New Beginnings and Florabel

This is my nth attempt at creating a journal. And it took me a good 24 hours before I published this first one. Not a good sign of things to come.

Recently while browsing through the photos section of my phone, I've noticed that a good percentage of the pics I've taken were either about food, or places I've been to, or both. I post most of them on my Facebook page but never really get around to writing anything remotely decent about them. And because all of my previous ones have been abandoned too long for me to revive, I've decided to just start a new one--so I created this one.

Let's see how far this goes.

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One of the things I look out for when eating out are places that I call "client-worthy". It's become a fringe part of what I do at work to know great places where we can bring our clients for whatever reason.

And so to kick this journal off, I figured it'd be nice to share the first restaurant on my list that is client-worthy (but also because those pics are the most accessible ones right now).

Florabel at the Podium in Ortigas has a pretty extensive menu with a good mix of international and local dishes. Of course, I'm partial to Filipino food and want to showcase how good Pinoy dishes can be. I've eaten there twice and on both occasions, I was not disappointed. Consistent.

The decor is modern. Think white walls, high ceiling, geometric furnishings and a few pieces to pop some color. Fancy. I should've taken a photo. But then again I didn't know I'd even create this entry.

One of the best parts of the meal was the bread and butter. The bread was deliciously creamy. It had a crust that gently "cracks" and pleasantly opens up to an moist and soft center. Served fresh and warm, it went perfectly with the dip that was simple but really good. Made with herbs, tomato, EVOO and perfectly seasoned, the dip was one of the best ones I've tried. It was a good sign that we were in for a great meal ahead (it also helped that I read reviews).


We ordered the tuna salad for starters. It was fresh tuna done two ways, one was crusted with sesame seeds and pepper while the other was served tartare style, with tempura bits and wasabi mayo. It also came with a serving of fresh greens (I can't remember the vinaigrette used). The first one was a perfect appetizer. The tuna, that was perfectly fresh, was punctuated by the pepper/sesame seeds that encrusted the slices. With bit of the soy dip that it came with, it's a sashimi lover's delight.

The second one was fine. As a matter of preference, I wasn't too keen on it though. It was a bit too spicy for my taste. The mix of textures and flavor, with the tempura bits and the mayo, were great but the wasabi flavor was a bit too strong for me.


Our main course was made up of 2 dishes (and a ton of rice, of course). The sinigang na baboy sa sampaloc (Pork in tamarind sour broth) was as classic as it can get. This is how all sinigang's should be. The broth was perfectly sour and was well seasoned to bring out the taste of the dish. It had a good mix of veggies and the pork was very tender. Served with a bit of patis with chillies, this was great.

The other one was prawns in coconut cream sauce. The prawns were cooked properly and the sauce, well, everything tastes better with gata. 'Nuff said.


Both dishes could have fed 3 people but since there was just 2 of us, we got to enjoy leftovers for dinner.

And because meals are better with dessert, we couldn't leave without ordering one. We trusted our server's recommendation and was not disappointed.

Fresh mangoes, crepe and sabayon sauce make up the Crepe Samurai we had. It was not overtly sweet (the type that makes you feel extremely full), with most of the flavors coming from the mangoes. The crepe was the perfect break from the sweetness while the sabayon was the perfect accompaniment. Of course, I'm also partial for fresh mangoes.

The Crepe Samurai was an appropriate punctuation mark to end a fine meal, in this case, a period. A perfectly fine meal with a perfectly refined ending.

I can't remember how much the meal was but I remember that it was all worth it. In fact, I managed to bring one of our clients there already and she loved the place.

~Troy