If there's any restaurant/cafe I would love to blog about, it's got to be Tres Cuisine. This place is so unassuming but the food is just great. Tres Cuisine specializes in authentic Filipino-Spanish/Basque dishes..but with an interesting and creative twist! Been here several times but I always go back, something I have never done to Barrio Fiesta or Cabalen--both of which are the more popular restos traditionally offering Filipino cuisine in Manila. I feel most of the dishes I have tried here have become some sort of comfort food for me.
Tres Cuisine has simple interiors, well-lighted, does not have pungent smell of old food, people, fish, etc..and it's clean. It has a small area, can possibly seat only about 30 or less, but it's okay because it looks cozy. Checked out the toilet, not disappointing. If the toilet is clean, somehow it gives me the impression, their kitchen is clean, immaculate and orderly as well. They have a combination of cushioned sofas and wooden chairs, which is both practical and warm (by using wood and cushioned seats). Interior decorations are kept at minimum but used pieces such as colorful vintage capiz windows that remind you of old Filipino houses of the past.
The menu folder looked well-designed. Photos of food and description seemed accurate images of what they served. Funny but in many local restaurants I have been to, in my head I unconsciously match the food photo with what they serve and get disappointed when they (the very appetizing-looking food pics) don't nearly match the food on my table and worse, don't taste appetizing at all. But this restaurant served us food that looked exactly like the ones on their menu photos and this I find comforting because I feel I'm not taken for a fool and I feel the restaurant/cafe is not pretentious and is honest.
Okay, what we got..of course our favorites (again!), Ampalaya Ensalada, Crispy Kare-Kare, Laing and of course the pandan rice. We wanted to try their other flavored rice dishes such as Kalkag Rice, Laing Rice, Lechon Rice, etc but felt those rice will compete with the dishes that we ordered and that would be an overload to the taste buds.
Tres Cuisine has 2 Filipino salads in the menu and we opted to get Ampalaya Ensalada, a salad consisting of thinly-sliced bitter gourd (ampalaya), tomatoes, onions in sweet vinaigrette dressing topped with crispy kalkag (crispy toasted dried small shrimps) I love this salad because my mom makes this when we were younger (I guess until today) but Tres Cuisine just makes it taste great with the kalkag. The combination of the flavors is really fantastic. Simple, healthy, great-tasting.
Ampalaya Ensalada:
We also got Crispy Kare-kare. It's not the usual Filipino kare-kare that I know, it's supposedly a fusion of crispy pata and kare-kare but the effect is fantastic. First off, the kare-kare that I know uses tripe and fatty pork, but this dish uses crispy beef (possibly it's chuck, brisket or flank steak, definitely marbled), crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. I love kare-kare but at home we use lean pork or beef, never tripe (or callos), so I was totally pleased with Crispy Kare-Kare because it didn't have tripe, I heard it's unhealthy.
Crispy Kare-Kare:
What's so nice about this dish (and this is the first time I have seen this) is, the sauce or kare-kare stew is separate from the beef, vegetables (eggplant, string beans, banana bud/blossom or 'puso ng saging', and pechay). Isn't this nice? For once, my kare-kare isn't looking like a halo-halo or hodge-podge of vegetables and meat (that if you overcook the vegetables somehow the dish looks like disgusting yellow mush and goo :D ). By not mixing everything all at once, I get to check out whether the vegetables are not over-cooked and if the other ingredients are actually fresh. Plus I get to put in as little or as much sauce I want depending on how I want it. This is essentially 'deconstructed kare-kare'. Neat!
We also got Laing, a dish consisting of taro leaves simmered in rich creamy milk of young coconut with finger peppers that make it spicy. How spicy, depending on how many finger peppers you put! Hands down, Laing is one of my all-time Filipino favorite dish. But, not just any laing and I know the good laing from the bad because my mom is from Bicol and she can make a mean laing like most Bicolanos. Tres Cuisine's Laing was not so bad, the leaves were tender, nearly mushy (altho I prefer not mushy or overcooked taro leaves sorry) but the sauce was fantastic--not too spicy, not salty and I can taste the sweetness of the young coconut milk in the dish.
The servings are big (for sharing) for the price relative to most restaurants I know where servings have become smaller and smaller each time for the same price.
Laing and Pandan Rice:
Dessert selection was equally great, consisting of old-time Filipino favorites and other modern selections but with a creative twist to them. Take for example, our typical Filipino banana desserts and turon. We tried the Layers of Banana and Cinnamon Toast and the Banana-Ube Turon with the usual brewed coffee and my daughter, who has a sweet tooth, just loved both of them.
