Ti Amo, Va Bene

I've always been a firm believer in food first, interiors second. A restaurant with crappy food but beautiful interiors will always be a beautiful, crappy restaurant. The only places that negate this are located in chic European cities that serve crap tourist food- you're not paying for the food, you're making memories.

When I heard that the ex-chef of Mi Piace had a little place of his own located at the mini-mall at the Petron station outside of Dasmarinas Village, I immediately wanted to eat there.

I didn't have to read other food blogs or reviews talking about the food or describing it as a "gasoline station cafe." (which does nothing for its image, by the way). When I mentioned to my sister that I was going to eat here, what mattered to me was when she said, "Do you have reservations? I heard it gets really packed."

So on that night last week when the rain was coming down horizontally, we made our way to the little restaurant that could, Va Bene Pasta Deli.

The tiny kitchen where the freshest pastas come from

By the time we got there, the place with packed. With about 30 people.

Our table with bench-style seating was propped next to the table display of canned goods, wine, sauces and other Italian food things for sale and in front of a freezer. In fact, when the group asked for the wine list, I just reached behind me, pulled out two different bottles and asked, "Red or white?"

We were a United Nations dinner, eating at an Italian restaurant. In order: French, American, Filipino, Danish, Indian, Portuguese/Argentinean, Brazilian. That's what you call international relations!

I was excited to see the menu. I thought I had known what I had wanted to order, but they change their menu selection every so often and what I saw on the web was no longer available. Don't you hate that?

They placed some crusty bread with yummy tomato dip for us to nibble on while waiting for out food. Like the movie, it was Gone in 60 Seconds.

There were only a few choices for starters, but the majority of us wanted the foie gras. Others ordered the polipo, or octopus salad. Unfortunately, like how it is in many small dining establishments (think Som's with half its menu crossed out) the foie gras was out of stock. Wishful thinking on my part! A small restaurant in a gasoline station; foie gras! Pffft.

The salami and cheese platter came out first, good for two persons.
Demolished.

My new order was the chicken Milanese with caramelized apple and arugula. What a tease! Don't the apples look like they are pretending to be foie gras?

I must admit that, though I find breaded chicken breast more suitable for 6 year old children, the breading was light and crispy, not at all oily, and the breast quite tender. The perfect bite of caramelized apple, arugula and breaded chicken breast was quite tasty. Too bad the dish ran out of chicken.

The polipo salad looked tasty. I love how they sliced the octopus so you get a nice cross section of the tentacle. Its meat was tender, and not at all rubbery how some tend to get, but it lacked an oomph of flavor.

We all ordered pasta for our main dish because, well, good fresh pasta is hard to come by. They also had lamp chops and some other dishes on their menu.

I ordered the fresh crab tortellini. It was one of the last dishes to come out of the kitchen but it was
ah-mazing!

For me, the perfect accompaniment to the dish would be a couple of lamp chops (I was really hungry that day! Expectations running high!).

My second choice was the truffle cream and Portobello spaghetti.

This was so flavorful and light. Sometimes you order a cream-based sauce in an Italian resto and you can't even finish the thing. What would make this dish even more perfect would freshly shaved truffles. No? But then again, if they were serving truffles, might as well ask for free gas while you're eating. One can dream!

Another dish I do enjoy is gnocchi, but only if its done right. Otherwise it could come off too starchy or gummy, which nobody likes. The gnocchi here was light and flavorful as well. Made me remember that scene in Godfather 3 when Andy Garcia was teaching Sofia Coppola the proper way to make gnocchi.
H-O-T! This dish? Not so much. Could've used some more meat that the one measly prawn.

This tomato-based tortellini looks absolutely delish! Heyyyy, do I detect one more piece that what I got? Not fair!

For me, this last pasta dish looks like it could've used a little bit of color in it. White on white looks like a polar bear in a snow storm.

To top off my (bitin) meal, I ordered the profiteroles for dessert. I love how they forgot to say on the menu that it was going to be topped off with walnuts, which I am allergic to! Sigh.

Despite the challenge, I was able to eat these babies sans walnuts, and it was very tasty, for a small restaurant. The chocolate custard filling could have been a bit creamier, but the choux pastry was fluffy.

