good food @ aubergine

i know that i have been mostly ranting about food i've had back in manila lately. i hope you guys don't take it against me. i have not been having wow moments which is quite frustrating for me. but aubergine has saved me from this gastronomic slump.

so here's the best meal i've had in ages.

some freebies first, whipped butter and olive tapanade. we got 3 bread choices potato, multi grain and i forgot the other one but there was three =) the pic is potato bread.

the amuse bouche, grilled blue marlin with a mango salsa (i think) definitely did its job of awakening my tastebuds. smoky and fresh blue marlin with the refreshing mango salsa . a good way to start the meal.

crabmeat salad with pineapple and cilantro served on thinly sliced wagyu beef top blade and bouillabaisse espuma accompanied by petit leave salad tossed in balsamic dressing

the wagyu was topnotch…this is what i call love. i didn't even get bothered that it was raw. it just melts in your mouth and it doesn't even taste like raw meat it was really love. the crabmeat salad tasted like embutido stuffed in this weird gelatin roll which i found a bit off for this ensemble. the espuma started out to be alright oozing with crab flavor but eventually got too fishy/crabby so we didn't finish it off.

frothy fennel-apple cream, scented with red curry, accompanied by crispy scallop-spinach wonton

this is what dining outside is all about. a melange of flavors that burst in your mouth that you cannot figure out the spices and ingredients used. i love the soup but the downside was, it was too rich. too rich you can feel it going through your throat. but still, i never really complained since i loved the flavors. the wonton i thought was some cheese stuffed wonton, didn't realize it was scallop until i reviewed the menu but it was a nice touch.



pan seared french duck foie gras on truffled potato mousseline with port wine glaze and raspberry

if the wagyu was love this was love love. the foie gras was nicely seared, it was just a melt in your mouth experience and everything just went well together. putting everything in one bite simply makes it a very unforgettable foie gras experience.


cranberry-aloe sherbet

something to cleanse the palate. the cranberry was too sour and the aloe was too flowery. i liked the presentation very much though.



grilled chilean seabass with calamari-olive and basil ragout on tagliatelle pasta in minestrone veloute

b and i love seabass and we've had our misses on this favorite fish of ours, but this was a hit. the fish was fresh and was well cooked. the downside? there was no wow factor. it was too plain. maybe because i've gotten so impressed with everything else that came before it. the flavors were very mild all i can think about was a piece of seabass topped on a bed of tagliatelle with white sauce and lots of carrots. i couldn't even remember if there was a ragout and if there was where was the calamari-olive flavor which i couldn't recall.



anyway, good thing we ordered another entree which was a special for the night.

mustard-thyme crusted rack of lamb on basil polenta, ratatouile and black olive jus

i love the lamb, it was nicely cooked. pinkish in color, very tender without the gamey after taste. the polenta was also love though i don't think it was basil infused but definitely very flavorful. this was the best entree, too bad it didn't go with the tasting menu =) well it costs almost the same as the tasting menu so you'd think you're really getting more out of it.

for dessert, white chocolate fondue cake served in warm forest berry froth and yoghurt ice cream.

i love berries but this was too much for me, maybe it didn't help that it was hot as well. the cake was fresh out of the oven meaning piping hot and then you add a warm froth the two hot elements simply overpowered the ice cream. maybe if they just made it like a berry coulis or something that is cool it would have been much better.



the degustation costs PHP1950++ and the lamb entree was PHP1450++. the question is, was it worth it? it's a definite YES! it was worth it. i have been experiencing a gastronomic drought that i thought i could never be amazed with food anymore. this meal brought my faith back to good eats. definitely at the top of my resto list now. i heart aubergine.

p.s. the tasting menu was shared by two people…some of the items they split into two while some have to be shared.


32nd and 5th building
5th ave cor 32nd st.
fort bonifacio, taguig