STEAK AND FRITES AT L'ENTRECOTE!

I have raised the flag and surrendered my appetite to L' Entrecote

             Some time last year, My boy Eric, one of my readers whose been following my site since it's early days (much appreciated, buddy!) sent me a message on Facebook suggesting me to try "L' Entrecote". I did a little research on it, and I could see exactly why he would think I would be interested in trying it out. 

      Just like its international namesakes, L' Entrecote is famous for its "Steak and Frites" (for you not familiar with the language, Frites is French for "French Fries".. wait.. so tecnically, shouldn't they call it just "fries" over there? Aaaanyway..). Since I have professed my love for meat and potatoes in the past, this was right up my alley.. except it came with a rather stiff price tag. Because I didn't want to have to sell a kidney just to eat some steak and fries,  "L' Entrecote" fell lower down my list of restaurants to try.. however the important thing was it was always on my list (I actually do have a list). 

      Then along came the group buying site Pakyaw.com.ph with an offer that I could not refuse. I actually had refrained from buying from Pakyaw in the past (I missed out on the Lolo Dad's and Momo Deals.. and now I'm sad.) because they didnt have Paypal yet, but when I saw the L' Entrecote deal, I whipped out my credit card said "Screw it". 

   One fine Saturday morning, armed with our Pakyaw Vouchers, Rina & I sped over to Burgos Circle for an early celebration of my very first Father's Day at  L' Entrecote. 

Too bad I don't drink

         I couldn't exactly make out the feel of L' Entrecote. It LOOKED classy, but it still gave off a loose, casual vibe of a place that you could just kick back and relax in. You were spared of the trappings of Society's formal dining etiquette (Although I was reprimanded by Rina when I took off my shoes and put my feet up on the table. I'm kidding).  The ground floor area felt a little bit cramped, and we couldn't really figure out which was the best spot, until Rina's growling tummy (She claims it was the baby's) finally demanded we just settle down at a booth near the window. Rina enjoyed the ambiance of the place, and tweeted that she felt like she was in a bistro in Paris. They even have French pop music blaring on their speakers!

Rina's little bistro in Paris

             Dudes who wanna take their girls out on a date, I strongly suggest you stay in second floor dining area. It's more spacious and I felt I would've enjoyed more if we stayed by the picture window there, but alas, since they just opened for the day (we were the first customers, as usual) and the place wasn't expected to be packed for lunch, it was closed off (It didn't matter though, because Rina was already pregnant so no need to score more "points" ;) ).

THE FOOD

          The waitress informed me that our Pakyaw Voucher, which gave us 50% off on L' Entrecote's famed "Geneva Set Meal", included a glass of wine that we could swap for an ice tea or a soft drink. I was glad to hear that because I don't drink and Rina is pregnant, so that would've been money wasted. 

Exchanging Red Wine for Red Iced Tea

          Rina ordered their Iced Tea, and found it to be absolutely refreshing, especially on a sunny day like it was that morning. I didn't get a good taste, but Rina said it had a lightly sweet, fruity taste to it that she enjoyed.

Lurpak rules all!

             For a starter, they gave us a bread roll.. I'm not sure what exactly it was, but I think it was a Sourdough roll. And the mere fact that they served it with Lurpak butter (my favorite butter in the universe) gave me the inkling that 
L' Entrecote and I were off to a good start. The bread was delicious.. The exterior let out a quiet crack when I split it open, to reveal the steaming white dough.. Making it the perfect canvas to smear my butter on (I only wish they offered me more bread hehe).

"Take me to your leader"

           The first course from the Geneva Set meal was their House Salad with dressing and Walnuts. It had lettuce. It had Tomatoes. It had a sprinkling of walnuts. And it had other green stuff.

Are you serious?

            And just as you would expect, I have no idea what it tasted like. Although my initial attempt to exchange my salad for Rina's steak was not well received by my wife, I still gave it to her anyway because she and my baby needs the veggies more than I do (See how I sacrifice for my wife and my baby?).

Rina needs her cheese

          

        It wasn't part of the Menu Geneva, so I ordered the "Cheese Bites" (P220) for Rina as soon as I saw it on the menu. The concept was similar to that of the "Shrimp Toast" of Harbor City and The Mango Tree, except instead of using ground shrimp, they used Cheese. The sharp cheese is placed on a small piece of bread and deep fried. I would have enjoyed this more if they used a milder cheese. It could have used a sour cream dip to counteract with the cheese's strong taste. Also, the bread totally soaked up all the oil in it, so.. you can imagine it wasn't very pleasant (Even for someone with a high tolerance for oily food such as myself). 

Setting the stage

       I was intrigued when they placed a wooden casing on the small silver stand on the table which had some candles below it. Apparently this contraption would become the stage in which the main event would be held.. 

"Behold! The Steak...

          When the waitress placed the steaks down in front of us, I had to pause for a second, because it really was a beautiful sight. The steak was completely bathed in the Special, Secret Herb butter sauce, and looked perfectly cooked to the medium well like what we asked for (Rina actually wanted well done at first to be sure it wasn't raw, but I told her that there's a tendency for some places to overdo it when going for the well done, so medium well would be safer). The silver platter actually kept our steak hot, and you could visibly see the herb sauce still bubbling on the plate.

".... and Frites!!"

            The "frites" came in seconds later, cooked to a beautiful golden crisp. It's important to note that our set meal entitled us to an unlimited order of fries. Truth be told tho, they weren't exactly anything that would blow your mind, but I'm a kind of guy that loves homemade French fries, the kind that you don't buy pre-cut and ready to fry, so I enjoyed this as a companion to my steak.

Even SHE looks like she wants to take a bite out of the steak

               The waitress even takes time to serve some pieces up into your plate for you. Of course she didn't put nearly enough for me, so I told her that I could take it from here. Good service though, with their staff always on top of our needs. They keept things loose and casual, without losing the touch of class that their restaurant offers. 

Rina, ready to rock her "Steak and Frites"

          Admittedly, the quality of the steak itself was a few notches below that of Gustavus, however it was still pretty amazing. The outer part of the meat had a darkened charring to it, but upon slicing, the meat revealed itself to be cooked just right. Every meat bite I took blended wonderfully with the creaminess of the herb sauce. I was honestly getting worried that one order wasn't enough for me. It was only then that i revealed my diabolical plan along.. Fill Rina up with salad, cheese bites and fries to get her so full she won't be able to finish her steak.. and then THAT'S when I swoop in!

           Let's just say.. Mission Accomplished. 

*Mmmwaahahahahahaaa..." 

ok wait..

Better. 

Aaaaaaaaanyways...

DESSERT

Would've been better without the Raspberry

      For its finale, the Menu Geneva came with a Walnut and Raspberry Iced Vacherin Cake. It seemed more like a creamy sorbet.. or an ice cream cake to put it simply. I found the raspberry portion a bit too sour for my liking, and not even the delicious creamy walnut ice cream could quell it.. It was just a little bit too overpowering. 

I said, "With great looks, comes great responsibility". Then Rina thwaps me upside the head.  

The token shot once again. 

            It's honestly a little bit out of my price range, but because of group sites such as Pakyaw.ph, I finally get to cross off "L' Entrecote" off my wish list! I'd love to go back again some day.. maybe during another promo? I heard they have a fish and frites version too.. something I'd love to try.. but It would be difficult for me to NOT order the steak again. 

         Hhhmm... Unless I can convince Rina to get the fish.. then I'll just try from her....