Cerchio: Italianno Magnifico

Just before my lecture on astrophysics for my fellow astronomers held at Manila Planetarium, I had a lunch at Cerchio. It is an Italian-derived fusion cuisine found at the stretch of Tomas Morato, a brainchild of the same folks who brought to you the Romulo Cafe.

Criteria for my restaurant find should be 50% ambiance, 20% menu delectability and variety, 20% customer service, and 10% techno-friendly(wifi access primarily).

Surprisingly, I found out that that restaurant has the ambiance, interior, and impeccable brand of customer service I was looking for. It's a bit squeaky though in terms of real-estate space, as one can absolutely hear the other diners of adjacent table talking. So if one would fly a private talk, I highly recommend that table near the mirror area straight across the restroom.

Because I was multitasking in prepping my Powerpoint slide, I didn't order a rice meal, instead I just grabbed a Chicken Tortilla Wrap(six of them already had my stomach full) and a glass of cold tea, as I find it cumbersome to fiddle with both spoon and fork while on my keyboard and touchpad. I never thought that the place can get full during lunchtime, as I expected a heavy deluge of people only to cram at night. It's Tomas Morato and most people are awake at night.

The place though is nicely designed, an excellent repartee of black and white, of spheres and circles. I never even thought that the old and unkempt apartment this one was once would turn out to be such a beautiful, classy restaurant with an urban loungy feel. A cut-PVC pipes formed a pixel-formation that gives a halftone of privacy instead of a plain transparent glass.

Best place that touches my fancy is the one located at the second floor, alongside the black and white chair bristling with the bookshelves as a backdrop. It's "sitting fashionably" on a vogue-design elements.

I didn't find the taste arresting to my tastebud though, but what the heck, I was busy with my AstroPhysics/Quantum Science lecture slides.