Cozy Evening at Lu

I like restaurants with a casual elegant ambiance. It makes me want to stay inside longer. This dinner at Lu was a delightful surprise that did wonders to my dampen spirit that day.

I couldn’t quite make-up the menu of the restaurant. Admittedly, I thought it was a Chinese restaurant judging by its name. The menu still confused me but I guess it was a fusion of western dishes, mostly European.

We first ordered Quezo Fundido con Chorizo (Php 325) because we were hungry and it took us a while to get to the restaurant because of the usual horrible Makati traffic. The dish came in a tapas serving of hot melted cheese and chorizo plus pieces of tiny tortillas on the side so we can create our own quesadilla. Albeit the small serving, I loved this appetizer. The already flavourful cheese was enhanced more by the bits of chorizo it was mixed with. It was not too salty. It was in fact a delight to eat.

I had the Turmeric Chicken (Php 395) as my main course which was a quarter chicken with rice and pomelo salad on the side. The chicken was moist, tender and flavourful. However, it was a little bit on the sweet side. The kind that was a bit off for this particular dish. I opted not to eat the skin as how I am usually with chicken and was surprised that the meat was still tasty. The pomelo salad was a good neutralizer.

Lu’s B.E.L.T. (Php 315) is a sandwich with bacon, egg, lettuce and tomatoes. I know the dish had S at BACON. It came with a side of onion rights and what we believed to be a non-fat mayonnaise as a dip. First of all, I’m not a bacon lover. I rarely get this from a buffet spread. Stating that, this sandwich is pure goodness. The bacon was lean, I didn’t see any fat in it. One bite and my mouth felt explosion of flavours brought about by the bacon and ham. The rest of the ingredients neutralized the taste a little bit which worked perfectly. The onion rings were good too. They were hot and the breading tasted like the spice people use to cook Indian food.

We also ordered the Gambas Angel Hair Pasta (Php 315). Though I’m not a fan of angel hair pasta, this was surprisingly good. It tasted a little bit spicy, as expected from gambas. The dish looked dry when I began mixing it but it was actually not. The texture was good as it was not too stuffy in the mouth (which is probably the reason why I’m not such a fan of angel hair pasta). We had some left as we were too full and made it my lunch the day after. I also loved the generous amount of deboned shrimps.

I was surprised by how full the restaurant was on a Thursday night. The servers were quick and friendly. I’d actually love to go back to try the Twisted Caesar Salad, Mexican Style Steak and their signature cocktails.

Lu

G/F Joya South Tower Rockwell Center

Makati City

(63 2) 4033991

The Elusive Café Juanita

Once, we attempted to eat at Café Juanita’s branch in Burgos Circle . First thing to remember about Café Juanita, call to reserve. More often than not, you will get turned away if you did not call prior to visiting the place. If it’s a weekend night, don’t even get your hopes up for securing a table is highly unlikely.

It’s that bohemian atmosphere that captures your curiosity and lures you in when you enter the restaurant. Eclectic may be a fitting adjective for it. My eyes and brain instantly got confused on where to focus or where to look first. The design is overwhelming. A splash of colours and mix and match of items everywhere.

 

We stayed at a little corner, down the pâtisserie at their new home in Pasig. I would not know exactly on whether this is bigger than their old one because I have not been.

After talking to the owner, a doctor turned kusinero (cook) (his word, not mine), Dr. Boy Vazquez was off to his free day, but not before he made sure we were attended and taken to our seats.

We ordered the following:

Gambas Al Ajillo (Php 188) – this was shrimps and button mushrooms in olive oil. The appetizer was overwhelming. The dish was oozing with garlic flavour and was quite salty which I loved. This could be better had they served more bread (but in all fairness, I didn’t try asking).

