Supping at the Savoy
“Swedes are better cooks than the French,” declared Chef Robert Lilja, a Swede who has lived and worked in the Philippines for 24 years. Last Saturday we tested this argument at Lilja’s restaurant, Savoy Bistro on Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati. (The place known as “Backwell”, behind Rockwell “Gillage”. There are lots of bars and restaurants coming up in the area, and Lilja believes it will be the next Malate.)
Savoy Bistro is located inside East Asia Art Gallery, which makes for an interesting atmosphere…
Okay, we’re not crazy about the artworks. “How do you like the paintings?” “The appetizers are wonderful!” We noshed on morsels of steak tartare on multigrain bread,
Escargots swimming in butter,
Mussels, and
Jamon Serrano.
And that was just the teaser. For the main course there was Sole Walewska in lobster and cognac sauce, served with truffled mashed potatoes and asparagus (Php640). A recipe from the great Escoffier, Chef Lilja informed us. Uhh…wasn’t he French? The chef waved off the contradiction. He added that Savoy Bistro specializes in classic European cuisine from 1730 – 1910, and their already extensive menu changes every six months.
Any doubts as to this Swede’s culinary mojo were crushed by the next dish: Pepper Steak Madagascar—beef tenderloin medallion with a black and white pepper sauce (Php890). They do not stint on the pepper. We found ourselves crunching on peppercorns; this did not stop us. We just drank more wine.
Ordinarily we find excuses to avoid the vegetables, but this excellent Napoleon Salad (Php340) cooled our over-stimulated taste buds. We know that Napoleon Bonaparte invented Poulet Marengo, but if he also thought up this salad of greens, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted vegetables, olives and walnuts in balsamic vinaigrette, we’re a bit sorry his campaign for world domination went kaput.
Our dinner was so delicious, the generous dessert of mango crepes, creme brulee and chocolate mousse had the air of anticlimax. We resolved to return to Savoy Bistro until we had eaten our way through the entire menu.
French cooks, the gauntlet has been hurled. We await your riposte.
Savoy Bistro, 8479 Kalayaan Avenue (near the Bel-Air Gate on Amapola), Poblacion, Makati. Telephone (02)8965667, email savoybistro@eastasianarts.ph. Open daily from 12nn to 3pm, and 6pm to 12mn.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
July 6th, 2012 at 02:43
Those look good, but looks mostly French-influenced (whenever I think escargot, I think French). The only exception that I see is the crepes, as they can be the Swedish Pannkakor (there is a very thin line between the classic crepe and the Swedish pancake).
Scandinavian food typically consists of pickled/cured stuff (due to the lack of fresh veggies during winter) like lutefisk, sauerkraut, blood sausages, and hams. Potatoes or turnips are usually done as sides. But Swedish meatballs (homemade or from IKEA) with lingonberries and gravy FTW! I’d eat those everyday if I can.
I did not notice anything authentically Swedish in the food shown — then again, Lilja said “Swedes are better cooks than the French”, he didn’t specify at which cuisine. And Savoy is obviously French.
I may sound like a food snob — but I learned a lot by being married to someone with Scandinavian ancestry. And I love food. I’ll restrain myself for now. :)