Breakfast @ Apartment 1B

To kick-off the long weekend, Person A and I enjoyed leisurely brunch at Apartment 1B, about 2 in the afternoon. That's how lazy we are we roll on non-work days. Good times! I already shared with you how we love Apartment 1B. Food tastes great, ambiance is very relaxed and the restaurant serves comfort food. 

Since it was both our first meal of the day, I started with my favorite breakfast pastry: pancakes!

Pancakes (PhP 380)

3 medium-sized, soft, fluffy pancakes with fruit compote, in this case, strawberry. Define compote. Compote is a dessert originating from 17th century France made of whole or pieces of fruit in sugar syrup. What I like about the pancake is it's not sweet and very fluffy hence it goes well with a generous topping of butter and oozing swimming in syrup. Person A likes his with butter and compote.

Personally, I think this serving is a bit expensive considering the size. 

Egg Breakfast (PhP 390)

2 eggs (scrambled), smoked bacon, home fries and toast. In lieu of the bacon you can have a choice of Canadian ham, English bangers, corned beef.

I like the scrambled egg, it's fluffily and delicately done. Not salty. Bacon is bacon. You can rarely go wrong with bacon. The fries or potato cubes are heavenly. And I haven't tasted the toast. 

We washed down our breakfast with coffee. 

Vittoria coffee is an Australian manufacturer of coffee products. Founded in Sydney in 1947, it is the largest and most well known Australian coffee company. 

Latte (PhP 90)

The coffee is served warm (not piping hot) and has a very delicate, non-strong taste. I like how the barrista prepares the coffee meticulously. The cup has a curious steel handle.

Cappuccino (PhP 90) 

This is one of the better cappuccino. Similar to the latte, it has a delicate taste and it's good even if you don't put sugar in it. I also like that the froth/foam is rightly done.

And because we are still hungry, we had dessert!

Apple Pie (~PhP 200)

I wasn't able to get the price, so I am not sure. This is crumbly and tastes like it has oats. The pie itself is not sweet and heavy so goes well with the vanilla ice cream. It's not to die for but will do for an apple pie.

Tea (PhP 80)

And because dessert pairs well with tea, we washed it down with a pot of Twining's green tea.

And with that, I head off to an English Afternoon Tea Bridal Shower of a friend from SFC. 

Excellent food by Renee, dainty set-up and awesome pieces of advice for the bride-to-be. Good times!

In Summary

1. Apartment 1B's food quality is consistent whether you visit for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Food tastes great, fresh and serving is enough for one person.

2. Breakfast price is mid-range to expensive. 

3. Ambiance is great if you want a very relaxed place to start your day.

Aparatment 1B

Unit 1-B, 132 L.P. Leviste cor Sedeno St.

Salcedo Village, Makati

63.2.843.4075

Weekend Habit: Battle of the Baby Back Ribs

Weekends are always a welcome break from the weekday grind. I find comfort in cleaning the house, doing laundry, typing long blog entries and rewarding myself with baby back ribs for the things that I haven't accomplished. Yes, I love myself too much that I go on eating binge, retail therapy and doing nothing productive for hours... just because I want too! 

I have shared a few times that I am steering clear from red meat (pork and beef) most of the time to compliment my healthy lifestyle. Weekdays are reserved for tuyo, pritong galunggong (in trans-fat laden cooking oil), sinigang na bangus and bulanglang (the most uninspired sabaw na gulay, ever!). However, on weekends, INDULGE is the name of the game: I have red meat in a meal or two, I eat more pieces of chocolate and pancakes with butter are in order for Saturday brunch. The past four weekends are special, I had my serving of one of my favorite red meat meal: baby back ribs. Walang palya, baby!

Person A even spelled out my name with the bones that I polished, to remind me how I love my ribs.

Baby back ribs are pork cuts taken from the top of the rib cage between the spine and spare ribs and from market weight hogs. A rack of back ribs contain 8 - 13 bones. The meat and bones are slow-cooked (baked) while drenched in your sauce of choice. Lesson learned: if the rack you ordered has less than 8 bones, you've been cheated. 

Kidding. 

Here's my round-up of some of the baby back ribs in town that has contributed to the stubborn fats happily living around my belly.

Rack's Baby Back Ribs (half-slab, PhP 330)

The more famous among the baby backs. The meat is well done making it dry and a bit stringy. The saving grace are it is still fall-off the bone and the barbeque sauce goes well with the meat. It is also the cheapest among the baby backs in town with 2 side dishes. We like ours with mac and cheese and I wash it down with Rack's brewed iced tea. 

I'll get Rack's if I want baby back and I am on a strict budget cap.

