

 creme brulee

You may opt to try the dessert samplers as well, very artfully plated, but depending on your taste bud's flavor factor, maybe too much going on at one time. Maybe ask for another bit of the foie gras ice cream? (Which is not on the dessert menu.)

Perfect place to take a girl out on a first date. Impressive factor: 9. Also very suitable to taking your mother, your wife or your best friend who is feeling mopey about her life. Instant cheerfulness!

Add this while you are at it

badabing!

Aubergine

5th corner 32nd Avenue

Bonifacio Global City 

reservations recommended! 

tel +632.856.9888.

Meat Me Halfway

Finally after what seems like such a long, long time, too long in fact since the last time we met up, I had dinner with my Ninang Marrot, Trisha, Kai and Tin at Bistecca.

Seems like the last time I had been at Bistecca has been equally too long ago, especially with such delicious truffle fries to be eaten. This is a nice place for a date, for families and for girlie dates such as ours. I had to think of a place everyone would like, and so Bistecca was it. No weird pre-meditated meal times, like some other places expect you to follow.

Trisha and I arrived first, there was a lot of traffic on that Friday and everyone else was stuck in it. We each had a Stella Artois beer while we poured over the menu. She's been avoiding red meat for awhile now so her food choices have been seafood dishes while I felt the intense hunger and salivation that happens when you know you are going to enjoy a deliciously grilled piece of primo beef. Ninang Marrot and the girls arrived and we enjoyed the various yummy appetizers on the menu, such as:

 Fried camembert with honey and cranberry sauce

 Salad with scallops

Unfortunately, what happens sometimes is in anticipation of the main course, you down all these appetizers so much so that when the main course arrives, you are completely stuffed to the gills! Ninang, Tin and Trish shared the prawns

While Kaister and I split this steak and all the lovely sidings you can mix and match

 steak, party of one

 assorted salts, interesting yet unnecessary

 damn, you're delicious truffle tries

 Cheese spatzle

what's on my plate

Tin and Kai had to run off to a movie date with their hubbies so Ninang, Trish and I stayed on, only to find out Bistecca owner Joey Esteban (thanks Joey!) had a special treat in store for us:

chocolate fondue and S'Mores with melty marshmallows. My goodness, the fondue came with this cinnamon toast-like bread to dip into the chocolate and really, really ripe strawberries (hence there aren't any of those in the photo). And look- very innovative- potato chips! I love that!

The first time I ate at Bistecca (I've been here a total of only 3 times) we ordered the side dishes of creamed corn, potato mash and again, the truffle fries. Not only are the fries very consistent, they taste better each time you eat them!

 creamed corn

 the delish diva

my plate #2. Check out the steak- rare enough for you?

The uber talented interior designer Maja Olivares-Co designed Bistecca's clean, stylish yet relaxed interiors (as well as another fave, Masseto's). 

Groups can totally have a private party at Bistecca's second level. A different ambiance from downstairs, where the high ceiling just makes your jaw drop.

an optical illusion

I just adore these wine-bottle chandeliers- seems like the more you drink, the more you can make *hic*!

Maja used the fact that Bistecca is located in the Joya Towers of Rockwell into her asthetic

A ginormous Joya, the original is upstairs

Would I come here for a 4th, 5th, 6th time?

Yes, a completely and utter yes.

Bistecca

G/F Joya Tower

Rockwell Center

Tel +632.403.5231

Dollar Cab, Gypsy Cab, Yellow Cab

It always happens that I'm at my desk at work and see officemates, wallet in hand, about to head for somewhere to buy something yummy to eat.

Me: "Where you going?"
Dan'qua: "Have lunch out, want to come?"
Me: "Yes, yes, yes!"

I must have the most rubbery arm when it comes to food. Where I work, there are so many options for food. There are the fast food joints: McDonald's, Jollibee, KFC, Sbarro's. There are the fine dining restos in Greenbelt or Salcedo Village where you can talk a quick walk to.

This time Dan'qua, Franiqua and Carmeliqua were craving Yellow Cab pizza. I too love their pizza, but once for lunch I went to the Paseo de Roxas branch and asked for a single slice like they do at Brooklyn Pizza. "We don't sell single slices," they said. Since they, I haven't been back there.

But now we were a group of four and could easily split up a pizza. Franiqua said she was craving the Charlie Chan pasta, which has nuts that I am allergic to, so I was going to just have the pizza. I love pizza and can eat it almost everyday if I had to.

Once we got to Yellow Cab we were pleasantly surprised to find out there were set menus which came with pasta, hot wings, a 10-inch pizza and 1.5 liter of Coke, this was P800 so it came out to only P200 for each of us! Score!

 We were so excited, we said we felt like we were somewhere abroad. "Brooklyn?" I asked.

 hanging in the 'hood with Dan'qua

happy happy joy joy

We ate our meal systematically as if they were our rations for the whole week.

First, pour the Coke. (Being the den mother, I did this.)

check out our cosmopolitan view behind the Coke

Then, serving the Alfredo pasta.

sosyal with olives 

Then, the chicken wings, two each but no sauce. Sauce was P30 extra, so I didn't take a picture na. Hyuk, hyuk.

Then, 2 slices of pizza each. We had a choice of Four Seasons or Garlic Shimp, and we chose the latter.

