Rainy Season Treat -Soup!

The rainy, muggy weather is back. We're getting a lot of clouds and drizzle, and this means another round of rainy day food trips. What do you like to eat on rainy days? Most of us would enjoy something hot or warm like a cup of a favorite caffeine. Or maybe a bowl of hot soup. I like soup. It goes fast when I'm really hungry and satisfies every bit of my cells instantly. Must be why instant noodle soup is a popular staple food among the masses, but that's another topic :P

My all time favorite soup would be the Filipino favorite- sinigang. Steaming hot, sour and salty. I should be looking for my sinigang restaurant favorite. But since I got married to M, I've been getting used to all things spicy. It took me some time, but this muggy weather is reminding me of that bowl of spicy Laksa in Toast Box.

Laksa

As you can see from the date on the photo, we had this soup early this year. Quite a late post. This bowl is full of seafood and dumplings, the broth a spicy hot and creamy coconut broth. The bowl  should be so good with rice, but I don't think they serve rice.(I think I've become really insistent with the rice issue.hehe).  I can eat this thing in between gulps of water,while panting and catching for breath. We also had...

Floss Toast Sandwich
I like toast and I like pork floss. So this sandwich should be good, right? Right! This one's great with the Milo or Horlicks Dinosaur. And the soup above should really have a cup of rice beside it. Maybe someday they can serve rice? 
I want to go back soon. Enjoy the clouds, everyone :)

Classy Eats

Located at Greenbelt 5 in Makati City, Chateau 1771 oozes with classiness. What do I mean by that? Although it had a country American theme all around ( which is really supposed to be a more laid-back and homey style), they set-up the place like a French restaurant. Very formal and organized.

We went there at noon, which made for a very bright and happy atmosphere inside the dining area.

There were a lot of bright and colorful prints all around.
A lot of yellows and pinks, browns and whites.
Pretty. ;)

While waiting for our orders, they served us bread for appetizers:

Bread

We also ordered the Eggless Caesar Salad (P320). It was very light and tasty. The lacking creamy sauce was not sorely missed, because the anchovies and cheese made very good substitutes.

Eggless Caesar Salad

And because my Mark loves appetizers, we ordered the Beef Bracciole (P380). The beef was so tender and tasty. These are actually tender beef strips rolled in mozarella cheese. It literally melted in our mouths! Each bite was filled with earthy herb goodness and cheese. I have never tasted anything like this before.

Beef Bracciole

Next stop, was the Butterfly Prawns (P480). These were also good :)

Butterfly Prawns

Last stop, the Grilled Salmon (P580). Yummy fish. The dark sauce really distracted me at first, but it tasted good. It was also accompanied by a side dish of mashed potatoes and ratatouille.

Grilled Salmon

And the silky, thick mashed potatoes


The place is pretty, the food great, and the service- good too. They offered to divide the salad for three, when they saw we ordered only one salad for three people. Very thoughtful. I hope to be back :)



Post Script: They charge for service , plus VAT and local taxes. So be prepared to bring extra.

One of My Favorites

This is one of my favorite restaurants. I absolutely love their Beef Kebabs. But on this particular day, the cook didn't make my favorite so well.

I was able to try Cafe Mediterranean first at their Powerplant branch. They do the Kebabs so well. But for some reason, the meat was not as flavorful today here at Greenbelt 1.

Cafe Mediterranean serves mainly Middle Eastern food, like the Greek Pastitsio and Persian Hummus. The Beef Kebabs (and other meat dishes), may be served with rice, noodles or couscous. I first tried couscous in this restaurant and I loved it! Couscous is a form of pasta, and looks like grains. When cooked al dente and flavored with a little butter, they are so fluffy and yummy.

Cafe Med's interiors

I love this blue tile in the middle of the table!

The most precious liquid in the world - Water!

The Beef Kebabs with Couscous, Tabbouleh and Grilled Vegetables

Tabbouleh

Beef Kebabs

Spicy Sauce

Couscous

Couscous

Hot Sauce

They're going green, too!

I hope the Kebabs are better the next time around!;)

Myron's Place

Lovely, lovely place. When Mark and I were looking for a new place to eat at Greenbelt to celebrate payday, I remembered reading Dessert Comes First's blog on Myron's Place. It was a great review. Thus, we headed off to Greenbelt 5 to try it.

Myron's Place is located at the ground floor of Greenbelt 5, and has a great view of the garden. Customers have the option of dining al fresco, although the interiors of the restaurant entices you to eat inside. Modern and elegant, it's plush leather seats are very comfortable. There are big red globe lamps scattered around the orange and brown theme.

We went there for lunch, and we were hungry indeed after church service.

For starters, we ordered the Risotto Balls with Chorizo (P250). A highly recommended dish by Dessert Comes First. True enough, it was very, very, good. The risotto was so soft and highly flavored by the chorizo and parmesan cheese. A must try!

Risotto Balls

The salad came in next- A Mesclun Salad with Sea Scallops in Raspberry Vinaigrette Sauce. Nice name, but it did not complement the highly flavorful Risotto Balls. It was a bad idea to serve it next to the Risotto.

A Mesclun Salad with Sea Scallops
in Raspberry Vinaigrette Sauce

The Scallops. Only 3 pieces of it.

A while after finishing the salad, came in the main dish. We ordered the beef steak at 450 grams which they called Franco's Cut (P1575). We split the steak between the two of us.

Franco's Cut

It was done medium well, but looked more medium rare on the inside. It was very tender too and cooked very well. My only "beef" on the beef was that the fat was not evenly distributed. There were parts where it was all fat. Other than that, it was yummy! Perfect with the mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes it came with. There's a 250 gram cut which was priced less but we had to split it in two, and we were just too hungry!

Mashed Potatoes

My Coca-cola!

The view from inside

Of all the things we missed, was the dessert! I forgot about the dessert here. Next time, next time . . .

Going Japanese

Next to a lot of shrimps, pizza and steak- my husband craves for Japanese food. And no less than Sugi it is for him.

We've been to Sugi at the Greenbelt a couple of times before, and it's always a pleasant experience. The waiters are accomodating, but not irritatingly so. The sashimis are always fresh and succulent, and the roe on the sushi ... love it!

On this particular evening when we had dinner at Sugi with Mark's Papa and youngest brother Beepo, we ordered a lot. Good thing Eric arrived to help us out.

This is a Japanese relish of cucumber and radish- cured
in brine and perhaps a little rice wine or vinegar.

The Tuna Sashimi glistens in its freshness, see ....

This is the Sushi with Fish Roe

Here comes the Sukiyaki! According to the menu posted on Munch Punch , the Sukiyaki is a soup made of thinly sliced beef and several vegetables cooked in sweet rice wine and soy sauce :

In my bowl though, I find a lot more in there, vermicelli noodles, leeks, and tofu. I especially liked the tofu in here- it became silky and soft. Like custard.

I wish the soup wasn't that sweet though.
The sweet rice wine overpowered the other flavors in the soup.

The piece de resistance, however, must be this . . ..

This has got to be, one of the most flavorful beef steaks I have ever tasted!
Delicious!

Nothing is cheap here though, so this place is a treat especially in these trying times. We saw Dolphy and a couple of his children on this particular evening. Hehe. Good eats!