Layers of Banana and Cinnamon Toast consists of delicious flambeed bananas and cinnamon melba toast with vanilla ice-cream and creamy butterscotch drizzled with chocolate sauce. My daughter and I loved this, just perfection! Just amazing flavors.
Banana-Ube Turon is deep-fried home-made ube jam and banana wrapped in lumpia wrapper that comes with a special sauce of pureed langka and coconut cream. The combination is just so nice, heavenly! The turon on its own was great anyways but teaming it up with the langka-coconut sauce just makes the flavors burst really nicely in the mouth.
Layers of Banana and Cinnamon Toast:
Banana-Ube Turon:
Brewed Coffee:
The brewed coffee wasn't spectacular or anything. I love coffee and I know what's good coffee from bad but the brewed coffee in Tres Cuisine is something I consider on the mild side, nothing like those that overwhelm the nose. I thought it didn't matter because the coffee is not supposed to compete with my dessert. I'm happy they use brown sugar altho I was disappointed the creamers come in sachets :(
After the meal I thought my family was happy about the food. My daughter who tried the restaurant for the first time actually insisted on lunching on pizza before going to the restaurant and we had this debate for an hour. She was pleasantly surprised and eventually she said she was happy she tried the restaurant. I think the desserts did it.
Checked out the Facebook page for Tres Cuisine and this is what I found on its info/description: 'TRES has the BEST TASTING Filipino and Spanish Dishes in Manila!!' You know what, in my mind, they do. This unassuming, un-hyped restaurant/cafe which probably has just one or two branches serves really great-tasting, flavorful Filipino-Spanish dishes that I have come to love growing up.
There's other stuff in the menu I would like to try in the future like the Pinakbet with Bagnet, Binagoongan Lechon Kawali, Mac and Cheese Afritada, Ginataang Halo-halo, Biko, and Orange Cake (among others!). This, plus there's no question we will always go back to this restaurant because the food here is great. It's high quality, has fresh, natural ingredients, does not compromise the flavors of the food, does not cut corners on the techniques of slow-cooking, grilling and roasting, keeps it simple but comes out really great-tasting.
Tres is located at The Block, SM North. Food price range from PHP55-123 for merienda dishes, PHP99-139 for breakfast items (yes, they serve breakfast from 730-10am!), PHP193-443 for main dishes (with sizes for sharing). No need to break your weekend eat-out budget!
Tres Cuisine has simple interiors, well-lighted, does not have pungent smell of old food, people, fish, etc..and it's clean. It has a small area, can possibly seat only about 30 or less, but it's okay because it looks cozy. Checked out the toilet, not disappointing. If the toilet is clean, somehow it gives me the impression, their kitchen is clean, immaculate and orderly as well. They have a combination of cushioned sofas and wooden chairs, which is both practical and warm (by using wood and cushioned seats). Interior decorations are kept at minimum but used pieces such as colorful vintage capiz windows that remind you of old Filipino houses of the past.
The menu folder looked well-designed. Photos of food and description seemed accurate images of what they served. Funny but in many local restaurants I have been to, in my head I unconsciously match the food photo with what they serve and get disappointed when they (the very appetizing-looking food pics) don't nearly match the food on my table and worse, don't taste appetizing at all. But this restaurant served us food that looked exactly like the ones on their menu photos and this I find comforting because I feel I'm not taken for a fool and I feel the restaurant/cafe is not pretentious and is honest.
Okay, what we got..of course our favorites (again!), Ampalaya Ensalada, Crispy Kare-Kare, Laing and of course the pandan rice. We wanted to try their other flavored rice dishes such as Kalkag Rice, Laing Rice, Lechon Rice, etc but felt those rice will compete with the dishes that we ordered and that would be an overload to the taste buds.
Tres Cuisine has 2 Filipino salads in the menu and we opted to get Ampalaya Ensalada, a salad consisting of thinly-sliced bitter gourd (ampalaya), tomatoes, onions in sweet vinaigrette dressing topped with crispy kalkag (crispy toasted dried small shrimps) I love this salad because my mom makes this when we were younger (I guess until today) but Tres Cuisine just makes it taste great with the kalkag. The combination of the flavors is really fantastic. Simple, healthy, great-tasting.
