The first meal was, of course, breakfast, which I shared with my mother. The two of us went to Cafe Ysabel, an old, colonial house-turned restaurant. After poring over the menu, we decided to order and share the tinapa rice and a truffle cream omelette souffle.
 |
| Tinapa rice with scrambled eggs and tomatoes. Sorry about the photo quality. The lighting in the restaurant is to take pictures (even with flash). |
The word tinapa is a Filipino term for "smoked fish" (usually milk fish), so tinapa rice is simply smoked fish fried rice. Scrambled eggs with chopped tomatoes top the mound of rice in the center of the plate. The fried rice itself was very tasty, though I felt that there could have been more fish flakes mixed in. The eggs were moist but in need of a little salt.
 |
| The truffle cream omelette souffle. The waiter swears that this is made of only two eggs. Two extremely-well beaten eggs. |
The truffle cream omelette souffle is a LARGE mound of omelette souffle covered in a white truffle cream sauce. The omelette souffle (or souffle omelette, whatever you wish to call it) was very fluffy and tasty. If it were smaller, I would have been able to call it "light", but even when split, the dish gets a wee bit heavy. The cream sauce was flavorful and rich. This dish is definitely something to order again, but not when you're alone.
Cafe Ysabel's decor and ambiance is something of note as well. Located in an old colonial house, the restaurant is decorated with antique sculptures of cherubs, tiles, stained glass, and wooden columns. There is an old-styled bar in the restaurant where the drinks are made. The light fixtures are made up of antique lamps which hang from the ceiling. As beautiful as the lamps are, they give off little light, making the restaurant a bit dim and a bit sleepy looking.
Based on the food itself, I have no qualms about eating again in Cafe Ysabel, though it would neither be my first nor last choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment