Le Jardin: Cuisine de Gils of Trois Gourmands at BGC

Le Jardin Cuisine de Gils of Trois Gourmands is the newest French restaurant in Manila, located at the Penthouse of W Fifth Building, 5th Avenue corner 32nd Street in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The restaurant officially opens its doors today, May 7, to the public.



This newest food spot in BGC offers a romantic garden themed ambiance, coupled with great authentic French food, inspired with distinct Filipino ingenuity prepared by Chefs Hasset Go and Jonas Ng. Both chefs trained under the celebrated French Chef Gils Brault of Le Trois Gourmands in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.



Le Jardin offers a choice of a 3-course meal, a 4-course meal or a 5-course meal, with all set courses including a truffled egg appetizer, freshly made cheese, palette cleanser, and freshly baked bread. If you want something light, go for the 3-course set meal, while if you are starving, go for the 4 or 5-course set meal.



I love the ambiance of the garden-themed restaurant, with the industrial high ceiling, which compliments the whole out of Manila look, and offers a distinct inviting atmosphere to unwind and simply enjoy what's served on the plate. The appetizer came out first, the scrambled egg was light and fluffy, and the truffle oil just killed it. It was a symphony.



I got the 4-course meal, which included a cold starter and a hot starter. I got the Salad de homard or the poached lobster salad, which is a delicately plated lobster tail and salad that's seasoned and refreshing. You cannot go wrong with this dish!



I immediately finished my salad, which was followed by the Soupe de citrouille et Foie Gras Poêlé or the Squash soup with seared foie gras. Foie Gras, a food product made of the liver of the duck or goose that has been fattened, is one of the most popular and well-known delicacies in French cuisine. It happens to be one of my guilty pleasures (once in a while). I both loved the squash soup and the foie gras, and they both go well with each other, in fairness.



The palette cleanser immediately followed by appetizers. Lemon sherbet with tomatoes and basil oil. It was simply refreshing and yummy. I am ready for my main course. ;)



For my main course, I got the Pave de thon et foie gras poêlé, aux truffle or the Grilled tuna steak with foie gras and truffle sauce. One thing is for sure with me, foie gras and truffle, and the rest is history! I finished this right away. The tuna came from General Santos city or GenSan, which explains why the tuna is really good quality. The foie gras was rich, buttery and delicate, while the truffle oil was just divine. This is certainly a must try dish! :)



One of the things Le Jardin prides itself, besides good authentic French food, is that they carry a good selection of wines, imported from France, and can only be found in the restaurant. I tried the CHÂTEAU LA CALISSE ROSÉ 2011, which was a good choice. I would definitely have this piece for my wine collection.



Besides the food and the wine, they also make their own cheese, which is an all together tedious process of fermenting. This, however, is an acquired taste, as each one is aged and fermented differently to achieve the desired taste. Asked Chef Hasset which one is his favorite. He said, "the smellier, the better." I guess to each his own, as it really depends on the taste and the taster.



For dessert, I got what they recommended me, the Dessert de Gils, which would probably be the best dessert (I thought) as it is the namesake of Chef Gils. I was correct, as this concoction of vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet, strawberries and nougatine, was no less than heavenly.



With Chef Hasset Go :) Thank you brother for the wonderful experience!

Starbucks launches a New Coffee Journey

Starbucks Philippines will launch this July 16 two new beverages with a twist, redefining your Starbucks coffee experience. Starbucks will take you to a cool coffee journey with its Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino Blended Beverage and Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino Blended Beverage.

The soft chewy texture of the White Chocolate Pudding adds a twist to your regular blended beverages. The Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Frapp is a real treat for chocolate lovers as it combines the deep flavor of dark chocolate with that of a velvety and smooth white chocolate pudding, Starbucks' signature Frappuccino Roast coffee, chocolate chips, and milk, blended with ice. It is topped with whipped cream and chocolate powder.

The Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino perfectly blends the refreshing aromas of premium green tea, with the sweetness of the white chocolate pudding in a soft creamy texture, topped with whipped cream.

The Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino sells at PhP 190 for Tall, PhP 200 for Grande, and PhP 210 for Venti, while the Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino sells at PhP 180 for Tall, PhP 190 for Grande, and PhP 200 for Venti.

Besides the two new Frappuccino Blended Beverages, Starbucks Philippines introduces to the market the East Africa Blend, which offers an exotic blend of unique flavors of citrus, spice and berries, not found in coffee from any other region.

This is a medium roast blend which is bright and medium-bodied, striking an invigorating balance between citrus and spice notes from Kenya, and the subtle floral aromas and crisp from Ethiopia. Starbucks has been buying coffees frim East Africa since 1971.

Manang's Chicken - Ang Bagong Fried Chicken ng Pinoy

Manang's Chicken started out from the family dining table of Jill Gerodias Borja, the President and CEO of Manag's Chicken. Their family cook, whom they fondly call manang, would always whip up the bestselling "sweet, salty, crispy, juicy chicken" during family occasions. It went out to be offered in weekend markets, then finally, starting as a store in Ortigas, after it slowly gained its following due to its unique flavor. Now, they have 12 branches all over the Metro.

