For starters, an interesting looking salad was served -- Sweet Crispy Beef Shreds and Fresh Herbs. It had tomatoes, cucumber, mint, lemongrass, basil, cilantro and leeks, drizzled with lemon vinaigrette, and topped with sweet crispy beef shreds. What can I say? This is one unique salad that gave me a medley of flavors -- sweet, citrusy, salty and minty. The cucumber strips are juicy and crunchy. The basil gave the salad its sweet flavor, providing good contrast with the citrusy flavor of the lemongrass and vinaigrette. The crispy beef on top adds a touch of saltiness and gives added texture and point of interest. This salad is so tasty you would forget that it is healthy.
Next came the soup -- M's Signature Spicy Curried Pumpkin Soup -- which at first glance looks like any other pumpkin soup. Just a spoonful delighted me with the smooth and creamy texture and the full zesty curried pumpkin flavor. The spice is just right and the peppered crunchy papadum jived with the soup.
Since we are three at the table, we decided to order different dishes for the main course so we can try them all. Mom ordered the Oven Roasted Labahita Fillet with Aligue Cilantro Butter Sauce and red wine, my friend Gesel choose the Spicy Adobo U.S. Rib Fingers and white wine while I decided on the Crispy "Binagoongan" Liempo and white wine. Old practice was that red wine is paired with meat dishes while white wine goes with fish and seafood but nowadays, anything goes with what your heart (and tastebuds) desires.
The Oven Roasted Labahita Fillet with Aligue Cilantro Butter Sauce was a very good choice -- the fillet is soft and buttery-smooth, and seasoned just right. The generously served aligue butter sauce was delicious and gives the fillet a distinctive seafood flavor, especially enhanced by calamansi. No need for rice because the fillet rested on a bed of bok choi, a healthier option.
Gesel's Spicy Adobo U.S. Rib Fingers is a refreshing adobo dish for me as I've only eaten pork or chicken adobo and adobong kangkong. My first time to taste beef adobo and the U.S. rib fingers were really tender. The adobo sauce I found too salty for my taste but I love the garlic flavor brought by the garlic chips. When eaten with the langka chutney, the dish tasted like patatim and the sweet chutney balanced the saltiness of the sauce.
The Crispy "Binagoongan" Liempo is a pretty sight on the plate as each ingredient was neatly layered on top of another, garnished by shreds of green mango. The liempo is well-cooked, crispy yet juicy; when eaten as is, the meat is devoid of any flavor from seasonings but it was just right because the bagoong gave it flavor I expected. The homemade bagoong gave a surprising texture as I felt the crispy alamang in every bite -- a new experience as opposed to the usual smooth and paste-like texture of bagoong. The dish has a good balance of sweetness and saltiness that when you eat one perfect bite (a fork full of each ingredient: a piece of liempo, eggplant, and green mango dipped in bagoong), you'll feel pure ecstasy!
For dessert, Chocolate Stuffed Black and White Buchi with Gelato was served. The combination of warm buchi and the cold gelato was a clever yummy creation. I felt like a child trying to dip a lollipoped buchi into a shot glass filled with creamy gelato. This east-meets-west dessert is sinfully divine -- imagine a chocolate stuffed buchi with sesame seeds becoming more chocolaty with the gelato.
The red and wine wine featured for the night is from the Arzuaga winery of Spanish winemaker Ignacio Arzuaga. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Arzuaga in February 2010 at Wine Depot's Arzuaga Wine Dinner and it was where I first encountered Fan D’Oro White Chardonnay and La Planta RED Tempranillo. (See my post on the Arzuaga Wine Dinner here)
Fan D’Oro White Chardonnay was mildly aromatic and has a burst of flavors -- sour at first then salty before exploding with a bit of spice at the end. This wine was perfect with the labahita fillet and the crispy liempo. La Planta Red Tempranillo, on the other hand, had strong fruity aroma and was salty at first sip then turned mildly fruity with a refreshing smoky aftertaste. This wine complemented the adobo rib fingers very well.
When we finished dinner, it started to rain again but overall, it was a good night of bonding and M Cafe was the right place to spend time with loved ones while enjoying great food and wine, and sharing good laughs. The seats are comfortable and the service personnel are courteous and attentive. And I love how the round lights that loomed overhead gave a warm glow to the simple but classy interiors.
M Cafe is located in Greenbelt 4, Makati Ave., Makati City right in front of the Ayala Museum. For your wines and spirits requirements, visit Wine Depot branches or their website for good buys and special offers.
