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.

Duo Steakhouse - Serendra

Restaurant Details
Location: Serendra, beside Conti’s and right across Chelsea
Cuisine: French-Italian Fusion
Price: PPP
Attire: Smart Casual

Our Details
What we had: Steak with Foie Gras (P750) and Penne Pasta with Salmon and Sea Urchin (P395)
Rating: ˜˜˜
Comments:
Food
Steak was done just as we request it – medium – which is something very rare (no pun intended) these days. The red wine sauce does not overpower the steak, leaving only the foie gras to do that. Steak was tender; foie gras was pan-fried to perfection. The large serving of pasta was intimidating, but as you savor the shitake mushrooms, salty salmon, and barely visible but definitely noticeable (when already in your mouth) uni, you will find yourself finishing the entire plate. The fresh parmesan grated on top was definitely a plus, unlike most restaurants using cheese that has been in the refrigerator for 3 months or worse, using cheese from a can. The service bread is always freshly baked (you can send it back if it’s not) – but ask for just the round ones. It’s their version of pan de sal, which goes excellently with the salsa.
Price
Definitely worth it
Service
Waiters are knowledgeable and well-trained. They are able to take multiple specifications with every order, barely visible when you don’t need them, but easy to find when you do.
Ambiance
The place looks like a well-built mansion dining area – the high ceiling makes being there delightful and not constraining. The best thing about it is it’s not tacky, the folks putting it together knew when to stop with the furniture and décor – this gives it a clean, fresh feel despite being a quasi-fine dining restaurant.
Bathroom
Bathroom was not fabulous but it was well-kept and spacious.

The Long Story

After finding out (the hard way) that multiple restaurants in Serendra are actually owned by one company, we were eager to try something good to have a reason to go back to Serendra. A friend recommended Duo – we were skeptical but when we saw the penne pasta with UNI, we just had to try it! So we did, and we’ve been going back and recommending it to everyone ever since.

We’ve actually already tried a number of things on the menu – Sea Bass (good), Lamb Chops (very good), Tessie Tomas salad (good), Tortellini Carbonara (good), Baked Cannelloni (normal), Prawn Bisque (very good), and Sugar Free French Chocolate Gateau (very good – must try). We’ve gotten boring after the first 10 visits so we always just order our favorites (Steak with Foie Gras and Penne Pasta with Uni).

The waiters are very formal, but they are not snooty or overly friendly. They do not try to “sell” you their recommendations but they do know what to recommend when you do ask them. The host remembers your name after 2-3 visits, which makes you feel welcome.

By the way, make sure you call in your reservation for good measure. You really don’t want to dine outside, unless you are a smoker. The only difficult part about this is getting someone to answer the phone when calling in for a reservation. Actually, the first time I tried this restaurant was with my dad. We didn’t have reservations, it was 7:00 and there was a table with an 8:30 reservation. We told the host that we would eat fast – after just 2 minutes of thinking and talking, the host let us use the table. Not a lot of restaurants would do that, understandably, but we did finish at 7:40 so we were happy about both the flexibility of the staff and the quality of the food.

You know the restaurant is good when we don’t have a lot to say about the place in the “long story”… it means we’ve been there too often and haven’t had any major complaints.