Cafes, Food, Restaurants

Aussie Café – A New Personal Favorite

Aussie Café Resto is worth checking out

I have a fairly simple set of criteria that a restaurant must meet to make it a personal favorite. Since I write about food a lot, most people might assume that I require all sorts of bells and whistles—exotic food, lavishly prepared dishes, extensive wine lists—to bump a place up to the top of my “Where shall I eat today?” list. Not so. Here, the ridiculously simple things I look for, and why the Aussie Café Resto looks like it will be seeing a lot of me this year.

First requirement: Bottomless iced tea… check!

Yummy, unique bottomless iced tea – I don’t care about wine lists—I wouldn’t know a good wine from swill, to my shame—but iced tea has long been a major requirement. Old friends like Chris know the “iced tea” test: before we settle on a restaurant to eat at, I have to know that they have good iced tea, preferably bottomless (these days I’ve started to eat and drink in moderation, so a big glass is enough). Plus points if the iced tea is specially brewed and unique enough that I get a craving for it at odd hours of the day. The Aussie Café serves theirs in a short stout glass, but one glass is usually enough for me, and they have a bottomless option should I feel like going all out. Their brew is fresh, has just the right amount of sweetness, and is flavored with bright citrus-y tones. The single glass is 55 bucks, cheaper than café iced teas; the bottomless serving (which I shouldn’t be ordering that often anyway) is normally priced at P90. For those who do know what to do with their wine, however, the place has a small selection of wines (most of which are from Australia, naturally).

Bright, contemporary interiors that aren’t at all intimidating

Bright, unintimidating, and well-designed interiors – I love places where I can go just to unwind and hang out all day. Paradoxically, this usually means that the places I frequent aren’t overflowingly popular, since I’d feel guilty parking at a table that could be put to good use seating other patrons. Still, when things get tight, a bright and airy atmosphere helps keep the place from closing in on me. Mostly I gravitate to places with al fresco dining areas, since I like sitting in the sun and out of airconditioning. While the Aussie Café doesn’t have outdoor seating, I like the big windows and white finishes, which brighten the place up. The décor is chic but not too trendy, and everything has an unaffected, open look—which is appropriate, if you think about it, in terms of its Aussie context.

Yummy desserts (the selection changes regularly) to have with coffee if you just feel like a snack

Unintimidating prices – Even more important, perhaps, than an environment that doesn’t intimidate its patrons, are the prices. Too high and I won’t be able to keep coming back; too low and you really can’t expect too much class and quality. Carson, one of the owners, expressed this quite nicely for the Aussie Café: he said that while they wanted to maintain a certain high quality image, they wanted the prices to be flexible enough to not scare people away. Which they got right, I think: I was surprised to find something worth 40 bucks on the menu (sure, it’s just toast, but at least I can still come here when I’m close to broke and still be able to order something). The trick to keeping such a broad price range seems to be a range of dishes: they serve breakfast, salads, light meals, pasta, pizza, and—as you’d expect from an Aussie menu—solid grilled meat (from a low of 40 bucks, the meats go past a thousand, but the price for the tenderloin, when you choose to splurge, is well worth it). Plus, they’re a café as well, so hanging out is possible for the price of a simple coffee and pastry (oh, and they do have tempting cakes too, brought out and displayed on a platter upon request).

Mae with the dessert tray

Friendly staff and management who remember my name – Well, the name part isn’t really that important. What really cements my, ahem, “bond” with a place is recognition: when I’ve been there long enough, and often enough, that the servers greet me even outside the restaurant. Here it was slightly different: on my first visit, I already remembered Mae, because she was extremely proactive in asking for comments and suggestions, which eventually led to an introduction to the owners, the lovely Choa family.

Aaand… more desserts!

