UPDATE March 6, 2014: This restaurant is now closed 🙁
I can still remember celebrating our first year wedding anniversary last January 2004 at Chef Laudico’s house in Urdaneta, Makati. At that time, it was still a secret or only a few people knew about it. We loved it and I earned a lot of brownie kisses for it. So when I learned that Chef Laudico will be opening a Filipino restaurant in the Fort, I was excited and the timing was perfect for my wife’s Birthday last October 1. Chef Laudico’s Bistro Filipino soft opened last Sept. 27, 2006. After 3 days of operation, it was already a witness to the strongest typhoon that hit Manila in past 11 years, and a Christian wedding/ reception which was celebrated last Saturday (maybe you would know who it was).
Bistro Filipino by Chef Laudico serves Filipino fusion food and these are the sort of food that could take off in the international scene. I saw a lot of expats and sossy people eating here because dining here would costs you around P1,500ish easily. I love the Filipino fusion food by Chef Laudico and the desserts by his wife, Jackie! These are the kind of food that won’t make you feel bad spending that much. The interiors are designed by their mom with contributions from the family which made the whole establishment a true family affair. I’m sure you’ll love this too and Je Suis Gourmand (JSG) would now have a match in the Fort 🙂 It is literally two blocks down from JSG and it is located in Net One building along the same road as JSG. One can just walk whenever one restaurant is full but I don’t advise you to do so because I’m sure that both would be full especially on a weekend.
I know you will love this and they will have a grand opening on October 8, 2006. Here is our experience and share with us your food experience at Bistro Filipino. Thanks to Anna Ria for the tip on Bistro Filipino’s opening.
The interiors are lovely: Draping curtains with chandelier all around… Wooden tables… long couch attached to the walls… diamond checkered flooring. The mirrors are antique looking and if you were to make a reservation, the best table are those adjacent to the big mirrors on the wall. It is simply a romantic setting and reminds me of the interiors at the Laudico’s place in Urdaneta.
Even the trip to the rest room is an experience in itself. We had fun taking photographs of the family in the mirror. Check out my flickr site if you want to see those fun shots 🙂
Chef Laudico’s Bistro Filipino Cuisine.
First of all, here is the menu if you want to check out the kind of food that you would order before going here. BTW, did I tell you that the service is great?! In fact, when I was taking a picture of the menu, I thought the waiters would accost me and tell me “no photography please”. Instead, they helped me out in getting a good shot of the menu. Galing 🙂 I’m pretty sure that they don’t know that I will be blogging about it.
Appetizers Menu
Salads Menu
Soup Menu
Main Course Menu: Seafood
Main Course Menu: Meat
Desserts Menu
Note: The menu is exclusive of (12%) VAT and service charge (10%) so I would put ++ in the prices below.
Ubod Spring Roll (P250++). Crispy Lumpia cone filled with Chorizo, Prawns, and Heart of Palm topped with Spicy Sinamak Sorbet.
Each of the cone would costs you P77 and you would ask if it is worth the price?! You bet it is, and the best part for me is the Sinamak Sorbet. It is a super hot local vinegar that can beat wasabi any time of the day. I think there is an addicting factor that makes you forget how expensive each shot is. I remember a friend of mine bringing back to Manila a bottle of it but was forbidden by the airport authority in Bacolod.
The way to eat it is to pour the sinamak vinegar into the cone, take a nasty bite and whisper ” yummy” in your stomach. It is kinda messy with the vinegar dripping when you eat it. This was an innovative appetizer treat!
Milked Fish Souffle (P350++). Smoked Milk Fish and Keso de Bola Souffle in Whole Tomato served with Salad Greens in Paksiw Vinaigrette topped with Fried Bangus Belly.
The Bangus belly is not overpowering and has the right salty taste. This would have been perfect if the Bangus Belly was boneless. We loved the Keso de Bola Souffle served inside a big tomato. Nothing fantastic (if you think about it) but this is a classic example of how the presentation could influence your taste buds 🙂
Pacific Gindara (P450++). Grilled local Gindara fillet in Banana leaf served on grilled vegetables and crab roe sauce with Lemon Zest.