Apartment 1B's Baby Back Ribs (PhP 630)

Honey bourbon marinade, comes with garlic mashed potato, corn and vegetables.

The meat is medium done, fall-off the bone perfection while the barbeque sauce dominates the flavor of the meat and the mashed potato. The mild sweetness of honey and tang of bourbon are mixed to the right proportion. The mashed potato is also awesome. This is my favorite. 

Burgoo's Oklahoma Baby Back Ribs (PhP ~ 595)

Seasoned pork ribs, marinated overnight in Oklahoma-style sauce, char-boiled and basted with Burgoo's barbeque sauce. 

I was disappointed. This is my first time to try Burgoo and I had high expectations. The meat is stringy, well done and is not fall-off the bone. I like the sauce though. I will be ordering a different dish the next time I visit. The rice pilaf is okay.

Myron's Baby Back Ribs with Mesquite Sauce (PhP 495)

The meat is tender, medium done and also fall-off the bone. These 2 are my criteria for a great baby back. What sets this apart is the sauce, I like the sweet, smokey taste of the marinade on my meat. I am still thinking whether I should downgrade my favorite baby back in favor of Myron's. 

Also worth the try!

Mr. Jones Orange Baby Back Ribs (PhP ~ 500)

The meat is also soft and tender with the fall-off the bone bit done right. The sauce is something that Person A and I can't seem to agree. The base is your typical marinade goodness, barbeque with a hint of sweetness but the tang bit is given by the orange. I like it in its unique but Person A finds it too dominating. 

Nonetheless, this is a great order if you are in the Glorietta-Greenbelt area. Don't miss out on their mac and cheese, it's heavenly.

In summary, value for money order is from Racks, my personal favorite is Apartment 1B's while Myron's and Mr. Jones are also in my runner-up list.

Share with me your baby back ribs find, let's get fat together.

Apartment 1B Gourment Comfort Food

In every neighborhood, there's always this restaurant which offers the best comfort food. I am lucky that I reside in Makati and within 2-km radius I can name a handful of restaurants that serve the best comfort food in town: JT Manukan, Kitchen's Best, Earle's Deli, and Mr. Jones. Now, I am adding Apartment 1B to the list ... albeit the upscale kind.

Situated in Salcedo Village, a bunch of professionals, expat wives and society's who's who were in the restaurant the night we ate. Don't get intimidated, everyone was in a very relaxed mood, nakadaster pa si ateng Koreana. Oh, the bored life of expat housewives.The atmosphere in the restaurant is very relaxed. Wood and warm-lighting dominate the small space downstairs.

Artworks for sale adorn the walls and beautiful flowers accessorize the tables.

The busy kitchen greets diners upon entering the restaurant. 

It is usually packed during evenings, hence i suggest you get a reservation. A tip, it is always good to get a reservation lest you risk the chance of being turned away.

The menu is a mix of American, Italian and Filipino goodness, fits comfort food to a tee. Serving is enough for one not-so-hungry person.

Macaroni and Cheese (PhP 490)

Smoked ham, American Cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan. The pasta is nicely done, al dente. The flavors of the cheeses go well together and it's not overpowering (read: hindi nakakaumay), which is very typical for this dish. For this reason, Apartment 1B's mac 'n cheese is a winner on my list, if not on top of my list. If the restaurant doesn't mind, they can add a dash of truffle, that would be awesome.

Baby Back Ribs (PhP 630)

Honey bourbon marinade, garlic mashed potatoes, corn and vegetables. We went all-out American! The meat is soft, the marinade is good, not too sweet. I can't tell it apart from Rack's fare though. 

Raspberry Cheesecake (~ PhP 200)

The base is delicate has a nice feel to the tongue. It tastes good. Miniscule amounts of raspberry complements the cake. There's just too much whipped cream going on. I am good without it.

Cookies and Cream Milk Shake (PhP 140)

We love milk shakes with our mac 'n cheese. We will always be kids at heart. This one tastes milky over the cookie. If you like milky milk shake, then this would be your cuppa. 

In Summary 

1. Apartment 1B serves one of the best comfort foods. Each dish we had were nicely executed and presented. 

2. The ambiance is very relaxed, perfect for rolling your sleeves up after a hard day at work. A candle-lit date might be impossible but the place is perfect for a fun date. It is also good for meals with friends and families. 

3. Price slides to the expensive side but this is to be expected in Makati. Also, food is good so it's typical to pay this much for the quality of the food.

Apartment 1B

Unit 1-B, 132 L.P. Leviste cor Sedeno St.

Salcedo Village

Makati

63.2.843.4075