And, of course, good food – Simply prepared food with good ingredients—always works for me. I do enjoy fancy-schmancy places with nouvelle plating and teeny-tiny mousses made from some exotic Iron Chef-worthy ingredient—but only if someone else pays, hahaha! When I have my way, I choose places with fresh ingredients that feature nice, uncomplicated (preferably boneless—no need to himay!) cuts of meat and those few veggies I like to eat.

Chef Bernie’s seriously mouthwatering ribs… very popular here, possibly because people look at the next table and say, “I’ll have that!”

Worth every peso… “Flamin” Tenderloin Steak

We’ve eaten here a couple of times now, and I’ve tried a range of dishes (though I still haven’t woken up early enough to have breakfast): of their grilled meats, I most enjoyed their “Flamin” Tenderloin Steak (P995 for 225g, P1,300 for 300g) and Chef Bernie’s Mouthwatering Ribs (P395 for single, P745 to share, and P1,090 for family size). Bernie, by the way, is their chef—a Filipino who grew up in Australia and was working there as a chef when the owners managed to entice him back to his native land—and a good one, at that: according to my sister, he has every reason to put his name on the ribs (I believe her exact words were, “Hindi mapapahiya si Bernie sa ribs nya.”).

Great rack of lamb

“Fair Dinkun” Sirloin Steak…

… Best served bloody! (Well, not exactly…)

Their Australian Lambchops (P695 for 225g, P980 for 300g; though the cut is actually lamb rack) are also very good—flavorful and not gamey in the least. I’ve also tried another steak—I think it was the “Fair Dinkun” Sirloin Steak (P595 for 225g, P755 for 300g)—one of their bestsellers, a very tender cut that was pretty good, though I didn’t like it as much as the tenderloin, which was excellent (a tip: if you’re having sirloin, don’t have it grilled more than medium well to make sure it stays tender). Given a choice of sauces—demi-glaze, creamy mushroom, and dianne (don’t ask who Dianne is, I don’t know)—I strongly recommend the dianne sauce… and don’t take that recommendation lightly because I hardly ever recommend anything outright! This was exactly how I think gravy should be—thick, strong, and full of meaty flavor.

Fettuccine Boscaiola

Excellent Chicken Risotto (The red bits are sun-dried tomato, yum!)

The pasta that we tried wasn’t too memorable (Fettuccine Boscaiola, P185), but I loved their Chicken Risotto (P185), which was pleasantly creamy and had mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes (it’s good enough for two to share, again in keeping with my moderate portion sizes, hehehe).

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I love this picture… It makes me want to rush over and order a sandwich… Mmmm

The BBQ Chicken Pizza (P275), was also quite good, loaded with generous slices of mushroom and onions, though I don’t think I’ll be ordering pizza here too often (for some reason, it just doesn’t seem right, though I have no issues ordering Italian risotto, hahaha). I’ve also had the Gourmet Chicken Sandwich (P190), which had sun-dried tomatoes and expertly grilled chicken that was trying to escape the confines of the sandwich (it was probably slipping out because of the herb mayo, yum).

Nachos

Kiama Lemon Pepper Calamari… Unfortunately overshadowed by the chips

Fish and chips!

As if the above litany of dishes weren’t enough to convince you that I’ve been here quite a lot since I discovered it, I’ve also tried their Nachos (P165), good with unusually green-tasting ground beef; the Kiama Lemon Pepper Calamari (P215), which had a disproportionately large amount of chips (fries) as opposed to the squid (the actual calamari was good though, and I hope they’ve increased the serving); and the Bondi Fish & Chips (P235), with a substantial amount of lightly battered, soft, tender fish (remember, though: this is me, of the new moderate portion sizes, talking).

Remember my soup?

And… the first dish I ever had here, back when I had just stopped my lamon cold turkey: my single bowl of soup. Ah, memories.

And, saving the best for last… exquisite Truffle Cake

How can you say no to that?

Aussie Café and Resto
BCG Group Center, Block 27 Lot 2B Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City (beside South Supermarket)

« Previous Post: Our Azule Spa Experience

Next Post: Have a Sweet Lorraine Valentine »