Sitting in the Sala Bistro

Current craving: Starbucks Frappuccino

Enzo has a buddy, Rocco. They were classmates at the wee age of 2 together at The Little Gym and then, without even knowing it, were together at Philippine Montessori, and this is how I became friends with his mommy Keri.

 Me, Maureen, Grace and Keri

It was a lovely lunch because I got to catch up with old friends and make new ones (Hi Grace!). We talked about the recent news of a blogger/ extortionist and the PR firm he or she works for, as written by Margaux Salcedo. A blog is such a personal thing, like a journal you write thoughts in, and very subjective at that. It's terrible that one would demand to get paid for blog entries, otherwise write bad entries about a restaurant. 

As a member of the media, integrity is the biggest asset a writer or editor can have, and when that is tainted, what good is he or she? When someone works for a magazine or a newspaper, they have to uphold that integrity to uphold the respect for the brand. But bloggers are self-branded on a global level, so it should be even more important to be respected in the community.

Seems like bloggers and their blogs have become current hot topics. Sometimes innocuous fun turns into something else entirely. 

Carrying on...someone in the group had 10 longganisas for breakfast so we split most everything up. We had this pasta to share, it was lovely with bits of mushroom and bacon

Grace ordered the quiche of the day that comes with a side salad. This is a very filling meal and quite nice with a good Riesling.

We also had this steak frites. The frites had truffle oil. Doesn't that really make everything taste better?

 side of truffle potato as well. Can't get enough!

Whenever I eat at Sala Bistro I always love that the food is so clean and contemporary, much like in chic cafes elsewhere in the hottest cities. The dessert is super sinful but great for sharing. One must leave room for it, otherwise it's a waste of a meal!

 sticky toffee pudding

 ricotta cheesecake

Sala has this amaazing dessert called Strawberry Meringue and it only pales next to the Rhubarb Crumble that is offered for weekend brunch. We always, always order one or two of it whenever we are at Sala Bistro, and sometimes even when we are next door at People's Palace. So when I asked for it  this time, the waiter told me they turned it into a Lemon Meringue instead. We ordered it and upon tasting it I was heartbroken.

a poor substitution of the original 

Please please please Colin, bring back the strawberry version. The lemon one is ok, (we didn't even finish it, and usually that's the first thing that goes) but the strawberry version is so good you would give away your first born for it!!!

Happy Birthday Keri and see you soon!

Sala Bistro 

G/F Greenbelt 3

tel +632.729.4888

I Want It All

Current craving: everything.

Jalapeno Cheetos. Champuy. Banana Split. Pepperoni Pizza. Fajitas. Buffalo Wings.

I am craving everything!

Blame it on my seafood diet last week. Everything I saw, I ate!

Will show you most of it this week....

Prime Picks

Current craving: meat.

I am reminiscing about the unforgettable meal I had on Saturday last week at Gustavus.

Everything I had looked forward to eating that night was delicious and unpretentious. Since then, my mouth has been watering for steak as good as theirs, and though I have had steak at other restaurants, nothing yet has come close to it.

They claim that all their steak is US Prime- the Gustavus way.

And their prime meat is defeinitely primo. But aside from that, they have several other interesting appetizers, such as:

some like it raw 

others like it rich like Rockefeller

I tried the Rockefeller oysters, sourced from Ilo-ilo, and they were buttery pearls from the sea.

The warm Caesar salad was an interesting presentation but warm salad is not really my thing. I prefer it fresh and crunchy.

The prawn cocktail two ways was innovative but taste-wise was just ordinary. I like my Japanese food at Japanese restaurants. They could've done without the tempura and just given us succulent shrimp- the prawns tend to get a bit dry.

I didn't want to fill up too much because I ordered a 200-gram striploin, medium-rare. When I saw the other's orders, I asked them to make it medium instead. The steak was simlpy melt-in-your-mouth with a lovely fat-to-meat ratio.

items on this blog may appear larger than they seem

You can poke fun at the little vegetable garnish but there is no need to eat it with the hunk of meat staring at you. I shared a bit of this with Margie who said it was a bit fatty. I had asked for fatty, but there was no need for that,

look at the pool of butter on top those potatoes!

Then just as we thought we were done with our meal, in marched several desserts, each overtaking the other until the finale.

 apple crisp with vanilla ice cream

 banana on top of bread pudding

 pistachio ice cream with chocolate flourless cake

strawberry cheesecake, vanila ice cream and fresh strawberries (the best!)

When you get your bill, they even present you with a 10% discount card for your next visit. I am definitely coming back to avail of the discount, and will bring my troop of friends to share the discovery.

Gustavus
109 C Palanca Street
Legazpi Village, Makati City
Tel: +632.8130475

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