It was the start of the holiday break, and my office buddies and I wanted to celebrate this short period of freedom by dining out together and catching up.
Together with my East-based coworkers, I hied myself off to Lamp Quarters in Marikina to have lunch at Chives Bistro.
This restaurant has a rustic industrial design with its combination of wood and metal furnishings and decor, but still retains homey vibe in line with its concept of combining European and Asian cuisines.
While waiting for our orders, we were provided with complimentary bread to be dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Chives currently has Weekday Lunch Specials for only Php195 which consist of a viand plus spring roll, choice between red or white rice and raspberry iced tea. Our orders included:
Set A. Grilled Gangnam Chicken.
Set C. Grilled Baguio Sausage.
These lunch specials do offer good value and I appreciate the novelty of the chicken and the longganisa as well as the option for a healthier rice given to the diner. The spring rolls, however, are heavily flavored with tinapa, the smokiness of which clashed with the main viand.
Our group also ordered:
Fried Chicken (Php195). Deep-fried chicken pieces coated in homemade sriracha marinade with a cucumber dip.
Truffled Mushroom Pasta (Php280). Fettuccine noodles tossed in alfredo sauce flavored with a bit of truffle oil along with shiitaki and shimeji mushrooms. Taking the place of bacon is the the etag crisp which is a type of cured pork made in the Sagadas.
Turones (Php130). Flambed bananas, chocnut and parmesan cheese in lumpia wrapper.
Celebrity Cake (Php150 per slice). A moist chocolate cake topped with rich chocolate ganache and and a pinch of pink salt. This dessert has been hailed by Spot.ph as the No. 1 Chocolate Cake in Metro Manila.
I find Chives’ concept and food curation exciting but some dishes, like the lunch specials, suffer a bit in the execution. Also, some items were not available when we were there which does limit our choices.
Still, I wouldn’t mind coming back and checking out Chives’ other dishes… especially if I could have my friends again with me when I visit!
By the way, two of us unlocked our Zomato Gold privilege so two of our orders are free! Zomato Gold provides members with 1+1 (Buy 1 Get 1) deals on food or 2+2 (Buy 2 Get 2) deals on drinks. All you have to do is sign up for a Zomato Gold membership here. Use the code JELLYB to get 10% off the membership fee.
Chives Bistro is located at Lamp Quarters, Gil Fernando Avenue, Santo Nino, Marikina City, open Sundays to Thursdays from 11am to 11pm and Fridays to Saturdays from 11am to 12 midnight. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 88664158 or +63 927 8591926.
Another branch is located at EM Gems Building, L. Sumulong, Circumferential Road, San Roque, Antipolo City.
Jellybeans in the City 