The French have been negatively stereotyped as rude and snobs, and these traits extend not only to their language, but to their food {and restos} as well. In my humble opinion, I think that translates to simply being nationalistic. I love their style, their food, their country, and their language. English has been widely accepted as the lingua franca, but I'd rather that it be Tagalog {love your own} or French, really. Just saying.
Anyway, a French food establishment that serves great food with a relaxed setting {hence, brasserie} is Brasserie CiÇou. Of course, when I say relaxed, it's not the I'll-put-my-feet-up-the-chair type of relaxed. Now, that is rude. I think, a lot of people are intimidated about this restaurant because of certain assumptions - it's a French restaurant, so it must be expensive and intimidating. It's not.
Recently, Brasserie CiÇou has launched Le Bouchon Lyonnais. It is the famous style of dining {and dishes} specific to France's gastronomic capital: Lyon. I haven't bean to Lyon, but as Ana {Chef Cyrille Soenen's wife} explained to us, a lot of bouchons opened due to the demand, but few are authentic. To ensure gourmets that they are in a authentic bouchon, Association de Défense des Bouchons Lyonnais created the label Authentique Bouchon Lyonnais.
Bouchon's dishes are centered mostly on meats and accompanied by Beaujolais and Côtes du Rhône. Keep calm, and look at what we ate:
The proverbial French dining essential at Brasserie CiÇou's is already something to rave about; thin, crispy coating with very soft center.
Charcuterie et pâté
The buffet is priced at PhP 1,700/person, but if you want to skip the mains and desserts and just stick to the Charcuterie et pâté {above} and Les
Saladièrs {below}, you can for PhP 650/person! These two courses alone are so worth it!
Amongst all, my favorite was the Pork Head Pâté. Spanky was spot-on when he associated the taste with sisig. I think this is a fancier, and healthier version of the well-loved Filipino dish. Smeared with a little mustard, the pork head pâté becomes even more delicious! The rest are Pâté en Croûte, Pâté de Campagne, Chicken Aspic with Tarragon {love this}, and Pork Rillette {love this, too}.
Les Saladièrs
To up the bouchon experience, the salads were served on top of a gingham-covered tray {the tables at authentic bouchons are covered with this checkered cloths}.
Top ~ Left to Right: Beetroot with Sour Cream; Lentils with Shallots and Parsley Vinaigrette; Red Cabbage Confit, Mustard Vinaigrette, and Egg Mimosa.
Bottom ~ Left to Right: Pok Sausage, Onions, and Vinaigrette; Potatoes, Smoked Fish, and Olive Oil; French Green Beans with Vinaigrette. It's hard to pick a favorite with these six because I find them all very good, and very filling, too!
Main Course
You can choose one out of the six helluva good mains: Boudouille, Blanquettede Poulet, Le Coq au Vin, Tablier de Sapeur, Fish Quennelle, and Pork Sausage.
The dish I was most excited to try was the Boudouille {above}. It's a mix of blood sausage, andouilette, crushed potatoes with parsley, sautéed apple, and beef jus with thyme and shallots. The combination of flavors was amazing! I've always liked a dish cooked with blood and liver so this was good for me.
Savory home-made pork sausage with braised lentils in red wine sauce.
Le Coq au Vin is my second favorite {first is Le Boeuf Bourguignon} dish at Brasserie CiÇou. Le Coq au Vin is a dish made of marinated braised chicken in red wine, carrots, mushrooms, shallots, croutons, and pasta tossed in cream and parsley. This was marvelous to eat!
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Tablier de Sapeur are ox tripes coated with herb crumbs accompanied by vichy-cooked carrots. I've never really liked ox tripe because of the texture, mostly. Surprisingly, these breaded tripes were very satisfying.
Another good dish from the list is the Fish Quennelle ~ crab bisque and Gruyère cheese. These are like puffy dumplings, with a texture that resembles that of a prawn ball. It's light and delicious!
Le Dessert
The dessert selection at Brasserie CiÇou is nothing short of amazing. Their famous Kouign-amann is heavenly addicting! It's not included in the Le Bochoun Lyonnaise, but the ones served were equally unforgettable. I was heavenly anticipating the desserts while I was still munching on my baguette. We weren't disappointed. Not at all.
Above is the Floating Island ~ a very light, delicious, and rightly sweetened dessert of soft meringue on crème anglaise.
Below are the Tarte à la Praline and Choux Chantilly. Both were sinfully delicious, but I prefer the Tarte à la Praline more.
Les Bugnes de Lyon are twisted pastries accompanied by Strawberry Coulis and Apple Compote. Again, delicious! Not to be missed as well is the Crème Caramel. If you are heavily into sweets, you can get an unlimited serving of desserts for PhP 650!
Brasserie CiÇou
#57 Annapolis St., Greenhills, San Juan
Contact Nos.: (02) 661.92.00
Facebook: CiÇou
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