Le Jardin Cuisine de Gils of Trois Gourmands is a new French restaurant on the penthouse floor of the W Fifth Building in Taguig, a dining concept inspired by celebrated French chef Gils Brault and his Le Toit Gourmands restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
Mike Tayag describes the restaurant as a “passion project” for him and his partners and likened it to driving a racecar. “The most important part of the racecar is the driver – the person driving the business – which is me and my partners. We are here every day, driving the business,” he said during the launch last month.
The garden-themed interiors are done predominantly in white – French doors, elegant chairs –accented with the long black leather sofas and a touch of greenery. Instead of fancy chandeliers, industrial-looking lighting fixtures hang from the ceiling, which tones down the luxe feel and creates a more casual ambiance.
Near the entrance is a smoking room with pictures of celebrities like Jack Nicholson and Samuel L. Jackson (look for Pepe Le Pew!).
Expect exceptional French fare from Chef Jonas Ng of Mango Tree and and Huat Pot and heavenly desserts from Chef Pâtissier Hassett Go of MedChef fame. They make their own cheeses and breads and have a great selection of wines, most of which are imported from France.
During the launch, guests were treated to Truffled Popcorn (highly addicting!), a variety of Canapés (Gils’ blood sausage with apple compote, French potted pork, house-smoked salmon, house-made cheese and quail egg with onion chutney), Mini Sandwiches (house-smoked salmon and chicken), and Anchovy Dip with Vegetables. For dessert, there were perfectly dainty and sweet Petit Fours (lemon kisses, mixed berries tartlets, chocolate hazelnut tartlets, eclairs and profiteroles) and macarons. This was just a preview of what Le Jardin has to offer.
Four-Course French Dinner
I was invited back for a 4-course dinner and being able to try their entrées (and more of their desserts) got me excited.
A 4-course dinner (P2,800++) includes a choice of two starters (you can choose from their cold and warm appetizers), one entrée, and one dessert. All set courses come with bread, an amuse-bouche, a palate cleanser and cheese platter.
We started dinner with some freshly baked bread and I instantly fell in love with the brioche. I had to restrain myself or else I would be too full for my entrée (and dessert). I also enjoyed the amuse-bouche of Truffled Scrambled Eggs.
For appetizers, I tried the Salade de homard (lobster salad) and the Lasagne d’agneau (lamb lasagna).
Then a glass of lemon sorbet with tomatoes and basil oil was set down to cleanse the palate before the main course is served.
The Joue de beouf et foie gras poele (braised beef cheek topped with pan seared foie gras) was decadent and tender.
The cheese platter was next – 6 different kinds of cheese that includes plain cow cheese, truffle cheese, cow cheese with chives, red peppercorn, rosemary and peppercorn, and ash. I love rosemary so the rosemary with peppercorn was my favorite.
For dessert, I had the Profiterole au chocolate – light choux pastry with chocolate and ice cream – and it was as divine as I imagined it would be.
After the last forkful of dessert, we lingered a bit more and I sipped my glass of Chateau La Calisse (P3,500+ per bottle) as I made a mental note of signing up for French language classes.
—
Le Jardin is open daily from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm. They also have a 3-course dinner for P2,200++ and 5-course dinner for P3,200++. Like Le Jardin’s Facebook page (lejardinbgc).
Additional images by Jericho San Miguel.
