I remember going to Vieux Chalet as a child and LOVING it. The ambiance, the privacy, the great food...what else can you ask for? My family was so in love with Vieux Chalet that we would order from Rico (their maitre 'd) every time he'd go to Manila. He would call us before going down and then we'd order their Canneloni, Fetucini Padilla and their Yoghurt!! YUM!!!
I have been raving about Vieux Chalet to all my friends and even to my boss but I personally haven't gone there since I was 18 I believe. So, when Ruy and I found ourselves in Antipolo at around lunch time we decided to eat in Vieux Chalet. I have been raving about this resto to Ruy and he wanted to taste it once and for all.
Vieux Chalet is tucked away in Antipolo and finding it is not so easy...I wouldn't recommend going there unless you have a car. We already had a car and it was tough finding it.
As we were parking we were greeted by Rico. Ah Rico...the ever helpful and ever sociable head waiter of Vieux Chalet. I immediately greeted Rico who did not recognize me until I mentioned my mom's name.
The ambiance in Vieux Chalet is definitely better at night but it's still not bad in the morning. You have this feeling that you're in the middle of nowhere and that stress is sooooooo far away. Ruy and I were able to have conversations which hasn't been an easy thing to do in the city.
We were off to a bad start when half of the things in the menu were not available. Out of the 5 pasta dishes, only 2 were available. (We wanted the canneloni or the ravioli but both were unavailable so we settled for a small bowl of lasagna...only to be told a few minutes after that they only have a large bowl prepared...hay caramba.
I was thrilled to find a small serving of Raclette on their menu so we ordered that together with an order of filet mignon.
When the orders came, it was a disappointment after another disappointment. The raclette was a slab of melted cheese on a small plate with half a potato and young corn split into two. IT was a sad sad sight (of course I can't imagine what I was expecting considering it cost me 185 pesos)
The lasagna looked like something a mother would bring to a pot luck party with her amigas. It was served in a corningware like dish and had no artistic presentation whatsoever. The taste is nothing to whine about though, it's still good. It actually tastes almost exactly like their canneloni except with less meat. Eating fresh pasta is always a good thing as it's soft and absorbs the flavor of the sauce quite easily. The parmesan cheese was saltier than I remember. I'm not 100% sure it's still their own creation but it was still better than the canned versions one can find off the shelves.
The serving size of the lasagna was quite big and the price of 500++ was perfectly justified.
The greatest disappointment of all was the filet mignon. It was completely different from the filet mignon I've eaten in the past. First and biggest difference was the cut. The filet mignon I had before was a slab of meat wrapped in bacon but the one I was served was cut more like tenderloin tips and no bacon was in sight.
I was completely shocked at what was served to me and I found this tiny plate ridiculously priced at around 700!! It's not so much that the steak was bad BUT it's so different from what was repeatedly served to us in the past. I asked Rico who directed my question to the cook (who's the daughter of Susan, the owner) and she told me that her dad used to cook that kind of filet mignon in the past whenever they had extra bacon but their real recipe is the one I was served. *Sigh* To make matters worse, the steak seemed like it was reheated or microwaved as the inside was still a bit cold despite the fact that it was fully cooked. Hmmmm
None of the dishes were served with sidings so we had to order herbed bread (once again only one out of the5 breads on their menu was available) and wow...that bread was GOOD!!!
All in all Ruy and I spent around 1,800++ on this meal and it was just too much in relation to the degree of satisfaction we experienced.
The one thing I would rave about would be RICO!! Rico had such a wonderful and pleasant disposition which makes you feel like serving you brings him the greatest pleasure ever. He also knows when to show up and when to disappear. Rico's the man!
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