I have to admit not being excited upon being invited to try a newly opened restaurant called Vanderlust in Quezon City.

But things got interesting when I saw the electronic invitation with pictures of the dishes, and that pastry chef Justin Ong is a consultant.

The small but beautiful restaurant has two floors and about a dozen tables. But what it lacks in size, it compensated with a delicious menu selection.

We started with Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta and Jamon Serrano Croquettes. The dark reddish eggplant on the crispy sliced bread was a bit sweet, creamy and different. Masarap. The croquettes were made the traditional way with butter and flour with milk (others use creamed potato). Quite good, too.

Then came the two outstanding pastas. Cacio e Pepe Mushroom with Truffle was creamy, al dente, cheesy and slightly salty, while the Espaghetis Con Gambas Al Marinara was mildly spicy with prawns on top.

Main dishes

Then came the main dishes. The Catalan Baked Fish with Potatoes and Asparagus was breaded and crispy with a lemon butter sauce topped with baked garlic, cherry tomatoes, black olives and capers. The play of textures and flavors made this even more interesting. With sliced baked potatoes on the side, this was a winner.

The Schweinekotelette with mustard cream—or grilled pork chops with lots of freshly ground pepper and cream sauce with a creative coleslaw sauerkraut mixture on the side—was fine, as well as the Butcher’s Steak with Blue Cheese Potato Gratin. The sauce seemed like a glazed superior balsamic vinegar. The steak was cooked medium rare.

The Bistecca Al Fiorentina was a gigantic grilled porter house steak cooked medium rare, with salt and peppered pan seared asparagus and carrot strips on the side, and cream sauce as a dipping for the veggies. I personally wanted to drizzle it with some truffle oil. But this was a very well-made Bistecca Al Fiorentina.

European-inspired

The desserts were inspired by three European countries. Italy was the origin of Cannoli with various fillings. Churros were obviously from Spain: they were Spanish donuts. I loved the chocolate churros.

From Germany came Schneeballen. These were gigantic balls with a variety of coatings and fillings.  I imagine chef Justin was behind the dessert menu.

Overall, it was a most exciting lunch.

Vanderlust Bistro and Patisserie, owned and run by Mark and Valerie Tan, is at 100 Scout De Guia and Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Call  09178177353.

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