They say that the best food critics in the world are those who get exposed to different types of food from all over the world. This June, EJ and I had a wonderful journey in France. Yes, we did, but not literally but gastronomically.

We bought a coupon from Dealgrocer.com for Society lounge and it featured a 12 Course Degustation meal inspired by French Fashion Food. Society Lounge is located at the Atrium Building, Makati. I get to see it when I visit my grandmother in Urdaneta Village. The building is right behind Urdaneta and is actually the building of Pag-ibig. We had the opportunity to use the coupon to celebrate our “other” anniversary. EJ and I also celebrate the day that we became a couple, aside from our real wedding anniversary.

We entered the Society Lounge’s dining area and it exuded style and class. My Vittorio Barba black and white dress was apt for the place and the dinner. The service was excellent and the waiters really treated you like royalty.

Upon sitting, they gave us the menu of the 12 Course Degustation. The normal price would be at Php 3,600 for the whole experience. We got it cheaper from DealGrocer.com.

While preparing our appetizers, we were serve a basket of bread. I ate a few, since I wanted to enjoy the appetizers that were to be served.

The first appetizer was Goat Cheese with Onion Jam. The bread was soft and it had goat cheese and onion Jam spread on top of it. The onion jam was sweet and had a hint of onion (the onion flavor was just right; it was not too strong). The saltiness was from the cheese and what was good about it that its taste was not overpowering. This made me crave for more.

The next appetizer was the Vol au Vent with Fresh Mushroom. It was a little pie-like dish, a piece of hor d’oeuvre that was filled with mushrooms with cream sauce. It was served with perfect temperature. The alfalfa complemented the mushroom and creme. I liked this appetizer more than the first one. This made me excited to try the third appetizer, since it seemed like the dishes were getting better and tastier.

The third appetizer was the French Snail Provencal. True enough, the escargot was delightful. It was cooked in lemon butter sauce with herbs and spices. the snail ws not slimy at all. The Provencal had a sharp taste. It was so good that I forgot to take a picture of it. I even wanted to order more of this appetizer!

We were then served three soups: a hot, warm and cold soup.
The hot soup was Hot Vegetable Volute (Soup de legume du jardin). This was my favorite. I have always loved vegetable soup. It was creamy and the cheese was a great highlight. It enhanced the flavor of the soup.

The second soup was the Warm Cauliflower Shot with Truffle oil (Veloute de choux fleur a la truffle blanche). The soup was creamy with a slight truffle undertone.

The cold soup was Cold Tomato Pepper Gazpacho (Gaspacho de tomate et poivron rouge). It was served with a straw. It was tangy. This cold soup has a slight spike from the pepper.

After the soups, we had the main dishes. First up was the Giant Scallop in Lemon Sauce, Bedded with Chiffonade of Vegetables (Noix de Saint Jacque Grille sauce citron et chiffonage de legume).

Among the three dishes, this is what I loved the most. It was both visually appealing and delightfully appetizing. The scallop was cooked well and was delicately placed on top of a bed of vegetables. A bacon strip was wrapped around the scallop and then topped with a perfectly made lemon sauce.

EJ’s favorite though was this next dish. It was Lamb Chop Provencal with mashed potato (Cotellete d’agneau et sa puree de pomme de terre).

The lamb was cooked well; it wasn’t raw. Normally, EJ would ask for mint jelly, but for this particular dish, he didn’t miss it at all. The sauce was enough to make this dish memorable. Although, this dish looked simple with the mashed potatoes on the side, we can still taste the distinct flavor and texture.

The last dish was the Duck Breast in Apple Peach Sauce with Grilled Apple (Magret de canard au pomme sauce a la liqueur de peche)

Out of the three dishes, this was probably the weakest for me. It was probably because it was too sweet. The duck meat may have been perfectly cooked, but I couldn’t appreciate it because of the over-powering sauce.

And then, for the most exciting part, we were served the dessert!

The Crepe suzette cointreau liqueur (Crepe suzette a la liqueur de cointreau) came in first. The crepe had just the right amount of sweetness. I loved the hint of liquor that gave the dish its unique personality. Even if I was quite full, I got to finish this plate of dessert.

Next came the Red Fruit Express and Caramelized Popcorn (Fruit Rouge et Popcorn Caramelisees). Being the popcorn addict that I am, I was delighted to see the caramelized popcorn used as toppings for my ice cream. What was more surprising was that there were other surprises buried beneath the ice cream.There were various fruits to uncover!

The last dessert was Trio of French Macaroon Pierre Hermes (Trois macaron a la facon Pierre Hermes). The macaroons were of different flavors: guava, pineapple and strawberry. I couldn’t finish off this dessert since I was already too full. The strawberry though was the sweetest among the three flavors.

This was a unique gastronomical experience that I would want my family and friends to try out. It may be quite expensive and intimidating to try, but the everything was worth it!

Contact Details:
Society Lounge
G/F Atrium Building, Makati Avenue
Cor. Paseo de Roxas, Makati City
(632) 408 1852