Looks can be deceiving. At first, the phrase didn’t enter my mind as I sat down at Chef Robert — a rather small, brand-new, seven-month-young restaurant at the corner of Banawe and Linaw Streets in Quezon City. I expected one thing; instead, I got another — menu, that is. That’s when I learned it pays to try something out before you knock it. In Chef Robert’s case, it’s not about the ambience, but the dishes they serve.
Not that the design of the place is anything to sneer at. Chef Robert occupies a cozy little nook along the row of tiny shops and food establishments lining Banawe St. You may be forgiven in mistaking it for a lovely little café, the kind that dots the metropolis every 100 meters or so serving gourmet coffee and a tiny sliver of cake. Chef Robert, with its clean, relaxing atmosphere and warm, modern interiors can give you cake to eat, too, if you so desire. However, that’s where the similarities end as you are presented with a full menu of Western, Continental and Asian cuisine that will satisfy anyone from morning, noon to night.
Robert Tan, the 27-year-old entrepreneur who owns and runs Chef Robert, classifies the lineup as the best of “comfort food” he cooked up during his years of learning at the At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy in Singapore and a year of working at another restaurant nearby. From the classic French toast with eggs to a serving of yellow fish curry, people will be hard-pressed to find something they won’t like. Scanning their menu, I already picked out about half a dozen dishes I would like to try out at the same time: the crisp tofu in hondashi dressing, five spiced squid served with a spicy soya dip; the salad rolls in kani and mango dressing, Thai green chicken curry, mussel pesto pasta and the seafood rice melt. I don’t even particularly prefer seafoods, but I still wanted to try some. Such is the power of the restaurant menu that even the most familiar of things seems different and, at the same time, delectable in their descriptions.
“I’ve always wanted to put up a restaurant,” said Tan. “Before, I worked at a restaurant in Banawe (St.). Then after a year, in 2008, I decided to put up my own.” Chef Robert started in July of 2009 and so far, many returning guests have sought out the establishment’s eclectic menu. Tan adds, “This has always been a dream of mine. So I told myself, at least once in my life, I want to try this out.”
Anyone familiar with Quezon City knows that this particular area of Banawe is loaded with Chinese restaurants. Chef Robert distinguishes itself by offering a varied selection from traditional Filipino to foreign cuisine in an almost, café-like setting. Tan elaborates, “When I was in Singapore I was exposed to different cultures — which is a good thing because I got to taste different types of food. I thought, why not bring it all to one restaurant instead of going to different ones? It’s what people like to eat (all) in one place.”
For example, on the main course there’s the Two-Way Pork Steak Tagalog, a pork steak marinated in red wine and Asian-infused seasonings topped with onions and pork flakes; two dishes combined into one, a Vietnamese spring roll and Japanese kani and mango, make up the salad rolls in kani and mango dressing, another bestseller; and a corned beef marinara spaghetti that is just begging to be tasted. The Thai green chicken curry was especially modified for Filipino taste buds, meaning, not as strong or as spicy as the original recipe and counts as one of Tan’s favorites in his menu. “I’m not really a fan of curry, but when I tried this I really liked it,” he said. The same goes for the yellow fish curry — dory fillets with carrots and potatoes cooked in a yellow chili paste and coconut milk curry base.
The different dishes available all sound and taste good, but my own personal favorite is the dessert: the coconut and mango cheesecake, cream cheese and coconut milk topped with mango slices and a mango glaze. In fact, many of the desserts had an abundant amount of coconut mixed in, from the blueberry cheesecake to the panna cotta. It’s quite a different taste that may be a new and unique experience for some, like me. What’s more, all desserts are 20-percent off from 8 p.m. onwards which makes Chef Robert a perfect spot for a nightcap.
Of course, like any decent café, the restaurant offers a wide variety of hot and cold drinks for anyone who just wants to pass by and spend a few hours reading a good book or surfing on the free Wi-Fi. But that’s just the tip of what Chef Robert ultimately offers. It’s not too much of a surprise to find you’ve become a regular. Tan relates, “People think it’s expensive here, because when they look at the ambience it looks expensive, but when they try it here they will find that the price is reasonable.”
The operative word here is “try,” because you really can’t judge this restaurant solely on the basis of standing outside the door and wondering if it’s worth it — it is. Go inside, sit down and relax. You may find yourself doing that for quite a while.
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Chef Robert is located at 847 Banawe St., Quezon City. You may call them at 740-9330. E-mail chef.robert@ymail.com.