When we ate there, they replaced the Gindara with alapaap which should be ok except that it is also not boneless. I’m not sure, if it was intended to be full of fish bones but for me, it ruins the fine dining experience. The crab roe sauce is heavenly and sinful at the same time so this dish was wiped out in a second. The fish serving is very generous and it is good for two.
Foie Gras with Adobo Overload (P750++). Seared Foie Gras on Steamed Pork Adobo Sticky Rice in Banana Leaf topped with Chicken Adobo crisps and Adobong Kangkong.
This is the best seller in the house and I think it is rightfully so! This is Adobo fusion food that you’ve never seen before. One should have a share of the everything in a spoon, its Adobo Pork Machang with a slice of the melt-in-your-mouth Foie Gras with the crispy adobo chicken flakes and adobong Kangkong to really appreciate. I don’t mind paying P924 pesos for this killer food and the servings are generously for two.
Jackie Laudico’s Awesome Dessert!
We were quite surprised with how good the desserts are. We were not expecting it to be this good. I can go here just for the desserts!
Mango Dayap Sans Rival (P150++). Layers of Dayap Meringue and Creme Caramel on chilled mango soup splashed with Orange Liquer.
My wife loves Sans Rival and this Laudico version pampers you with 3 layers of pure dayap meringue. When we eat Sans rival, we normally remove the butter and cream to eat only the meringue part. In this sans rival version, you don’t need to do that and you can eat this with less quilt. Everybody loves Mango and it was a genius combining this with Merengue. You won’t feel guilty about the calories of this dessert but you will feel guilty about ruining its beautiful presentation. Just look at it, isn’t it temptingly beautiful and delicious?
Molten Chocolate (P200++). Belgian Molten Chocolate Cake with Carabao Vanilla Ice Cream Center.
This is another fabulous presentation. It looks like the apple melts directly into the plate and the same is true for the chocolate cake. I love eating the melted chocolate and all we can say is, you’ve gotta try this. It is like eating melted belgian chocolate with guava sauce (I think). Super Sarap!!
Happy Birthday to the most beautiful girl on earth :)!! Happy Happy Birthday !!
Chef Laudico and wife Jackie with Aidan. I’m starting to collect pictures of Aidan with top known chef and hopefully he would cherish these photos when he grows up.
Chef Laudico’s Bistro Filipino
Bistro Filipino, Net One Building, in the Fort
+632 856-0634, +632 856-0541 (for reservations)
For Catering, please contact:
Tel. # +632 750-1599, +632 893-1740
Cell # +63917 800-CHEF, +63917 826-9184
Email: cheflaudico@yahoo.com
rache belated =)..aba one block lang sa ofc ko yan eh..pero mahal ah
Once again, you make me dream! I am just salivating before my screen.
Not sure I will like the tuyo my wife prepared for supper… 😉
Great idea to take pictures of Aidan with great chefs!
Gosh.. this entry of yours makes me hungry again… yum yum… I’m swallowing .. swallowing…my stomach is growling.. Can’t wait to try this!
Btw.. maybe you knew this already but your blog really helped a lot of people like us to discover new places to visit.
Keep it up Anton! 🙂 I’m sure Aidan will appreciate all of this when he grows up!
OoOOpPpS!! forgot this —> THANKS! I always wanted to say this to you. =)
Gosh …. how do you find these places so fast???
Chef Laudicos reputation is awesome …
I hope to be able to check this out before the weekend.
Gutom na akoooooooooo
You can buy sinamak at Market Market – Gaisano Supermarket!
Its not in Net one…its actually in Net square…you were thinking about the other resto across the street. 🙂
ate at chef laudico’s last night and loved it! gave him your blog url and told him to check it out 😉
This restaurant tops my list of to try restaurants for the year 2006. I had a great time in this restaurant because there was an excitement in each and every dishes that they served. For starter, we had the Ubod Spring Roll which was really awesome, the wrapper was very crunchy and nice, and I specially like the hot and cold sensation from the spring roll and from the sinamak sorbet. My only comment was that the spring roll was a bit too oily and expensive I should say. For salads, we had the Milk Fish Souffle which was pretty good but not really outstanding, the Crispy Pigeon Salad was so so, the Eggplant Salad with crabmeat was really good and it was filling too. For the mains, we had the Apahap with crab roe sauce, the Adobo and Foie Gras Overload was pretty interesting, but the pork was a bit too dry and the dish was very heavy because of the huge serving of Foie Gras and sticky Rice, The Prawns with Laing Tempura was a genius dish, the prawns were perfectly cooked and the sauce goes very well with it and at the same time the Laing Tempura was oh soooo good! For desserts, we had the Suman with panna cotta which was just so so, boring in my opinion and the taste was just so so, the molten chocolate was ok but nothing special again. All and all I recommended this restaurant to my foreigner friends and I hope they will like this place too.
