Grappa’s Ristorante is an Italian restaurant located at the second floor of the Greenbelt 3 Mall in Makati City. Noreen and I wanted to see a movie but we decided not to see one when we passed by Grappa’s Ristorante Italiano and they had a buffet special. A dinner buffet for as low as P595.00 (US$12.14), plus 10% tax. Noreen urged me to have buffet rather than watch a movie. So what made her go for buffet other than the price? See this.

Seen here is the centerpiece of the buffet, the suckling pig, also known as the cochinillo, as the Spanish would call it. The cochinillo is Spanish (Segovia) cuisine where a very young pig is roasted until the skin is crisp and the meat, tender. Unlike the mature pig, the young pig has less fat and is much more tender and tasty. By itself, most restaurants charge above P400 (US$8.16) for a full order. This is what made me think that I was getting a good deal for the price. I can finally have all the cochinillo I can eat!

The buffet line up was not as extensive as a hotel buffet. However, the food is very good and the service, impeccable. The staff was very attentive to my needs and they answered every question I threw at them. They were very professional and I just loved the service. The food was equally stupendous. For the price, nothing beats.

The pumpkin soup was very good!

This is one of my favorites, Tuna Carpaccio. It’s thinly sliced raw tuna seasoned to taste. I particularly liked the smoky flavor of the tuna and how the taste was balanced by the bed of veggies underneath.

Grappa’s buffet is available on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only. Do drop by Grappa’s and enjoy the good food and service. Highly recommended for buffet hunters.

Grappa’s Greenbelt 3
Tel: (632) 757 4908

The restaurant had wonderful interiors and the food was just divine. Aside from great food there were also great people. I spotted F&B titan Ms. Christine Nunag at the table near the stage area so I figured this was not something I could pass up. I was glad to be there.

The event was also graced by some of the country’s top chefs especially those who will compete in the 2008 Food Hotel Asia (FHA) culinary challenge to be held in Singapore from April 22 to 25. It was a dream team of chefs, mostly graduates of the Center for Culinary Arts of Manila. According to the event host, the Philippines is currently the defending champion. All the best to Team Philippines! I hope they bag top prize again this year.

Before program started, guests were treated to a truly sumptuous lunch prepared by El Cirkulo’s executive chef Jay Gamboa. Also the executive chef of my favorite restaurant “Milky Way”, El Cirkulo’s food is sure to please even the most discriminating diner. The interior is opulent and parking is free (if you arrive earlier than the usual lunch crowd).

A quick glance at the menu and you will see that the prices are not as steep as that of other restaurants in the Makati area. El Cirkulo’s specialty is modern Spanish cuisine, thus you can find only the familiar and nothing too exotic. A lot of their dishes is within the P300 (US$ 7.30) to P500 (12.20) range. There are larger portioned orders that sell for P2,000 plus per order (US$48.50) but expect that these dishes are meant for sharing with more than two persons.

Of all the dishes I have tasted, I must say I went loco over the cochinillo asado, or roasted suckling pig.

I was really never a lechon fan, so I thought this was just the usual lechon de leche. However, after the first bite I was overwhelmed by the tenderness of the meat, the flowing juices that heightened the flavors and the distinct crunch of the rind, despite being cold after exposure from the air conditioning. I will return to El Cirkulo just to get another bite of this cochinillo asado. It is truly addicting!

At second place in my personal list was this prime beef with what seemed like wasabi cream cheese sauce. It was like nothing I have ever tasted.

The black things in the middle are mushrooms.

And the rest of this wonderful buffet. Shown here is the fish.

The croquettes. So good!

Two choices for the paella, the darker one is mushroom paella while the other was meat paella.

The buffet table during lunch time.

These seemed like somosas to me. Each one had some veggies and melt-in-your-mouth mozzarella cheese.

Oh and don’t forget the desserts!

People will always make any gathering interesting. Seen here is Juned talking with one of the members of the FHA team.

On the far right is Nina Terol of Team RP. The two other ladies are from Yehey!

The head of Unilever Food Solutions Philippines.