A date at Café Ysabel

Hellooowww! We missed you guys last week kasi instead of writing here sa blog, we opted to waste our time and money watching Harry Potter. Kung anong ginanda ng Transformers, that was how much Harry Potter sucked.

Well, nasa book 2 pa rin ako hanggang ngayon at di ako avid fan ni Harry. Pero dun sana makikita yung galing nung director, yung makaka-relate pa rin yung audience kahit di niya nabasa yung libro. Parang di kasi ako makasunod eh. O shunga lang talaga ako… hehehe…

Eh ako I’ve read all the books (well, except the last) and I can say na of all the HP movies, there has never been one that was faithful sa book or was at least able to capture it. I know the book from which this last movie was based (Order of the Phoenix) was a bit dragging but there were some really good dramatic and exciting moments that the movie was not able to capture. Anyhoo, this is starting to become a movie review, but it isn’t. I refuse to waste any more time with that movie. This entry is in fact, a food review hehehe ☺

Agree, the last Harry Potter movie sucks.

Even the other HP movies before that Be.

Ako ok ako sa una… palibhasa yun lang natapos kong libro. Hehe. O sya, pagkain na! What we’re going to review today is one of our fave joints ni Joy… pag may pera. Pag walang pera, di namin sya favorite. Hehehe. The price of the food in this place is kinda steep. And we’re talking about…

Café Ysabel. But Be, that’s the price you pay for fine dining and reeaaalllly good food. You have to agree, it’s worth the money we spend naman diba? Sulit naman diba?

I concur my good lady. Patoingg! Hehehe. Sorry, nasa sosyal mood pa ako eh. Anyway, we’ve been itching to write a review about this place since Joy brought me there for the first time. Panalo talaga kasi. Café Ysabel is located at the corner of P. Guevarra and Recto streets. So if you’re coming from Greenhills, go straight Wilson St. then make a left at P. Guevarra and you will see Café Ysabel at the first corner to your left.

Sige, let’s describe the place first. Pictures please…

Okay, as you can see, the place is kinda like your haciendero-grandparents house in the province. Capiz windows, wooden floors, almost wooden everything. If not for the carefully-planned styling, you’d even think it’s a haunted house, right?

I agree. I don’t know about the men’s restroom, pero yung ladies’ room, although looks ordinary, pero parang you get chills everytime you go in. Medyo madilim kasi tapos feeling mo parang may makikita kang nakatanaw sayo na mumu sa may windows or nakatayo sa likod mo pag nanalamin ka. Ang praning ba?

Hehe… I get the same feeling Be, di ka nag-iisa. But you see guys, that’s the beauty of this place. The World War 2 era feel of the place really adds to the whole flavor of dining. Antique (or at least antique-looking) cabinets and lamps decorate the place with old looking paintings on the walls and ceiling. I don’t know if Chef Gene Gonzales deliberately made the floor on the window side tilt a little as if it’s going to collapse, but it makes the feel of the whole place complete. When you enter the Café, on the left side are the tables with booths for seats. This is the prime spot in the whole place. I dunno if I’m just a “vintage junkie” but see, this makes the whole dining experience at Café Ysabel complete. There are times when there’s a piano player, playing contemporary songs done with a melancholic flavor. Ganda. We even tripped one time at the place and did shots with me and Joy looking like people from that period. But we had round neck shirts on (Joy was wearing Giordano) and that pretty much gave us away that we were fakes…(Click Here to See the Pics!)

Old school naman ang Giordano ah, kaya nga Giordano Classics eh mwehehehe. Anyway, that prime spot Bob was talking about is actually a different resto (although still in the same building) called Gino’s. The place closed down but you can still choose to stay there but they’ll be offering you the Café Ysabel menu. Let’s talk about the food na. Upon ordering, the waiters will serve you freshly baked bread which you can dip in Zatar, a dipping sauce made from a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You can add some parmesan cheese for extra flavor but otherwise, it is already very good as is. They have started selling this by the bottle and I bought myself a small one which costs P198. You have to try it, it’s really good. It’s a good and healthier alternative to the usual palaman ng tinapay.

I even think Joy was one of the people who gave Café Ysabel the idea to sell it. See, about a few years ago, when we were first started going to this place, they weren’t selling it pa. And Joy kept badgering the waiters to sell it to her. Hehehe. Ayun, binenta na rin sa wakas! For starters, we ordered our greens. Joy and I really dig the Caesar Salad there.

I would have to say that the Caesar salad here is one of the best I’ve ever tasted (Conti’s being the other one, but that’s a different review). Crisp Baguio lettuce with the yummiest dressing ever! Some bacon bits and croutons complete this heavenly experience. No exaggerations, heavenly talaga sa sarap.

Correct, yummylicious! For the main course, we ordered our usual treat from the place called Tournedoes Rossini. Be, care to elaborate?

This is a dish that was introduced to me by my dad when I was a lot younger and I have been a fan ever since. I, in turn, introduced it to Bob and hayun, addicted na rin siya. Tournedoes Rossini is a fillet of beef with liver pate and a gravy-type sauce referred to as “special Madeira sauce” in the menu. You have a choice of regular beef (P428) or imported beef (P768), I’ve tasted both and frankly I prefer the regular beef not because it is cheaper but because I find the beef to be tastier and more tender. The dish is served with some vegetables but what you see here sa picture will not always be how it will look once you decide to eat there. Café Ysabel kasi is also the home of the Center for Asian Culinary Studies and I think they let the students prepare the dishes sometimes kaya iba-iba ang nagiging presentation. In the picture you will see na merong kasamang mashed potato pero that is not always the case. But rest assured na kahit iba-ibang chef ang nagpe-prepare ng dish, constant naman na masarap yung food.

Agree, never pa namin na-experience na masama ang pagkaka-prepare ng food at Café Ysabel. Minsan lang, mawawala yung fried noodle garnish, or mas marami yung pate, but never mapapasama. Correct me if I’m wrong, Be, but most of the time, mas napapasarap pa yung food. Again, for us, this isn’t a regular thing because of financial restrictions, but I sure wish we can afford to eat here more.

For dessert we tried the creme brulée. This was Bob’s first time to try it, and for someone who doesn’t like sweets too much, how did you find it Be?

Pure creamy goodness. The egg custard was superb and the sugar was blowtorched to caramelized perfection. Sarap. Di siya nakakasawa, parang leche flan na pang may diabetes. Hehehe.

Total bill was around P1500. Worth every penny. Until the next payday Be? Hehehe.

‘Til the next payday. Or so.

Or until our next craving, whichever comes first hehehe. For more info, you may check out their website at www.cafeysabel.com. Ciao!