My Take on Bistro Filipino…….
I ate there last Friday and yes the restaurant was very nice, I am not the “OLD FILIPINO” person that would not take Filipino Fusion into consideration. I am actually one of the people who would like to take the Filipino cuisine in the main stream. I want the world to know what Filipino food is, like Japanese, Thai cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine.
My wife and I ordered the Degustation menu…..Appetizers came and it was ok, the Silken tokwa’t baboy was good, pork sisig was OK…too much Fat on that, The Lumpiang ubod with frozen sinamak was off, didn’t taste like anything. Then, came the soups….Excellent! Fish course came, Very disappointing, Chilean Seabass they say but just take a look at the skin, Its not even close to a CHILEAN SEABASS SKIN(Pathegonian tooth-fish is the right name for this type of fish), If its a local “seabass” they should not say its CHILEAN .The fish was overcooked also(Tough not flaky). Then came the Meat course…..Cebu Pit roasted pig with san miguel beef immulsion…..Where is the beer taste??? This was too salty for and my wife, we didn’t even finish this dish. The white wine(Trust me white wine pairs with Pork and Beef also, I have been paring wines with filipino food in the US) paring that they suggested for this dish was not correct….there should be a balance with the wine and the meat when you eat and drink it together. Then desserts came, Amazing, this was the best part of the dinner, we loved all the desserts i cant say anything…..Kudos to the Mrs. Laudico on this.
Overall I would give it 7 out of 10 for the desserts and the ambiance.
May I make a suggestion, when your in the US of A, In the east coast try Cendrillon in the Soho District and in the West coast, Try Bistro Luneta in San Mateo. This is what Filipino cuisine is all about. Look at their websites…..www.cendrillon.com and http://www.bistroluneta.com
This is just my personal opinion about Bistro Filipino.
P.G.
I agree with P.G. The food was just ok. I ordered a fish dish (i think it was the grilled barramundi), and i didn’t really enjoy it. It was kind of malansa. I chose the wine myself, so I cannot make any comments on the paring, but I thought that the white wine was too cold and it was served in a chilled glass, which I think made it even worse.
I also agree that the dessert was the best part of the meal. The suman dessert (i forgot what it’s called but it’s the one with the mango slices on top)was excellent. The Banana-q tart also looked really good, but unfortunately, I was already too full to order another dessert.
Oh yeah, there’s another thing….they don’t have signs on the restroom doors! Although the door for the ladies’ room is colored pink and the one for the men’s is blue (i think…), it is really hard to tell because of the lighting.
Mawalang galang sa inyo,
Wala na bang pilipino marunong magtagalog sa pilinas ,,,,
Ginoong Arman,
Marunong po kami lahat mag salita ng wikang pilipino. Kaya kami ay nagsusulat sa wikang ingles ay para maintindihan rin ng ating mga kaibigang dayuhan. Ito po ang rason kaya kami ay nagsusulat sa wikang ingles. Sana ay maintindihan mo ang aming gustong ipahayag sa BLOG na ito. Salamat.
P.G.
hey! i was just at bistro filipino last weekend.. thanks to your review! And I must agree, the food is indeed awesome 🙂
Hello there! does anyone happen to know if Chef Laudico is still serving in his home in Urdaneta? Any suggestions for what dishes to order? :p
Thank you for taking time to answer this! :p
Thanks for all the info, and yes, we all do know how to speak in our native tongue but for the benefit of the foreigners, and to be able to promote Filipino cuisine and expertise, English is still the medium of communication. It can also be in Spanish but there are less and less who speak the language. This is a great help to recommend to our foreign guests who come to get their lasik, stem cell therapy or cosmetic and dental procedures done as we are just in B1 Bonifaco High Street. Great place for them to visit and appreciate the Philippines more.It will delight all their senses!