Fresh Corned Beef Sinigang with Chorizo (Php 399) – this was chunks of corned beef in a sour broth with chorizo. The serving is said to be good for 3-4 people, but the lack of corned beef and chorizo in this dish made me doubt that. I loved the taste though. Its ample sourness I want my Sinigang to be. Café Juanita will actually let you taste and ask about your preferred sourness prior to serving the dish. 

Pork Binagoongan (Php 269) - pork belly with crispy skin topped with Café Juanita’s fantastic tasting shrimp paste. It was salty which I actually prefer (as opposed to it being sweet). The hard part though was distinguishing the pork skin from the fat as everything was toasted. The crispiness of this dish was great and this is great to pair with rice. Just be careful to all you peeps with high blood out there.

Two Way Pork Adobo Ribs (Php 396) – this was pork ribs in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic topped with adobo flakes. The meat was really tender, it was falling off its bones. The taste of the adobo sauce was pretty normal which was a good thing for me (nothing overly done, especially the vinegar). I didn’t like the adobo flakes though as it was too oily to consume.

We had coffee after instead of desserts. As we were exchanging stories, we noticed that it may also be a place frequented by celebrities. There were at least five of them we saw that night. There must have been some sort of a private party going on.

Service was efficient and friendly. I will surely be back because I have yet to try their Kare-kare. I hope to see this place again soon.

Café Juanita

No. 19 West Capitol Drive

Barrio Kapitolyo Pasig City

(63 2) 6320357 / (63 2) 701562

Gluttony at Market Café

Food comatose. That was the result of a spur of the moment decision to go eat-all-you-can. Don’t stop reading just yet, because it was not actually a bad thing (the dining experience, but the comatose was). I found myself on the third floor of the Hyatt Hotel snooping around on which food to get.

I found Market Café’s interior to be sleek, modern and with an airy atmosphere. It was relaxed, casual, and no frantic movements brought about by the usual eat-all-you-can crowd. I liked it, so much that we spent the next two and a half hours eating… non-stop. You will be asked what your drink preference upon sitting down. If it’s soda or beer, don’t worry because these drinks are included in the price of the buffet.

Just as I almost always do, I started with Japanese. Sushi came in different forms and colours but they were huge. We had tuna sashimi and it was great… not a hint of fish smell, freshly made indeed! Also, you won’t find tempura shrimps sitting by the buffet table yet you will see a set up of tempura sauce which left us a bit bewildered. Apparently, you have to ask for it, only then the chef will cook for you and serve the shrimps hot. It was crispy and big, it was awesome.

And so we were off to get some breads and cheeses. The breads varied but we got the one that was shaped like a rectangle which was a bit crunchy (ciabatta, if I'm not mistaken). It was great to pair with the green salsa (also known by me as pesto, which was very flavourful). There were three kinds of cheeses on display (bleu, emmenthal and port salut). I’m not a fan of bleu cheese (especially the calories it gives, hehe) so I got the two others. Thinly sliced meats were available as well. They looked like different kinds of pepperoni, only so much thinner. The star however was the parma-ham which was less salty than I thought it would taste like, but melted in my mouth with that hint of strong, less salty, flavour.

Smacked at the centre of the buffet is a display of different types of fresh seafood waiting to be cooked according to your preference. We chose some shrimps and oysters. Our shrimps were cooked in butter and garlic, the next serving was salt and pepper. Both were great. The shrimps were obviously fresh as the skin came off pretty easily. I prefer eating the salt and pepper version with the less greasy feeling although the taste of butter and garlic was hard to resist. The oysters on the other hand were baked with cheese and garlic. Just like the shrimps, they were fresh and clean tasting. The cheese used was salty plus the mixture of garlic, I thought I was in seafood heaven.

And so we were off to get some Chinese. There were a number of choices available from the type of noodles, broth, vegetables, to dimsums (pork siomai-- which tasted great because of the small piece of shrimp in it made the flavour alive, siopao-- which were served in bite-size but the asado inside was really soft with a hint of sweetness, and pork dumplings-- which I was not able to get a hold of). There was also a whole bunch of roasted meat.

