Brasserie CiÇou: Station by Station Degustacion

After touring Istituto Culinario, I along with fellow bloggers got the chance to sample some of the offerings from Brasserie CiÇou, a French restaurant headed by Chef Cyrille Soenen, and where Istituto Culinario students undergo their internship program.

Brasserie Cicou Lights

Being a noob in French cuisine, I didn't really know what to expect when it comes to the food selection. However, the restaurant exudes a relaxing and very casual ambiance to calm even the French cuisine neophytes like me. There were bleached wood tables and chairs, comfy couches pimped with colorful throw pillows, creative chandeliers, colorful paintings and even board games.

Pâté en Croûte Charcuterie Station

Brasserie CiÇou doesn't normally have a station-by-station setup. But for the party, we got to enjoy French food items prepared by chefs and Istituto Culinario students in 7 different stations. And of course, we first explored the Charcuterie Station where cured meat, pork and offal were aplenty.

Charcuterie Plate

We got to enjoy pieces of Pâté en Croûte -- chicken breast, liver, pork meat and pork fat wrapped in brioche dough. We also got to sample some Pork Head Pâté, Pork Knuckles Terrine and Pork Rillette which went really well with a glass of white wine.

Salad Nicoise

After the meal starters, we took a trip to the Cold Station and tried the Salad Nicoise -- a mix of seared tuna, anchovies, sardines, tomatoes, eggs, bell pepper, green beans, mesclun salad and served with vinaigrette. It was a really refreshing salad with a hint of saltiness.

Marinated Sardines, Black Olives, Goat Cheese Espuma

We also got to sample this Marinated Sardines, Black Olives & Goat Cheese Espuma. It was my first time to try something with black olive powder, but the blend of the flavors as well as the very interesting mix of textures won me over that I even had a 2nd serving.

Pork Garlic Sausage Boudin Noir Parmentier

At the Meat Station, we got a taste of the very meaty and savory Pork Garlic Sausage -- home-made sausage with marble potato served with Ravigote sauce (capers, pickles, shallots and olive oil). We also tried the Boudin Noir Parmentier, a nicely plated piece of blood sausage atop some mashed potatoes.

Bouillabaisse

Still in the same station, we got to try Brasserie CiÇou's version of Bouillabaisse -- boiled and reduced fish and seafood stock served with prawns, fish fillet and marble potatoes. And being a big seafood lover, this satisfied my seafood craving. Just a sip will bring you to seafood heaven.

Onglet Poêlér, Coquillette

We also got to sample the delicious Onglet Poêlér, Coquillette -- seared US beef hanging tender with pasta coquillette, cooked in bacon, mushroom and cream. If only I can turn back time, I'd take off all my shyness and get 3 more servings of this.

Egg Cocotte, Squash Foam

At the Non-Meat Hot Station, we tried the Egg Cocotte, Squash Foam -- soft boiled egg cooked in a ceramic vessel and served with squash foam. I honestly haven't noticed the squash flavor, but this dish was still good. Perfect for breakfast, if I may say so.

Cromesquis of Sea Urchin

A favorite from our table is an item from the Non-Meat Hot Station, the Cromesquis of Sea Urchin or deep-fried sea urchin balls. I've tried a lot of sea urchin dishes in the past, and I was not a big fan. However, I can say that this dish was good. The croquette was fried to a crisp, and after taking a bite, one will be surprised of the cold, soft and juicy sea urchin goodness that will greet your palate.

Duck Liver Flan, Truffle Foam Duck Liver Flan, Truffle Foam Glasses

We also got to try the Duck Liver Flan with Truffle Foam which had mixed feedback, both for me and my fellow bloggers. I really liked the foie gras custard as it was very silky, smooth and delicate. However, the truffle foam albeit salty, had a weird taste that I couldn't really explain. It wasn't bad, but I think I haven't gotten used to that particular flavor yet.

Pastry Station Chocolate and Vanilla Canelle, Madeleine and Financier

After sampling some of Brasserie CiÇou's gustatory delights, we finally got to the Pastry Station where stood a fancy tray of Chocolate and Vanilla Canelle, Madeleine, Financier and Assorted Macarons. These pastries were good, but what stole the night were the the Mini Kouign Amanns.

Mini Kouing Aman

Also known as Brasserie CiÇou's famous KAs, these Mini Kouign Amanns were sweet, salty, buttery and even had a hint of a caramel taste. They were really good that I ate almost 10 pieces of these babies. I wish to try the standard-sized version some time soon though.

Bananas Peanut-Butter Ice Cream Bananas Peanut-Butter Ice Cream Glass

And for something cold and sweet, there were glasses of the Banana Peanut-Butter Ice Cream. I like banana and peanut butter, but a small serving of this is a little overwhelming. It was unpretentious -- real gooey banana with a bold peanut butter flavor.

Red and White Wine

THE VERDICT

I know it's quite weird to give a verdict to a restaurant feature, but speaking for the food items that I got to try, I can definitely say that my taste buds had a great time sampling French cuisine from Brasserie CiÇou. Even with smaller, tasting portions, the quality of the food items was of high standards. Everything tasted fresh, and flavorful. With this short introduction to French cuisine, the neophyte in me is excited to taste more of what France can offer.