I used to like Chef Laudico’s food, but after he catered our wedding on Dec. 30, our positive views of him, his wife Jackie (his business partner) and their restaurant have been completely reversed. I could go on and on about how disappointing their catering service was (we paid 5-star service but didn’t even get 1-star service!), but in a nutshell:
– Waiters were NOT briefed at all on what to do (e.g. we gave very specific WRITTEN instructions on the wine to be served and when to serve it; they were not attentive to the guests, which unfortunately, turned out to be our older guests; they were not given clear table assignments when all they had to do was take drinks as it was a buffet set-up). Jackie explained that all their good waiters were booked by hotels. If they were professional, they should know that as soon as we make a down payment for their services (which we did way back in April), we meant serious business and so they should start reserving their best waiters.
– Food was LATE. Cocktails were to start at 5pm but guess what, at 5:30, they were still taking out glasses and chilling the wine. The program was to start at 6:30pm, which meant dinner should be ready ahead of time. Well guess what, the food truck arrived only at 7:10pm — and Jackie Laudico, who was supervising the event, DID NOT tell my coordinator at all. She covered it up, saying that “the truck was on its way” — it got lost daw kasi. How can you get lost when Chef Lau, his wife, and the Captin Waiter had already been there on previous occasions? My friends surmised that Chef Lau probably had a bigger event that day, so our food was not prioritized.
– Food “ran out”. Some people did not get soup; my mother did not get any of the main courses because there was no more food, she was told. How can you run out of food when we had guaranteed 200 pax to ensure that our 186 guests have enough to eat? A mystery for a catering company that has been in business for 7 years. Later on, Jackie and Chef Lau would insist that there was plenty of food. My mom ended up eating Lechon Baka for dinner (thank goodness we had Lechon, which was not supplied by Chef Laudico!!!). Even our crew weren’t properly fed since the caterer failed to provide them with enough rice (!).
-Chef Lau didn’t show up at all for our wedding (despite promising just a week ago to be there). On Dec. 22, we had a nice lunch at Bistro Filipino wherein my husband and I tasted the food to be served at our wedding, together with the different types of WINE that we had flown in from Portugal. Both Chef Lau and Jackie enjoyed the wine; we discussed how it would be served so they have no excuse for not knowing how to serve the wine. Unfortunately, they did not trickle down this knowledge to their staff!
– What takes the cake is that the next day, when we ate at Bistro Filipino for New Year’s Eve — which turned out to be a bad idea: they served old crabs which made at least 4 people sick and caused my niece to throw up before dinner even ended! — Chef Lau did not even apologize to my husband and his mother, who were there dining with us. My husband’s family were the ones who actually footed the Reception Dinner, but the Laudicos had no “damage control” skills at all. He didn’t care because we had already paid around 70% of his fee already. The next day (New Year’s Day), when I told Jackie we were withholding payment until we discuss our issues, Jackie texted me saying that they would refund us for the New Year’s Eve Dinner. Her exact words:
“We understand that there were lapses in the service that evening and we know we cant do anything about that anymore. If the discussion is gearing towards not paying the balance, then dont pay anymore. I dont think we need to discuss this any further. We also deposited a check in your Mom’s account to refund the 31st dinner. Also, I’d like to point out some shortcomings by the coordinator: they failed to contain people in the cocktail are and stopped waiters fr serving people in their dinner tables. They didn.t coordinate the toasting with our capt. Waiter, w/c was necessary as no copy of program sequence was provided to us, they also did not inform us which tables to serve the mangoes, that these were served for the thai.s These contributed a lot to delays in service. Sorry that it has to end this way.”
Yes, she sent this all via TEXT MESSAGE – very unprofessional, and also very inaccurate (the captain waiter DID have a copy of the program, the mangoes were never to be reserved for our Thai guests alone — they didn’t even serve them, my Mom and my in-laws had to demand for them, and people moved from cocktail area to dinner area because, as previously mentioned, cocktails weren’t being served!).
