Christmas Dinner at Chelsea

Finally got to try Chelsea. Was a bit apprehensive as I had gotten mixed reviews about the restaurant. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined.

We had the whole roast chicken, the green apple and walnut salad, 5 cheese macaroni, cheese and bacon, and the Sausage and Meatball Rigatoni. The chicken was excellent value for money; at P650ish, it was enough to feed four to six. The chicken, however, I felt lacked flavor.

The salad was another value for money order. The huge portion served six as an appetizer. My only request would be for more apple and walnut and less of the salad. BTW, the salad green was baby arugula, one of my current favorites.

The 5 Cheese Macaroni, Cheese, and Bacon (I'm not making this up; this is what was written on the menu) looked small but again the portion size will serve two as a light lunch and four as a side. The Mac was a brilliant orange but tasted pretty good. But if i had to pick a winner for the meal it would have been the rigatoni. Again the dish would have been enough for two to four (large serving sizes must be a signature of the restaurant). The meatball was flavorful and the pasta was dotted with chunks of tomatoes.

For dessert, we had the restaurant's famous Chocnut Valrhona Cake. The cake was really good; it wouldn't win any awards for good looks (initial impressions were of dryness and crumb). But each bite was full of choco goodness (of the highest quality). I really liked the cake (so much so that I'm including it in my list of favorites, the only chocolate cake so far); but at P310/slice, I'd have to think twice before i re-indulge.

Coffee was a letdown; the restaurant serves the Illy (italian) brand of coffee but something must have gotten lost in the translation.

All in all, a pretty good meal. Good value for a restaurant in Serendra (the land of overpriced, overconceptualized food). P500 to P600 per head.