The Terrace at 5th

I was on the prowl for the best designed, astutely-fitting Adidas running shoes over the entire Makati but couldn't find any.

Out of straining walks from Glorieta to Greenbelt, I just had one thought in my mind, to have a savory feast for the beast. And so I ended up at The Terrace at 5th.

This restaurant is an amelioration of the finest culinary craftsmanship of Ching Cruz, Ivy and Cynthia Almario, and Chef Cecille Ysmael. The triumvirate is a combination of Asian and mid-eastern Mediterranean recipes fused into a dazzling restaurant interior, an idyllic dining destination like no other.

I recently have had a growing penchant over Ivy Almario's design elements, from Cerchio to Thai @ Silk. Right smack in front of the Greenbelt gardens, The Terrace at 5th's motif is a true au fait with lush greenery as the restaurant's central theme.

The Terrace at 5th is essentially a home-recipe enriched into fine-cooking, a lot like a Filipino household with a privilege treat to its guests.

As a courtesy appetizer, I was given a bread with butter. I didn't bother taking it as I was bent on getting my major piece.

For the main course, I grabbed myself a USDA-grade beef, a Roast Angus Belly. It's an oven-roasted Angus belly served with root vegetables and mushroom ragout. It's in its class, that you can actually taste the beefy goodness of it, cooked just how it should be. Soft and tender but still full-bodied, and you can even cut it with your fork.

Here goes the sweet gland that I have with the Merry Mango Jubilee for my dessert. It is a combination of fresh mango balls flambéed with cointreau and caramel topped on vanilla ice ream. It was a wow to my taste.

Afterall, it's not the "primer" that I look forward whenever I eat but the "parting". It's the dessert that makes or breaks my dining experience polish its gustatory climax. The dessert should be as important as the appetizer and as well-defined as the main entree. And I could say it was all good.

Next time I will be there, I will try their steaks with chimichurri, an Argentine condiment made into a pesto-like sauce extracted from from onions, garlic, parsley, dried oregano, salt, cayenne pepper, oil and vinegar.