Moreover, we felt very insulted. We weren’t after the money or the free meal. We wanted them to apologize SINCERELY and not arrogantly; to know that what they did during the wedding and how they treated us afterwards was completely wrong — in Filipino, we say “binalewala nila yung kasal namin”. They didn’t care at all. Instead, they were defending their actions, putting the blame on, first, their Captain Waiter (they told my brother they would look into FIRING their captain waiter! Hey, if the Captain Waiter didn’t know what he was doing, it’s largely because he wasn’t briefed by his Manager what to do!) and then on my coordinator (who almost got a heart attack when she was told that the food hadn’t arrived yet).
Luckily for me, my wedding night wasn’t ruined as my husband, my coordinator and my mom were doing their best not to let me know about Chef Laudico’s disastrous errors. I personally had a blast because all of our other wedding suppliers were excellent! I only learned about Chef Laudico’s lousy service after the wedding (buti na lang!). Unluckily for my husband, he was acutely aware of the shortcomings of the caterer during the entire reception dinner and was painfully trying to assuage the situation.
How unfortunate that some of the older guests did not have their fill, and that our foreign guests, which comprised 1/3 of all guests, were left with a very poor impression of Filipino service! Most of all, my husband’s parents, who are also non-Filipino, were very angry with the poor catering service, causing them unnecessary distress during the entire dinner.
Everyone on this site seems to be raving about Chef Laudico’s food. I certainly used to love his food — I was so proud pa that he was catering my wedding. What a big mistake! Most of my friends who are familiar with Chef Lau’s cooking criticized the food served at the reception dinner to be substantially sub-par compared to that of the restaurant. There were also many comments on how the display of food at the buffet stations was no different to standard cafeterias.
I should’ve gone for a cheaper caterer who would have been more professional, with better work ethic and morals. Most guests told us that they know that we spent a lot of money already on the wedding and understand why we picked a cheap caterer. At PHP 1,100 per head, Chef Lau was anything but cheap and people definitely need to know about our experience so that they don’t have to go through the same thing!
….cari and hahn….so sorry that your WEDDING experienced ended this way….wedding days should be full of happiness wonderful excitements and fun filled memorable evenings i am surprised why the chef owners did’nt bother apologizing when {if he}promised to be present in your wedding day….he just dishonor his own words….i am having a hard time understanding HOW could anyone not worked with you face to face to make sure DETAILS are understood they should have turned down DETAILS that cannot be MET so you know what to expect or what can be done to upgrade your own wedding….his other business contracts at anyday at anytime should not and must not be USED as an excuse why he FAILED your wedding arrangements-expectations….filipino cultures services time-schedules must be very clear from the very START….coz you may be asking for extra FAVORS instead of what are included in their restaurant services….remember also cari hanh….that anything not usually how they normally render services ARE considered EXTRA at anytime so confirmations on EXTRAS must be defined-arranged early & clearly….being late are almost always part of any parties anywhere around the world….maybe not that too much late in almost everything{routine}….this is where you can express your dissappointments by not GIVING any kind of tips NO recommendations NO great reviews or comments and don’t patronized any establishments that dissappointed you….that way as time passes by YOU will feel better-relieved-got over….of how much they RUINED your supposed to be A happy wonderful fun filled once in a lifetime wedding experience {hopefully}…..contracted restaurant busy days holidays too much bookings or new unexpected contract services are not supposed to be PART of your personnal problems….these are PERSONNAL PROBLEMS of the contracted restaurant NOT yours….lowering your wedding standard-quality
as how they normally-usually performed services….should come with ‘discount apology’….if the restaurant owners acknowledged{if honest enough}that they did in fact gave you an inferior wedding experiences…..if they won’t acknowledged but IF they knew YOU were right and was correct but NO discount apology….means the owners are DISHONORABLE people….could be? that profit is their best policy….if this is ALL the case are about….then do not expect ANYTHING FROM THEM AGAIN….YOU must moved on….to future better fun filled party celebrations but this time put extras ‘agreed upon’in WRITINGS as you meet caterers face to face…that way next time…. you don’t need to worry-get upset or even get dissappointed coz your agreed upon writing paper WILL says it all for you….meaning you can smile about any future dissappointments coz they cannot deny-hide-lie on specifics-extras they agreed to do as it says in AGREED UPON paper lol!….sayang wedding pa naman….kung ibang okasyun na lang sana nangyari medyo i will not be affected by your concerns….enjoy each other na lang at expect more dissappointments in life ahead of you kasi as long as we have other people
in this awesome planet earth….we will always have problems wheter we like it or not….we can only control ourselves as individual but we can never control other people just like when getting married…..meaning marriage is not a guarantee that only the 2 of you forever or that nothing LIKE other complex-unexpected problems can come in between you{aware or unaware doesnt matter}….but if YOU DO experience those RARE perfect marriages PLEASE i congratulate you for achieving such RARE perfections of an HONORABLE HONEST DIGNIFIED partnerships lol!….
