I know I have been missing in action from the blog lately. (I'll update it soon, promise! Please don't give up on me! Lol!)
Life has been pretty crazy busy beautiful and I'd like to enjoy it than be in front of the computer… for now. Hehe.
In the meantime, please follow me on Instagram and Facebook.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jinlovestoeat
I am much, much more active there and I promise to flood your feeds till you can't take it anymore.
Thank you.
:)
It was not my first time at Lemuria
But the sight of this cozy little house-turned-restaurant still took my breath away
Hand-painted mailbox
The dining room was as beautiful as I remembered it to be. I fell in love with it all over again.
Everyone did, and each family took turns taking photos with Auntie Babie, our birthday celebrant.
Legende wines from Artisan Cellars & Fine Foods
The breads at Lemuria were very good
Unfortunately, service was not.
Our food took forever to arrive. It seemed there were only 2 waiters assigned for our group of 30.
Amuse bouche. It looked pretty, that's all.
The pickle relish reminded me of sandwiches I used to eat when I was in grade school.
The people behind Lemuria also own Brumms Quality Wines.
They suggested the pairings for our dinner that night.
Frances requested the kitchen to prepare two different 4-course menus so we could try more dishes.
This was Set A:
Chilean black mussels in white wine sauce - delicious
Mushroom and gruyere soup - just okay
Shrimp tortellini in crab fat sauce topped with sautéed chanterelles - I loved the mushrooms!
Quail Two Way
Confit of quail and pan roasted quail with wine wine and butter, paired with caramelized fennel.
I really enjoyed this dish except they seriously need to do something about the plating.
It looked horrible no matter what angle! Lol!
I didn't care much for the dishes in Set B. I thought they were mediocre at best.
Marinated tuna spring roll with smoked duck breast carpaccio
Cold sea bass salad
Mushroom gnocchi bathed in roquefort and porcini cream sauce topped with parma ham
Spanish Iberian pork loin with red wine, butter and wild mushrooms
We didn't order any dessert because as usual...
We brought our own cake buffet!
Costa Brava Ube Cake, Happy Cream Puff Croquembouche, Goldilocks Mocha Cake,
Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Mary Grace Strawberry Shortcake, Pacita Cake,
Mango Sansrival, Assorted Cakes from Angel's Kitchen, Assorted Mini Cheesecakes
by Gregory Guy
And we all came in royal blue because it was Her Majesty the Queen Babie's birthday!
And because she is Queen, Auntie Babie had help blowing out all her candles.
Look at Gwama! Lol!
Mother-daughter team effort
It always warms my heart to see how close Mom and her sisters are. They can spend
the whole day together everyday and when they get home, they still call each other on
the phone! They all love bread, Chinese telenovela, health tips and superstitions. Hahaha!
Cheers to Madam Babie!!! Wishing you good health, love, laughter, and more
and more blessings as you continue to bless everyone around you. ♥
Lemuria: 5 Julieta Circle, Horseshoe Village, Quezon City. Tel: +632 724 5211
Last October 6, The Fatterside invaded Brasserie Girolle to celebrate Felisse's birthday
It was a bit last minute so, to keep things simple, I requested Chef Ian to prepare a plated
set menu for our group of 30.
As soon as I arrived, Ian asked if he should prepare a separate table
for all our cakes. Apparently, he reads my blog and knows we go
crazy like that. Hahaha!
He also threw in a round of complimentary iced tea for everyone.
It was very good iced tea. Thank you, Ian! :)
I had been to Brasserie Girolle a couple of times before (see post here and here), and looked forward to trying out the new menu, which my friend Mike raved about.
As usual, Mike was right. He was also the one who pushed me to go to Le Comptoir du Relais in Paris (see post here) and Fuunji in Tokyo (see post here). Both truly memorable meals.
Back to Felisse's birthday dinner at Brasserie Girolle...
Everyone was happy with the taste and quality of the food that night, but not the portions. LOL. :D
It wasn't the restaurant's fault though. We are abnormally big eaters.
The meal started with an Eggs and Foie Gras appetizer with garlic puree and truffle oil.
This was served family style, but I'm sure we could finish one serving per person.
Yes, it was as decadent as it looks. Too bad the slower members of the family didn't get to try
it with goose liver as there were only 4 pieces. Guess who was the fastest and got the
biggest piece? Mwahahaha!
The Pissaladiere of Duck Confit with hoisin sauce, fried wonton and arugula was a winner!
Everyone loved this and some were quick to reserve a second slice before I finished
it all again. A MUST at Brasserie Girolle.
I usually do not like cooked salmon, but this Norwegian Salmon En Croute was prepared
just beautifully. The tarragon butter crust was crisp and flavorful, the meat inside
delightfully moist and tender.
