I’d like to consider myself as a “cowgirl”. In my country when you say a female is a cowgirl it usually means a female who’s low maintenance. She’s not fussy about her needs etc. She can do commutes; she can eat anywhere (as long as the food doesn’t give her food poisoning or amoebiasis). And yeah, I guess I am that kind of girl even though I love to dress up or put on makeup.
But there are days when I love doing or experiencing fancy things, occasionally, and that don’t hurt nobody after all. Although I rarely eat fine dining even on special events or on dates, I’m more like a fill me to the brim kind of an eater. I always want to get what my money is worth, like all the freaking time. But yeah, again, there’s no harm in eating fine dining every once in a while.
It’s kinda so tita of me to go on fine dining brunch with one of my very good blogger friends on a Sunday. Well, I guess I’m living up to my “auntie from Dubai” moniker. And no, I’m not from Dubai nor I worked there. It’s just a teasing nickname some of my friends bestowed upon me because they say I talk and act like I’m already an auntie or someone’s auntie. And definitely, I don’t have a “tita starter pack” in my bag everyday filled with essential oils or katinko nor do I have hidden gold jewelries anywhere. It's a playful major reference to CRA, although I’m the opposite or rich, more like just a crazy Asian, LMAO!
Anyway, where to get the ultimate fancy tita-worthy brunch but at Chef Jessie Restaurant at Rockwell Club in Makati. Sunday couldn’t anymore be perfect, no traffic and less people out. We had this reserved days before and we arrived just in time for our reservation and the place was serene with only 2 tables filled other than ours. Dining at Rockwell’s premiere fine dining establishment provides you with an unforgettable sensory experience that starts the minute you enter the elegantly decorated restaurant and ends long after you take your last bite of dessert.
Perfect for parties and special events, Chef Jessie at Rockwell Club’s Main Dining Area is large enough to accommodate 150 pax at a sit-down event and 200 pax for cocktails. For more intimate affairs, its mezzanine level, comfortably accommodating 50 pax for a sit-down event, and 80 pax for cocktails. For more private functions, the venue also has a Private Dining Room large enough to accommodate 50 pax for sit-down events, and 80 pax for cocktails.
Now let’s get It on with the food. To tell you the truth, I really don’t enjoy fine dining as I have this connotation that you don’t really get to eat so much, because let’s be honest most, if not all, fine dining dishes have very little to little amount of serving. And this girl right here has a big appetite, (totally not ashamed of that at all!). So, I wasn’t expecting much of what we will eating for brunch, even if it’s a 5-course meal. BUT, and it’s a big but, I am pretty sure that what will be served to us is nothing short of fantastic because after all, it’s Chef Jessie Sincioco’s restaurant.
I’ve met Chef Jessie during the inauguration of her new building in Makati, Chef Jessie’s Place. She’s such a lovely and warm woman and with so much accolades under her belt. I know before that event that she’s one of the most celebrated chefs in the Philippines especially that she’s the first ever Filipina pastry chef back in the 90’s where the culinary scene was dominated by men. Ha! Beat that!
So, without further ado, here’s what we had:
Freshly Baked Breads – we started our brunch with freshly baked breads served with butter and herb vinaigrette infused olive oil. This may sound over-acting but I’m serious when I say, these breads, Oh.My.God. I don’t know what’s in them, but they are so good that even without the butter and vinaigrette we can’t get enough of them. That when the staff asked if we wanted another basket, we were quick to say yes please! It had this buttery taste; it was warm with a very sweet and enticing aroma. You know that kind of aroma that you wish was bottled up and sold as air fresheners hahaha!
Cream of Carrot and Pumpkin with Curry, Shrimp and Mango Soup – from the name of the soup, bet you already know that there’s so much flavor in this soup. Well apparently, all the flavors from the carrot, pumpkin, curry, shrimp and mango work well altogether. The soups were also nice dishes to warm up our tummies for the what comes next.
Classic French Onion Soup with Gruyere Cheese – not many Filipinos would appreciate an onion soup especially that Pinoys view onion as an ingredient to other dishes or part of a condiment. I’ve tried an onion soup from one of the legit French restaurants in BGC and totally loved it. Chef Jessie’s is equally good as well. Since this soup uses white onions, it had quite the sweet taste balanced by the salty Gruyere cheese and the baked Mozzarella cheese on top of it.
