Lemuria’s Mystique – a Romantic Restaurant in the Metro

Lemuria is the hottest romantic place these days (saying this with conviction) and I’m glad to share this word-of-mouth secret with you. Of course, we don’t want this place to be too crowded (would we?) because it would lose its mysticism and the fact that it can only accommodate 20+ people. Anyhow, we still have time to enjoy the secret a little longer since this place has been operational for only two months. I’ve searched this in google and I’ve never seen a decent review of this urban hideaway in the Metro. Thanks to Ponch for sharing this.

It is owned by Marina Bru Schroeder also known as Kitt who decided to convert her convenient office space for Brumms Quality Wines, Inc. into a cozy and romantic restaurant. She makes it a point to talk to each and every one of the customers dining during that night. It is located in the winery compound owned by the Aboitiz family in Horseshoe Village. It sits on top of one of the biggest wine cellars I’ve seen in the metro containing an extensive variety of wines filled up to 1/3 of its holding capacity of 27,000+ wines. Her German husband, Klaus Schroeder was kind enough to give us a tour of the cellar which houses german, romanian and austrian wines among others. It serves mediterranean cuisine cooked by Chef Golda-May Ranada who is ex Beluga and Le Souffle Chef ( that is all I know and I was hoping some of you would know more). I was hoping to talk to Chef Golda to give my compliments and to know more about her but unfortunately I was not able to do so.

It was almost a year ago when we celebrated Popsy’s birthday in Chef Humphrey Navarro’s P45 (see French Fine Dining @ Parallel 45) which just opened during that time. I have a theory that every year there will be a secret cozy place that would open up and we won’t run out of these secret hideaways. So, it is now becoming a tradition in the family to make it a point to eat in a nice place during Popsy’s birthday, with this year’s celebration held in Lemuria last Aug. 5.

Why Lemuria?

Before you read on further, it is important that you know the Legend of the Lost Continent of Lemuria.

“THE name Lemuria is an invention of P. L. Sclater, who asserted, between 1850 and 1860, on zoological grounds the actual existence, in prehistoric times, of a Continent which he showed to have extended from Madagascar to Ceylon and Sumatra. According to The Secret Doctrine by Mme Blavatsky, Lemuria, which served as the cradle of the Third Root Race, not only embraced a vast area in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but extended in the shape of a horseshoe past Madagascar, round “South Africa” (then a mere fragment in the process of formation), through the Atlantic up to Norway.” (www.wisdomworld.org on Lemuria)

“Mme Blavatsky claimed that The Secret Doctrine was based on a lost Atlantean religious work, which she called The Stanzas of Dzyan, supposed to be the first book ever written. According to the Stanzas as revealed by Mme Blavatsky, the first humans had existed only on an astral plane, living in the ‘Imperishable Land’ at the North Pole. The Second Root Race also lived in the arctic, on the lost continent of Hyperborea. Like most other ‘lost continents’, Hyperborea broke up and sank beneath the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean. The third Root Race comprised the Lemurians. They were bandy-legged, egg-laying hermaphrodite apes (some with four arms, some with eyes in the back of their head), 3.7 m (twelve feet) tall. They were contemporary with dinosaurs, which they kept as domestic animals. When the Lemurians discovered sex, their fate was sealed and the continent followed Hyperborea in sinking beneath the waves. The offspring of the Lemurians’ sexual adventures was the fourth Root Race: fully human Atlanteans, guided into human form by adepts from Venus. After the drowning of Atlantis, the fifth Root Race evolved (in other words, ourselves); the sixth Root Race is about to evolve in North America, while the seventh will one day develop in South America.” ( The Lost Continent of Lemuria Myths and Realities

Read More: The Lost Lemuria by W. Scott-Elliot [1904]

It is said that one of the reasons why Philippines is a center of supernatural phenomenon is because it is part of the lost continent of Lemuria. Marina Schroeder was fascinated about this legend and hence the name Lemuria.

The Brumms Quality Wine Cellar

I’m glad the Klaus was kind enough to show us around this huge refrigerated cellar.

Prahova Valley Romanian Red Wine is Lemuria’s house red wine which would come in three varieties: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and pinot noir.

This reisling wine comes in as highly recommended by Klaus – Gunderloch Reisling 2003.

