Bonifacio High Street Central is our current gastronomic sanctuary. One by one, we gleefully try out the mass of restaurants in the area weekly and our pick for this week are the two restaurants categorized as wood-fired bistro - Stella and Rocket Room.
Stella and Rocket Room is managed by the developer and operator of high-end chain of restaurants in the metro, Raintree Restaurants. Apart from the aforementioned establishments, Raintree Restaurants is the force behind Chelsea Market and Cafe, M Café, and Mr. Jones, to name a few.
Rocket Room is more of a bar than a restaurant and since our purpose was to dine, we headed over to the one on the right which is Stella's. Stella prides itself in serving wood-fired dishes under the culinary prowess of Chef Kalel Chan.
I took a liking to the simplicity of the table setting. They have Badoit on top of each and every table. The naturally carbonated water is well known for its flavor enhancing ability.
We were given complimentary pumpkin sourdough bread and roasted tomato and garlic dip for starters. The tanginess of the bread compliments the full and rich flavor of the sauce. I would gladly come back even just for these!
One of the best things that will get me hooked to Stella is their housemade "real" (emphasis on this word please) iced teas. Being an ardent iced tea devotee I was pleased to know that they serve 5 flavors of this wonderful drink - Four Red Fruits; Lemon & Ginger; Jasmine Green Tea; Passion Fruit, Mango and Orange; and Raspberry Echinacea. I had a hard time choosing! I was torn between Raspberry Echinacea and Jasmine Green Tea, the latter won. Cool, freshening, not too sweet, perfect amount of sourness - Yes! Yes! This is my drink!
 |
| Jasmine Green Iced Tea PhP 95 |
My boys both ordered the Lemon & Ginger Ice Tea. It was too sour for me but J6 and J7 loved it!
 |
| Lemon & Ginger Iced Tea PhP 95 |
Our eldest would always insist (Thank you God!) on ordering vegetables whenever we would eat out given of course that it's included in the menu. He ordered these fire roasted zucchini, chayote, asparagus, and bok choy drizzled with lemon vinaigrette which turned out to be a wonder.
 |
| Fire-Roasted Seasonal Green Vegetables in Olive Oil PhP 95 |
Wood-fired pizzas is among their crowd drawing specialties. We chose the Straight Up Pepperoni because it is encaptioned with the phrase "we couldn't resist" on their menu...and also because pepperoni pizza is my boys' ultimate pizza indulgence. :) The size is comparable to the small size pizza of most pizza chains. The pizza is thick both in body and crust and the taste is fair. It gets better with a little drizzle of the herb and pepper infused olive oil.
 |
| Straight Up Pepperoni PhP 295 |
This baked Gindara (sablefish) fillet on a bed of salt looks good right? It tastes even better! All the natural juices and marinade were retained which makes this dish so savory on its own.........
 |
| Salt Baked Gindara Fillet PhP 395 |
........but dipped in this rich light-dill citrus cream, it becomes heavenly!
The immediate thought that came to my mind when this Baby Back Riblets was placed on our table was that it was dry and looks tough. The appearance fooled me! The ribs had that distinct smoky flavor, fork-tender and juicy! The herb-sundried tomato sauce makes it irresistable! One of the best things about wood-fired style of cooking is that the searing heat provides enough power to penetrate even the large cuts of meat which seals in the flavors and juices. The high-heat roasting of the meat also brings caramelization. Delicious!
 |
| "California Style" U.S. Baby Back Riblets PhP 395 |
They also serve one of the best sought after teas in the world -TWG Tea! They have an array of blends from this tea company.
Right beside Stella is the Rocket Room. A window glass partition separates the two. Rocket Room boasts of exotic blends of house-made infused cocktails and wines that have been processed through environmentally responsible farming.
The food's good and worthy of a commendation and recommendation but the service was unfortunately not. Most of the servers were surly and were not welcoming.
Quality: 3.5/5
Service: 2/5
Price: 3/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Cleanliness: 3/5
Stella and Rocket Room
Bonifacio High Street Central, 1634 Fort Bonifacio, Philippines
Tel. Nos.: 621-3111, 621-3222
Facebook: Stella & Rocket Room
Thanks for viewing! ☺
0 comments :
Post a Comment
Comments are very much appreciated! Thank you!