While Thanksgiving is really more of an American Tradition, Filipinos value good food and gatherings on the very same day and so we find good reasons to be thankful for a good meal. This year, the U.S. Potato Board and U.S. Department of Agriculture invited Happyfoodies once again to partake of another all-potato full course meal for Thanksgiving. We enjoyed Chef Sau’s creations at M Café last year and this time it is Chef Ariel’s turn to whip up some magic at Lolo Dad’s Brasserie.
For our appetizer, we were served Chilled Scallops, Smoked Prawn and Dungeness Crab Salad. The Prawn was really tender and I enjoyed its smoky flavor. The Crab Salad was the highlight of the dish. It was really good and blended well with the Chilled Scallops. The thin potato strip was a bit hard to chew though.
The Cream of White Onion Soup with Gruyere Cheese Gratinated Hash Brown was a bit weird to look at at first. The foamy onion soup by itself was just okay but paired with this deep fried hash brown and cheese melded into an interesting combination of textures and flavors. Even soaked, the hash brown added bits of crisp and crunchy flavor to the soup and the cheese, adding richness to the taste. It became my instant favorite.
Refreshing our taste buds with a small popsicle sherbet, we were ready to move on to our main course. I’m a meat person so I chose the U.S. Eye of Rib Eye and Stewed Beef Cheeks. The Rib Eye was done rare. It was good but the Beef Cheeks’ tenderness and flavor along with the sauce were the attributes that really won me over. The textures of layers in the Potato Terrine were a delightful treat and complemented the meat dishes really well.
Ending the course was a dessert of Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Bar, Vanilla and Almond Ice Cream and Candied Taters Coin Hash Potatoes. I loved the Dark Chocolate with thin bit slices of almonds and it was a perfect pairing with the Vanilla Ice Cream and Strawberry Syrup. The cotton candy lent an amusing sweetness to the semi-sweet caramelized coin hash potatoes.
This Special Thanksgiving Menu will be offered at Lolo Dad’s Brasserie for a limited time (November 22-27, 2010).
Lolo Dad’s Brasserie
6750 Ayala Avenue Makati City Philippines
(632) 813-6750
I have yet to visit this place. Once again, your pictures are stunning. Wow.
I like the size portions, parang pang prix fixe menu, a little larger than the tasting menu.
The rib eye really looks good and I simply love scallop – sobrang mahal lang if you order this outside.