We all agreed that the servings here didn't fill you up. At about P1,500 per person with wine, do you think it is cheap or expensive for a hole in the wall type restaurant with good food?

As for the service, you constantly had to call the waiter to follow up on extra bread, to see if the wine was chilled, etc etc. Seems like there are two servers for the entire restaurant. Plus they charge you if you ask for another of those tomato dip/ bread thingies. They have to make money, don't they!

All in all, I would come back here again. And you should too! Don't forget to make reservations :)


Va Bene Pasta Deli
EDSA corner Pasay Road, Makati
+632.622.7373

P.S. There is ample parking as well, for 60 pesos a pop.

Double the Fun (Part 2)

Another restaurant that I ate at this week was Cafe Juanita in Burgos Circle, Fort Bonifacio, for my dearest friend's birthday dinner.

I've eaten at the original location several times. I find it amusing how, after admiring the shabby chic interiors there, you can buy a piece of it yourself to take home!

Peebee had all the food laid out on the table, family style. I've heard some people say that the franchise at The Fort just wasn't as good as the original, but it tasted the same to me. It just lacked in knick-knacks!

Sinigang again! They served each bowl individually as we sat down

Adobo cooked two ways: crispy flakes and regular. Delicious! I like the flakes the best. You can never do it at home without it tasting really oily.

Here's their version of laing. We were joking Anjeanette (whose hubby and their family hail from Bicol) that she would be a critic of the dish. She said the flavor was good, but didn't understand why each leaf wrapped a piece of pork.

Aside from mish-mash interiors, Cafe Juanita prides itself with a mish-mash menu, perfect for people who want to eat all sorts of things at the same time (like me!).

I love Thai food, and this mango catfish salad didn't disappoint, even though it was a "Filipino" restaurant

As I mentioned in part one of this post, I'm allergic to kare-kare, but look at its similarity to the sinigang from Mamou Too

Looking at these photos now reminds me of what a friend in LA told me when I took him to the only Filipino restaurant there, the Jeepney Grill. He said, "Filipinos like to eat a lot of fried or brown foods." Here's another brown fried meat, with brown sauce on top

The crispy skin is so yummy you would give your right kidney for it! This next dish is a winner. It's deep fried lapu-lapu with tamarind sauce (yes, its brown too!). It seems that Cafe Juanita has mastered the art of the "deep fry netting techinique"!

Last but not the least is dessert. Because a friend had eaten a different version the day before, when I saw sticky toffee pudding on the menu I ordered it. It was very good, but a bit on the sweet side

A perfect end to a meal with good friends and a family I have known for years!

Another plus for Cafe Juanita is that my 6-year-old was playing with the celebrator's 7-year-old nephew and let's just say they were a bit rowdy with their fighting techniques. Now, my son is usually well behaved. Nobody complained (though I did read on a restaurateur's Facebook they wanted to ban children from their restaurant. You can tell they don't have any!). The food was good old home-cooking, nothing hoity-toity, and somewhere you can bring your whole family (and even a yaya or two). Thank goodness for places like Cafe Juanita!

Happy birthday Peebee!!

Cafe Juanita
Burgos Circle, Fort Bonifacio
Tel +632.403.1952

Double the Fun (Part 1)

You just can't keep a good resto down.

There are some restaurants in Manila that just do so well, they've spawned through mitosis and now one can choose to dine at the original location or the new location.

The first one is Mamou Too, now located on the ground floor of Power Plant Mall in Rockwell. Malou Fores, its owner, said after four years in operation (it celebrated its anniversary just last month), Mamou had room to grow and had found its new home in Rockwell.

I like the fact that Mamou and Mamou Too both belong to the periphery of Makati. It's quieter, more relaxed, has a good crowd and best of all, away from undesirables (those who have passed by Havana in Greenbelt know what i'm talking about). Also designed by architect Jorge Yulo, who did the originals interiors too, Mamou Too offers everything the same: same quality food, same friendly service, same weekend brunch, same outdoor and indoor seating, same dinner reservation time slots. Soon, it will offer merienda and early cocktails.

