Meatless Friday : Katre -- Mediterranean Fusion Cuisine
My cousin Jeff came home for a two-week long visit and a special dinner was of course scheduled. My cousin sure has good taste in choosing a Katre. Said to be a Mediterranean fine dining restaurant I was really expecting to see a lot of hummus, kebabs and skewered dishes on the menu. It was yet another meatless Friday and I was really praying that there will be at least 2-3 seafood dishes that I can choose from.
My family arrived first and we were able to secure a table for 8 at the 1st floor of the restaurant. My mom initially wanted to get a table at the 2nd floor, however it was full and even those that were not occupied at that moment were already reserved. I guess, it is best to call and make reservations in order to get the best seats in the house.
Nonetheless, our ground floor table was pretty good too. It can just be a teeny weeny struggle to get the server's attention once in a while.
I love the fine dining ambiance of the restaurant, this is a perfect date place and I told Paul that we should go back to celebrate one of our anniversaries.
The menu was handed to us to scan while waiting. The moment I opened the menu, I realized that Katre is not your ordinary Mediterranean restaurant. It is indeed a mix perhaps with the frequent use of spices and the play of Mediterranean flavors but over-all it has an interesting mix of steaks, poultry, salads and yes, seafood.
Everything on the menu sounded really good. Since I was craving for truffle oil for the longest time, I chose the Penne Carbonara (Php. 275) as it is said to have truffle oil to share with Paul who's getting the Cornmeal Crusted Pacific Cod (Php. 315).
I am a pasta fan, I guess I've have mentioned this over and over again here in this blog. More than that I also love truffle and truffle oil, put that together and I will surely order that dish. I love the presentation of all the dishes that we ordered that evening. Hats off to the chef for his creativity. My Penne Carbonara was served in a deef round plate with all the penne swimming in thick creamy sauce and topped with chopped walnuts and thin onion rings.
It was good but I could hardly taste the truffle oil. I also wish they had made use of another type of noodles instead. Linguine or Farfalle perhaps? The penne could hardly hold on to any of the thick sauce that I had to scoop some up before every bite.
Paul, on the other hand, seems to enjoy his Pacific Cod. Served on top of black paella-like rice, I love how flavorful the rice was even without any meat/seafood in it. The cod was soft and juicy. There are swirls of chili and raspberry sauce on the side that you can dip your fish into. This was a good choice and Paul obviously was very happy with it.
My cousin told us that he always visits Katre every time he comes home to the Philippines. In every visit, he orders the bottomless Green Tea with Pandan drink. This got me curious and finally I also ordered a glass for myself. My cousin was right! I was delicious! My fear actually was it might be too sweet but luckily the pandan syrup was just enough to add flavor to the green tea and I also enjoyed chewing on those aloe bits that they added into the drink. What a refreshing drink!
All throughout dinner, we listed to Ahia Jeff telling us about the latest food business trends in California. It was only then that I found out that my cousin loves to eat and to try new restaurants too! I was green with envy when he told us that he was able to try most of the restaurants operated by the Michelin-chefs. I also told him about the new food places here in Manila and the ones that he needs to visit before he goes back to the US. For almost three hours, our table was talking about food, food and food.
It was a great evening that I am already planning to go back with my sister who unfortunately missed our dinner for work. Thanks Ahia Jeff! Looks like being a food-lover sure runs in the family. :)
Katre Mediterranean Fusion Cuisine is located at 103 Dr. Lazcano St., Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City. Make a reservation! Call them at 373-4705.
My family arrived first and we were able to secure a table for 8 at the 1st floor of the restaurant. My mom initially wanted to get a table at the 2nd floor, however it was full and even those that were not occupied at that moment were already reserved. I guess, it is best to call and make reservations in order to get the best seats in the house.
Nonetheless, our ground floor table was pretty good too. It can just be a teeny weeny struggle to get the server's attention once in a while.
I love the fine dining ambiance of the restaurant, this is a perfect date place and I told Paul that we should go back to celebrate one of our anniversaries.
The menu was handed to us to scan while waiting. The moment I opened the menu, I realized that Katre is not your ordinary Mediterranean restaurant. It is indeed a mix perhaps with the frequent use of spices and the play of Mediterranean flavors but over-all it has an interesting mix of steaks, poultry, salads and yes, seafood.
Everything on the menu sounded really good. Since I was craving for truffle oil for the longest time, I chose the Penne Carbonara (Php. 275) as it is said to have truffle oil to share with Paul who's getting the Cornmeal Crusted Pacific Cod (Php. 315).
I am a pasta fan, I guess I've have mentioned this over and over again here in this blog. More than that I also love truffle and truffle oil, put that together and I will surely order that dish. I love the presentation of all the dishes that we ordered that evening. Hats off to the chef for his creativity. My Penne Carbonara was served in a deef round plate with all the penne swimming in thick creamy sauce and topped with chopped walnuts and thin onion rings.
It was good but I could hardly taste the truffle oil. I also wish they had made use of another type of noodles instead. Linguine or Farfalle perhaps? The penne could hardly hold on to any of the thick sauce that I had to scoop some up before every bite.
Paul, on the other hand, seems to enjoy his Pacific Cod. Served on top of black paella-like rice, I love how flavorful the rice was even without any meat/seafood in it. The cod was soft and juicy. There are swirls of chili and raspberry sauce on the side that you can dip your fish into. This was a good choice and Paul obviously was very happy with it.
My cousin told us that he always visits Katre every time he comes home to the Philippines. In every visit, he orders the bottomless Green Tea with Pandan drink. This got me curious and finally I also ordered a glass for myself. My cousin was right! I was delicious! My fear actually was it might be too sweet but luckily the pandan syrup was just enough to add flavor to the green tea and I also enjoyed chewing on those aloe bits that they added into the drink. What a refreshing drink!
All throughout dinner, we listed to Ahia Jeff telling us about the latest food business trends in California. It was only then that I found out that my cousin loves to eat and to try new restaurants too! I was green with envy when he told us that he was able to try most of the restaurants operated by the Michelin-chefs. I also told him about the new food places here in Manila and the ones that he needs to visit before he goes back to the US. For almost three hours, our table was talking about food, food and food.
It was a great evening that I am already planning to go back with my sister who unfortunately missed our dinner for work. Thanks Ahia Jeff! Looks like being a food-lover sure runs in the family. :)
Katre Mediterranean Fusion Cuisine is located at 103 Dr. Lazcano St., Brgy. Laging Handa, Quezon City. Make a reservation! Call them at 373-4705.
