Society Lounge : 12-Course Degustation

When Deal Grocer (group buying website) came out with the 50% off promo on Society Lounge's 12 -course degustation menu, I just couldn't resist. I had to take it! I got two coupons for Php 3,200 which I think was a really good deal! Last Thursday, I decided to avail it for 'Date Night'. I told Dada that it would also serve as our advanced Happy Fathers "Date" :) Hahaha!

Degustation is a culinary term meaning "a careful, appreciative tasting of various food" focusing on the gustatory system, the senses, high culinary art and good company. It involves sampling small portions of all of a chef's signature dishes in one sitting usually consisting of 8 or more courses. In this case, Society Lounge offered a 12-course menu divided into 4 categories;

APPETIZERS

 Goat Cheese with Onion Jam

Tartine de fromage de chevre a la confiture d'oignon

This was a great starter because I love cheese in general and the sweet and savory onion jam was a perfect compliment. It reminded me of the time when I used to make onion jam a lot (back when I joined bazaars and sold my liver pate paired with the jam!).

Vol au Vent with Mushroom

Croustade fourree aux champignons a la creme

 The French Snail Provencal

Escargot a la Provencale

SOUPS

 Hot Vegetable Volute

Soup de Legume Du Jardin

 Warm Cauliflower Shot with Truffle Oil

Veloute de choux fleur a la truffe blanche

 Cold Tomato Pepper Gazpacho

Gaspacho de tomate et poivron rouge

I loved all 3 soup samples! The first two were hot soups while the last was a cold one. Joel didn't appreciate the cold gazpacho so much because he's not used to cold soup!

MAIN DISH

 Giant scallop in Lemon Sauce, bedded with chiffonade of vegetables

Noix de saint Jacque grille sauce citron et chiffonage de legume

The menu described it as a "giant" scallop but it was actually  a regular-sized scallop wrapped in bacon on top of a flavor chiffonade (this refers to the cut --- long, thin strips) of vegetables.

 Lamp chop Provencal and Mashed Potato

Cotelette d' agneau et sa puree de pomme de terre

The lamb I got was slightly overcooked (medium well), I would have wanted it just medium but it was still tender nevertheless. It was well-seasoned and came with a thick flavorful and peppery sauce. 

 Duck Breast in Apple-peach sauce, Grilled Apple

Magret de canard au pomme sauce a al liqueur de peche

The breasts were cooked medium rare and sliced rather thinly and was paired with a very interesting sauce (the peach flavor was more patent than the apple). The sliced grilled Granny Smith apple paired with it nicely.

DESSERTS

Crepe Suzette Cointreau Liqueur

Crepe Suzette a la liqueur de Cointreau 

This was way too sweet for me. Maybe they should have put less sauce/syrup.

 Red fruit Express and Caramelized Popcorn

Fruit rouge et pop corn caramelisees

Interesting combination of strawberries and grapes with ice cream and caramel popcorn. Soft, cold and crunchy... a play of texture, temperature and taste :)

Trio of French Macaroon Pierre Hermes

Trois macaron a la facon Pierre Hermes

Unfortunately I am not into macarons so I was disappointed that it had to end with this :( I gave it a few bites but couldn't finish even just one. Bleh!

Verdict: For the original price of Php 3,200 per head, I think it's a bit over-the-top and pricey but for what I paid for (2 people for the price of one!) it was worth it. And it was as if we closed down the restaurant because there were only 3 other tables occupied that night. The place was practically empty (good for us because we got the very intimate and quiet dinner we wanted... but bad for the business, gulp!). I guess that's why they tied up with Deal Grocer to promote the place more.

Society Lounge
Ground Level, Atrium Building
Makati Ave cor. Paseo de Roxas
Makati City
+63 2 5051724