G.U.S. NITPICKS!! (V. 15)
APARTMENT 1B
My much-delayed get-together with charming J., R. and XQ was finally all set and pushing through. R. and i decided on a non-mall-based resto in Makati (one can only take so much of Greenbelt and Serendra), and settled on Apartment 1B due to the good reviews we've read on some blogs about it.
And the place does have extremely nice decor! (see photo above) It gave off this comfy vibe, as though you were dining in the house of a friend, who just happened to be a gifted interior designer. Something like that.
As for the food, Apartment 1B calls its cuisine "Gourmet Comfort Food". I personally had no idea what this phrase exactly meant, but never mind. Scanning the menu, i was taken aback by how pricey this resto was. This had better be good, i inwardly grumbled.
For starters, we had the Baked Samosas (mushrooms, spinach and cheese) [not pictured], which proved to be quite flavorful and crunchy. At PHP260.00 for 4 pieces, not such a bad deal. I wouldn't have minded eating all four pieces!!! :D
The Roasted Half Chicken (PHP370.00) was, for me, by far the best entree we ordered. Meat was tender, and you could taste the herbs & spices.
Grilled Pork Chops (PHP430.00), with apple sauce and potato-corn gratin, was okay, nothing great. XQ liked the apple sauce, though.
But really, for this price, you would expect at least 2 pork chops, right? And bigger-sized ones, at that!?
This Whole Wheat Spaghetti (PHP350.00) looked rather hideous, and i didn't bother to take a bite. Forget to ask what my friends thought, but at any rate, around half of this dish went unfinished.
Overall, i felt the entrees were somewhat lacking in presentation. Its like, when you see the food being served on the table, there's no "WOW!" factor and you wouldn't feel excited about tasting them.
Anyway, let's talk about the desserts. We ordered the Frozen Pie (vanilla ice cream, Oreo crust, chocolate & caramel sauce) at PHP170.00; and the vanilla bean Creme Brulee (PHP160.00).
The Frozen Pie was nothing short of fantastic! An absolute steal for its price!
However, the Creme Brulee was a total let-down. Let me count the ways: R. and i agreed it should have been served a bit colder; it had squishy texture, almost half-liquid; and it tasted cloyingly sweet. Definitely NOT good!
With drinks, soup, etc., i would estimate an average bill per person would run to PHP 700 - 850 at this place; which isn't good value for money, since the food was just okay, nothing particularly great.
So, now i know what Apartment 1B means by "Gourmet Comfort Food". It's simply a fancy way of offering ordinary food at inflated prices!
(Apartment 1B is located at One Lafayette Square, 132 L.P. Leviste St. corner Sedeno St., Salcedo Village, Makati City. Tel. no. is 843-40-75)
6 comments:
aww, sad to know you didn't like it. yeah the downside is that it's quite expensive.
Baby L loved the mirrored wash room! The whole wheat pasta was forgettable and J thought it was too al dente bordering on crunchy. My sister does a much better whole wheat veggie pasta salad. Should've ordered the 3-cheese lasagna instead.
Loved the interiors. A big contrast to the dodgy feel of CONFUSION. Ever noticed that the table at the back with the comfy-looking couches was always reserved but vacant? Or are we just B-list diners?
It was great to be finally eating out again where you don't order standing up. Thanks for the dinner and happy birthday! -R
hey tanya,
thanks for dropping by. I'm anxious to try out Madison Grill one of these days....yikes! yet another pricey resto....[shudder] :D
hey R.,
good for Baby L! Ako hindi natuwa....i dunno, i've never been a fan of resto restrooms with wall-to-wall mirrors. I mean, for what purpose is that? So you can see yourself pee? :D
i forgot to mention in my post that we ordered the toasted ravioli, which was not bad (although the filling seemed 95% yucky veggie).
hay, baka nga they thought we were B-list diners! WTF!! All the more reason NOT to go back to this overpriced Apartment!
unfinished half a pasta dish... thats not good
Ola, I actually liked the porkchops. Mine had two slices which looked bigger than what you had. ;)
Had lunch there the other day (business meeting). Got the blue marlin on pesto pasta. Cream and corn soup with ceasar salad prepared my appetite. No dessert, just coffee as I had to run to another meeting. Hectic schedule huh? But someone has to do it. Cheers! Have you tried Nanohana? Its a Japanese resto around the same area. Thought it was good and authentic enough. Just ate there once, on business again. That's the problem with business lunches or dinners. The business being discussed is more than enough to capture your attention than the food. Looking forward to your other resto reviews.
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