Thanks Klaus for the tour :)!

The Lemuria Experience

Prahova Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 (P530++). You got to try these romanian red wines and I’m not a wine connoisseur (yet) but I like the way the wine stimulates your appetite.

Walnut and Focaccia Bread with Sun Dried Tomato (FREE). I find the Walnut bread very unique and together with sun dried tomato it becomes a perfect appetizer to start off your meal. I like the walnut because of its unique texture and the walnut bits.

Mushroom and Gruyere Soup (P290++) and Tomato Consomme (P290++) The mushroom soup is quite tasty which reminded me of french onion soup where the mushroom is cooked with mozzarella cheese (i think). So every time you eat one spoonful, a cheese strip would be stretching out from the soup bowl to your mouth 🙂

Coarse Crystal Sea Salt. This is the kind of salt the would seduce Lori 🙂

Seared Foie Gras, Braised Cabbage Salad and Fig Glaze (P620++). The Foie Gras was cooked very well — juicy, soft and without that malansa taste. Although, I regret to order this since it is the most expensive appetizer and at some point you will feel the calories after a few spoonful of this. Also, the braised cabbage salad did not go very well with the foie gras.

Poached Sea Bass and Braised Fennel (P860++). This was a big disappointment. For P1,000+, the sea bass tasted like the ones served in ordinary restaurant. The seabass was not melting in your mouth and in fact it was semi-hard which tasted like the frozen seabass mass cooked haphazardly. I want to get my money back for this dish and I do hope that this does not happen to anybody else.

Braised Lamb Shank, Apricot and Red Wine Sauce (P720++). For some reason, it was just OK. I guess it is because the tender meat was not as tasty as we expected it to be. It feels like the meat was not marinated very well so eating the lamb shank felt eating a chunk of meat.

Twiced cooked Pork Belly, Aged Balsamic with Sage Butter Risotto (P580++). Popsy loved this and even before I can ask for a taste of the pork, the dish was finished in a flash. I did not hear any complaint from the birthday boy and this is a good sign of how good the food is 🙂

Grilled Salmon, Corn and Mushroom Crepe with spinach sauce (P690++). This is the winner of the night. Although the grilled salmon was just OK the innovative corn and mushroom crepe combination was more than enough to make this dish stands out. I would order this when I get back 🙂

Lemuria’s Menu (click for a bigger version) — a bit pricey really…
Appetizer and Salad
Main Course
Dessert and Cheese

All Items are subject to 12% and 10% service charge.

The Desserts

Valrhona Chocolate Souffle Cake with Mandarin Orange Glacee (P250). When they said that this is the best seller, they are not kidding. I think this is one of the killer items in their menu. Once you have a bite of the souffle’s crunchy crust and the soft chocolate filling inside, you’ll know what I’m talking about 🙂

Shot of the gooey chocolate goodness inside the souffle cake. This is soo yummy that I wouldn’t mind going back to Lemuria just to get a taste of this killer dessert. Compliments to the Chef as they would say…

Creamy Carabao’s Milk Panacotta (P180). The creamy gelatin like carabao milk was done very well. It has the right amount of sweetness and milky taste complimented by the fruit bits surrounding it.

German Chocolate Egg with Toy inside (FREE for kids). Kitt gave my son this wonderful chocolate egg surprise which the we ended up eating anyway and Aidan just got the toy inside.

LEMURIA

Address: 5 Julieta Circle, Horseshoe Village Quezon City 
Telephone Numbers: +632 724-5211 +632 722-2185 
Operating Hours: 
LUNCH By exclusive booking only 
DINNER Tuesday-Sunday 6:00 pm-11:00 pm 
Reservations strongly recommended 
E-Mail Address: lemuria@brumms.com.ph 
Website: http://www.lemuria.com.ph,  http://www.brumms.com.ph
Facebook: Lemuria Gourmet Restaurant
Note: Credit Cards Accepted
Dress Code: Smart Casual

Directions: Coming from Edsa, take ortigas avenue past the greenhills area and Santolan intersection. Go straight and turn right on N. Domingo st. Then turn right into horseshoe village. Since it is shaped like a horseshoe, you have to take the left road because the right road is a one way street. Just go straight until you reach the bridge. After the bridge, you will already see a sign of the winery on your left at the first corner.