Each time I walked past
Annabel Lee Cafe at the Promenade, a staff member would invite me inside. I always said no because their offerings were more on the expensive side.
Nobody approached me yesterday yet I entered the restaurant for the first time. You see, I noticed that they've changed the menu and the choices were now more affordable.
I was not thinking straight when I ordered the
Burger Steaks (PHP 170). I merely looked at the items below PHP 200 and did not read the fine print. After I'd placed the order, I perused the menu to see what else was available. When I looked at the entry for my order, it was then that I noticed the fine print,
2 steaks served with rich gravy, plain rice and fried egg. It was then that it hit me. I shouldn't have ordered this as I had just had egg. Well, I couldn't change the order anymore. But the moment I bit into the patty, I instantly became a fan. The burger was not typical at all; it oozed with the flavors of herbs and spices, particularly rosemary. It's always nice to pick something very traditional you can almost taste it; yet when you do you discover new flavors and marvel at the inventiveness of the chef. It was so good I ended up finishing the rest of the items on my plate while making a mental note to come back for the others on the menu. The
Iced Tea (PHP 75, 24 oz), served cold, complemented the dish well.
If the rest of their dishes are as good as this one, they rightfully deserve the recognition from
Philippine Tatler as one of the top 100 restaurants in the country.
And kudos to the management too for making the menu more affordable.
