Randy E.
Yelp
I've been here 3 times with friends and after splitting the bill, it always gets to around P1,000-P2,000 per person. Believe me, things adds up quickly. You would think that after spending that much, I would have been enjoying what I was eating. Coming back here was the result of my friend from out of town who probably has read all the raves of food bloggers.
I'm giving it 3 stars because for it's price, they ought to serve something delicious. I've been doing all the diets that require clean/organic, gluten-free, low carb, low fat plus low carb and have been eating on and off power foods like quinoa, and cacao nibs. Unhappy of what is being served in most places in Metro Manila where everything seems to be some sort of rice topping, I started to learn how to cook healthy/diet food. Now I can even bake breads and cakes using coconut and almond flour. But I tell you, all the diet food I cook I can't serve to anyone else because I know they taste terrible. Now this place actually serve food which tastes like the diet food I cook at home. And they charge way too much.
The first star I'm giving is for the ambiance. Interiors is fabulous. It's beautiful. I could just have coffee and stay here the whole day. That's all that's probably worth paying for in this place.
The two other stars are for the actual attempt for "healthy" food. And the plating is really good.
For people coming here, it wouldn't make sense if you go organic for just one meal and then all your other meals are non-organic. Especially when you're going paleo, have to commit to it. It would be like going to the gym every other month and expect results from it. This isn't comfort food as the restaurant claims it to be, it's more like torture food. Yes, this is part of the life most of us has learned to accept. We just try to survive with the food our expensive diet allows. This is a warning for the rest of the people who aren't actually dieting/eating clean and expecting real food in this restaurant.
Let's get down to business. The actual food we ordered.
Chicken Dukkha Salad. This is one of their better salads. P580 for a bowl good for sharing. I had to remind myself that organic chicken is expensive in this country.
Porkchops. 2 pieces for a whopping P690. Nothing spectacular about these chops. Nothing. Except probably the fact that it's organic beef. Tastes bland. I had to remind myself that they use less flavoring in this restaurant.
Gyudon Rice Bowl. P380. Who would think they won't get this right? Well it seems like they ran out of soy sauce. It's just bland. It looks really good but tasteless. My friend said it's healthy, none of the delicious bad stuff (soy sauce!!) was used.
Pastries like chocolate cake and strawberry (shortcake?) muffin. Because they probably used some substitute, they didn't taste delicious but they were passable enough as healthy food. Remember, organic stuff is expensive in this country. I'm not sure what made the dessert healthy--was it sugar-free? Dairy-free? Low carb? Gluten-free? I didn't care anymore! It wasn't like we were there to enjoy the food, were we?