Lunch menus are all the rage nowadays. Restaurants offer "tasting menus" or set lunches which are smaller servings of their ala carte dishes, so you don't actually get to save money since you get what you pay for (they cut back on the serving sizes) and sometimes even less. We fell into that same trap when we saw Vask Tapas Room offering a 3-course business lunch set. Thinking that perhaps this place would be a bit different and it would be nice to try out a new place; we decided to schedule our lunch here.
At the lobby, we found some interesting sculptures.
Vask is located at the 5th floor of the Clipp Center which is easily accessible by elevator.
We made reservations for 12:30pm but seeing the place almost empty even during lunch time when we arrived, it was apparent that there was no need to. One advantage of that is I get to take better looking pictures of the place.
The walls were covered with interesting fixtures and the ceiling too was eye catching.
Here's a shot of their lunch menu*.
After considering some of our server's suggestions on what dishes to try, we decided to kill time by taking pictures of their al fresco area.
Food didn't take too long to come out of the kitchen. We both got the Conchinillo Taco as a starter because of the promise of Spiced Suckling Pig Served in an artsy accordion-like silver plate, it definitely looked interesting enough.
As for the taste, well we were expecting an explosion of flavors but it just wasn't there. All I could taste was the "mango salsa" or the cubed onion-tomato mixture sans the mango.
The extra sour cream helped but not by much.
And now for our main course.
Hubby got the Cachopo de Pollo or simply put, one piece of chicken cordon bleu cut into bite-sized pieces with a spoonful of homemade gravy. The Jamon Iberico was nowhere in sight. With a serving this small (too late when I found out that this was actually part of their appetizer section), it felt like a joke but no one was laughing. It literally took less than five bites to finish this. The only good thing I can say about this dish was that the breading was crunchy and well-seasoned.
I had the Pork and Porcini. This is two thumb-sized pieces of pork tenderloin that easily cuts with a knife, with porcini potato foam, apple and watermelon radish topped with a few micro greens. The real stars of the dish were the foam and fruits; the apples and radish were fresh and crunchy while the potato foam was light and airy. You have to get a bit of everything on your fork to fully enjoy the dish.
Pretty soon (a lot sooner than we would've wanted really), they were clearing our table of our empty plates to serve the desserts. Vask Tapas Room's business menu so far left us feeling cheated. None of the plates served did anything for us; it was either bland or too ordinary. We weren't expecting much about their desserts, we just wanted to get the meal over quickly.
And the desserts have come out.
I chose the Deconstructed Carrot Cake. It felt a bit off that they serve this in white plastic bowls; it kinda reminded me of my dog's dish bowl. It was the most un-deconstructed dish I have ever seen. They didn't use elements or familiar flavors to create a carrot cake but rather, they took a sliver of ready-made carrot cake, crumbled it all up, placed it in a bowl and then topped it with strawberries and goat milk ice cream. I was not happy. Hubby, being the good sport that he is, suggested a dessert swap.
And good thing too because his Torrija finally put a smile on my face. How this dish I will definitely go back for. It was like bread pudding with just the right amount of sweetness. It wasn't as heavy as regular pudding which made me like it even more. Each bite was smooth, light and creamy. The anise ice cream too was a delight. Finally, a dish I could rave about.
We managed to try out half of their offerings and the only memorable dish was the Torrija, a dessert. Vask Tapas Room's business menu definitely needs a lot of work. If this was their way of enticing you try out more of their menu, they have failed miserably. The only other upside of our lunch was their more than adequate service; so at least there was that.
*Food-Stars Side Note: The price listed on the menu is still subject to 10% service charge. Total comes to Php 757 each set. Not recommended for people with big appetites, this set will leave you hungry.
As for the taste, well we were expecting an explosion of flavors but it just wasn't there. All I could taste was the "mango salsa" or the cubed onion-tomato mixture sans the mango.
The extra sour cream helped but not by much.
And now for our main course.
Hubby got the Cachopo de Pollo or simply put, one piece of chicken cordon bleu cut into bite-sized pieces with a spoonful of homemade gravy. The Jamon Iberico was nowhere in sight. With a serving this small (too late when I found out that this was actually part of their appetizer section), it felt like a joke but no one was laughing. It literally took less than five bites to finish this. The only good thing I can say about this dish was that the breading was crunchy and well-seasoned.
I had the Pork and Porcini. This is two thumb-sized pieces of pork tenderloin that easily cuts with a knife, with porcini potato foam, apple and watermelon radish topped with a few micro greens. The real stars of the dish were the foam and fruits; the apples and radish were fresh and crunchy while the potato foam was light and airy. You have to get a bit of everything on your fork to fully enjoy the dish.
Pretty soon (a lot sooner than we would've wanted really), they were clearing our table of our empty plates to serve the desserts. Vask Tapas Room's business menu so far left us feeling cheated. None of the plates served did anything for us; it was either bland or too ordinary. We weren't expecting much about their desserts, we just wanted to get the meal over quickly.
And the desserts have come out.
I chose the Deconstructed Carrot Cake. It felt a bit off that they serve this in white plastic bowls; it kinda reminded me of my dog's dish bowl. It was the most un-deconstructed dish I have ever seen. They didn't use elements or familiar flavors to create a carrot cake but rather, they took a sliver of ready-made carrot cake, crumbled it all up, placed it in a bowl and then topped it with strawberries and goat milk ice cream. I was not happy. Hubby, being the good sport that he is, suggested a dessert swap.
And good thing too because his Torrija finally put a smile on my face. How this dish I will definitely go back for. It was like bread pudding with just the right amount of sweetness. It wasn't as heavy as regular pudding which made me like it even more. Each bite was smooth, light and creamy. The anise ice cream too was a delight. Finally, a dish I could rave about.
We managed to try out half of their offerings and the only memorable dish was the Torrija, a dessert. Vask Tapas Room's business menu definitely needs a lot of work. If this was their way of enticing you try out more of their menu, they have failed miserably. The only other upside of our lunch was their more than adequate service; so at least there was that.
*Food-Stars Side Note: The price listed on the menu is still subject to 10% service charge. Total comes to Php 757 each set. Not recommended for people with big appetites, this set will leave you hungry.
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Vask Tapas Room, Bonifacio Global City
5/F Clipp Center, 11th Avenue cor 39th Street,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines
(02) 217-6563 / (0917) 806-5292
Instagram : @VaskTapasRoom
Facebook: Vask Tapas Room
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