Manila Overload: Eat a 10-Course Meal This Holiday Season

I never considered that there are restaurants who will open their restaurants and make your Noche Buena for you. I guess I always thought of Noche Buena as a homemade treat. This years' Noche Buena for me was more about the gathering of people and eating together as a family no matter where you are, even if you come from different families (http://meloyco.blogspot.com/2010/12/noche-buena-in-xintiandi.html). Thank you for welcoming my sisters and I with open arms (you know who you are). Since more than half of our family was away this Christmas, the rest of us decided to eat a 7 to 10-Course Meal for Christmas as a way of spoiling ourselves until we drop with our holiday bellies.

I did not expect that Aubergine will be full of holiday diners when Manila seems like a ghost-town every Christmas day when you go out of the house (well, it's one of those days when cars are scarce in the streets). Since it's almost New Year, I am looking forward to another round of holiday treats (there's post-Christmas, last-minute reunions, Media Noche, New Year, post-New Year).

Course "1" - I was stuck with the yummy braided bread, butter and tuna spread in-between the courses.

Loved my drink! Aubergine smoothie.

Course 2 - Amuse Bouche all gone in one bite (like mushroom in croissant and sticky vinaigrette).

Course 3 - My first Foie Gras. It's official - I am not a liver lover. One Australian quail was enough. The Bubbly White Tomato Snow was a nice blend to this deconstructed salad. The 2-leaf super baby arugula was a treat.

Course 4 - Cream of green pea.

Course 5 - My favorite. I could almost taste the truffle oil in that green spinach mixture, the crab in the orange one. The deflated tomato was surprisingly flavorful. I just wish the scallops were cooked more. Do they have rare, medium well or well done when it comes to seafood?

Course 6 - A cool magic sorbet to cleanse the different flavors in my mouth.

Course 7 - I chose the meats. The veal was okay. I was a little full to finish the tough tenderloin. The sauce of the noodles, truffles and veggies, on the other hand, were delish.

My other sister got the salmon with lobster tail. I prefer the meats although I wish I could have tried the ribeye even with the extra charge.

Course 8 - We ordered one set with the additional cheese course. The blue cheese was too strong for me. I loved the grilled watermelon and brie. My favorite was actually the arugula with vinaigrette.

Course 9 - The melting of the vanilla and chocolate orb was a cool sight.

The orange ice cream was superb and the cookies were baked just right (tasted slightly like those Manila Hotel cookies but lighter). The coffee? jellies were fun to eat. I was not so keen about the contents of the orb though (there's a fruit? if you get to the bottom).