And so the time for the prime rib came. They have two sauces available for it: peppercorn sauce and the mushroom sauce. My meat was almost raw (medium rare I think) which was just fine. Though it came with quite a big chunk of fat, the meat was easy to chew. I just had to take some fat off. Of course if you want yours well done, you can have them do that. The dish was heavy in the stomach as expected, yet, it is probably wise to get this as it can be one of the most expensive dishes if you order this a la carte elsewhere.

There was also a salad bar that has different kinds of leaves, lettuces, vegetables, toppings as well as dressings. I attempted to make a Greek salad because I love capers and olives and showered it with a lot of parmesan cheese. It was great. Plus points for the fresh vegetables they served.

I remember eating some slices of pizza although probably because of hunger, I downed it even before taking a picture of it. It was thinly sliced with just a tiny bit of tomato sauce and lots of cheese. Don’t miss on trying it if you ever get the chance to see it in the buffet.

And so dessert happened. One would think that I won’t be able to take dessert anymore. On the contrary (although not advisable), despite the stomach fullness, I ate tons of dessert. There were candies, ice cream, crepes, a chocolate fountain, pastries, cakes, macaroons and a lot more. I didn’t particularly like the blueberry cheesecake but the rest were just great. I loved the thinness of the crepe and the not-so-sweet chocolate cakes. Although I ordered a chocolate flavoured ice cream, I had to go back to order the Bailey’s flavoured one and the mango sorbet. I loved them all. 

All of these were paired up with a cup of cappuccino, unsweetened. Coffee is such a delight to have after a full meal. Eventually, I had to stop. As I mentioned, my stomach couldn’t take it. I didn’t have photos of those food in the buffet because I was prohibited to do so, unless there is going to be a person posing next to it. I found it absurd to be doing that so as you can notice, a lot of plate pictures are displayed here.

If what you are looking for is a huge variety of food, this place is not for you. Market Café offers international cuisines that are of quality. This place, for me, may be the best eat-all-you-can restaurant of a hotel. The price was not too bad as well. On a Saturday night, you pay Php 1,650 nett per head inclusive of free flowing sodas and local beers (but I’ll advise you to bring your Citibank Gold or Platinum for a 15% discount). Ours turned out to be a little less than Php 1,410. Reasonable, right?

Market Café

3/F Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila

1588 Pedro Gil cor. M.H. Del Pilar, Malate

Manila, Philippines

(63 2) 2451234

Chef Laudico’s Bistro Filipino Eat All You Can

It started during Sunday brunch that the restaurant offered their order-all-you-can which includes over 50 of their most popular dishes. It is called so because unlike the conventional eat-all-you-can offerings, the dishes are made to cook upon order and serving is half of their regular a la carte portions. You can order more anyway as you please but keep in mind that there will be a fine on every plate unfinished.

The food’s presentations are impressive. I like it when chefs treat their dishes as their work of art from start to finish. It means good plating and one-of-a-kind presentation which the restaurant clearly embodies. But more than that, not only were the dishes given a unique twist, but the oozing flavour made it very difficult for us to stop before we stuff ourselves to death.

Ubod Spring Roll – this dish came in shot glasses with its just melted vinegar (from being frozen). It is indeed a different take on this dish, just when in the world have you seen a spring roll in a shot glass? The vinegar is so because when you pour in a little bit on top of the spring roll, you don’t want the vinegar to be settling down at the bottom. The thick consistency allowed for it not to drip as fast, thus, you consuming it when you take a bite. As for the taste, it was definitely on the sour side which was good. The crispness was a good texture with the cooled vinegar and the neutral taste and temperature of the inside of the roll.

Palabok Bites – all the ingredients that should be in a single bite of palabok made into maki. Quite a unique presentation don’t you think? It was pure goodness. The dish had the right amount of saltiness while the noodles evened out the taste. It was quite a delightful appetizer.

