Chef Jessie - Rockwell

We have always love the Le Souffle group of restaurants and the other restaurants that were inspired by Le Souffle e.g. Florabel, Chef Quarters, Duo, Old Vine etc etc.. Billy King first departed the group, he is still one of the finer chefs in the country.. With his departure. Chef Jessie Sincioco had to step up to manage the kitchen operations of the Le Souffle group. We dont know what exactly happened to Le Souffle, but we are happy that Chef Jessie still runs the newly named restaurant. And upon hearing that the place now offers weekend brunch. We just have to try it.. knowing the standard of Chef Jessie, it must be good... hahahaha

Elle: Look at the PRAAAAWNSSSS!!!! Need I say more?? The prawns were perfectly cooked and the sauce was thick enough to coat each prawn and tangy enough to balance the sweetness of the prawn. I loved the raspberry salad dressing which was a great choice over the usual salad dressings. Of course the caviar pie was unforgettable!

I did not like the drinks they served because they were watered down and really did not do anything to add to the entire spread. I am not really an egg fan but I loved the eggs benedict! The bread was a bit crispy on the outside contrasting well with the very soft/ raw egg yolk. Other finger foods like the different quiches and the bite size pancakes were just ok.

I will probably never forget the brightness and freshness of all the fruits served with the muesli. The colors were just too appetizing! I can not even remember how many times I went back get fruits! The freshest fruits really make a difference! I was not able to taste the profiteroles but I was not too keen on the desserts. I found the chocolate cake very rich and thick that I had a difficult time swallowing it although it tasted ok.

Cody: I was giddy with delight when we were on the way to Chef Jessie. Stepping into the Amorsolo Building.. my appetite was already in high gear.

The first plate I got was at the appetizer station and you can see the quality that you get. Caviar pie, Prawn salad, tossed salad with raspberry vinaigrette and creamy balsamic vinaigrette .

The eggs benedict was very good, the do it differently by baking the hollandaise sauce giving it a nice texture and rich goodness that you will just keep on eating and eating. The Chcken ala kig was just okay

The garlic rice was fried perfectly without being over garlicky, the beef cbes were very tender and marinated beautifully, the omelletes were just okay. The tiny quiches were a delight to eat.:)

The pancakes and bacon were good, and I like that the size of the pancakes were small and still fluffy.

The roast beef was the star of the show.. tender and juicy, cooked perfectly medium well, with the cute pandesal.. I hope my brunch can be like this everyday.

The drinks were a let down. and the desserts were so-so

But we would still return here once in a while, overall experience was great:)

Bowler's - Salcedo Village, Makati City

WE were craving for the boneless buffalo chicken at Bugsy's, but sadly the place was full, then we remembered there is a bad just around the corner and suprisingly, it was not full. And we like the interior better than Bugsy. It feels cleaner.

Service was good, and fast

Chicken tandoori pita:

Elle: Cold, cold, cold. This dish was served cold! I do not know if it was intentional or not but the chicken was already stiff and dry when I bit into it. The wraps were too doughy and flour-y which I would expect from a doughy piece of pita. Flavor-wise it was just okay. Nothing special about it that would make me remember the dish well.

Cody: i never liked Indian food in general but i love Tandooris!! but was also as sad as Ellle when this plate was served in front of us. It was indeed cold and sad, Filling though, but thats the only cmpliment i can give them. We initially wanted pizzas, but they were not available at this time becasue according to the server, they had a big crowd last night and all their pizza doughs were finished. How hard is it to make pizza dough?? i can make it for them in less than 2 hours. Geeezzzz. Oh well
Mango mojito: Elle:I was disappointed because the mojito was not frozen. It served its purpose to get me a bit tipsy but I did not enjoy it because it was served with ice. It would have been better if it were a slushie.

Cody: MY rant here is that the Majito lacked a bit more rum, you can taste it but it doesnt give you even a bit of a buzz after downing a few glasses. Too bad for the quality. The best Manjo mojito for me is still at CAFE HAVANA.

Will we be back here?? maybe... the location was quite convenient for us.. i hope they can improve on their food and drink

G/F Paseo Parkview Tower, cor. Valero and Sedeno Sts., Salcedo Village
Makati City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02) 894-3589

Shang Palace- Shangri-la Makati Makati City

Shangri-la Makati Hotel - Arguably the best hotel in Metro Manila.  Being the best hotel, they are suppose to house the best restaurants. Circles is indeed one of the better buffet restaurants. RED is really not out type, it is.. for us, a bit overrrated. Inagiku is indeed a wonderful japanese restaurant. But for today we are concentrating on SHANG PALACE

Dimsum:  Elle:The dimsum wrapper was so shiny, glutinous and gummy…I loved it! Super chewy and delicious! No scrimping on ingredients here.  Hakao had a ton of shrimp inside, siomai was real pork and not just pork fat.  They were fresh off the steamer and bursting with aroma and flavor! My first favorite would have to be the Steamed crystal dumpling with vegetable. The shiny wrapper was glistening with freshness! One bite had a lot of textures- crunchy, soft, jelly-like.  It had cilantro in it which added a certain freshness to the dish.  The deep fried seafood with mango in rice wrapper was also delicious! The delicateness of the seafood was contrasted by the crispiness of the rice wrapper and the mango sauce gave it a nice twist. 

