Restaurant Ciçou: French Bistro

Because almost all Greenbelt restaurants are unusually full today(it's payday, plus some retail establishments went on sale), I was awashed into a French Bistro, and not just any publicly withdrawn restaurants, this one is actually a hotel restaurant.

Restaurant Ciçou is nestled in the baronesque Hotel Céleste along San Lorenzo Drive. That hotel that is reminiscent of the hotels at the Amsterdam suburbs, Hotel Céleste prides itself of providing royal and refined European experience.

The restaurant is a beacon of culinary brilliance by the Executive Chef Cyrille Soenen, a French national known for his foie gras creations.

Adorned by the endless interconnection of 'washer-like circles' is the restaurant's core design. The ambiance is intimate and cozy, but don't let it intimidate you. It isn't a fine dining haven, it is merely a bistro, hence the dark lighting fixtures and a wide array of wine collections.

I was given an unlimited baguette as a free appetizer.

I ordered a salad first because I was thinking of getting a meat. I picked the Seared Tuna Niçoise Salad, a combination of French beans, red and green bell pepper, potatoes, tomatoes, boiled egg, anchovy, black olives and sardines. I know what you have in mind, you must have probably reacted, "what? sardines?" Yes, but this is nothing like your grocery-derived canned sardines. They are fresh little fish filleted and cooked in its own marinade, akin to a French version of our native "kilawin."

The main course, Onglet de Boeuf(Le Steak Favori de Chef Cyrille) - this is a prime US Beef in shallot sauce, croutons, romaine salad, with home-made French fries. Again, on a medium rare finish. The beef was done with scrumptious quality that it left a distinctive taste in my mouth.

The service is also world-class, not because they have given me a sampler of their Sea Bass, braised sea bass in mashed potatoes and leeks in truffle sauce, but because the servers were meticulously attentive to the guest's needs.

It was definitely a dégustation de délicieux, truly a taste of Paris in the heart of Makati.