Their signature double deep fried crispy chicken with Manang's secret soy garlic sauce is a must try because it's the culprit, the one which started it all. You can choose from an original, mild spicy or extra spicy sauce.

 If you're not into chicken, they have just released their new food item, the Garlic Pork rice meal. "Meat-lovers rejoice! Big juicy pork chop deeply fried until perfectly crispy and topped with their special garlic topping.

Best Desserts in a Filipino Restaurant, Sentro 1771

You would not probably expect to get the best and yummy desserts from a Filipino restaurant. At most you would ask or be offered with their best selection of cakes, sometimes halo-halo, purple yam or more known as ube, or probably leche flan. But you can easily get halo-halo probably from Razons or ube and leche flan from your trusted bakeshop. 

Sentro 1771 invited some bloggers today to sample their food, which for me is my personal favorite, anytime of the day! But what I want to highlight now, is their dessert menu, which is filled with really delicious and noteworthy entrees.

Let's start off with their signature Sentro's Cheesecake, a baked but light, no crust cheesecake served with queso de bola and red egg. "Parang bibingka na hindi!" they say. You can distinctly taste the deep flavored cheese in the cheesecake, just perfect rendition of the popular "leche flan," but made differently.

If you are not into cheese, then probably their Coffee Bean Sans Rival is for you. It is more exciting and upbeat that the regular Sans Rival you see arround. Look at how it was presented! It is like a work of art which you hesitate to destroy, but you have to because it is really yummy.

Their Fried Suman and Magoes is made of rolled out suman fried to a light crisp and topped with ripe mangoes and served with sweet coco jam. Perfect Filipino dessert to end your meal.

Another must try is their Maja Blanca Crepe, a delicate and thin rice crepes filled with melt-in-your-mouth coconut milk custard with corn.

Last but definitely not the least, is their bestseller, which is really heavenly - the Coffee Pie. I love coffee, and infusing it in your pie is just so genius and satisfying. The coffee pie is one of its kind. Chocolate-cashew crust with coffee fillings topped with cream cheese and tofee sauce. Spell dessert porn.

Thanks to Kirk and Vannah for the invitation for lunch. :)

Yummy Finds at YUMMY Eats

Celebrating Filipinos' love for good, yummy food, YUMMY magazine held its first-ever cooking, eating, and food fair entitled YUMMY Eats yesterday, May 21, 2011 at the NBC Tent, The Fort. The event, a brainchild of YUMMY's associate publisher, and fellow food-blogger, FrannyWanny - Fran Ang, featured 31 specially handpicked food brands under one roof.

"For one whole day, our readers got the chance to treat their taste buds with a mix of delicious items - from savory to sweet, from coffees and teas, to a lot of ice cream!" she explained.



One of the highlights was the Hunt's Culinary Cook-off, which involved students from different schools to display their culinary wits and techniques in a one-hour battle to the top. I saw an old schoolmate who's now Hunt's endorser, Luch Zanirato.



YUMMY FINDS AT YUMMY EATS:
Out of the 31 concessionaires, excluding my old time favorites: Big Daddy's Chicken, Pipino by Pino Resto Bar, and Starbucks, here are my top yummy finds from YUMMY Eats:



SIMPLY PIE | Their pies are probably one of the YUMMY-est (yummiest) if not on the top of the YUMMY FINDS in YUMMY EATS yesterday. Gail Ang, the brains, cook, and baker extraordinaire behind Simply Pie, shares their bestselling mini-quiches: Spinach, Feta and Sundried Tomatoes; Bacon and Gruyere; and Mushroom and Sourcream. | Gail Ang, 0922-8822194, 341-2238, 9-C Victoria Ave., New Manila, Quezon City (at the back of Mt. Carmel Church)


MOCHIKO | A popular mochi ice cream made from sticky rice balls with ice cream inside. The owners use premium quality FIC ice cream and make them in their shop in Tagaytay. | Nowee Ponteciano, 0999-8840624



Other notable food finds are:



1. Fruits in Ice Cream (FIC) - Try their newest Lemon Crumble Yogurt Ice Cream | Jose Ma. Celdran, 0999-8840624
2. Amaya's Frozen Caramel - Rich, creamy, sweet and silky frozen leche flan ice cream! | Cathy Garcia, 0928-5519734
3. Carmela's Best Ice Cream - Salty Caramel Ice Cream, the best! | Paco Magsaysay, 0917-8154406
4. The Honest Juice - Try their JUICE A, made of apple, wheat grass, kiwi and lime | Janyn Chua, 0920-9623892
5. Jaq's Kitchen - Try their alcohol-infused pasta sauces. Watch out for their Milkfish Tequilla sauce! ;) | Jennie Orros, 0917-5296918
6. Pinoy Eats World - Celebrate Food, Culture and Art in their guerilla dinners, food tours and theme dinners. | Namee Jorolan, 0917-8968698
7. General's Lechon - Succulent Negros-syle roast pig which is really flavorful, you don't need sauce anymore | Bryan Ong, 0917-8989303

Cute little Minions and Angry Birds characters by Little Miss OC Kitchen | Anna Sarmiento, 0920-9512343



Photo with YUMMY magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Ms. Becky Kho :)