Restaurant Tapenade of Discovery Primea Makati opened last February without fanfare, yet this all day dining outlet refreshes with its selection of Mediterranean flavors that it has already gained many regulars. The hotel and luxury apartment's location makes it convenient for folks of neighboring corporate buildings and residential areas to visit, and frequently they have for the many food offerings, most popular of which is Tapenade's eat-all-you-can showcase, the Salad Room.
Salad Room: Tapenade's Refreshing and Healthy Take on Buffet
One highlight of the restaurant is the Salad Room, offering one of the most fresh and luxe salad experiences in the metro. “The Mediterranean Diet is known for its health benefits, without sacrificing flavor. This is why we decided to offer the market a gourmet and healthy alternative to the usual buffet experience,” says Chef Luis Chikiamco, Executive Chef of Discovery Primea Makati's restaurants and bars. One must know, too, that the hotel's General Manager is David Pardo de Ayala, a chef himself and thus is more keen on the goings-on of Primea's F&B–a reason to be more excited for all of their upcoming dining outlets to open.
Flanking one side of the Salad Room are shelves that are filled with slices of wheat bread, rye, white bread, soft rolls and ciabatta, and lavash (flatbread). Beside the shelves is prosciutto di parma, sliced fresh from the Swedlinghaus slicer. On the opposite end of the bread counter are assorted dried fruit and nuts you can pair with different kinds of cheeses. During our lunch, the cheeses available were mango chevre, gruyere, blue cheese, blue pepato, emmenthal. For tapas and cold cuts, there was salami milano, smoked chicken breast, and chorizo pamplona.
Another table displayed a smattering of dips and sauces–tomato soffrito, skordalia, anchoiade, white bean dip, hummus–that you can mix and match with pita bread. A bounty of greens for your refreshing fill: romaine lettuce, read oak leaf, mesclun greens, frisee, lollo rosso green, radicchio, lollo rosso purple–to serve as refreshing and crisp base for your salads. To drizzle, over a dozen salad dressings to choose from, and a highlight for me was their many permutations of vinaigrette (my dressing of choice). There was lemon mustard, honey garlic, citrus, balsamic, oregano, passion fruit, chili fig, and raspberry vinaigrette during our visit to the Salad Room.
If you don't want to customize your own, huge bowls of tossed salads are laid on the chilled display table for your picking: there was panzanella, mediterranean lentil salad, summer melon, basil and cucumber salad with feta cheese, mozzarella and grape salad, couscous salad, caponata salad. Other chilled offerings were Terrine de campagne, fresh oysters, homemade gravlax. Just from the cold cuts, cheeses, and seafood options of the Salad Room, the P620++ 'entrance fee' to eat all you can is a steal. Open for lunch and dinner, the Salad Room is an excellent alternative to tapas places — order a glass of red or white of wine (P280-P400) and have unlimited fills of cheese and cold cuts, and refresh yourself with bowls upon bowls of healthy greens. Only open for about a month, this Tapenade offering is quickly becoming a customer favorite.
This coming Easter Sunday, Tapenade will offer a Spanish-themed Brunch Menu (P2,000+ per person) from 11am to 3pm that will include a salad buffet in the Salad Room, a choice of one main entree, a choice of Spanish rice, Arroz Chistorrado with Basque Sausage and Cheese or Mediterranean Paella with Olives and Porcini, a dessert, and free-flowing Summer Sangrias, chilled juices, iced tea and soda. After your unlimited access to the salad room, you may choose one among these main entrées: Wagyu Hanging Tender Steak, Red Snapper with Romesco Sauce, Basque Chicken, Prawns al Ajillo, Pork Belly “a la Plancha”, or a duo of Grilled Lamb. For dessert, choose either Manchego Cheesecake with berries and sorbet, or a Flan de Chocolate with caramelized brioche ice cream.