Cody: This is the pinnacle of dimsum eating here in Manila. Everything was done to near perfection. From the skin to the filling. Everything was made using high standards. It is like you were eating in Hongkong and not in Manila. My favorite was the Hakao, delicate skin yet it holds everything inside. Inside was plump prawn pieces that I could eat everyday. My least favorite was the hong kong style fried roll. It was a bit oily.

Soup:  Elle: The hot and sour soup had loads of mushrooms and it was heartily-good! It was not as spicy and it was really good that way because it wasn’t the kind you’d get sick of after a few spoonfuls. The corn soup tasted like fresh corn chucked off the cob. It was not creamy which I also liked because the corn can get a little overpowered by the cream.  It was a light and refreshing soup.  Something to clean the palate with after a few servings of dumplings.

Cody:  The soups were sad to day, for me,  just ordinary.  It wasn’t as outstanding as I would hope for. 

Vegetables:  Elle: We ordered the Steamed Mui Choy with sliced bean curd. I was a bit disappointed because the bean curd didn’t taste so good. It had a slightly sour unpleasant taste to it that just made the dish taste a bit off.  Bean curd is one of my favorite things on the planet and this dish didn’t live up to my expectation.

Cody: This dish was presented beautifully but tastewise, it wasn’t a hit for me. I like the tofu and the vegetable, but the sauce on top of the tofu wasn’t really to my liking. It tasted like fermented veggies that I think is more of an acquired taste than anything else.

Main dish: Elle:The sauteed scallops with broccoli in X.O. sauce was a winner.  The scallops were sautéed in a lot of green onions which gave the dish so much flavor.  However the picture was so different from the actual serving.  The actual scallops were so much smaller and a bit “drier” in texture than the ones on photo the menu.  Slightly disappointed by the size but it was still delicious. 

Cody: Scallops was cooked perfectly, the veggies was also done right, the problem here was the size, they slice the scallops very thin. Too bad, the sauce was also great.

Elle: The fish fillet in orange sauce was another disappointing dish.  I found it too sweet and too orangey that I couldn’t really understand if it was supposed to be savory or not.  The fish pieces were soft and had a creamy texture but it was overpowered by the sauce.  A little sauce does go a long way. 

Cody:  It was nice that they used real lapulapu fillet. Size was good. Fried perfectly. My rant here would be the sauce that tasted like SUNQUICK.

Dessert:  Elle: Mango sago puree had bits of mango in it.  The sago was a bit too overcooked and had that melt in your mouth texture.  I like sago that kind of fights back when you bite into it.  I was also disappointed with the almond jelly with fruits because it did not have the almond taste I was looking for.  The almond-taste was very mild you’d miss it even after a few bites. 

Cody:  Here is were all the Chinese restaurants fail and falter. And Shang Palace didn’t fare better. It could be done better and I hope they can improve.  The mango sago lacked in taste. The almond jelly was just ordinary.

Manna-ish - Jupiter St. Makati City

Middle Eastern food has been getting its claim to fame because of its availability in our city. Theres the ultra cheap Mr. Kabab in Quezon City to the  more than 500 pesos Kebabs of Hosseins. People love this because of its great taste.. healthy method of cooking. 

SO when this placed opened. We wanted to try it immediately.

Ayran natural yogurt

Elle:  choice of sweet and natural.  Of course I chose natural.  The first sip: it was like drinking champoy juice if there’s even such a thing! It was soooo salty.  A small amount of sugar syrup made it better.  Sad part was it was runny.  I was expecting it to be cold and creamy. 

Cody: Sour and salty, if it was from a milk carton, I would have thrown it away, but they say its all natural yogurt…. Not really my type of drink, had o ask for lot of syrup to balance the taste.

Mahummarah

Elle:  it was the Middle Eastern version of pizza.  It smells beefy but doesn’t taste much.  You have to add a lot of chili sauce to make it taste like anything.  Worse is they will eventually charge you for the sauce. 

 Cody: This one I like very much, the size is good for just one person and you can easily finish this one because it is very good.  Freshly baked even the sauce eas freshly made.

Mixed Chicken and Beef Shawarma

Elle: This was served on a thin crepe-like wrapper.  But it had no stuffing! What kind of shawarma doesn’t have vegetables?  The dough was a bit thick when it cooled down it was already like corkboard.  The chicken was very spicy and had too many herbs.  It was also very dry that it resembled dry stew/curry.  The serving size was too small. 

Cody: I had so much hope that this would be good because of the look of he place with all the fancy cooking equipment, but once it was serve and I had a peek what was inside…. I was disappointed. The beef was dry, the chicken was also dry.

