Tuesday, December 20, 2016

First Bite: Made Nice Supper Club

I have been an active looloo user for over a year now and it never seems to get old. I just love the looloo community and I truly enjoy listening to each and everyone’s food and adventure stories. Coming from different walks of life, each member are like spices and herbs that make the community a lot more interesting. And what’s a fun community without regular meet ups, or in our case, eat ups? Our resident PRO, J, arranged a looloo holiday dinner open to all active reviewers and it sure was a festive one! Our venue? The new restaurant across Your Local called Made Nice Supper Club.
Hello, Made Nice Supper Club!
It could be challenging to spot this place if you have no clue where it is along the foodie Esteban street. It is across Your Local and beside a bridal store. With its minimalist MN signage, you have to remember those two landmarks to avoid missing it, as some of us did. 
We were greeted by modern interiors predominantly sleek wooden furniture with a long cement table in the middle of the restaurant. 
J ordered two sets of everything on the menu for everyone as well as a bottle of red wine (Golden Arc, PHP2,300, if I remember it correctly). 

Our appetizers were served after a short wait and each one looked lovely!
Carrot (PHP225) is your usual sliced carrots cooked with cumin and paired with quinoa, toasted seeds and drizzled with sour cream. This one was the only dish that lasted more than 20 minutes as not everyone likes veggies. Also, foodies who are not fond of curry will not like this dish. I liked it though as it gave the naturally sweet orange veggie a different flavor. The variety of textures also made it an interesting starter. But I have to admit, I wouldn’t normally go for this dish especially with such price. 
I loved Octopus (PHP485) which was grilled to perfection. It was slightly charred and had a beautiful snap with every bite. You could tell that it was fresh based on the texture and its slight sweet taste. I also liked the herbed potato balls on the side. 
One of my favorites that night was the Foie Gras (PHP505) which was pan-seared and placed on top of a buttery brioche with orange and caramel on the side. I loved its slight grainy yet silky texture. And it wasn't bitter like how other restaurants serve it. As we continue to indulge in this fatty dish, we totally ignored the small croquette on the side. But when we found out that it was stuffed with duck trimmings, we all grew interested and went for that small piece of heaven. Sadly, it was so small that only a few of us got to taste it. 
Another favorite of mine that night was Agnolotti (PHP340/PHP630) which is basically like ravioli but stuffed with blended corn and parmesan and drizzled with truffle oil. We each got a pillow of pasta each and I ate tiny bites of it to prolong the moment of pure bliss. Though it wasn’t as fragrant as other truffle dishes, this one hits the spot with its harmonious blend of sweet corn and cheese! 
The last appetizer served to us was Squash (PHP215) which is your usual squash soup with croutons and tarragon. Sadly, this one did not impress me. I like my squash soup to be thicker and have a stronger contrast of sweet and salty tastes. This one though was watery and light in terms of flavor. C even commented that she could easily make this at home. And I hate to say this, but I agree with her. 

As we fill our tummies with complimentary bread (sourced from Alta in Ascott Hotel) and butter, our mains were served. 
First off was the picturesque Beef (PHP1,350) which is a USDA short rib with cooked with red wine topped with leeks, served with potato puree on the side. 
The succulent meat was so easy to slice that it was gone in less than 20 minutes. It had nice slightly sweet taste which was beautifully balanced by the potato puree. 
Lamb (PHP655) is the second priciest dish and it received mixed reviews. 
Some liked that it didn’t taste like lamb while others find the lamb tough and had the unpleasant lamb taste which we Filipinos describe as “maango” which is usually related to the meat being a tad old for eating. 
Taglioni (PHP395) is the only pasta dish under mains and it was cooked with duck yolk, pepper pecorino and parmesan. The end result was a simple light tasting dish that was not cloying at all. However, I think they went a bit overboard with pepper as it stood out and drowned the other flavors a bit.  
Pork (PHP450) or the roasted pork belly with tenderloin, eggplant puree and tinutong rice was pretty good but it was just your usual crispy pork belly which you could get elsewhere and probably at a more affordable price.  
If there was any dish worth getting stuck in Makati traffic for, I’d say it would be the Halibut (PHP560). The a la plancha halibut with sliced mushrooms and camote tops swimming in delicate dashi broth was scrumptious! I loved the soft white halibut meat and its sharp contrast against the crispy skin. 

As we finish off the last morsels of meat, our desserts were served and both looked delightful!

Milk Chocolate (PHP250) is a plate of dense chocolate cake (similar to crinkles), dulce de leche, malt ice cream, chocolate ganache and dehydrated milk powder. 
The chocolate cake did taste like crinkles and was surprisingly not that sweet which was actually good as I topped my portion with some sweet dulce de leche and malt ice cream. The chocolate ganache also tickled my sweet tooth while the dehydrated milk powder added texture. (I can’t help get intrigued with “dehydrated” milk powder though as isn’t powdered milk already dehydrated?)
I also enjoyed Banana (PHP215) which had soft vanilla pudding and light flavored cream. I didn’t notice the biscuits though. I guess it was on the bottom of the pint. 

Overall, it was a fun and filling dinner. Though it was steep at PHP1,000+ per person for those who had wine, Made Nice Supper Club serves good food and provides a great ambiance for catch up sessions with friends or a romantic date night with your special someone. 

Made Nice Supper Club is located at Ground Floor, PPI Building, Esteban Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Made Nice Supper Club Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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