Gourmet’s Cafe, revisited

The last time we were at Gourmet’s Cafe in Silang, Cavite was two years ago. The food, as always, was good. The architecture and decor of the restaurant were both nostalgic and ethnic. Lots of antiques, wood sculptures, earth tones all over. Yesterday, because we couldn’t get a parking space at Bag of Beans, we drove to Gourmet’s Cafe instead. I figured it would be a good time to see the farm too because we missed that on our previous visit.

As it turned out, the lack of parking at Bag of Beans was a stroke of luck. If, for the past several years, Bag of Beans was a must every time we drove south of Manila, after yesterday’s lunch at Gourmet’s Cafe, I’m quite ready to give up my Bag of Beans obsession.

Gourmet’s Cafe is newly renovated and, oh my! What a renovation! No mere face lift — the place has a new look and new character.

The main dining room looks more huge because of the white walls and the ousting of much of the antiques and wood pieces.

Instead of all the dark and heavy decor, the walls are now lined with paintings by local artists. The paintings are all for sale, by the way.

For those who want to feel the breeze, there’s al fresco dining in a covered and screened porch.

But enough about the ambience. What did we eat?

I had pork satay — succulent to the last bite!

Sam had the barbecued chicken. When she cut through the meat and realized it was the breast portion, I got worried thinking we should have specified that we wanted the thigh instead. But, after tasting the chicken meat, all worries were gone. They do know how to cook chicken there — moist inside but not raw.

Notice the pickled vegetables on my plate and Sam’s. They were so good that we asked the waiter if they were sold in jars. Unfortunately, the pickled vegetables were only served in the restaurant.

Sam also ordered fresh mushroom soup…

… which, truly enough, had fresh mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms.

Speedy ordered a burger.

The burger patty was so thick and juicy and Speedy was a happy man.

After the main courses, it was time for coffee. Speedy said he was too full for dessert. But Sam and I were still raring to have dessert.

Sam ordered a blueberry cheesecake…

… which consisted of the crust, the cheesecake, blueberry filling, whipped cream and more blueberries on top. I had a few forkfuls and the blueberry cheesecake was delicious!

I ordered a chocolate mousse cake. One bite, I was too smitten for words, I offered Speedy some because I thought it would be a sin not to try it. Remember he said he was too full for dessert? Well, he finished about a third of the chocolate mousse cake. And when Sam remarked about his being too full for dessert, he told her to keep quiet because he was eating.