Katre - off Tomas Morato

Restaurant Details
Location: Scout Something, turn toward Alfredo’s side from Tomas Morato, right beside D’ Mark
Cuisine: Mediterranean Fusion
Price: PPP
Attire: Smart Casual

Our Details

What we had: Foie Gras on Pasta, Angus Rib Eye in au jus, Pandan Juice
Rating: ˜˜˜
Comments:
Food Steak was done just right, it was cut just right, cooked just right, tender, juicy, excellent. Foie Gras serving was generous, delicately pan fried, served on top of spaghettini with capers, cranberry, etc. Pasta done al dente – it’s a bit on the oily side but just pop a Xenical and you should be ok. Pandan juice had aloe in it, bottomless, and goes perfectly with the food (and the weather).
Price Definitely worth it
Service Waiters know what they’re doing and what they’re recommending. There’s the occasional new waiter learning the ropes but the rest are veterans who even remember what your usual.
Ambiance The place is like a renovated house – it looks fresh and clean inside. Just don’t sit outside, as there are a number of plants and occasionally sitting beside the window, you will see a lizard. It’s a good place to bring someone on a 2nd or 3rd date.
Bathroom Bathroom was not exactly clean but not dirty either, though it could be better.

The Long Story

This was a recommendation from my mom – I was skeptical at first because of the strange name, which sounds like a cafeteria. But after trying nearly half of the menu – lamb rack (very good), sea bass (very good), lamb navarine (good), pacific cod (good), calamari (good), wild mushroom soup (very good), chocolate cake (good), and a bunch of other stuff, which we can’t remember anymore. With the redundancy of restaurants and proliferation of fake food in Tomas Morato, this is a very welcome break. Except that it’s closed on Mondays, but hey, everyone needs a day off. After trying different things, we now stick to ordering the same thing (yes, both of us) – Foie Gras on Pasta with lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, Pandan Juice, and the occasional chocolate cake (if we had starved ourselves of dessert during lunch). This is a place we’d definitely recommend.

Mano’s Greek Taverna - Tagaytay

Restaurant Details
Location: Calamba Road, Barangay San Jose, Tagaytay City
Cuisine: Greek
Price: PP
Attire: Shorts and slippers – there’s no air conditioning

Our Details
What we had: Tzatziki, Moussaka, Lamb Gyros, Grilled Porkchop
Rating: ˜˜

Comments:
Food: Rendition of Greek cuisine is better than Greek restaurants in Manila (Cyma, Mati, Café Mediterranean) but still with improvement areas. Tzatziki lacked the punch of garlic and the yogurt was a bit on the watery side. Moussaka was actually ok, there was no overload of béchamel sauce – they could cut down on the potatoes, but that’s how the Greeks would have it. Lamb Gyros and Grilled Porkchop were really nothing special, the latter had parts which are dry.
Price Price is commensurate to the food quality
Service Normal service that you would expect from household maid – because of the lack of adequate training, you need to constantly remind them of what needs to be done.
Ambiance Imagine a house in Santorini on the outside and one of the cafés at Plaka on the inside. Then throw in the dust from passing cars, the heat from the sun, flies everywhere, and (ugh, I hope this was a one-time thing) lots of kids
Bathroom Unsurprisingly unacceptable

The Long Story
We’ve passed by this place when we went to Tagaytay before, and then did some research on what other people think about it. Finally, we happened to have a trip with friends and got to try it. When we were ordering, the waitress said they ran out of pita and Greek bread, so we, I mean, I freaked out because this means nearly half of the stuff on the menu was not available. She said the bread would be ready in an hour – it takes 15 minutes at the most to make pita bread!! I actually considered leaving, and was quite vocal about it. In the end, they were able to serve the bread in time…. I wonder now what they did. Unfortunately I was not able to try the yogurt with honey, which was one of my all-time favorites during our Greece trip. (If you do try it, please let me know if it’s really good)

I love Greek food and I have been searching for the perfect Tzatziki in Manila, or in Asia for that matter. The closest I got is the Olive Garden at the Emporium Mall’s Gourmet Market… this is in Bangkok, which means I need to consume tubs of Tzatziki 3 days after I get back home. If you get the chance to grab this, try ditching the pita bread and eating it with Chubi Corn (looks like cornets but better, it comes in a green box and has Japanese stuff written all over it). I wouldn’t really say it was over-rated, because the food was not bad, though friends were really not too impressed by it either. We wouldn’t drive 2 hours to eat at an average restaurant.