Gourmet food tripping at Apartment 1B

My ate, Maitz will be going back to Singapore in 2 weeks and we have always wanted to try Apartment 1B, mostly because of glowing recommendations we read on the Net. We finally found time to check it out today. We decided to try out the most recommended dishes (which were mostly starters) and just split everything.

For starters, we had the French Onion Soup. I love onion soup and this is one of the best I've tried. It was served in a (very) hot cup, with a layer of Gruyere cheese on top. The broth was very tasty but never overpowering. I absolutely enjoyed this. Pardon the image quality, it's taken on my SEK770i in less than ideal lighting conditions.

Next, we had some baked Samosas. It's mushrooms, spinach and cheese stuffed inside a flaky pastry (not unlike croissant). I also liked the creaminess of the cheese and the taste of the mushrooms, and best of all, it's not oily! Delicious.

Then, we had crabcakes, which is my favorite among those we've tried. It's served with a raspberry vinaigrette salad. Being a seafood lover, I enjoyed this immensely. The crab tasted fresh, without even a hint of 'fishiness'. The breading was very crunchy, and the salad worked perfectly when I ate it between bites. It's listed as a starter, but I wouldn't mind having this as my main dish. There are two crabcakes to an order, very filling.

Then our 'actual' main dish arrived. We ordered the 3-cheese, vegetable lasagna. We were thinking something healthy, but with all the cheese that was in it (ricotta, cheddar and parmesan), I'm not sure it's a very healthy dish. I also liked it, but I think I was already full from the other dishes we had that I didn't enjoy it as much. It's very tasty for something that didn't have meat in it, so I would recommend it to vegetarians, or those just cutting back on their meat intake.

Last, but not the least, dessert. I've been reading so much about the White Toblerone Cheesecake that I've set such high expectations of it, which is always a bad thing. I was not blown away by this dessert. For me, it's just another cheesecake, but the white toblerone bits was a nice touch, and I have to give props for that. So far, the best dessert I've had is the Marqueza from Terry's, but more on that in a different post. :)

All in all, lunch at Apartment 1B was a nice experience. The waiters were attentive, service was prompt, food was great and the ambiance is relaxed and cozy. But of course, it comes with a price, ours was 2K for 2 people. My bottom line, it's a great place to try if you're looking for gourmet comfort food, or for the great ambiance, but I'm not hooked. I'd rather spend the same amount on other restaurants like Duo or Terry's. There are still some items I want to try, and I want to come back for more crabcakes, so I'll probably go back, just not in the near future.

For those who want to try Apartment 1B, it's located at One Lafayette Square, 132 L.P. Leviste cor. Sedeno St., Salcedo Village Makati City, at the G/F Unit 1-B. :)