Sojourn from the Queen City

La Maison ( meaning "The House) is a restaurant that hails from the Queen City of the South- Cebu City. It did so well there, they sojourned to the big metro.

Their bestsellers are their big , group servings which they call the Barkada sets- Barkada Ribs, etc. A big slab of baby-back ribs is what you'll see on their billboard ads, indicating hearty meals on the menu. I also find that the menu is not french ( because the name is French), nor are the interiors. In fact, it was very continental and hip. The placemats were made of dark denim blue, and the colors of the interiors, bright. Very young.

Upon recommendation, we ordered the Dover Sole Fillet and Barkada Ribs, and a plate of Gambas for appetizers. This we will share between three people. And if the servings were indeed Barkada Size, it might even have been too much.

A plateful of dark and white bread is served as a starter, with a dip of dark balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Just like La Tegola, another Cebu original.

Next, a plate of creamy garlic Mussels were served, which they say are on the house. A complement of the Barkada Ribs. Cool!!! Free food. I must say, the garlic in the cream was so yummy, it was so good to dip the bread in the sauce. Yum!

The Gambas were also served at the same time as the mussels. They were also good! We couldn't wait for the main course.

The Dover Sole Fillet was big but not thick. The fillet formed a little crust on the outside, but was soft and tender on the inside. A bite of the fish fillet sets a tone of different textures- the white meat soft and tender, and the crust- a crust of little peppery, flowery notes. The pepper (perhaps, bell peppers?) mix was subtle, not overpowering. It was also obvious that the black peppers they used were freshly cracked from the mill. Mmmm.

Now for the Barkada Ribs... The meat is smothered with a lot of barbeque sauce, although I think more can be done with its taste. This was served with potatoes, which you can order mashed, baked or fried.

For the finale, we had the Chocolate Lover's Cake-


it was a sweet and very dense, dark chocolate cake which I think true-blue chocoholics will surely like. I wanted to feel the familiar cake texture, but all I could bite into was a thickened, and very dense chocolate mixture. You like? :)