FOOD

Hearty Meal at the Heart of France?

Le Coeur (pronounced as ‘le-ku’) de France means heart of France. The question is… does it serve a hearty meal? That’s a difficult question to answer.

Ask me about the price instead and I will readily answer. Le Coeur’s rice meals are not pricey at PHP99 per serving. There are four choices: Creamy Beef Strips, Beef and Rice, Corned Beef Hash, and Chicken and Mushroom Rice. All served with free 12-ounce iced tea.

creamy beef strips

One of our orders was Creamy Beef Strips served with rice in paprika. I could tag it as “like.” The other dish we ordered was Chicken and Mushroom Rice. This one we tagged as “dislike.” While I’m writing this I’m still at Le Couer and logged into Facebook through the free mall-wide wifi so that explains the “like” “dislike” tagging. 

The Creamy Beef Strips is not an outstanding number but appeals to a craving for something beefy, creamy and spicy—a very mild spice. Aside from beef, the dish is also topped with Baguio beans.

chicken and mushroom rice

The Chicken and Mushroom rice is just Chicken and Mushroom rice. It tasted bland. On a positive note, it isn’t the worst dish ever. 

Caveat: The rice serving was not big enough for us and we were not big eaters. That answers the question if Le Coeur serves a hearty meal. If the viands were totally awesome, we would have ordered extra rice.

It may not be a gastronomical treat, but its French ambiance, clean surroundings, no lining up for orders and decent meals surely make you think you still had value for your money.

Napoli Serves Good Italian Food and Doesn’t Rob

Napoli pizzeria and restaurant is best remembered because of four things: big servings, right price, classy ambiance and good taste.

A single order of fish and chips is about P150 but it comes in a big serving enough for a trio. The taste is highly competitive to Fish and Co.

They have a variety of spaghetti recipes and the one we ordered, Spaghetti meatballs, is good for three or four.  If you and a partner will order a plate of any spaghetti dish, you will surely have enough to take home not because it won’t suit your palate, but because the serving is huge despite being just P225 – 280.

And raves for their pizza flavors! We have tried both the New York and White pizza priced at no more than P180 for a single order that serves two. Makes you wonder how Napoli can sell it at that price when every fancy pizzeria cannot. In terms of capturing the Italian flavor, these pizzas really don’t disappoint. One thing I personally like about their pizzas is that you can barely taste oil.

Every Napoli restaurant we’ve dined into is well tended. The countertops, floors, and utensils are always impeccably clean. Waiters come at your beck and call with a smile and a happy to serve attitude.

The walls which sport either Italian or celebrity memoirs bring a feeling of luxurious dining.

Some Napoli branches we know: SM Fairview, Tomas Morato, SM North The Block

If you dine in trio, you might just spend P170 or less if your order the recommended ones. 

NOT BAD FOR A SECOND CHOICE

Restaurant: Dulcinea

Branch: Megamall, Ortigas, Philippines

Date of Visit: September 2010

Because we were not able to find our favorite chicken and pasta restaurant in Megamall, we settled for the “Favoritos” meal of Dulcinea which is just  P149 per order. And it proved to be a tasteful decision.

The said combos are served with a choice meat viand , rice, dessert and iced tea.  The two of us ordered Spicy Chicken strips and Ala Cubana which were elegantly plated and tasted modestly good. Although  there was a little bit too much oil on the chicken, we didn’t feel like we were robbed because the servings were flavorful and big enough. 

The slice of brazo de mercedez served after the rice toppings was a real icing to the cake. The glass of iced tea wasn’t too small unlike what is served in other fast food. We also ordered a good-sized leche flan which was surprisingly delectable despite its being just P32.

With just a bill of P330, we were happy customers.

Other reasons for dining at Dulcinea—Wifi’s fast , waiters are friendly and efficient.