Paella Arroz Caldo – I am not quite sure how to describe this. It was one of the choices under the soup category. It came in a cocktail glass. There was no strong resemblance of the taste to the paella but, just the same, it was pretty good. It was served hot and the soup was quite thick as expected from arroz caldo. It is something that will trigger your mind’s curiosity but I suggest ordering the next on this list instead.

Shitake Mushroom Soup – this came in a coffee cup. Cute, isn’t it? I was surprised that the soup was not thick but then again, I remembered, it wasn’t “cream of…” anyway. The mushroom flavour was strong which I love. Truth be told, I really wouldn’t know what type of mushroom was used but with Bistro Filipino’s version, I’m more than contented.

3 Kinds of Mango Salad – this dish was recommended by our server so I ordered it. I really couldn’t tell what the three kinds of mango salad were in this dish because as you can see, they were all quite mixed up on the plate. The salad was a mixture of sweet and sour which tickle your taste buds.

Chorizo and Mushroom Torta – this was chorizo and mushroom omelette. It was a little on the salty side but the egg balanced the taste a little bit. I do like breakfast food but I don’t think I was ready to eat an omelette that night. This dish came quite late though that we had to ask for it over and over.

Kesong Puti with Ham Tomatoes Torta – the flavour of this dish was a little overpowering for me. It was a little sweet, probably because of the ham, and quite salty, maybe because of the cottage cheese (which is quite weird, isn’t cottage cheese supposed to be a bit bland?). Anyway, if you like omelette and you are up for something unique, get this instead of the chorizo and mushroom.

 
Paella Stuffed Squid – this was a new twist in serving paella. The squid was soft yet resisting. The paella was tasty, the rice bits was soft. These two are great combined. This dish is a good thing to order that won’t really leave you feeling full right away yet will satisfy your taste buds.

U.S. Angus Beef Kare-kare – the plating was definitely not your typical kare-kare. All you had to do to savour this dish was slice yourself some beef, spoon a little bit of kare-kare sauce and a little rice. This was great. Not to mention the fact that I am a sucker for kare-kare, the beef was really tender and the sauce was perfect despite the absence of tripe which is usually a determinant whether I like a kare-kare or not. Needless to say, the flavourful Angus Beef made up for it.

Binagoongan Crispy Pata – just how tender the Angus beef, their pork was the same. Although the dish did not have a strong bagoong taste, just the same, it was a bit salty and flavourful. Exactly the way this dish was expected to taste. For those craving for an ultimate Filipino dish, this is probably the best thing to order.

Wagyu and Lengua Estofado – besides hearing good feedback about the unique way of plating and unique Filipino food in this establishment, I actually came for the Wagyu. I try not to eat so much meat so that I can eat an indecent amount of it when a really good one comes along. This was actually worth allotting some meat space in your body.The beef was really soft, I didn’t even have to put any effort in slicing. The sauce was of that gravy type that complemented the Wagyu pretty well. I don’t eat lengua so I can’t give my opinion on it.

Molten Chocolate – the serving is almost bite size but it was one of the best molten chocolate I had. The cake was moist, a hint of sweetness and a lot of bittersweet chocolates all in one bite. It’s perfectly okay to order more. I actually had to order for another serving because I loved it so much.

Lemongrass Iced Tea – it is good to have found this type of iced tea in Metro Manila. I have tasted the ones in Tagaytay and Cebu. Bistro Filipino’s was a bit mild for my taste but still refreshing as it was not too sweet. I prefer tasting more lemongrass but I suggest ordering this among other drinks. I expected a more creative presentation of this beverage though to be consistent to their way of serving food. I would also like to try out Sampalok Juice next time as it is quite intriguing to me.

I would’ve sampled their pasta and more desserts (Spanish Chocolate, Suman Cake, Deconstructed Sans Rival, Halo-halo Napoleon and Maja Blanca Cheesecake) but my stomach could not take it anymore. As you can observe, I have eaten quite a lot especially for my body type. Silogs, pandeninis and seafood main courses are likewise available, unfortunately, my stomach was on the edge of exploding and I didn’t want to push it.

