La Maison Revisited

Cristina and I recently visited La Maison at Greenbelt 5, as we were invited by Mr. Robi Caguiat to check out the new stuff on their menu. He said that he had been trying to get in touch with us since the owners were able to read my review, and that he had hoped to have me around when they had the guys from Yehey.com around, right after the Bloggers’ Food Tour last January.

But it was rather opportune that he had called me up- I just came out of another meeting at Greenbelt 2. So I was pretty much already in the area. So we had dinner not just with the owners and the management of the restaurant (which was a favorite among the bloggers who attended TriNoma’s Food Tour two months ago), but also with Irene and Ricci of ClickTheCity.com.

Incidentally, Irene was also frontwoman for local indie-rock band Chubibo, and Ricci is best known for his involvement with Hungry Young Poets and Mojofly.

It was actually pretty funny- since Irene was covering the whole affair for ClickTheCity.com, and I was taking down notes for my own blogs- we were taking shots of all the food being set down before us, right before anyone digs in.

We did have lots of fun that night, and unlike the hurried pace of the TriNoma Bloggers’ Food Tour, this was a lot more relaxed- which means we were able to take our sweet time enjoying whatever La Maison asked us to try (not that we needed that much persuasion, really).

Of course, the owners would ask us what we think of how a certain sauce or dip is paired up with a particular dish, or what we thought of pricing and presentation- it’s all pretty much expected, I suppose. But we were also able to ask about stories from their end- whether it’s about the food, the customers, or about La Maison itself.

While you can read up on my visit on my other blog, “Renzie’s Rants and Raves”, allow me to fill you in on why I dig La Maison so much.

Low Carb Options at La Maison

La Maison is great for anyone who’s into the whole low-carb lifestyle: you can have Wagyu Beef Steaks or Sandwiches, salads (like the Mango Salmon Salad), a wide assortment of fish dishes (like the Dover Sole Fish Fillet)- but for me, the best deal is the signature La Maison Barkada Ribs.

You get this monster plate right here that can easily feeds 3 or maybe even 4. It comes with 2 kinds of sauces- and goes great with lots of rice (La Maison has an option for all-you-can-eat rice), or eaten on its own. Alternately, you can try the Mashed Potatoes (which come in 3 scoops per order) or the special La Maison Rice.

The beef is so tender that it slides off the bones- I kid you not. The first time we tried this was at the aforementioned Bloggers’ Food Tour, and we’ve had this at least one other time since then. Though it looks a lot more impressive this way, with a full rack laid out before us.

The Beef Quesadillas

I also love their Beef Quesadillas- it was the first time I’ve tasted it. While La Maison suggests French or European cuisine, their menu has expanded to cover pretty much a more international range of food.

Quesadillas make use of flour tortillas, with a generous layer of beef and cheese, making for a thin, but very tasty sandwich to start your meals with. A platter of Beef Quesadillas makes for a great snack or appetizer for 2-3 people. The salsa that comes with it makes the experience so much better, but even on its own, the Quesadillas are already great-tasting.

The Desserts

La Maison has a number of desserts you’d like to check out. Hands down for me, the New York Cheesecake was definitely the best of the lot. It was creamy enough, with just the right amount of sweetness, and the strawberry drizzle on top made for a good touch.

Cristina loved the Mango Crepes- something I probably have to try on my next visit. And Irene was just loving the Creme Brulee- which we probably had a couple of visits back together with a slice of the flourless Choco Lovers’ Cake.

Their desserts are absolutely heavenly- we were already full by the time these were served, but hey, there’s always room for great cheesecake, right? Screw the diet! We capped off our evening with cups of freshly brewed coffee to go with our desserts of choice.

The brewed coffee is also definitely worth mentioning- it was fresh as it could possibly be. I think they used a Lavazza press on this one. In any case, it’s good to know that there’s a place you can go to other than the usual coffee places for a good cup of brew.

Oh, and they also have wi-fi, by the way- which means La Maison is also a great place for meetings- and a meeting is always a great excuse to have dessert and coffee…

The Final Word

La Maison is great whether you’re on a low-carb diet (like Atkins or South Beach) or on a meat-free diet (if you’re vegetarian, or when it’s Lenten Season, for example). Here’s a restaurant that pretty much has it covered no matter what nutritional program you’re on.