Salad ala Judy Ann – this salad named after famous Filipino actress Judy Ann Santos includes Mesclun and other micro greens tossed with bits of fruits in season along with slivers of Brie and Bleu-cheese in a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Its taste is more on the sweet and refreshing side because of the fruits in it.
Salad ala Jose Mari Chan – I’m guessing this salad is named after acclaimed Filipino singer/balladeer Jose Mari Chan. This salad contains slices of heart of palm timbale with alugbati (Filipino spinach) in a tamarind vinaigrette. For some reason, the salad looked like a Christmas lantern for me plus the alugbati leaves (and how the salad was plated) looks like a poinsettia. I don’t know, probably because Filipinos associate Christmas with Jose Mari Chan because he’s famous for his Christmas songs. Taste-wise, it’s on the bitter spectrum of flavors cut with the tangy flavor of tamarind vinaigrette.
Dalandan Granitas – tangy dalandan sorbet to cleanse the palate in preparation for the main course.
Certified US Black Angus Beef Tenderloin Steak - served with sauce bourguignonne, buttered vegetables and potato gratin. This was mine. I wasn’t really up for steak that morning but the manager who assisted us suggested that we try this one, and who am I to reject the offer hahaha! Anyway, I had my steak cooked medium rare like always. This steak when served to me looks bleh, but the moment I cut into half and saw that reddish pink center I salivated immediately like a dog drooling for a treat. The steak was super tender and had this amazing irony/savoury flavor. I didn’t even put the sauce that came with it because it was already so good as it is.
Grilled Lemongrass Chicken – served with garlic rice and atchara. At first you might say oh it’s a glorified inasal chicken. But hear me out first. The chicken was tender, juicy and didn’t have any of that “malansa” or raw taste like at all, which even some deep-fried red meat part chicken has. So, you know the chicken is fresh. The other thing is that the lemongrass and oil flavor can be tasted from the skin up to the very inner meat. I don’t if this was marinated, but, honestly, I’ve never eaten any chicken inasal as good as this one.
Cafe Latte – before we were served with our desserts and while we wait for what we had settle in our tummies, our server asked us if wanted coffee. As both coffee lovers, we right there and then said of course we would love a cup. And we were delivered with nothing but good café latte.
Chocolate Souffle – a soufflé is a baked egg-based dish which originated in early eighteenth-century France. It is made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a savory main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word soufflé is the past participle of the French verb souffler which means "to inflate" or "to puff". This chocolate soufflé has a delicious molten center and a light, springy exterior, nothing but pure chocolaty decadence from the inside out.
Mango Jubilee Ala Mode – sweet and delicate mango dessert with mango ice cream, mango cubes, mango syrup and topped with candied orange skin and mint leaves. This mango overload and the mango dessert of your dreams.
Fresh Fruit Juices – we ordered Dalandan juice and Banana Shake for our refreshments.
With a refreshing view of the garden and pool, Chef Jessie at Rockwell Club never fails to deliver international cuisine at its finest. The moment I stepped in into the building, I automatically feel the air of poshness, well, after all, it is Rockwell. I’ve been in one of the condo units at this complex before, but I don’t know if the Chef Jessie restaurant was already up and running back in the early 2000’s.
I felt like I was not in the Philippines when I entered the restaurant, I don’t know, but it was like I was transported to somewhere like Miami or Cuba because of the tropical vibes of the restaurant. Perhaps because of the floor to ceiling windows, the high ceiling, the palm leaves mural on one side of the resto, the native design of the furniture and the real indoor plants and fresh flowers on the tables (I freakin’ love fresh flowers!). The Sunday morning sunlight that naturally lights up the place is just stunning and calming at the same time and then when you look outside, there’s a huge pool filled with people, mostly families, just enjoying their time off from work and school. Lovely, just lovely!
