Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Jeffrey's Manila RestoReview 2008: Florabel

Florabel, The Podium

The restaurant's contemporary wooden design with dimmed lighting is accentuated by simplicity of the plastic table lights. I would probably say that any type of electric lighting is cheesy, but the smooth, curved plastic-shelled lights they use as table lighting actually gives a statement of the restaurants simple, but elegant atmosphere.

The appetizer I ordered, the 'Duo of Tuna & Sashimi' is sheer genius. I would have walked out happy just having eaten that appy.
It was a very well rounded presentation of seared tuna sashimi, a risotto mixed with tempura chunks and morsels of tuna sashimi, and mesclun salad.

I was a little less impressed with my main entree. The 'Pan Seared Prawns and Scallops in Lemon Caviar Butter' with risotto had a very weak taste. It relied too much on the butter to give the rice and seafood flavor. The scallops were seared perfectly. Just enough to give it a crisp texture. Just enough that it was still soft inside. The risotto was a little too hard for my taste, it could have been because it was made with wild rice, but I still disagree with it. Risotto should be soft enough so that it feels like it melts in your mouth.

My disappointment was short-lived. For dessert, I ordered their Chocolate Souffle with Yuma, accompanied by vanilla ice cream, and fruit compote. I didn't mind having to wait the 20 minutes for them to prepare this because ultimately, it's chocolate ecstasy. Oh how the warm, hot soft chocolate souffle just melts on your tongue. MMMMM

Overall rating: 4.5/5

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