Little New York on Palanca Street

Sometimes, Manila does have a few surprises. You know, in French, there is a word that describes these kinds of places — insolite. Very difficult to translate, insolite is a mix of unique, surprising and completely serendipitous — oh, and maybe a few other adjectives — that guarantee a truly interesting experience. When someone says a place is insolite, you definitely want to go.

So where did I go? My group of friends and I truly enjoy eating out and having a nice time around town. More often than not we tend to go to the same places just to guarantee good food. We hate being disappointed and unfortunately instead of being adventurous we go for some surefire deals. Well, this night was something different. Discovered not too long ago by Kris, one of our steak-eating Danish best buddies, Gustavus was our designated dining destination.

Already intrigued by the not-so-obvious door sign, as I walked in I was pleasantly surprised. Cozy yet casual design characterized by white painted brick walls, big couches and banquettes in velvet, good cutlery on the table, nicely framed and curated photographs and the highlight: a sexy, bottom-lit bar.

Being the sociable people we are, our dinner of 10 turned out to be a dinner of 17. The more the merrier, right? Well, not for small, hole-in-the-wall restaurants. This is a nightmare for a 40-seater place. But staff, owner and chef all moved about, hustling and bustling to move some people out of their seats, and change the interior design short of turning inside-out the architecture to accommodate all of us in one medieval-esque long table. Did I mention they had big smiles on their faces the whole time?

Only the freshest: Fresh and sweet Palawan oysters.

Apparently known for their steak, I had to tortuously order fish because of my dizzy spell after a smoked bacon-and-eggs breakfast. I didn’t want my cholesterol to “party like a rock star,” so I was a very good girl. I ordered oysters and sea bass. I figured I could steal a couple of steak bites from one of my friends.  Man, the oysters were amazing. I usually avoid oysters here unless I harvest and shuck them myself. I am so afraid of getting sick, as it’s happened before and it’s really miserable. But these were sweet and so fresh they squirmed right before my eyes as I poured some shallot vinaigrette on them. I sincerely ate them with pleasure, savoring every bite and secretly convincing myself that anyways, if I did get sick, well, I’d lose weight. In any case, I didn’t and it was worth all the suspense.

Jonathan’s steak arrived before my sea bass did. And the well-sharpened knives cut through like a hot knife through softened butter. It was a delicious piece of meat, beautifully cooked and seasoned with salt and pepper. What else do you want? Order steak sauce and I would’ve stabbed you in the heart like a poor vampire with my steak knife. It was honest and simple food cooked perfectly. The mashed potatoes were amazing. My friend Jesper’s Caesar salad was more of a mountain of pristine romaine lettuce and truly crispy bacon bits, fries were like giant spuds seasoned to greatness and the champion … drum roll, please … tumtadada! The pan-fried gnocchi. Little pockets of potato fluff, pan-fried crisp in butter to make the most amazing side dishes worthy of a show plate all its own.

In the usual fashion, dessert was skipped but replaced with a delicious coffee cognac, which we had by that gorgeous bar. I pulled up a bar chair, chatted up the owner and the chef (who worked for the Four Seasons Vancouver!) I remember being somewhat tipsy, with the heady aroma of espresso and VSOP, looking around half smiling and saying, Wow, how New York. We had all abandoned our table, dispersed around the bar and chatted up different people who were just hanging out. Before we knew it, we didn’t want to leave, just enjoying this unique ambience of being with friends and yet talking to strangers.

Fit for an emperor: Caesar's salad

Note to new restos: spend money on a nice bar, because without it, the first thing many people want to do is leave and go somewhere else. Our table of 17 was able to mix and mingle not only with each other but with others because the bar was so inviting. After a good long talk with the chef, I was convinced that his attention to quality and la caisson or “the cooking” was truly translated into the simple yet meaningful dishes.

Many hours later we were dragged away from this agreeable space to just across the street at Balcony. Balcony is like Central Perk in Friends or that dingy Irish pub from How I Met Your Mother. It’s New York high-end mixed with low-end; dingy-meets-design makes for a really comfortable yet cool place. We had a round of Jaeger bombs with owner and bar developer Christine San Diego and I can tell you that our evening was the most quality fun we’ve had in a long time. We ended up dancing the night away on Republiq’s couches. Why? Because we started out with a great dinner, in a very unique place, continued on somewhere fun yet cozy all with good friends, and this feeling that the world belonged only to us.

I think we found Little New York on Palanca Street, reminiscent of the bistrot next door and your neighborhood bar. A place where spontaneous things can happen, where appearances are pretty authentic, and everything is straightforward and all you could hope for. Gustavus is a must-try and do have a drink at Balcony after… Perhaps no Jaeger bombs away, but even just a nice cocktail to enjoy this extremely insolite place. Trust me, you’ll suddenly feel that Manila has taken a step up to cosmopolitan-dom. Don’t agree? Then Jaeger bombs on me! Cheers!

* * *

Gustavus Steak Lounge is at the ground floor F&M Lopez Bldg. 109 C. Palanca Street, legazpi village. For more information, call 8130475

* * *

The Balcony Gastropub is at 110 C. Palanca Street, Legazpi Village.

* * *

You can contact me at http://twitter.com/stephaniezubiri.