….pleased customers is the best & most important part of the ART in food-culinary arts….besides good food good services great ambiances etc….pleasing customers is hard to do but ON top to DO if you want to passed any food tests or exams no doubt….it is not the food ‘itself’ that will grade you….but it is those people{customers}who are gonna be eating-tasting-experiencing-review those foods that you prepare-cook BEFORE you can pass anything in culinary arts lol!….in ‘food’ ARTS….bad services or even just the wrong way of cutting-arranging-pesesnting etc. any{your}food….is already a crime that if punishable by law…those who are guilty are ‘for sure’ will be ‘persona non grata'{not welcome by the great food art industry}anywhere near those food businesses lol!….hard to believe….but i would’nt be saying it if not true lol!….UNLESS ‘art’ in food industry-services are not SACRED anymore…..then everyhting will be just ‘anything’…..meaning nothing great or special anymore…..no need for anykind of higher standards or higher qualities anymore…. coz everything will be just like ANYTHING….THAT WILL BE ONE dull boring unexciting uneventful TASTELESS world….non exciting unartful not awesome planet called earth….oh my….FIRST LOVE: a healthy world planet called earth….please HURRY save us lol!….lol!….we will need back up artful exciting wonderful fun filled memories of so many FIRST LOVES AROUND THE WORLD…..so RESCUE us please hurry your inspirational great website corner called FIRST LOVE: A HEALTHY WORLD PLANET CALLED EARTH….as back up system for some POSSIBLE deteriorating arts in the fields of FOOD WORLD {culinary art food services}….
I read the feedback of Melissa Nepomuceno and its just so appalling to know how crude and rude were the caterers. I was cringing every time I come across her negative comment, it was like taking roller coaster ride where you plunge in a 50% grade. If I were Melissa, I couldve skinned and air dried that caterer to kingdom come until they see to it that it will never happen next time. I was wondering where did this caterer went for their schooling for not taking lessons in honor and honest service. Spread the word Melissa about your experience so the world would know how disgusting it was for you. My blood shot up when I was typing this message.
….re:wrong way of cutting preparing-arranging presenting….is already a crime….i was referring to hihgly advanced international food services like in hotel managements-controller departments{culinary schools w/diplomas involved}….food preparations-cooking is just so sacred and serious business that they will not want YOU in their sights if food art is not PART of your FOOD BUSINESS & NOT done right….also be careful some becomes violent just because they felt some have dishonored their art{professions}see american televisions chef show{can be very verbally abusive which is wrong but they have their reasons to argue}….above comments mentioned about filipinos poor judgements in food wines pairing selections….well no excuse coz info can be learned-read thru books-culinary art schools-by word of mouth-internet if non local food items will be served must have at least some ‘courtesy’ to do things right not just carry anything coz of profits…. it’s like giving drugs without prescriptions….don’t want to be responsible if it’s the right prescriptions or not as long as they carry the items for profits….but keep in mind philippines are not into alcohol-liquor everyday cultural dining traditions reasons ignoramus[wines}is there…filipino male bonding during siestas or celebrations is the only time alcohol are known consumed….it may sound strange & funny but in away I notice in united states canada europe or down under it is the same way{but without alcohol}how white men engaged themselves in recruiting criminals& terrorists for big businesses thru male bonding in civic activities here in united states….something in common by traditions….lol! but almost the same just different places & customs….
Hi.
I just ate at Bistro Filipino tonight. I agree with P.G. and chef above. Food was just ok. My friend and my rating for it: 6.5/10.
We tried the spring roll, prawns with laing tempura, adobo foie gras and mango sans rival.