La Maison dishes are meant for sharing, which means the more you are eating at any given time, the more you get in terms of value-for-money. Most of the regular servings are already good for two or three, and you can easily order servings of rice, mashed potatoes or veggies when you feel you need to. So it’s very friendly for large groups of friends or family.

Lastly, the desserts are to die for. Remember to leave some space for it, and you can always order different desserts so you can all taste what everyone else is having.

La Maison is located at the third level of Greenbelt 5 (that’s the new Greenbelt right next to the very first Greenbelt, along Legaspi Street). They also have a restaurant at TriNoma and another one at The Podium soon to open.

So surprise your family or your friends by taking them to La Maison- take time to try out all the great stuff they have. And tell me about your visit the next time!

Cheers, everyone!

On Atkins Once Again.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the Atkins Diet. I suppose it’s because it allows you to eat as much as you want- provided it’s the foods you’re allowed to eat.

Being the low-carb diet that it is, Atkins basically says that, totally going carb-free for the first 14 days taps into your fat reserves, so that eventually you’re burning your body fat for your day-to-day fuel needs.

It’s worked for me before, and I know it can work for me again.

At this point, I’m already on Day 10.  Yeah, I can feel my clothes fit a little less snugly, I feel a little more spry, and more interestingly, I can actually eat the foods that I usually can’t because of my high uric acid levels.

That’s right- I’ve been snacking on Lapid’s Chicharon (pork rinds), cashew nuts and peanut butter.

Plus a variety of sugar-free sweets. So yeah, I suppose I’ll be alright for now.

As long as I stick to my steaks and salads, I’ll be just fine.

But I do miss potato chips though…

Damn.

Yes I’m on Atkins.

The Atkins Diet (or more officially, The Atkins Nutritional Approach) does have a particular appeal to me. It doesn’t work for everybody, definitely. And there are other diets out there (South Beach is another good one) or other ways to lose the poundage. But more importantly, Atkins is something I’m just absolutely comfortable with.

It’s the meat. All the meat you can eat. I’m a dude, and dudes eat meat. Yeah I’m cool with the occasional salad, bowl of yogurt or tuna casserole, but seriously, nothing is as satisfying as a large slab of steak and a side of veggies.

For the uninitiated and the uninformed, Atkins can be quite the challenge- you have to get rid of virtually ALL carbohydrates in your regular diet (at least for the first 14 days). For Filipinos and Asians, that’s a LOT of food. Kiss your bowls of rice goodbye, your plates of pancit and mami (noodle dishes) goodbye, nor can you have desserts, or even fruits! Your usual snacking options are now thrown out the window- no chips, no soda, no iced tea, no coffee, no candies or chocolates, absolutely none of those.

You can have a sandwich if you want, but don’t eat the bread So yes, if you just aren’t used to it, it does present itself as a challenge.

Anything else, is relatively fair game- meat of pretty much all kinds (beef, pork, lamb, chicken, etc.) , all kinds of seafood, all kinds of vegetables. Cheese is alright, butter is alright, nuts are alright. So it’s not all that bad. I say any diet that lets me eat a whole rack of baby back ribs and wash it down with a glass of red wine is just totally awesome.

Oh don’t forget to couple the diet with a good exercise program.

I must admit, I’m not an expert on Atkins, but I’ve seen it work wonders for me. And I’m just all too glad to help other guys out. Atkins, in my opinion, is a dude’s diet. Dudes who have a more than a little extra chunk and hate controlling their calorie intake- like me.

But if you’re just, say, 10 to 20 pounds overweight, you’re really just better off working out some, or if you have to, do South Beach. Like I said, Atkins definitely isn’t for everybody.

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my humble blog! This web journal is entirely dedicated to keeping track of the efforts I do to live life a little healthier and a lot more stress-free. I’m not getting any younger, and seriously, I feel the excesses of my decadent life slowly catching up with me.

Join me as I try to fight back the extra poundage, hop from one spa to another, make a low-carb (but very tasty!) meal, and pretty much whatever else is needed to rebuild my body into a better, stronger, faster me.