Upon being seated a basket on what looked tiny dinner rolls was served. I took a piece and popped it in my mouth, it was warm, slightly salty, soft and chewy. Little did I know I was popping one piece after another, we had to ask for another round of complimentary bread. And another...
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| Bread Basket |
They have a good list of wine offerings on their menu, we picked the Chillean Camenere reserva to go with out meal.
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| Casa Silva 2010 Carmenere Reserva |
We opted to go for their degustation menu as it looked more affordable than going for ala carte. For 3 courses it cost 1,400php while 4 courses cost 1,800php.
The first starter we had the Butter Milk Fried Oyster - Chili Honey Yuzu. I have mentioned before that I prefer my oysters fresh and raw but Allium's fried oysters were really good. It was lightly breaded, the oysters still had that slimy fresh texture and the chili honey yuzu sauce was such a delight.
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| Butter Milk Fried Oyster - Chili Honey Yuzu |
The next starter was the Hokkaido Snow Crab and Sea Prawn Fritter - Madras Curry Aioli-Piquillo. The fried fritters dish was absolutely amazing, perfectly cooked seafood plus I really liked how the chef incorporated the stubtle curry flavor to the aioli. It made it taste extra special. Between the two fried breaded seafood starters, I liked this better.
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| Hokkaido Snow Crab and Sea Prawn Fritter - Madras Curry Aioli-Piquillo |
We had to pay a supplementary fee of 325php for the Special Nigir Plate, it consists of Shinma Aji Belly, Chutoro, Otoro and A5 Wagyu Tataki. The extra fee was so worth it, everything on that platter was top notch. I liked how the chef placed the sushi platter in order where you will start with the Shinma Aji Belly and end with the Wagyu Sushi. I remember starting with a 'uhmmm' with the Aji and ending with at a 'wwwoooowww' with the Wagyu.
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| Shinma Aji Belly, Chutoro, Otoro and A5 Wagyu Tataki |
For our mains, we started with the Norwegian Salmon Micult - Hokkaido Scallop - Giant Prawn - Prawn Jus - Asparagus. It only takes two words to describe the whole dish, simple perfection. Everything on that plate was cooked and grilled perfectly, simple jus with no complicated flavors. We savored the freshness of each seafood, the way it's supposed to be. Special mention to the giant prawn which was so tender and juicy, usually grilled prawn as big as this gets tough and rubbery.
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| Norwegian Salmon Micult - Hokkaido Scallop - Giant Prawn - Prawn Jus - Asparagus |
The Iberico Boneless Baby Back Ribs - Celeriac - Peach - Brussel Sprouts - Carrots was of excellent quality. The chunks of pork was so tender that you don't even have to use a knife. I enjoyed the char texture and flavor of the ribs. My only gripe is, I found its too sweet to my liking. Good thing the celeriac and the wine was on hand to cut off the sweetness.
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| Iberico Boneless Baby Back Ribs - Celeriac - Peach - Brussel Sprouts - Carrots |
I was really surprised to see only three dessert choices. We decided to go for the Peanut Butter - Valrhonna Napoleon and the French Apple Pie - Cinnamon - Chantilly. I'm really not much of a dessert person but I found the desert missing 'oomph', both dessert was kind of dry and lacking in sweetness.
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| Peanut Butter - Valrhonna Napoleon |
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| French Apple Pie - Cinnamon - Chantilly |
We thoroughly enjoyed our meal in Allium, the place looks great, it's relatively quiet and most importantly the food was of great quality and delicious. The place is a great alternative to the restos in Greenbelt and Glorietta.
***Sadly the restaurant has closed its door this year but good news is on their facebook page, they are planning to open up another restaurant. Something to look forward to.***
Address: Ground Floor Grand Midori, Bolanos St., Legaspi, Makati City