The first time I ate here it was about 9:45pm and the place was packed! They kindly accommodated us even if last call for food was 10pm. I love theirs newspaper style menus

Their fresh, homemade bread rolls, served piping hot

And of course, the beautiful, delicious, USDA prime steak

And the choice of sides

And who can resist their dessert? love love love this key lime pie! You almost don't want to share it.

Then when I went to Mamou Too earlier this week, Annie, the manager from Serendra who was pinch hitting there, made me try the Pork Kurobuta sinigang. Now I had sinigang for lunch that day, but I couldn't resist- Kurobuta pork in sinigang???

The Mamou house iced tea

Does this look like sinigang to you?

The broth, which looked a little like kare-kare, made me dubious. I am allergic to kare-kare, but Annie insisted it is the way Malou makes her sinigang. I love how Malou's timpla (mix) is just the right touch.

It was sour and rich, with whole chunks of sigarilyas (which I loove!), okra, green sili and radish. The pork was so tender it simply fell off the bone. I can imagine that this is how sinigang is supposed to taste like, sans powder or mix...

And it came with this version of bagoong rice, which I devoured.

Technically I am allergic to bagoong too, but it was very subtle. I took what I couldn't eat home, ate it for lunch the next day and even shared it with my office mates! Now that is value for money :)

Only time bagoong will show up in this blog! Accompanies the dish

So, in addition to the steak, duck adobo flakes, vongole, Cuban chicken and pork and eggs Benedict, I love the sinigang at Mamou too!

Mamou Too's tables were all reserved this day too, and I imagine it will be this way for years to come. Lucky Rockwell residents who don't have cooks (or even if they do) can order from here and have home cooking, all at the same time.

Kudos to Mamou and Mamou Too!

Mamou Too
G/F Power Plant Mall, Rockwell
+632.822.6218

The good old country life

Fete Champetre or country garden parties were a popular form of entertainment in 18th century in France and famous artists even painted these scenes in their artwork.

In Manila, lovers of French cuisine can have a party of their own at the charming Champetre, the new restaurant of Marc Aubry, which stands where the former restaurant of Marc Aubry (Je Suis Gourmand) at the ground floor of the Net One Building at Fort Bonifacio Global City.

When I used to go to Je Suis, I remember with fond foodie memories their salmon with arugula salad, foie pate,  escargots, lamb shank and coq au vin. Thankfully, Chef Marc kept some of the old dishes and added quite a few new ones as well.

The first time I ate here was with my Assumption friends and respective partners (minus A who was busy burning calories by riding bikes up steep mountains and other things of that sort). We sat at a round table by the deli and practically had to shout at each other to be heard.

The place was more upbeat and vibrant, the lighting a little too bright and the furniture a bit shaky. This is definitely your French bistro comfort food round the corner, forget romantic dates here.

Going on to the food. The menu was written in a curlicue type font, making it hard to read. It was easy to see they still had the oldies but goodies, such as the foie pate and escargot- those were ordered ASAP.

These snails as just perfect; hot brown morsels drowning in herb butter. I love dipping plain bread into its sauce!

The foie pate was creamy and delicious- you couldn't ask for a better homemade foie pate anywhere else in the city!

It seems that my friends and I always have our favorites wherever we eat, and here's what they got:

Salmon salad

Mushroom soup

Seared foie gras salad

Because I read One Big Bite before coming here, the specially ordered Steak Tartare they had eaten beckoned to me. I loooovve ordering things off the menu! I just had to try it!

So I asked if I could order it, and they said I could. Then I asked if I could have it seared like how I had it in Aix en Provence with Christophe, and they said they could! I loved the restaurant already! I got a main course portion with fries on the side. Here's how it looked

 Basically a hamburger, done the French way. And, oh, except its raw inside. And this one had tons of capers! OK I am allergic to nuts and sometimes I'll order, like a salad and take out the walnuts piece by piece. I tried taking the capers out one by one, but there were just too many! They overcame me and conquered me. I could no longer eat the thing. It wasn't the same steak tartare I had in Aix at all- duhh.

That's what I get for being adventurous.

