Opus : More Than Your Hang-out Lounge

Opus is another brainchild of the Repuliq Group (the same owners of the Mega-Club Repuliq right across it) and is under the leadership and creativity of celebrity Chef Carlo Miguel. Our very good friend Stephen has been inviting us over for a long time now and last month we finally had a chance to visit. Though it was technically my third time to visit Opus, it was my first time to sample the food. The first two times I was there, I was only able to try their cocktails. 

We were presented their dinner menu where you could choose either a 2-course dinner (Php 780.00) or a 3-course dinner (Php 980.00). They had 3 selections for Starters and Entrees and 2 choices for dessert. We decided to order one of each to be able to sample everything. 

Our meal started out with some warm baguette and sourdough served with truffled butter which was certainly divine (hmm but then again anything with truffles automatically taste amazing, right?). So we were off to a good start...

We were then served our amuse bouche of bite-sized Roast Tomato with Mozzarella and Basil Foam.

Our first starter came and it was the Salad of Bacalao croquets, arugula, tomatoes and capers. The saltiness of the crisp fried bacalao married perfectly with the freshness of the vegetables. My husband really enjoyed every bite!

This was their tomato and basil soup which also didn't disappoint.  

Papardelle Pasta with lamb, olives, rosemary, ragu and freshly grated parmesan. They actually have a similar dish like this served in the other restaurant headed by Chef Carlo Miguel (Draft Gastropub at the Fort) which is one of staple orders. Papardelle is a broad kind of fettuccine which is actually very tricky to cook sometimes because it takes some practice to get the perfect the 'al dente'. Needless to say, the noodles were cooked just right and the rich aromatic sauce with slices of lamb was delightful.

Sous-vide US Angus Beef Flat Iron with horseradish mashed potatoes and Marsala Jus - Kate and I are not exactly meat-lovers so the boys enjoyed this more than we did. One can never go wrong when you cook steak sous-vide! It's an exact science. I will probably do a separate post on cooking sous-vide because it is really quite interesting! ;)

Roast Chicken Ballotine with Risotto, Mushrooms and Truffle Foam

This was our server in action : carefully opening the papilotte and drizzling a little sauce and garnish on top.

Grouper Fillet en Papillote - I have very fond memories of cooking "en papillote" back in culinary school. I was really fascinated with the method of cooking and presenting food in this manner. Cooking "en papillote" (pronounced en- pa-pi-yote!) literally means cooking inside Parchment Paper. You actually put the fish and envelope it inside with your choice of herbs and spices then bake it afterwards. The result is a very juicy (never dry) kind of fish.

This was our dessert  : Banana, Chocolate chip bread and butter pudding topped with vanilla seed ice cream. At this point, we were all stuffed to our faces and we could barely eat anymore. Not wanting to waste anything ofcourse, we all dug in and ended our dinner course on a sweet note.

When we thought we just had enough. We were surprised with MORE! The dinner certainly didn't end with dessert because we were also given their signature cocktails (Oh how I love being spoiled! Thanks Stephen! hahaha!).

 Lychee Martini with Coconut Foam

Strawberries and Lemon Margarita

Magnum Mojito

Dinner and drinks surely didn't disappoint. Opus is definitely more than just a lounge. I know for some it may seem inappropriate and even weird to dine in the same place where you're "going out" but this can be a good exception to that social rule. Keep it in mind the next time you go on a date! ;) 

OPUS Restaurant and Lounge

2nd Level, Newport Mall,

Resorts World Manila

Pasay City, Philippines

02- 8040733

0917-8744438