The ambiance was great but the restaurant is obviously busy. The servers were accommodating but we waited quite a while for our tortas to arrive even after several follow-ups. Remember to call to reserve to ensure that you’ll be accommodated at the time you prefer. I will have to dine here again soon to try all the food I missed.

Order All You Can is available from Friday night to Sunday night at Php 788 (plus 10% service charge) per person.

 
Bistro Filipino

Net Square 3rd Avenue Bonfiacio Global City Taguig

(63 2) 8560541; (63 2) 8560634

(63)917800CHEF (2433)

Laid Back at Old Swiss Inn

Going back to the Old Swiss Inn second time around was comfortable. I loved that the ambiance is always so cozy. It is a place where people can actually talk and understand each other without straining anyone’s throat. 

Because we found it ridiculous to spend Php 450++ just so we can avail of the Php 34 halo-halo from Manila Pen, we ended up here. Yellow lights were dominant and it gives you this feeling as if you are in a big old cottage house having your dinner. I like it.

 

We were welcomed with a basket of soft rolls which were warm and perfect to munch on if you are really hungry. I think I should have ordered soup as these rolls would have been perfect.

And so we ordered the following:

Walliser Fondue (Php 750) – last time, we ordered the Waatlander Fondue (Php 650) and we left the cheese burning; thus we ended up with quite burnt and bitter melted cheeses. It was okay, but bitter Emmenthal and Gruyere plus strong kirsch in the fondue do not really combine well. This time though, we ended up ordering Walliser (I don’t have an idea on what the word means, anyone?). Besides the cheeses in the Waatlander, Raclette is added. We were warned that in about 3-4 minutes upon serving, we should turn off the heat so as for the cheeses not to burn, which we did. 

The fondue of course is expected to be thick. It had chopped tomatoes in it aside from the wine, three cheeses, and some spice sprinkled on top. The dish came with a bunch of bread cubes, which I think could be better as it was quite dry and the bits easily spread out in the mouth that doesn’t really give a good texture. The cheeses on the other hand were fantastic. It was bland and strong at the same time. Not blue cheese strong of course, but just enough saltiness and kick (from the kirsch) that will leave you wanting for more. I can’t remember just how many bread I’ve consumed but it also came with boiled baby potatoes, beans, carrots, and chayote. I loved the potatoes with the cheese in particular. This fondue is a perfect thing to order for an ultimate bonding experience. 

Zurich Geschnetzeltes (Php 350) – this was pork tenderloin strips in mushroom and cream with roesti potatoes. I do not really know what can be more tender than the pork tenderloin that was served to us. It was like eating chicken, really. Besides the tenderness, the taste of the cream and mushroom partnered with the potato which evened out the taste was just perfection. 

Spaghettini Aglio Olio (Php 195) – angel hair pasta was served with rightly burnt garlic, olive oil, anchovies and herbs though I was not really able to identify any anchovies. The taste was good, but I would have preferred for the pasta to be spaghetti as I’m not really a fan of angel hair. I also asked for chili flakes to oomph out the taste a little bit though it was fine on its own. Serving was good for one but we actually shared this and almost did not finish it because of the other two dishes.

If you love Raclette as much as I do, you can order it separately at Php 350 which comes with marbled potatoes, gherkins and pearl onions. Now, I just drooled (I kid).

 

If you are looking for a place to hang or eat late at night, where it’s relaxing, cozy and laid back, or you crave for some Swiss delights and nostalgic about that trip you once took to Lucerne (like I do), this is the place to go. They are open 24 hours and the staff are warm and accommodating.

Old Swiss Inn

G/F Olympia Towers Makati Avenue corner Sto. Tomas Street,

Makati City

(632) 8180098