I just love every minute of our visit to Chef Jessie Restaurant, from start to finish everything was fabulous. Service was impeccable, we even had had a dedicated server to our table/area plus even the restaurant manager was there to always check on us and was there to help us pick out items from the menu that she think we would love and enjoy. We were treated like queens (as we are haha!), if I can say so myself! Would love to come back even for just a dessert and coffee. It’s a perfect place for a romantic date or even a casual date. Highly recommended place!
CHEF JESSIE
Ground Level, Amorsolo Square,
Amorsolo Dr., Rockwell Center, Makati
Contact Nos: 890-6543 / 890-7630
It’s kinda so tita of me to go on fine dining brunch with one of my very good blogger friends on a Sunday. Well, I guess I’m living up to my “auntie from Dubai” moniker. And no, I’m not from Dubai nor I worked there. It’s just a teasing nickname some of my friends bestowed upon me because they say I talk and act like I’m already an auntie or someone’s auntie. And definitely, I don’t have a “tita starter pack” in my bag everyday filled with essential oils or katinko nor do I have hidden gold jewelries anywhere. It's a playful major reference to CRA, although I’m the opposite or rich, more like just a crazy Asian, LMAO!
Anyway, where to get the ultimate fancy tita-worthy brunch but at Chef Jessie Restaurant at Rockwell Club in Makati. Sunday couldn’t anymore be perfect, no traffic and less people out. We had this reserved days before and we arrived just in time for our reservation and the place was serene with only 2 tables filled other than ours. Dining at Rockwell’s premiere fine dining establishment provides you with an unforgettable sensory experience that starts the minute you enter the elegantly decorated restaurant and ends long after you take your last bite of dessert.
Perfect for parties and special events, Chef Jessie at Rockwell Club’s Main Dining Area is large enough to accommodate 150 pax at a sit-down event and 200 pax for cocktails. For more intimate affairs, its mezzanine level, comfortably accommodating 50 pax for a sit-down event, and 80 pax for cocktails. For more private functions, the venue also has a Private Dining Room large enough to accommodate 50 pax for sit-down events, and 80 pax for cocktails.
Now let’s get It on with the food. To tell you the truth, I really don’t enjoy fine dining as I have this connotation that you don’t really get to eat so much, because let’s be honest most, if not all, fine dining dishes have very little to little amount of serving. And this girl right here has a big appetite, (totally not ashamed of that at all!). So, I wasn’t expecting much of what we will eating for brunch, even if it’s a 5-course meal. BUT, and it’s a big but, I am pretty sure that what will be served to us is nothing short of fantastic because after all, it’s Chef Jessie Sincioco’s restaurant.
I’ve met Chef Jessie during the inauguration of her new building in Makati, Chef Jessie’s Place. She’s such a lovely and warm woman and with so much accolades under her belt. I know before that event that she’s one of the most celebrated chefs in the Philippines especially that she’s the first ever Filipina pastry chef back in the 90’s where the culinary scene was dominated by men. Ha! Beat that!
So, without further ado, here’s what we had:
Freshly Baked Breads – we started our brunch with freshly baked breads served with butter and herb vinaigrette infused olive oil. This may sound over-acting but I’m serious when I say, these breads, Oh.My.God. I don’t know what’s in them, but they are so good that even without the butter and vinaigrette we can’t get enough of them. That when the staff asked if we wanted another basket, we were quick to say yes please! It had this buttery taste; it was warm with a very sweet and enticing aroma. You know that kind of aroma that you wish was bottled up and sold as air fresheners hahaha!
Classic French Onion Soup with Gruyere Cheese – not many Filipinos would appreciate an onion soup especially that Pinoys view onion as an ingredient to other dishes or part of a condiment. I’ve tried an onion soup from one of the legit French restaurants in BGC and totally loved it. Chef Jessie’s is equally good as well. Since this soup uses white onions, it had quite the sweet taste balanced by the salty Gruyere cheese and the baked Mozzarella cheese on top of it.
Salad ala Judy Ann – this salad named after famous Filipino actress Judy Ann Santos includes Mesclun and other micro greens tossed with bits of fruits in season along with slivers of Brie and Bleu-cheese in a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Its taste is more on the sweet and refreshing side because of the fruits in it.