Taste - 4.5/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 4/5
Overall Value - 4/5


Brasserie Cicou, Greenhills
57 Annapolis St, Greenhills
San Juan City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02) 661-9200

45 comments:

  1. Grabe! Ang sa-sarap ng foods esp Pâté en Croûte! Nagutom tuloy ako. :3 :)) Guess I have to try Brasserie CiÇou :)

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  2. Gotta hand it to the French! By the names alone, you're evoked to try each and every dish they'd offer! The presentation is as aesthetic, perhaps better than Japanese and I was waiting for a featured foie gras but a much better one was shown: with Truffle foam! Heaven!

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  3. I so love the hanging wine glasses serving as the restaurant's source of light. So cute!!! I might steal that idea for our kitchen. We'll see!

    Just had dinner but the photos made me want to eat more. Dinner part 2 for sure!

    You take care and stay pretty!

    Hugs from
    www.ovahcoffee.com  www.thepastimeshelf.com  www.swenay.com  www.homeaholic.com

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  4. The food looks amazing - beautiful even. The names seem so confusing but look 'pretty' - if I can say that - the names suits the food. :)
    Have a lovely Sunday :)

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  5. @Michelle: I actually don't know how to pronounce some names of these dishes :D Have a lovely Sunday too sis!

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  6. Love the photos! All those dishes look really yummy, I think I may have some troubles pronouncing them too. Haha!

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  7. yaaay! very mouth-watering..especially the salad nicoise..i dunno how to pronounce those stuff..hehehe..and you capture them very palatable in the eye...

    ~gagay~

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  8. wow the place and interior was superb and I guess the food too, Sumi you should applied for copyright for possible thief on your content especially the photos, you always post awesome content

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  9. I agree, the French have practiced perfection in their food. Even if i'm not a fan of some of the items (sea urchin and liver) but by looking at the photos makes me want to try them! :)

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  10. I envy you! The pictures kinda speak for themselves.

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  11. The food looks delicious talaga kaya lang nakakasakit sa utak yung mga name nila. hahahahaa. Nakakagutom mga post nyo! :)

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  12. Sis the shots are beautiful. I love em all <3

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  13. I love your food shots and the food here looks divine! I've read a feature about Chef Cyrille a few years ago and I'm really glad he opened a resto in Greenhills! I've tried the recipes he shared in the magazine and I loved it!
    Great feature Sumi!
    By the way, do you mean Assorted "Macarons"? :) Macaroons are not French pastries :)

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  14. I haven't tried any French food yet. But I do want to try. If given an opportunity, I would also take that. THe food looks delicious :))

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  15. lovely presentation:)

    sweetandspicytown.blogspot.com/

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  16. French Food! this looks yummy. Ang alam ko lang kasi French Bread lang. :)

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  17. The food looks yummy. The pics are great! Grabe they all look too good to eat.:)

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  18. I'm a massive fan of French Cuisine. I love everything about French Cuisine. I would like to dine there to taste their signature dish. Cheers!

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  19. Looks delicious! But it also looks out of reach for my pockets... haha. :)

    <3 from http://eat.nyo.me

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  20. The food looks interesting, too bad I wasn't able to go. :)

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  21. Those cuisines are pleasant to the eyes. I'm pretty sure they are even better inside the mouth.

    Wish to taste some French cuisines soon.

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  22. The Cromesquis of Sea Urchin looks sounds interesting and looks delish! :)

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  23. @Mom-Friday: Thanks for pointing that out!:D I overlooked and added an extra"o" haha.. It's supposed to be Macarons.. :) Thanks!

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  24. Lots of food choices. No wonder most of then look unfamiliar to me because they're French. I seldom eat to that kind of resto.

    Visiting here from PB sis :)

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  25. Aww I'm so green with envy! too bad I wasn't able to make it to this event :( nakakagutom ang mga photos. really nice shots!

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  26. Id love to check this restaurant when I go home (ways away) :( the photography is excellent!

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  27. I think this will be my third time commenting on this post... so, I'll just say... the food looks nice...

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  28. wow!!!! I love everything in this post! Hmm I wonder about the price.. :P

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  29. wow! we have yet to try french cuisine! so envious of this dining experience.. :)

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  30. All of the food looks delicious! :) I'm not much of french eater as well, but not because i don't like it, there's just not much french resto i frequent. but this one's near my area, so yaay :D

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  31. Everything looks good. The food looks 'different' to me, in the sense that I'm not accustomed to dishes like these! Nonetheless, they look delicious... and expensive. Hehe!

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  32. Bigla akong nagutom sa mga posts mo. I love the way they present their food that makes it look more tasty.

    And I missed attending these kinds of events too ^_^

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  33. wow ang sarap naman yan... nakakatakam hmmmmmmmm....

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  34. yummylicious!!! i feel like heading out there now. San juan lang!! thanks for writing about it.I will keep tab but i don't think i see how much?

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  35. @Mhe-anne Ojeda: We got to eat here for a party so the servings were just tasting portions. But you can check this to see the prices: http://www.munchpunch.com/5897/brasserie-cicou-greenhills/menu

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  36. The food looks great. *must resist ... fasting*

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  37. I love those lamps!

    Must. Not. Be. Tempted. By. The. Food. Pics.

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  38. Hi Sumi!

    Just had a visit there with Joanne and Mark Davis Tan last week. The food was great. I so loved the Kouing Aman! :D



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  39. wow. so nice ambiance and food. i love it!

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