The Place
If you go through the garden
entrance, you will be greeted by this intricately designed blue door.
To its left is the garden, with
the steel lawn chairs laid on wooden planks. Doesn’t this remind you of the
lawn sets in old provincial homes? This is what childhood memories
are made of.
Going back to the blue door, I
was so amused by it that I showed my child-like, toothy grin. The little girl
is 25, by the way. Person A is not being punished (think “face the wall”), he’s
having some geeky conversation with the door.
I find the interior very lovely
and chic, just my kind of thing. The ground floor palette is gray with sprays
of yellow in very soft hues.
There are old, wooden chairs
Nooks with knick-knacks
And wild orchids serve as floral
centerpieces.
Even inside the comfort room
The glass, sliding doors open up
to the garden outside. The interior is so beautiful that if I am to decorate my
(future) home, this place will definitely have a page on my inspiration book.
This is the view from the foyer.
This is my second visit to the
place, and this time around, Person A and I invited two more friends. We can
happily report that we enjoyed the place (and food) immensely.
Warm-breaded goat cheese salad (PhP 195)
Pan-fried goat cheese with rocket
and salad mesclun
Based on its name, this is
arugula with assorted young leaves salad mix and balsamic vinegar-based
dressing. The breaded goat cheese is matchbox-sized. It is okay but Person A
and I like the sweetened balsamic vinegar dressing.
Crispy Lengua Ceasar Salad (PhP 145)
I don’t normally order salads
with cream-based dressing. Think calories. We tried this caesar salad because of the crunchy lengua that doubles
as a crouton replacement.
This is a really a good one. The
dressing is light and doesn’t drench the greens. Plus the lengua tastes divine,
renders the salty taste. Must try.
Sopa Molo Castilliana (PhP 145)
Garlic soup with pork dumplings,
poached egg and noodles. The garlic compliments the pork taste and is a good
meal starter. The bowl is enough for four people. It would be nice to enjoy
this when it is still warm.
Fettucine with Bleu Cheese and Roasted Mushroom (PhP 185)
Cream sauce and mushroom always
mix well and this is no exception. The sauce is very creamy, there is a generous serving of mushroom that gives the dish its taste but I did not taste
the blue cheese at all. My friends said they do.
Bouillabaisse de la Casa Roces (PhP 210)
Squid, mussels, and other seafood
stew in tomato broth. The sour tomato taste dampens the salty flavor of the
seafood mix. It’s so good, a must try. This comes with bread but I prefer it
with rice. This is good for 2
people, by the way.
Callos Ala Abolita (PhP 260)
Soft tripe stew with chorizo and
chickpeas. This one is my favorite as well. The fat (my friends say it’s not
fat) is well cut, very soft while the flavors in the stew make you forget how
greasy the dish is. This is served with rice and can serve 2-3 people.
Kape Chino Desserts
The restaurant has an in-house
coffeeshop which serves coffee and cake. It is named after Don Chino Roces
(Pasong Tamo) – his family owns the house.
White Chocolate Sansrival (PhP 135)
The meringue base with the white
chocolate, buttery frosting is not too sweet and has a good texture to it.
Laguna Cheesecake (PhP 150)
This is one of the better
cheesecakes in town. It’s very cheesy (I think it is made from local cheese, it
has that taste to it), creamy and again the texture, it has a subtle gelatinous
feel to it.
Malacanang Souffle (PhP ~300)
This a dessert soufflé, the
“lift” part is very light but has a strong citrusy taste to it. The base part
is soft. This is a citrus-flavored dessert and is a good palate cleanser or
should be eaten last. I like the
two cakes better. I like to end my meal with a sweet taste in my mouth.
We also had coffee, this is my cappuccino (PhP 130)
And this is Kat’s Bailey’s coffee (PhP 125). Good coffee, worth the order to
compliment the cakes.
This is Person A’s Frosted Mocha
(PhP 130), the blend has a strong coffee and the whip cream is divine as well.
This pairs well with the main dishes that we had.
In Summary:
1. With its architecture, very chic
interior and great food, Casa Roces is a value-for-money restaurant.
Bottomline, I think dining in this place is a steal.
2. The food is good, most dishes can
be shared by 2 persons and is priced around ~PhP200.
3. You can have just anything here:
lovely brunch with friends, dinner with the special someone and celebration
with the family. They have function rooms in the second floor that can seat
from around 10 to 40 people. Perfect for those intimate gatherings.
1153 JP Laurel
San Miguel, Manila
63.2.735.5896
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