Spring roll – overcooked shrimp, too oily, you don’t really know what you’re eating.
Prawns w/ Laing Tempura – prawns were cooked well but laing was overcooked and overfried and too small.
Adobo foie gras – foie gras was excellent but adobo flakes were overcooked and too hard, too much adobo and kangkong too.
Mango Sans Rival – sorry this was bad. It had no taste of a sans rival. maybe they should call it mango meringue or mango macaroon (as it tastes just like the Bizu macaroons) instead so that customers won’t be fooled.
I loved the food in this resto:-) specially breakfast. beef brisket yumyum
good food & good service should come side by side. if one is crappy, then this is a perfect cocktail for disaster… tsk tsk tsk… good thing you had a good wedding cheesecake cari. next time you’re in town, pass by horseshoe and let me feed you. payce!
IMHO, the fusion in Laudico’s cuisine is a bit gimmicky.. Food is geographically varied for a reason.. the same reason we believe in terroir.. Produce and livestock available in a locality produce a cuisine unique to the area. When we want to infuse these cuisines, we should respect that they might not go together as 50/50. That’s why fusion is more properly done at a lower ratio. Yes, I understand, Dishes like this SELL. But as a chef, one should also properly educate.. Introduce the diners to new cuisines DONE PROPERLY, introduce them to new ingredients (NO FALSE LABELLING). How can you explain the taste of saffron to someone who hasnt tasted it before if its infused in bangus oil or rambutan juice or something to that effect? I think diners are being fooled and mislead. There are so many talented Pinoy chefs slaving away in hotels and cruise ships for a few bucks. It’s a crying shame that here in the Philippines, you can get away with dishonest, uninspired food as long as you have the charisma, the image and the swirl swirl sniff wine goblet in your right hand.
I MOST LIKE your RESTAURANT
hi. i’m a masscom student from st. joseph’s college in qc. we’ll have a presscon on the 14th of november it’s about a resto here in QC (ADARNA food and culture) if your interested to visit the resto just inform me. =) u’l be our guest. =) you can check their site it’s http://www.adarnafoodandculture.multiply.com
pm me if ur interested joanneloraine@yahoo.com
tnx!
we loved the Spanish choco dessert!!!
yum yum yum!
http://jotan23.blogspot.com/2010/04/chef-laudicos-bistro-filipino-at-fort.html
hi Chef Laudico ANd Chef JAque!! musta nApo kayo?
ako ho yong sa cafelaguna!! dito sa cebu!!
We have been going home to the Philippines since 2005 after 30 years of absence and have visited Cher Laudico’s Bistro Filipino in 2008, 2009 and 2010. I keep on going back since the food was good but the understanding of the orders and allergies requirements has been very poor. Last September 28, 2010, we went back again and after explaining allergies to seafoods, it was very clear that it was heard but not listened to. The appetizer was served and lo and behold with shrimp on top of it. The response was ” No problem, it is only a shrimp, I will have it removed”. In food industry, allergies must be noted and understood the repercussion. In addition, the bathroom for men smelled like a subway bathroom. It is very apparent that no one takes the time to do a quality assurance of the hygiene of the restaurant. I must say that bathroom in Medical City Hospital appear to be superior . I hope that these will be looked at seriously.
I had a very special event held at Chef Laudico last Saturday, and, to my great consternation, I was very dissatisfied with the outcome. While the food was good, the SERVICE WAS AWFUL and I WAS DEFINITELY SHORTCHANGED!! Chef Laudico did not deliver what was committed by their representative. I was not informed about their UNILATERAL changes to the agreement on the quantity of food that will be served to my guests, even if I was at the venue an hour before the event started. It just came as a surprise later on when food which was supposed to be served in groups of four (4) people, was served to groups of eight (8) people. They did not INCREASE the quantity per serving and yet I had to pay the same price! And worse, some tables were not served the full menu, which to my embarrassment was noticed by a number of my guests. Sadly, and in a totally unprofessional-like manner, they took advantage of the fact that even if I could complain, it was too late for me to do anything.
This is clear evidence of utter disregard for customer satisfaction and PRIMORDIAL IMPORTANCE TO PROFIT. I MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT GET THE “VALUE FOR MONEY”- SERVICES THAT HAD BEEN REPRESENTED TO ME. I am not going back to Chef Laudico again, and I AM NOT RECOMMENDING it to anyone.
