We celebrated Valentine's day in advance this year like we usually do to get away from the lovesick-couple-at-every-table scene. We usually prepare home-made dinners at home and just decorate our places but this year, we opted to dine out instead. Well, my mom also refused to help us cook our, errr, home-made meals.
Jake originally planned a dinner date at Thai at Silk but since we were meeting early that day, I booked us a table at Romulo Cafe for lunch to make it a whole-day affair. The place was just awesome. Everything's so pretty, from the minimalistic fixtures to the colorful patterned walls, coupled with delicious food and great service--it was one of our best lunch dates yet.
Romulo Cafe is tucked in a not-so-busy corner street between Scouts Tuason and Dr. Lazcano in Quezon City. I even printed out a map for Jake, who was driving, so we wouldn't get lost in the many Scouts along the area. It's pretty easy to find once you're along Timog or Tomas Morato. It's a converted house so the area is mostly residential. Parking is fairly easy since they have free valet and the guard's kind enough to locate a parking space for you along the street.
The facade of the place gives off a zen-ish vibe with white and black walls. I love their waiting/smoking area with plush leather couches done in black and giant throw pillows with white accents. The area's airy and light so we didn't mind waiting for a minute or two before they ushered us inside.
We dined in the area with a wall-to-wall photo exhibit chronicling Carlos P. Romulo's life, seeing as this is after all a heritage restaurant established by his heirs. The other side of the wall had a mural of leaves done in the same style as the patterned walls of the restaurant. I especially loved the patterned black and white tiles. So pretty.
We had a hard time choosing between the tinapa rolls and cheese and vigan longganisa dumplings for appetizers. Curiosity won and we ordered the longganisa dumplings. Jake's a sucker for chorizo so this was the second-best thing for him. The dumplings had us craving for more--oozing cheese with salty vigan longganisa fried in thin shang-hai wrappers. I wish I could ask my mom to re-create this dish for meriendas. Jake's already fantasizing about his chorizo version.
After I was done admiring the pattern of their menu, we ordered their house specialties for our main courses: Tito Greg's Kare-Kare, Chicken with Tamarind Sauce, plus bagoong rice for the bagoong lover (Jake). We expected servings good enough for the two of us but we didn't expect servings big enough for three or four people. Everything was perfect, the chicken was juicy with its tamarind sauce, and the kare-kare was thick and creamy with the right balance between veggies and meat. I also had their famous "cool as a cucumber" mojito mocktail. It was so good and refreshing that I wished they served it bottomless. Haha.
We were so full halfway through our meal that we requested to have our kare-kare and chicken wrapped. Those two guys eating outside ordered the "Flying Tilapia". It's fried tilapia but they cook it in a way that the fish is shaped like it's leaping out of the water. I was staring at it most of the time, haha!
After eating and while Jake was smoking outside, the waiters were kind enough to give me a tour of their second floor and function rooms area. The stairs leading to this part had a floor-to-ceiling mural of Carlos P. Romulo's "I am a Filipino". I didn't read the whole thing so I just took a picture with it.
wearing Forever 21 sheer top, American Eagle denim shorts, Mango braided leather belt, Promod layered necklaces, VNC sandals, bag from H&M
All the function rooms on the second floor are awesome and pretty. You can book per room for 5-10 persons with consumable rates. The rooms are named "Kaligayahan", "Kasiyahan", and I forgot the other one. I prefer to call them the blue, brown, and yellow rooms. Haha. The dining area on the first floor's done in mint green with retro checkered floors. I love how they balanced these two classic designs. I just love everything about this place!
For desserts, I finally introduced Jake to Wicked Kitchen's Gluttony. Since the Mother Igancia branch is 5 minutes away from Romulo, I called them 20 minutes before we went there so they can already bake our dessert. Wicked Kitchen bakes desserts on the spot so you have to wait 20-30 minutes upon ordering. I think Jake also fell in love with Gluttony--a soft-baked giant chocolate chip cookie topped with whipped cream and mantecado ice cream. It was the perfect dessert to end our lunch date.
For dinner, we ate at Thai at Silk. I'll attempt to write another review on that.
Overall, I feel so lucky to spend another Valentine's day with Jake for the fifth year in a row. We're not a showy couple but this is how we celebrate this overrated holiday. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
