The lunch adventure today was a little unusual. We started out planning to have inexpensive Thai food at Soms Noodle House in N. Garcia, Makati but we ended up at Alliance Francaise coffee shop. We left the office at around 12:30noon so we must have arrived at quarter to 1:00 pm at Soms. We had a good parking space and chanced upon an empty table to an almost filled up restaurant. I thought, when had Soms attracted so much diners at one time, that the best kept secret place must have been so popular now that habitues have trooped to this virtually discreet place in droves.
Anyways, it took us a while to attract the attention of the waiters and waitresses just to get hold of their menu. We thought, this must be normal, considering the huge number of diners. After getting the attention of the guard who graciously gave us their menu, we decided on our fare. It took us another 5 or 10 minutes to get their attention so we can place our order; some two waiters would drop by our side but was not willing to take our orders yet, signalling us to wait for somebody that he will send along. Finally another waiter came only to tell us that they cannot take our orders yet as their kitchen was piled up with unserved orders for the moment. Me, Maidette and Rene exchanged glances for this unusual customer service - as the least they could do was offer something to drink while waiting in the meantine but queue our order nonetheless. The waiter came back to inform us that the least amount of time we can probably be served was 40 minutes and asked us if we were willing to wait. We said goodbye to Soms at that instant.
We had a good laugh on our way out as I proposed to check out the nearby Alliance Francaise instead. Everyone agreed as I pointed out to Jimmy, our able driver to fetch us there. Rene and Maidette were not familiar with AF as they inquired if indeed there was an eating place inside as the building looks more like an office. I told them, it has a gallery, a library, a cafe and such other facilities inside. Maidette can't help but compare the two places we've been to, the "culture" environment of AF versus the really rinky dink Soms complete with Eat Bulaga as entertainment on TV. Rene mentioned the differences in food presentation, as we were offered light toasted french bread with butter, my softdrink was served complete with a lemon twist, table cloths in immaculate white layered with the red one, comfy sofa and cushioned chairs, climated controlled central airconditioning versus Som's, where, the softdrinks were served in their own unwashed bottles, wet and oily table tops, uncomfortable and soiled chairs and hot and humid air. The differences couldn't be more pronounced. We laughed on the contrast and how we shifted our environs from opposite direction of ultra casual dining to a cultured cafe like AF.
We had fun reading the menu as the main headings were written in French but we find solace in the fact that they served Bistek Tagalog and the like. Their menu have been filipinized over the years. I ordered the Roasted Chicken with mashed potato and garnished with asparagus sprigs, carrot sticks, cauliflower and some eggplant combination on the side. The roast chicken have always been tender that the meat will separate from the bones each time to dig your fork in it. Its aroma is strong but not repugnant to the senses and the taste - it's just great. I have always loved the AF roast chicken and it's almost my staple everytime I dined there.
The gallery cafe featured an artist that does photography, painting and collage as medium. It is an unusual exhibit whereby clothes line were hung on one of the garden windows. Pictures, a packet of Tide in clear plastic bag, a worn out stuff toy were pinned to the clothes line. In a gallery, it's probably called art, but to the uninitiated, it can be classified as trash. We laughed at the shallowness of our "cultured" selves.
I remembered Miguel who introduced us to AF way back in 2001 when it was new then in its present location. I wasn't expecting as well that meals are served in the building as it doesn't say at all in its decor or facade.
For dessert, we tried out the mango pie. The crust was good, though it was not flaky as I liked my crust to be. However, the topping was made of gelatin which blended well with the mango filling. The three of us agreed, it was a nice ending to our meal.
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