Ampalaya Ensalada:
We also got Crispy Kare-kare. It's not the usual Filipino kare-kare that I know, it's supposedly a fusion of crispy pata and kare-kare but the effect is fantastic. First off, the kare-kare that I know uses tripe and fatty pork, but this dish uses crispy beef (possibly it's chuck, brisket or flank steak, definitely marbled), crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. I love kare-kare but at home we use lean pork or beef, never tripe (or callos), so I was totally pleased with Crispy Kare-Kare because it didn't have tripe, I heard it's unhealthy.
Crispy Kare-Kare:
What's so nice about this dish (and this is the first time I have seen this) is, the sauce or kare-kare stew is separate from the beef, vegetables (eggplant, string beans, banana bud/blossom or 'puso ng saging', and pechay). Isn't this nice? For once, my kare-kare isn't looking like a halo-halo or hodge-podge of vegetables and meat (that if you overcook the vegetables somehow the dish looks like disgusting yellow mush and goo :D ). By not mixing everything all at once, I get to check out whether the vegetables are not over-cooked and if the other ingredients are actually fresh. Plus I get to put in as little or as much sauce I want depending on how I want it. This is essentially 'deconstructed kare-kare'. Neat!
We also got Laing, a dish consisting of taro leaves simmered in rich creamy milk of young coconut with finger peppers that make it spicy. How spicy, depending on how many finger peppers you put! Hands down, Laing is one of my all-time Filipino favorite dish. But, not just any laing and I know the good laing from the bad because my mom is from Bicol and she can make a mean laing like most Bicolanos. Tres Cuisine's Laing was not so bad, the leaves were tender, nearly mushy (altho I prefer not mushy or overcooked taro leaves sorry) but the sauce was fantastic--not too spicy, not salty and I can taste the sweetness of the young coconut milk in the dish.
The servings are big (for sharing) for the price relative to most restaurants I know where servings have become smaller and smaller each time for the same price.
Laing and Pandan Rice:
Dessert selection was equally great, consisting of old-time Filipino favorites and other modern selections but with a creative twist to them. Take for example, our typical Filipino banana desserts and turon. We tried the Layers of Banana and Cinnamon Toast and the Banana-Ube Turon with the usual brewed coffee and my daughter, who has a sweet tooth, just loved both of them.
Layers of Banana and Cinnamon Toast consists of delicious flambeed bananas and cinnamon melba toast with vanilla ice-cream and creamy butterscotch drizzled with chocolate sauce. My daughter and I loved this, just perfection! Just amazing flavors.
Banana-Ube Turon is deep-fried home-made ube jam and banana wrapped in lumpia wrapper that comes with a special sauce of pureed langka and coconut cream. The combination is just so nice, heavenly! The turon on its own was great anyways but teaming it up with the langka-coconut sauce just makes the flavors burst really nicely in the mouth.
Layers of Banana and Cinnamon Toast:
Banana-Ube Turon:
Brewed Coffee:
The brewed coffee wasn't spectacular or anything. I love coffee and I know what's good coffee from bad but the brewed coffee in Tres Cuisine is something I consider on the mild side, nothing like those that overwhelm the nose. I thought it didn't matter because the coffee is not supposed to compete with my dessert. I'm happy they use brown sugar altho I was disappointed the creamers come in sachets :(
After the meal I thought my family was happy about the food. My daughter who tried the restaurant for the first time actually insisted on lunching on pizza before going to the restaurant and we had this debate for an hour. She was pleasantly surprised and eventually she said she was happy she tried the restaurant. I think the desserts did it.
Checked out the Facebook page for Tres Cuisine and this is what I found on its info/description: 'TRES has the BEST TASTING Filipino and Spanish Dishes in Manila!!' You know what, in my mind, they do. This unassuming, un-hyped restaurant/cafe which probably has just one or two branches serves really great-tasting, flavorful Filipino-Spanish dishes that I have come to love growing up.
There's other stuff in the menu I would like to try in the future like the Pinakbet with Bagnet, Binagoongan Lechon Kawali, Mac and Cheese Afritada, Ginataang Halo-halo, Biko, and Orange Cake (among others!). This, plus there's no question we will always go back to this restaurant because the food here is great. It's high quality, has fresh, natural ingredients, does not compromise the flavors of the food, does not cut corners on the techniques of slow-cooking, grilling and roasting, keeps it simple but comes out really great-tasting.
Tres is located at The Block, SM North. Food price range from PHP55-123 for merienda dishes, PHP99-139 for breakfast items (yes, they serve breakfast from 730-10am!), PHP193-443 for main dishes (with sizes for sharing). No need to break your weekend eat-out budget!
