Dining can actually be made pleasant by the overall surroundings of the restaurant. It can also be made excellent or poor by the service that is provided by the staff. In a previous entry, I did express my satisfaction on the overall decor and environment of the restaurant: The Terrace @ 5th. This is one of the restaurants at the expanded section of the Greenbelt mall.
For all of us though, we do recognize that a restaurant can look pretty but what matters most is the food that they serve. When one leaves a restaurant, the owners and the chef would hope that when you try a couple of dishes from the menu, you would want to come back to try the other dishes or you would have found a new favorite dish that you will come back for over and over again.
Let me start my review by telling you what we ordered. For starters, we ordered the Terrace salad and the Provoleta con Chimichuri. For the main dish, decided to try the Homestyle Confit Pork Belly. Regina chose to try the Ching Cruz’ Sole Meuniere. For dessert, I ordered the Frozen Brazo de Mercedes.
From the name of the dishes, you would already realize that most of them are definitely prepared with French culinary techniques. However – in some of the dishes, the hint of Filipino fusion is apparent.
Among the dishes that we ordered, the most memorable dish would have to be the Terrace Salad. It’s special balsamic dressing provided a unique taste to one’s mouth. Moreover, the addition of the popcorn sprouts was a surprise that my mouth seemed to welcome.
For the main dishes, both the pork belly and the Sole Meuniere are highly recommended. If you like crispy pork belly like me, I bet you would actually enjoy the dish. However, I did find the dish a bit dry – since it’s sauce is a reduced vinaigrette – and I’m used to dunking my pork belly in a cupful of vinegar. I’m however ready to forgive that because the fat of the pork belly just melts in your mouth. It is definitely how I want my crispy liempo – crispy but the fat should end up with what I can only describe – as butter-y consistency.
The only disappointment for us is the provoleta con chimichuri. It’s basically a cheese dish. Having it as a starter may be part of our reservation about the dish. It did leave me wanting to reserve it towards the latter part of the meal and served with fruits and wine.
I will stop here and allocate one whole entry on the dessert. I ordered it as an after thought but I’m glad I did. Overall – I can say that the Terrace @ 5th did win me over. I am happy to find a new restaurant that can provide me my comfort food. I’d be happy to try the other dishes – but I will definitely still order their salad. I hope the owners don’t take that dish of the menu. It’s definitely a winner.
