Its one of those Sundays that we simply wanted to go out and enjoy as we always do. Thank God to vouchers for making late lunches more affordable and exciting. We decided to head-off to BGC to have our late lunch at Elias.
After reading several reviews, I was able to convince my wife to try their food and taste the difference. Despite its high price (as I've read in other blogs), I hope its worth every peso.
We had 3 voucher worth around 2100 pesos (I spent only 1050) and I want to make the most out of it. When we got inside, we instantly traveled through time as its interiors reminded me of Rizal's Noli Me Tangere. I didn't took much pictures of their interior as all three of us are hungry XD
Can you find the two? XD
As I browsed through their menu, all of them had this 1800's appeal. Most of the characters in Rizal's works were brought to life through their dishes.
Her Mommy instructing her what to order.
But its Marien who decides what to order XD
While we were waiting, I took some pictures to keep me busy XD.
For starters, we had the Sinuglao Tarsilo (295 pesos). Its a combination of grilled liempo and kinilaw na tuna. I didn't knew this would be a little bit spicy but this dish is good. The combination of something cooked an something raw would make one's palate curious on how and why this works. Its best for "pulutan" if you ask me.
Its pretty difficult to choose their soup since almost all of them look so appetizing. Since we need soup for my daughter to enjoy her meal, we ordered Paborito ng Katipunero (300 pesos). It's molo soup with generous toppings and a fresh egg. This alone can make you full since its good for 2-3 people.
Then we had the Crispy Beef Y Albino (250 pesos) as our salad. This can also be a meal in itself with crispy beef tapa and kesong puti. Perfect for those watching their weight and at the same time without sacrificing taste. XD
While waiting for our main course, we had Pandan Iced Tea (99 pesos), and Kalamansi Malunggay Juice (150 pesos) and had them bottomless. We also tried their Lemon Iced Tea and Tamarind Iced Tea as an alternative to Pandan.All of their drinks are refreshing and new to our taste buds especially the Kalamansi Malunggay Juice. My wife and I had a glass each and Marien had a few sips too.
Kalamansi-Malunggay Juice
Tamarind Iced Tea
Cheers!
To accompany our main dish, we had the Adobo Rice (250 pesos). Initially, I wanted the Taba ng Talangka (365 pesos) but my wife told me to watch my cholesterol intake. My second choice was their Binagoongan Rice (325 pesos), same thing (wifey says no). Third was their Tinapa and Salted Egg (250 pesos), again she said no, hence we ordered Adobo Rice.
Marien trying the Adobo Rice
And for our main dish, we had almost the entire Biñan (300 grams for 525 pesos). There are a lot of main dishes to choose from but why we ended up getting Biñan? Since our soup, appetizer and salad had meat in it, we simply pick seafood for our main dish, a grilled tuna belly. How did it taste? It tasted good plus its healthy right? XD. However, with so many main dishes to choose from, people might get confused which one to choose. Probably they could trim it down to the best of the best.
Since we had some enough budget for dessert (and some space in our tummies), we had Soledad (150 pesos) and Iday (180 pesos). Soledad is a classic combination of mango, suman and cup of hot chocolate (I wish this was bottomless as well) while Iday is suman with chocolate fondue. While some say their dessert section should be skipped, I'm very much contented with both especially with Soledad (the dessert XD). Though the downside it its high cost which they could have adjusted it a little bit lower.
Soledad
Iday
After 3 hours, we're really full and enjoyed a long lunch while reminiscing history and the week that happened before. Definitely, we will be going back to Elias to try their other dishes and make sure I'm the one in-charge of ordering our food XD
I hope they would branch-out near Manila so we don't have to go all the way to BGC always. XD
Wow! I love the interiors parang dapat naka-makalumang tao getup ka when you go there. Hehe. :) I love the food too, alive na alive sa pictures mo. Will go here definitely. :)
ReplyDeleteI wanna try their Crispy Beef Y Albino! And the good thing is, they have sliced cheese in almost all of their dishes! :D
ReplyDeleteOh my! This is a new place that my friends and I can dine-in whenever we're in BGC. The place looks cozy and comfy. And they have adobo rice too! Im a sucker for adobo rice. hahahaha im loving it already. hehe
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend just ate here yesterday for lunch with his family and he gave it a two thumbs up! That's a very good commendation already since he's not usually fond of eating Filipino food. :)
ReplyDeleteI super love the interior of Elias! Takes everyone back through time indeed! :)
ReplyDeleteWow! I love their interior! <3 The food looks delicious. I want to try their Binagoongan rice but it's kinda pricey. Would love to visit them when they branch out somewhere in the south.
ReplyDeleteI love how detailed their interior and utensils are. I love the their condiments holder with the initials of P, S and T very very original. I would really wish for them to branch out somewhere in Manila or Quezon City because I really want to try it out for myself.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, how does the tamarind iced tea taste like?
I've been eyeing on Elias for quite a while now, but for some reason, I still haven't found myself in its dining space yet. I'm not a big fan of eating at Filipino restaurants, but I'll be sure to visit soon. Would love to enjoy Filipino cuisine in a Noli Me Tangere-inspired restaurant.
ReplyDelete