Chefs' Quarter

A couple of days ago, my sister and I decided to check out the food stops at SM Megamall's Atrium. Since I've eaten in most of the restaurants there with O, I suggested, to which my sister readily agreed since I was gonna pay the bill, to try out (for the first time) Chefs' Quarter.

Chefs' Quarter first opened at Midtown, the expansion wing of Robinsons Place Ermita. Another branch is located in Eastwood Mall and this one at Atrium is the most recent.

We got there at 1:15 PM, which was a little bit late for lunch (don't you think?), and so we took a few moments in deciding to go for a la carte or the buffet. Prices average at P300-P400 a la carte and the buffet costs P495. The buffet usually ends at 2 PM but, according to Jermie (shoot! I'm not sure if that was it on his name tag), it continues on for as long as patrons kept coming back to the table. Here's the thing- we only asked him what time the buffet ends but he gave us an unsoliscited advice to go for the buffet if we ate too much. My sister's eyebrows arched on reflex. I beg my sister to ignore the waiter because I'd like to eat with happy thoughts.

We diverted our attention to the interiors instead, which was inviting and not intimidating. I like the play of colors on one side of the room- cream, adobe, and lemon green. Gold-framed mirrors against lemon green walls look good pala.

On the other side is a brick wall where they keep their collection of wine. Their Wine List include reds like Shiraz and Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc if you wanna go white. They also have wines coming from Chile, Australia and South Africa.

Finally, we decided to go for the buffet not because we "ate too much" (actually, we do...) but because we want to taste a bit of everything. We had Lettuce soup and salad greens for starters. I also tried Salmon Carpaccio, but waited for my lemons in vain. The main courses include Roast Beef, Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes on the side, Grilled Fish Fillet (Lapu-Lapu I suppose), and Paella.

Their Pasta Bar include Penne, Spaghetti, Fettucini, and you can have it cooked in either Pesto or Vegetable sauce. My sister is naturally repelled to anything green in food because she associates it with veggies so she went for the Vegetable sauce, which was red-colored, on her Spaghetti. The Vegetable sauce is actually just tomato sauce with diced zucchini (at least that was the only veggie I recognized) but our Vegetable sauce was a little bit too spicy. I'm sure I would have done a better job!

There were other dishes on the buffet table but I suppose, and I quote Simon Cowell when I say-- they were forgettable. Don't get me wrong; the food wasn't so bad but it wasn't extraordinary either.

Desserts are another story. Thank God for desserts! I'm not really sure if Chefs' Quarter's desserts are that good or any dessert is good for that matter. I tried Ube Creme Brulee (this is a must-try!), and Chocolate Fountain with fruits and mashmallows to dip (I can die now...). I remember a Sunday buffet I went to at Mandarin (a friend's GC made it possible) and their Dessert Bar occupied one wall of, say, Chefs' Quarter. The only regret I had when I was going through my sweet options was that desserts aren't appetizers.

Now that I was full, I couldn't help get back to dissing our waiter. Jermie (his name leaves a bad taste in the mouth- forgive the pun) was so much wanting in grace and refinement that maybe he thought he was waiting on a fast food joint rather than on a fine dining restaurant, even though this fine dining restaurant serves fine dining on a budget (works for the recessionista in me).

To cap my lunch buffet experience at Chefs' Quarter, I'd say P495 ain't bad at all but it's not worth coming back to.

Try this one out:

*image from www.pentik.com

Salmon Carpaccio

Marinate thin slices of fresh salmon fillet in lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Let it marinate for 15-20 minutes but never over 30 minutes. Remember, you want your salmon raw. After marinating, transfer the salmon onto another dish. Garnish it with slices of lemon on the side. You can also sprinkle fresh herbs but I suggest you go for herbs with texture and a subtle flavor. Or you can always use fresh basil, which almost always goes with everything. Enjoy!