Salad ala Jose Mari Chan – I’m guessing this salad is named after acclaimed Filipino singer/balladeer Jose Mari Chan. This salad contains slices of heart of palm timbale with alugbati (Filipino spinach) in a tamarind vinaigrette. For some reason, the salad looked like a Christmas lantern for me plus the alugbati leaves (and how the salad was plated) looks like a poinsettia. I don’t know, probably because Filipinos associate Christmas with Jose Mari Chan because he’s famous for his Christmas songs. Taste-wise, it’s on the bitter spectrum of flavors cut with the tangy flavor of tamarind vinaigrette.
Dalandan Granitas – tangy dalandan sorbet to cleanse the palate in preparation for the main course.
Certified US Black Angus Beef Tenderloin Steak - served with sauce bourguignonne, buttered vegetables and potato gratin. This was mine. I wasn’t really up for steak that morning but the manager who assisted us suggested that we try this one, and who am I to reject the offer hahaha! Anyway, I had my steak cooked medium rare like always. This steak when served to me looks bleh, but the moment I cut into half and saw that reddish pink center I salivated immediately like a dog drooling for a treat. The steak was super tender and had this amazing irony/savoury flavor. I didn’t even put the sauce that came with it because it was already so good as it is.
Grilled Lemongrass Chicken – served with garlic rice and atchara. At first you might say oh it’s a glorified inasal chicken. But hear me out first. The chicken was tender, juicy and didn’t have any of that “malansa” or raw taste like at all, which even some deep-fried red meat part chicken has. So, you know the chicken is fresh. The other thing is that the lemongrass and oil flavor can be tasted from the skin up to the very inner meat. I don’t if this was marinated, but, honestly, I’ve never eaten any chicken inasal as good as this one.
Cafe Latte – before we were served with our desserts and while we wait for what we had settle in our tummies, our server asked us if wanted coffee. As both coffee lovers, we right there and then said of course we would love a cup. And we were delivered with nothing but good café latte.
Chocolate Souffle – a soufflé is a baked egg-based dish which originated in early eighteenth-century France. It is made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with various other ingredients and served as a savory main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word soufflé is the past participle of the French verb souffler which means "to inflate" or "to puff". This chocolate soufflé has a delicious molten center and a light, springy exterior, nothing but pure chocolaty decadence from the inside out.
Fresh Fruit Juices – we ordered Dalandan juice and Banana Shake for our refreshments.
With a refreshing view of the garden and pool, Chef Jessie at Rockwell Club never fails to deliver international cuisine at its finest. The moment I stepped in into the building, I automatically feel the air of poshness, well, after all, it is Rockwell. I’ve been in one of the condo units at this complex before, but I don’t know if the Chef Jessie restaurant was already up and running back in the early 2000’s.
I felt like I was not in the Philippines when I entered the restaurant, I don’t know, but it was like I was transported to somewhere like Miami or Cuba because of the tropical vibes of the restaurant. Perhaps because of the floor to ceiling windows, the high ceiling, the palm leaves mural on one side of the resto, the native design of the furniture and the real indoor plants and fresh flowers on the tables (I freakin’ love fresh flowers!). The Sunday morning sunlight that naturally lights up the place is just stunning and calming at the same time and then when you look outside, there’s a huge pool filled with people, mostly families, just enjoying their time off from work and school. Lovely, just lovely!
I just love every minute of our visit to Chef Jessie Restaurant, from start to finish everything was fabulous. Service was impeccable, we even had had a dedicated server to our table/area plus even the restaurant manager was there to always check on us and was there to help us pick out items from the menu that she think we would love and enjoy. We were treated like queens (as we are haha!), if I can say so myself! Would love to come back even for just a dessert and coffee. It’s a perfect place for a romantic date or even a casual date. Highly recommended place!
Ground Level, Amorsolo Square,
Amorsolo Dr., Rockwell Center, Makati
Contact Nos: 890-6543 / 890-7630
Email: rockwell.club@chefjessie.com
Website: www.chefjessie.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ChefJessieRockwellClub
Instagram: instagram.com/chefjessierestaurants
For more information, complete menu and restaurant reviews, check out their Zomato profile:
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