Restaurants have rolled out the red carpet so couples can truly have a night to remember.

 

Lover’s Tea

 

TWG Tea Salon’s tea-infused menu starts with beef pastrami paired with tomatoes and feta cheese that have been steeped in Lover’s Tea. It’s followed by a serving of duck confit with Billet Doux Tea-flavored Mexican mole sauce, sautéed mushrooms and baby potatoes.

 

The second entree is beef and purple yam croquette with Red Chai-infused red wine sauce. For dessert is delicate choux pastries filled with raspberry cream that has been seasoned with Geisha Blossom Tea. The meal comes with a choice of two teas.

 

 

Mini OMG dessert

 

Until Feb. 17, an exclusive menu is available at The Food Hall (SM Aura). The Valentine’s Day menu curated by chef Carlo Miguel includes The Food Hall salad and soufflé, a refreshing crispy tuna poke and truffle pasta. Also in this special meal is the surf and turf platter with flat iron steak and garlic shrimps. Dessert is a sampler of mini OMG, blueberry cheesecake and banana pudding.

 

 

 

Valentine’s Roll

 

The Raintree Restaurant Group has prepared something unique across its food brands this month.

 

Customers at Izakaya Sensu and Chotto Matte can order the Valentine’s Roll—spicy tuna, avocado and blue fin tuna sushi shaped like a heart. There are free glasses of wine when you dine on the big day.

 

At Chelsea Kitchen, Providore and Motto Motto, heart-shaped burgers are on the menu. The first two restaurants will have burger with cheddar cheese in a brioche heart bun, while Raintree’s new Japanese restaurant has a version with teriyaki sauce and spicy mayonnaise.

 

 

Premium sake, tapas

 

Over at Poblacion, Scandinavian-Japanese dining place Yoi and contemporary Filipino restaurant Lampara have special menus. For the whole month, Yoi has a degustacion of premium sake and tapas: the Rikyubai Series Sake paired with seared duck breast, burnt lettuce in miso, and grilled salmon in nori; and the Daimon Series Sake matched with candied tuna, oyster sashimi with apple chutney and mushroom teriyaki.

 

Lampara offers two appetizers, two mains and a dessert—ham, truffle and black pan de sal starter, a prawn-mussels-chorizo entree, and a silvanas truffle.

 

Miso-braised wagyu cheeks

 

Ninyo Fusion Cuisine in Quezon City has a seven-course menu. Until Feb. 17, chef Niño Laus will serve miso-braised wagyu beef cheeks with roasted cauliflower, ravioli of duck leg with foie gras and ramen sourdough, gochujang-marinated octopus, and variations of mochi.

 

Angus beef tenderloin

 

Cucina in Marco Polo Ortigas has a special spread of chicken piccata on tomato and olive ragout with tagliatelle in basil pesto and grilled Australian lamb. Available only until Feb. 15 for lunch and dinner.

 

Guests can book a room on Valentine’s Day, get a complimentary upgrade to a premier room, and have an intimate dinner in their own room, with a menu that includes premium Angus beef tenderloin and a bottle of Cadet d’Oc Chardonnay.

 

Broiled king prawn

 

Resorts World Manila’s Lumina has a special six-course menu until Feb. 15. There’s grilled sesame miso chicken salad, seared beef with lychee truffle sauce, broiled king prawn with garlic butter and adlai tabbouleh, and tablea opera cake and mini cashew macaron with dalandan ganache.

 

Live acoustic music is performed throughout the night.

 

Seasonal specialties

 

At Shangri-La at the Fort is a four-course dinner: seasonal specialties and a glass of champagne at Raging Bull Chophouse and Bar, while a five-course dinner, welcome cocktails, a personal butler, and a bottle of champagne will be served at Samba.

 

Applewood-smoked duck carpaccio

 

Foo’d by Davide Oldani in BGC offers applewood-smoked duck carpaccio, arugula and orange salad; foie gras with cranberry and chestnut puree; and pasta with pressed chicken, among others. The six-course meal also has Chilean sea bass with textures of corn, US Angus prime short rib with onion and potato veloute and mushroom ragout, and a duo for dessert: dark chocolate mousse with raspberry gelato; and raspberry mousse with lychee rose glaze and yogurt gelato.

 

Valentine for a cause

 

If you want to celebrate Valentine’s for a worthy cause, book a seat at Chef Jessie’s Place in Barangay Valenzuela, Makati. The proceeds for chef Jessie Sincioco’s three-course dinner will go to Caritas Manila. Live jazz tunes will be performed by Sandra Lim Viray, Megan Herrera, Margaux Salcedo and Romy Posadas.

 

 

Steak and French oysters

 

Wolfgang’s Steakhouse’s three branches—The Podium, BGC, Resorts World Manila—have wine-pairing set menu, starting with French oysters and your choice of beef barley or Caesar’s Salad. It will be paired with Errazuris Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2017. This is followed by the meaty main: USDA prime dry-aged Black Angus porterhouse steak with mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and full-bodied Errazuris Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2017. Rounding off the meal is a dessert wine and New York-style cheesecake.

 

 

‘Jamon’ donut with parmesan cheese

 

Gallery by Chele is turning its al fresco area into a setting for a romantic candlelit dinner. Guests are led to the patio where a bouquet of flowers, a bottle of champagne and an eight-course tasting menu will be laid out.

 

Among the inspired dishes are seaweed cracker with snapper, jamon donut with parmesan cheese, tiger prawns with garlic hollandaise, uni pasta, and wagyu beef with black garlic and hibiscus.

 

A band serenades couples with live jazz music.

 

Free-flowing prosecco

 

If you want a bird’s eye view of the metro skyline, Flame Restaurant on the 16th floor of Discovery Primea has a five-course dinner menu showcasing chef Luis Chikiamco’s take on modern Asian cuisine. There’s crab salad with pickled cucumber and honeydew sorbet; pan-seared foie gras with teriyaki eggplant and Asian pears; and steamed black cod with bonito broth and fresh vegetables. Josper-grilled, soy-braised beef “two ways” with assorted mushrooms, kimchi pesto and dashi gohan comprise the main, while textures of chocolate with cashew nut dacquoise, fresh berries, rose chantilly, and hot chocolate sauce are for dessert.

 

For something more casual, Edge, next door, will serve free-flowing prosecco cocktails and delectable tapas.

 

Black rice risotto

 

On the 32nd floor of Zuellig Building, Sky Garden has a five-course dinner that includes scallop and salmon gravlax, followed by foie gras with pancetta and cranberry. Heavier fare consists of shrimp ravioli in seafood consomme, baked Chilean sea bass with barley and black rice risotto, and wagyu beef tenderloin with forest mushrooms and baked cheese potato. —CONTRIBUTED