Flavors of the Mediterranean
Restaurant Tapenade encompasses the flavors of the entire Mediterranean region–the Greek Islands, Sicily and North Africa, Provence, Valencia, and Barcelona. The restaurant is named after a popular dish from Provence, France, that is used and consumed in many ways. Tapenade's blend of capers, olives, anchovies, and olive oil, pounded to a thick paste, becomes an appetizer spread on breads and part of the main course as flavorful stuffing of meats.
To start, try a couple of their appetizers that highlight cheeses in a delicious way: Stone-Baked Feta Cheese (P460) combines tomatoes, capers, Greek Metaxa brandy, and honey so uniquely that each scoopful topped in crostini was an interesting blend of textures, and a mix of zesty, sweet, and tart. The Spanish Piquillo Peppers "A la Plancha" (P420) is a personal favorite, goat cheese stuffed in peppers with a sherry vinegar glaze and baby basil. Each bite of the pepper was delightfully sweet (no hint of heat at all) and the subtle saltiness of the goat cheese a welcome addition.
Tapenade has five pasta dishes to choose from and most popular is their hand rolled Pumpkin Agnolotti (P420), and after a forkful of it, it's easy to understand why. The little handpinched pockets of pasta are stuffed with velvety and sweet pumpkin puree, then completing this masterpiece is rosemary brown butter, parmigiano reggiano, and flakes of crisp prosciutto. Each ingredient lends its flavor and bite harmoniously–it's al dente, then soft inside. It's sweet, then becomes salty and crunchy thanks to proscioutto. These Italian dumplings are definitely worthy of its best seller spot. If you prefer pizza over pasta, there are nine flavors to choose from, all of which are stone-baked and handmade pizza straight from their brick oven. The Tartuffata (P690) is a restaurant recommendation, and is topped with Italian guanciale (cured meat), black truffle, and free-range egg. The slices of chewy pizza have just one challenge for the diner: how to splice the single egg in the middle of the pie equally that each person gets enough egg white and yolk.
If the Salad Room and other ala carte items still have not filled you up yet, wait till you've tried the restaurant's entrees. Their Spiced Lamb Kebabs (P620) is impressive, leaving no trace of gamey flavors that displease some palates (and the main reason why they avoid lamb dishes). It comes with orzo al pesto (a short cut pasta resembling long-grain rice), herb-yogurt sauce, and lemon. Most juicy and flavorful is Tapenade's Porcini-Crusted U.S. Angus Rib-Eye Steak (P2,800/600g, good to share), which I jokingly refer to as a steak salad on steroids upon first look. The platter of beef is topped generously with a bed of arugula, balsamic and parmigiano reggiano that it seems the steak slices are shy to reveal themselves. It shouldn't be, as when you move aside all the greens, you are presented with beautifully crusted slices of the most tender, medium, and lusciously pink steak. Every bite was wonderful, its salty and peppery crust giving your tastebuds much joy that you won't even think of drowning the meat in any sauce whatsoever. It's delicious as is, just as how great steaks should be.
A beautiful, intricate tray carrying Turkish Coffee (P240) was our sign that our Mediterranean feast was nearing its end. This type of coffee is made from finely ground coffee using Arabica beans and water which are placed on a cevze (pot) with sugar. It is unfiltered when brewed, then poured into small cups as ornate and colorful as the tray, and you wait for a short while for the coffee sediments to settle before you take your sips. In between sips of the Turkish coffee, we had a couple of Homemade Gelato (P180) in pistachio and hazelnut flavors, and ended with a beautiful plate of Gianduja Cake (P290), a smooth chocolate-hazelnut mousse with a layer of crunchy praline, and served with salted caramel banana. It was a stellar cake to seal the afternoon, and already I find myself dreaming of the next time I get the chance to sink my teeth into it once more.
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Restaurant Tapenade is located at the ground floor of Discovery Primea, 6749 Ayala Avenue, Makati City. Call (+63 2) 955-8888 loc. 7123 for reservations and inquiries. Like Primea on Facebook (/DiscoveryPrimeaMakati), follow on Twitter (@PrimeaMakati) and Instagram (@discoveryprimea).