Surf and Turf of Scallop and Foie Gras on oxtail marmalade and drizzled with truffle oil.
Perfect in every way. I drank every last drop of that sauce, too!
Roulade of Australian Confit of Lamb with roasted garlic puree, shallot confit, mustard jus.
Gone in two bites - yes, because it was good, and also because it was tiny. Haha!
Ian was so thoughtful to serve this Basil Ricotta Fromage Blanc instead of sweets for our
dessert. We brought six cakes with us so this cheese course with confiture
of citrus fruits, honey and candied nuts was a welcome treat.
And because we eat like sumo wrestlers, we were still hungry after the 6-course meal
so we ordered more food.
Foie Gras and Oxtail Wonton - as delicious as it sounds
Beef Tartare - a staple at Brasserie Girolle
Blue Cheese and Green Apple Pissaladiere
Carbonara - I thought this needed more oomph
And an off-menu pasta that Chef Ian whipped up for us because he didn't have
enough ingredients to make the 6 servings of carbonara we originally wanted.
This was so good and turned out to be even better than the carbonara.
Our celebrant and her birthday cakes
(on a separate table that the servers thoughtfully prepared for us! Haha!)
Clockwise from top left: Assortment of cakes from Wildflour, Goldilocks Mocha Cake,
Purple Oven Strawberry Shortcake, Classic Confections Nono's Chocolate Oblivion,
Karisia Patisserie Nora Cake, Goldilocks Ube Queso Cake
Happy Happy Birthday to our dearest Felisse!!! ♥
See previous Brasserie Girolle posts:
Brasserie Girolle
Brasserie Girolle, Revisited
Brasserie Girolle: Ground Floor, Fort Pointe Building, 28th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Tel: +632 856 6639
To be very, very honest, I was not convinced about the food at The Girl and The Bull. (See post here.) I LOVED the Faux Twix - oh God, I could finish two orders by myself! - but the savories did not leave me jumping up and down with joy.
But YES, I admire owners Gab and Thea for what they do. I mean, all I did at age 23 was eat Happy Meals and daydream about New Kids on the Block, and here they are, running a restaurant. Now, two!
12/10 is their second baby, and I have to say, arriving without any expectations, I left rather impressed!
The place is what my teenager niece would call "artsy"
There were strips of colored paper glued to the wall
And artificial plants growing out of frames
The place, in the middle of a very quiet area in Makati, was full on a Monday night, too!
These kids must be doing something right!
12/10 was still on soft-opening when we visited. There were 12 items on the menu,
2 were not available. In our true "Love Food" group fashion, we ordered all 10.
I almost cried over how tiny the servings were. I get emotional like that.
It was later on that I realized they are meant to be in tasting portions so you can build your own little degustation, which is really a swell idea if you are not a big group of 9 clueless, hungry people.
We didn't know what to expect and ordered only 2 servings of each dish, which became 3, then later on, 4.
I know we can still handle up to 7.
I wish the servers informed us earlier so some of us didn't have to pretend to be all kind and patient watching others go ahead while waiting for our additional orders.
Just kidding. We love each other to bits. Love is patient, love is kind, love does not kill
thy neighbor when she is oohing and aahing ridiculously over mackerel ceviche.
Instead, love is drowning hungry, evil thoughts in water
Or better yet, a Mai Tai!
Don Papa rum, cointreau, lime, peanut syrup.
The food at 12/10 made me very happy.
Not all dishes though. On my next visit I will skip these two:
Hijiki seaweed, candied anchovies, edamame, pink peppercorn
Chicken skin, enoki, spring onion root, sea salt, sansho, lemon
And order to my heart and stomach's content the following 8 dishes:
Mushroom salad, rocket, pickled red onion, salted egg yolk, sesame, honey
Mackerel ceviche, sriracha, coconut, coriander oil, radish
Raw tuna salad, kyuri, yuzu kosho, maple syrup, ebiko, shichimi, nori
Blowtorched salmon, uni, caviar, panko, nori, shiso, ponzu, sea salt
Chicken wings karaage, fish sauce caramel, tobiko, scallions
Salmon kushiyaki, truffle oil, aonori, black sesame, wasabi, curry, cornflakes
Korean fried chicken, charred eggplant, gochugang, sesame, shiso, lime
Toro onigiri, foie gras, negi, dynamite, balsamic maple syrup
Everything was wildly delicious it was hard to choose a favorite. It was wow after wow after wow.
Honestly, I could not find any fault in the dishes.
Except maybe the onigiri could do with less rice. Having said that, I still finished
every last grain. :D
I am now a Gab-and-Thea believer
I think we all are.
Only good food (and great company!) can bring out these smiles!
12/10: 7635 Guijo Street, Makati City
Monday - Saturday 5pm - 11pm