NOTE:   Sad because the place looked promising.  It came complete with Mediterranean looking gadgets and oven. 

Tachibana - Pasay Road

Theres a lot and we mean a lot of Japanese restaurants in Makati. Deciding where to eat can sometimes be difficult. Let us share with you guys one of our hidden Japanese restaurant secret.

Place really looks old, the wooden interiors plus the chair and tables, makes you think this restaurant has been there since the 60s. Once you enter, you will see Japanese people eating.. which is always a good sign.

Tachibana Bento

Elle: To start off, the rice was done so well. It was sticky but not stuck together.  It also had several slices of sashimi-no fishy smell!  Tempura was delicious! One piece was interesting – at first I thought it was okra but it was actually a big green chili!

Cody: At P350 this is one of the most packed and sulit bento box there is around. Everything was well prepared, from the rice to the fresh sushi to the tempura and the delicious chicken teriyaki

Chicken Teriyaki

Elle: This was sliced into bite size pieces that were fried into a perfect crisp and crunch.  The sauce wasn’t just poured over the chicken but it was most likely the marinade used.  The chicken was so tasty and not oily even though it was deep fried.

Cody: There are a lot of different preparations of chicken teriyaki ut so far from all the ones I tried this one is he winner. The skin was thin yet very crispy, the meat was is moist even if it was deep fried.

Chawan Mushi

Elle: Soft and creamy.  The dashi wasn’t too strong and was just the right amount to make the dish light yet rich.  It had a good amount of chicken, shrimp, mushroom, fish cake.  It just melts in your mouth!

Cody: This is included when you order a bento box, soft and will just disintegrate once you take a sip of it. It has huge pieces of different meats. 

Amici - Makati City

To those who used to feel that this is their own secret little Italian get away…. Sorry to tell you guys… it's no longer a secret. After being bought by the people who used to run Red Ribbon. They have expanded the place and opened in 3 more locations. But what can we do, but live with it right? Just as long as the quality of the food doesn’t deteriorate… well lets see..

Genovese con Gambareti pizza

Cody: Nice looking pizza don’t you agree. The shrimp was plump and freshly cooked. It has the crunch I always look for when I eat prawns or shrimp. The crust as always was nicely done, not too thick, not too thin, just right.

Elle: I agree.  The pizza was thin and crunchy.  With loads of cheese and a very thin layer of tomato sauce.  You can see how thin the crust is and the lightly burned edges gave the dough a different taste.  I would have wanted more shrimps on the pizza.  After all it’s the only topping and a small piece doesn’t suffice. 

Spaghetti Vongole en Gambaretti

Cody: my favorite pasta order because for me it’s the most sulit. Thought the seafood can be overcooked like the tough scallop and the shrimp that’s hard to peel. Serving size was big. Served hot

Elle: this one had a lot of seafood,  the pasta was overcooked.  The sauce was good though since it tasted like  tomatoes that have been stewed for some time

Sinbads - San Agustin St, Makati City

Chicken Madras Curry P208 

Cody:  by the looks of it, it looked thick and creamy curry. But when we ran a spoon thru it, it was not. It was a bit watery The flavor was mild. Sad dish for me

Elle: it was watery. But the curry still tasted a bit too strong. Nothing special about this dish.

Lamb Shanks P399

Cody:  A hefty dish, the lamb was braised to perfect tenderness. You can eaily pick out the meat from the bone. The couscous added a nice texture to the dish as it differ form the usual pasta or potato side dish we get from other restos.

What we don’t like about this restaurant is that they use  supermarket bought frozen veggies. Let us not tolerate restaurants from using this. We can buy this at the nearby supermarket. Why cant a restaurant make their own from FRESH vegetables, right?

Thai Sticks and steaks - Pasong Tamo, Makati City

Note: This place is already close, but we just have it feature it as it was dishing out good food.

Not really a name I would use for a thai restaurant. The original name of this place was THAI PAD, I wonder why they  change their name.

Thai Ice Tea: 

Cody : This was nice and refreshing. Very nice and strong tea flavour. Blending perfectly with the coconut milk. Excellent rendition

Elle: Liked it, tasted like regular thai ice tea.

Tom Yum Goong: 

Cody:  i love my tom yum with a dash of coconut milk,  just like this version. The spicyness was just right. The sour level was also good.

Chicken Pandan w Bagoong Rice

Cody : Their version was just okay, better than Soms, Chariya and even AZUTHAI. Hehe. Fried nicely that the pandan leaf added just the right accent to the chicken.

Elle:  same with cody, it was just okay

Thai Fish Cake

Cody:  a  bit doughy in taste, lots of extenders.  Not really something I would order again.

PHAD THAI

Cody : when its cheap pad thai, my comparison is always SOMS, which I hate, but this version was actually good, need more chili though for a little kick, but the saltiness and sweetness was just right.

Elle: am not really a fan of pad thai, so I really didn’t like this.

WE hope they would open again.. in a better location...