The other, smarter diners ordered these colorful, yummy-looking dishes

lamb chops

Steak frites

Grilled prawns ratatouille

Grilled scallops and mushrooms

Onglet

As you can see, each main course in heavy and quite filling with a hefty portion of sides that can feed a small family of 4! We didn't have any more room for dessert, plus the restaurant was already empty on a Thursday  night at 10pm!

I was there again recently with a different group of friends. A very boisterous, everyone has their own opinion and it needs to be heard type of friends, hehe! Good friends to hungrily finish 3 bottles of red wine with! It was also a Thursday night, and this time the place was packed. A bunch of men in the back room, and all types of groups in the front.

We ordered the same escargot and foie pate but this time I just had to have the eggs en cocotte with Portobello mushrooms. And it did not disappoint me - it totally made up for that steak tartare (which I won't be ordering again). In fact, there are so many interesting dishes on the menu that one should come back again and again just to try them all.

I also ordered the veal cheeks bourguignon with creamed cauliflower, but it was L's overflowing seafood risotto that made me salivate. On a heap of creamy, cheesy risotto goodness there were about 4 kinds of seafood- and not just the cheap-y squid ring type, I'm talking about the jumbo prawns, seared scallops and sea bass!

I know what I'm having next time...

And we got to order dessert: the apple tart and the chocolate mousse, both extremely satisfying. Too bad I forgot my camera for that night....you will just have to go there and order it for yourself!

If this is country living, who needs the city?

Champetre
632.815.8801

When Shabu Isn't Wrong

There is was a spot in Greenbelt 5 I used to pass, wondering what it was going to be. I was with A once and she got excited when she saw it. "I love going there in San Mateo!" she says.

Yesterday, after salivating at the sign all these months, I was able to find out what all the excitement was all about. We were supposed to have a Japanese shabu-shabu lunch date with the CM but it ended up just being B, Marty, T and I eating all the glorious meat.

Now what I love most about eating at Ganso Shabuway are the good food and the simple choices. Such as: choosing which size portion to order. Or which broth to cook my meat in. Or what condiments to put into the dipping sauces. And which sauce to dip my meat or vegetables in.

Now here it is first come-first-serve but ironically, they also have a "priority list" (of which I was the only one on it). Fortunately, when I arrived here there were a few tables free, which were quickly taken in a matter of minutes. 

  I saw J and T here, who were here last week too

The Morenos love Shabuway! Guest appearance :)

Each table has one induction cooker for boiling the broths to cook the meat and veggies

Then they give you two sauces: creamy sesame and a tangy ponzu

Of which you need to add your condiments of green spring onion, garlic or radish and garlic

And voila! You have your choice of dipping sauces for your meal.

You can choose between Angus and Kobe beef, in three sizes: petite, regular and large. This meat comes with the usual Veggie A bunch. They bring you the veggies and tofu first, to tease you

or you can opt to upgrade your veggies to something a little more special, this one has asparagus, broccoli, squash and spinach

Now here is the cooking broth. One is a clean, seaweed broth and the other is a spicy miso base. Guess which one I prefer?

Then here comes the food porn

Can you just dieeeeee?? 

14 pieces of succulent, marbled, thinly sliced Angus beef and veggies for the regular portion at about 600 pesos. With the free house mogi cha, this is practically stealing! Especially when you compare it to a Japanese shabu-shabu place whose name sounds like a mermaid. And there's plenty of parking pa!

B said she liked to dip the meat and cabbage into the ponzu sauce and the mushroom fish balls (these taste really amazing, I swear) and tofu into the creamy sesame.

My only beef (pardon the pun) with this resto is that it didn't serve Japanese white rice, it just served normal rice. I'd pay extra for the Japanese version! 

On beef slice number 11, I thought I would not be able to make it to the finish line. I was full from the veggies, mushroom balls, tofu, sauce and rice. So I ditched the rice for the final stretch....

For dessert, they even have mochi balls, but I was too stuffed to try them.

"Regular portion" happy campers

"Large portion" happy camper. Keep that iced tea a-coming!

I'm so happy Ganso-Shabuway is here! When I said goodbye to J and T, and exclaimed how stuffed I was they said, "You wait and see after 2 hours. You'll be hungry again!"

You know what, they were right! I almost went back for dinner....

Ganso-Shabuway

2/F Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center Makati City