Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! 

As expected, Aubergine was full on V day.  We even saw Mrs. Imelda Marcos with BongBong Marcos and his wife and his son and…that’s it!  Made me miss AD who was left at home because it was Valentines’ day.  Actually, I really didn’t want to go out every Valentines’ but HubbyBubbly always insist that we go out on a date that day!  I hate the traffic (good thing, i didn’t experienced it) it causes and the bruhaha of the V day.  Anyway, if it wouldn’t be Valentines’, I’m sure he would still think of something to just dine here.

To start off, we had bread and olive tapenade.  I loved it!  Had to ask for more.  HubbyBubbly wasn’t able to enjoy this because he was too excited (as always!) taking photos.  I remembered that we also had this at Antonio’s last January (no post on this..yet) and we had seconds and thirds and fourth serving.  Talk about gluttony.  We met Chef Humphrey Navarro who we’ve met at In Yo’s 1st Year Celebration and told us about this new restaurant.  We were flattered that he remembered us when we dined at Parallel 45 last August 2005.

Aubergine has prepared a special menu for the V day so everyone eats the same food.  No more long necks just to see what the other tables are eating…just long ears to listen to the other couples’ conversation. 

A glass of wine to start your dinner right.  Nope, this was HubbyBubbly’s glass of wine.  This is a no-no for me and I’m not really fond of drinking wine.

Salmon something.

I am still getting the hang of blogging so I thought I can remember everything but apparently not because I forgot what this was.  And this was not part of the special menu.  But one thing is for sure…this made me more hungry that night. 

Duck Foie Gras and Scallop Sampler.  Pan-fried duck foie gras with foie gras espuma, thinly sliced scallops with ginger-lemongrass froth and baked scallops in puff pastry with Chinese truffles.

We definitely love love the foie gras!  You gotta try the foie gras espuma (means “foam”)!  It was heavenly!  I would have loved to scrape the espuma off the glass but it would be too embarassing.  So, when I saw that HubbyBubbly didn’t finished his share, I thought of asking for it.  What a waste it would be!  The baked scallops didn’t make a mark on me.  It was kinda bland on my palate.

Porcini infused Beef Consomme’ with Duck Confit Ravioli. 

I Heart You too!  Great tasting hot soup to wash down the teaser we just ate and prepared us for a wonderful meal ahead of us.  The shredded duck confit meat inside the ravioli was very tasty.

Poached Fillet of Lemon Sole with Souffleed Prawns Cannelloni on Green Asparagus with Beurre Rouge and Mascarpone Emulsion.

Another hit! It was just wonderful.  Right fish and prawn combination.  Loved the lemon sole! Isa pa! Isa pa! (One more! One more!).  Just don’t mind the foam there….

Lemon Sorbet.

Great props!  Lovely lemon sorbet! 

Oven-Roasted Curacao Glazed Duck Breast and Braised Australian Veal Cheek on Truffle-Wine Port Jus served with Portobello and Morel Mushroom Risotto.

Superbly cooked in medium well.  Wished I’d gotten this instead of the lamb.  The duck was so tasty while the Veal cheek was so tender!  I wanted to exchange my plate for HubbyBubbly’s but of course, I didn’t.

Roasted Pommery Mustard Crusted Lamb Loin with Tamarind Jus served with Grilled Vegetable-Goat Cheese Lasagna.

The lamb was also good but I liked the duck better.  Cooked as medium well.  I felt that the lamb was not as tasty as a lamb meat should be.  I wonder why…maybe because of all the food that passed my palate.  I need more lemon sorbet!

Blue Cheese served PannaCotta and Hazelnut - Crusted French Brie Cheese with Balsamic Poached Grapes, served with Watercress and Arugula.

That’s the blue cheese you’re staring at!  I would have loved to finish off the blue cheese but (1) I’m already full, (2) I shouldn’t have eaten it in the first place because it is off limits to nursing moms and (3) Whether or not I eat it, it cannot be deducted in the set menu! hahaha.  But I just can’t resist it especially when HubbyBubbly kept on raving about how good it was!  The brie cheese was also good but between the two, the blue cheese is the winner for us.  I ate these together with the grapes and greens which is a good combination with the cheese platter.  I”m sure it would’ve taste better with a wine to partner it with no? 

Valentines’ Dessert Delight, Variety of Aubergine’s Finest Desserts. Chocolate Dumpling,  Raspberry Mousse Tart with Macarons, Mascarpone Ice Cream.

We liked the strawberries, ice cream and the mini macaron.  The chocolate dumpling was not yummy.  I would rather eat the chocolate alone.  The rasberry mousse was so-so.

Valentine Pralines.  Muslin Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut, Tropic White Chocolate.

I’m a dark chocolate lover so that equates me loving the dark chocolate especially with the hazelnut.  They just gave us a set so I ate it by myself.  The white chocolate had a weird taste.  I can’t remember what I thought of it but I know I didn’t like it so I gave the half to HubbyBubbly.  What a wifey!

Where is the pepper mill?

It was funny to see the servers always looking for this pepper mill.  This lits up the plate when the server would sprinkle freshly grounded pepper on your dish.  Nice kitchen apparatus!  But why don’t they just buy another set?

You can reserve this place for you and your family/ friends.  Good for 10-12 people.  There is a fee of P10,000 BUT it is consummable.  For more information, please call them.

Fyi: “Everything is made from scratch. ”  - Hansjorg Schallenberg of Aubergine/ ISCAHM

Chefs inside the kitchen are from International School for Culinary Arts & Hotel Management (ISCAHM).  Kudos to them!

Verdict:  What’s not to love here?  Nothing!  I can’t wait (hopefully!) to dine here again on an ordinary day.  Do call to reserve a table. 

What about you? How was your V day?

Aubergine Restaurant & Patisserie

32nd and 5th Building

5th Ave corner 32nd St., Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City

(+63.2) 856.9888

www.aubergine.ph

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 3:16 pm and is filed under Outing, Food Trips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.