It was a delicious meal (except the fact that the hot wings were sauce-less.)

I could eat a whole Dear Darla pizza by myself, alone with a DVD, but that's for another story.

Yellow Cab Pizza
2nd Floor Insular Life Building
Ayala cor Paseo de Roxas, Makati
tel +632.893.0987

Foie Gras Carpaccio and More

On our last night in Paris before leaving for Avignon, where the wedding was to be held, Malu Gamboa suggested a restaurant to eat at, a place we had seemed to have passed several times, Comptoir de la Gastronomie on the Right Bank. We ordered several dishes to share.

Escargot with handles for everyone

To check this off my list, I ordered the cassoulet, which was a rich, hearty dish perfect for a cold, blustery evening, such as this night we ate out

my cassoulet

Kat's delicious ravioli with truffle oil

Kat seemed to eat more of my dish and I seemed to eat more of her dish. Don't you love sharing food and stories together over a good meal? I was supposedly supposed to split this with Bea, but she was dying with delight over it. And the winner of the evening was....

the foie gras carpaccio!

Pretty flower girls testing my 80s music skillz

We were so full and nicely tipsy over the yummy wine that we decided to walk back to Hotel Therese and promptly got lost! It's a good thing we had our gloves and scarves and other items of that nature, as it was pretty windy that night. I worked off all the foie gras and cassoulet by dancing the night away at Bus Palladium with a former collague, Ria de Borja, who is now based in Paris. 

Au revoir to one of my favorite cities in the world....

Comptoir de la Gastronomie 

34 Rue Montmartre

75001 Paris, France
01 42 33 31 32

The Milky Way Building Special

There are four restaurants in the Milky Way Building along Arnaiz Avenue (better known as Pasay Road). Everything you can find there is yummy.

A well-loved restaurant perfect for special occasions and ordinary ones is Cirkulo. It features Spanish cuisine as well as other international specialties.

Troupe Provence, fellow friends who were with me in France for Leica and Martin's wedding, had a reunion of sorts at Cirkulo, organized by the hostess with the mostess, Malu Gamboa, whose family owns the several restaurants in the building as well as the building itself. I wrote a story a few years ago on how her mother started Milky Way and how the reins have now passed to Malu and her chef brother, J.

Luckily, a box of goodies from France arrived, and Chef J cooked it up for us and arranged it beautifully for us to enjoy- heaven! Here were the apps:

 the tasty terrine (from Maru)

 the fabulous foie gras (also from Maru)

Spinach salad with chicaron 

Then came the mains that makes Cirkulo patrons keep on coming back for more. It's like they put magic dust in it so you think about your meal long after its over.

 steak frites

 crispy milk-fed pata

vegetarian portobello mushroom paella. All time fave!

Then the piece de resistance arrived. You thought you were stuffed? Think again. Here's the duck confit generously provided by Maru and lovingly cooked by J:

my portion- just a smidge. I've had it up here, I tell you....

Just when you though you were out, they pull you back in. For dessert, that is.

 meet deadly: flourless chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream

and his cousin, deadlier: bread pudding with vanilla ice cream

And these were the players. Reminiscing over good times and planning new times to come ahead!

Dynasty pose

That was a little before the New Year. Not everyone could attend, so Malusky made another date for 2011: January 10, at Azuthai (which we call Azuzu) to try the new menu. Game on! I never tire of Thai food.

When we arrived that evening, we ordered away. Isn't ordering so much fun when you are in a big group and someone will surely share with you?

We trickled in, but the first batch ordered this at random:

 catfish salad

 assorted appetizers. a good idea for first timers

 pad Thai, my favorite!

 pomelo salad

 shrimp cakes

green chicken curry

I love how each dish is presented and how it can be both exotic and comfort food at the same time. You can never say Thai food is bland!

This time, those who didn't make it to the Cirkulo dinner showed up. Always a blast! Tessa came bearing gifts from Korea, including a dolphin caller, perfect for Jon-jon.

 Cashmere Craver and Soul Train as one

 Kat, Jon-jon and Dustin

Malu, Patrick, Chesca

Nix and Rajo

Dennis, Tessa and Teenee

Manda and Nix

Teenee and Bea

The finally, yesterday, for a final farewell to my dear friend Lia (who I could say can very well make her own blog of what she eats when she comes home to Manila), we trooped back to the Milky Way Building to eat at Tsukiji.

Yesterday, Lia had planned to eat Japanese for lunch, a choriburger for snack and Korean for dinner. By the way, she absolutely adores Jolly hotdog! Talk about homesickness!!

Tsukiji has fabulous and very affordable set menus for lunch (Php495+), very surprising as Tsukiji is very famous for its utmost quality. I had the pork tonkatsu set.

feels like you're in Japan!

 appetizer starter of tuna sashimi

 miso soup

 this is for one person? Crazy!

 Very tasty edamame

 Lia's favorite: agedashi tofu

Chesca's set: grilled mackerel

 Sayonara Lia! See you on the other side!

So all that is missing is the Milky Way Cafe. Wish I had room for a halo-halo....

Cirkulo: Ground floor, Milky Way Building 900 Arnaiz Avenu; tel +632.810.2763
Azuthaii: Same address +632.813.0671