Cycle 5 – Item 41

15 (Sat) February 2014

Slow Roast Beef Brisket with Cauliflower Cheese

3.5

at Sala Bistro

(Greenbelt 3)

-Ayala Center, Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines-

with Uncle CS

Sala Bistro is a French restaurant.  Very popular, at least among the expat community, as evidenced by its current ranking on TripAdvisor: 16 of 892 restaurants in Makati.  Pricy, even by Greenbelt/Makati standards, most mains starting at around 600 pesos.

Surprisingly, in the history of GMTD, this is the first French restaurant ever featured.  Of the 40 posts attributed to French origin thus far, 38 meals were cooked by me, while the other 2 comprised French-ish dishes, one at a wedding buffet and another at a whisky tasting.  If I’m to continue talking the talk about food, I really need to expand my French horizons more

The food was excellent.  For starters, the salad Niçoise was exquisitely executed.  The brisket was luxuriously tender yet pleasantly chewy, richly beefy without being gamy, smothered in a gorgeous tomato & red wine & au jus reduction, paired with cheesy cauliflower and steamed broccoli and green beans.  Time and money willing, I want to go back and try everything on the menu.

Our final bill of around 7,500 pesos between the two of us, which did include 2 bottles of wine, made this the most expensive meal that I’ve had in the Philippines thus far.

(See also BOOZE)

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN PHILIPPINES)