WE CANNOT RECOMMEND MR LAUDICO’S RESTO SO EXPENSIVE AND THE FOODS ALWAY’S CAME OUT LATE,HE SHOULD GO BACK TO NEW YORK LIKE WHAT HE IS SAYING HE STUDY THERE HA HA WHAT A BIG HEAD JERK KEEP STUDYING MAN AND YOU SHOULD TALK TO YOUR CUSTOMER WITH NICE ATTITUDE.
You think eating at his restaurant and availing of his catering service and getting bad service is worst? try working for him and his wife jackie. WORST EMPLOYERS EVER. they should’ve thought twice about opening their own business because they have no people management skills at all. I feel sad for those working for them.
I used to like Chef Laudico’s food, but after he catered our wedding on Dec. 30, our positive views of him, his wife Jackie (his business partner) and their restaurant have been completely reversed. I could go on and on about how disappointing their catering service was (we paid 5-star service but didn’t even get 1-star service!), but in a nutshell:
– Waiters were NOT briefed at all on what to do (e.g. we gave very specific WRITTEN instructions on the wine to be served and when to serve it; they were not attentive to the guests, which unfortunately, turned out to be our older guests; they were not given clear table assignments when all they had to do was take drinks as it was a buffet set-up). Jackie explained that all their good waiters were booked by hotels. If they were professional, they should know that as soon as we make a down payment for their services (which we did way back in April), we meant serious business and so they should start reserving their best waiters.
– Food was LATE. Cocktails were to start at 5pm but guess what, at 5:30, they were still taking out glasses and chilling the wine. The program was to start at 6:30pm, which meant dinner should be ready ahead of time. Well guess what, the food truck arrived only at 7:10pm — and Jackie Laudico, who was supervising the event, DID NOT tell my coordinator at all. She covered it up, saying that “the truck was on its way” — it got lost daw kasi. How can you get lost when Chef Lau, his wife, and the Captin Waiter had already been there on previous occasions? My friends surmised that Chef Lau probably had a bigger event that day, so our food was not prioritized.
– Food “ran out”. Some people did not get soup; my mother did not get any of the main courses because there was no more food, she was told. How can you run out of food when we had guaranteed 200 pax to ensure that our 186 guests have enough to eat? A mystery for a catering company that has been in business for 7 years. Later on, Jackie and Chef Lau would insist that there was plenty of food. My mom ended up eating Lechon Baka for dinner (thank goodness we had Lechon, which was not supplied by Chef Laudico!!!). Even our crew weren’t properly fed since the caterer failed to provide them with enough rice (!).
-Chef Lau didn’t show up at all for our wedding (despite promising just a week ago to be there). On Dec. 22, we had a nice lunch at Bistro Filipino wherein my husband and I tasted the food to be served at our wedding, together with the different types of WINE that we had flown in from Portugal. Both Chef Lau and Jackie enjoyed the wine; we discussed how it would be served so they have no excuse for not knowing how to serve the wine. Unfortunately, they did not trickle down this knowledge to their staff!
– What takes the cake is that the next day, when we ate at Bistro Filipino for New Year’s Eve — which turned out to be a bad idea: they served old crabs which made at least 4 people sick and caused my niece to throw up before dinner even ended! — Chef Lau did not even apologize to my husband and his mother, who were there dining with us. My husband’s family were the ones who actually footed the Reception Dinner, but the Laudicos had no “damage control” skills at all. He didn’t care because we had already paid around 70% of his fee already. The next day (New Year’s Day), when I told Jackie we were withholding payment until we discuss our issues, Jackie texted me saying that they would refund us for the New Year’s Eve Dinner. Her exact words:
“We understand that there were lapses in the service that evening and we know we cant do anything about that anymore. If the discussion is gearing towards not paying the balance, then dont pay anymore. I dont think we need to discuss this any further. We also deposited a check in your Mom’s account to refund the 31st dinner. Also, I’d like to point out some shortcomings by the coordinator: they failed to contain people in the cocktail are and stopped waiters fr serving people in their dinner tables. They didn.t coordinate the toasting with our capt. Waiter, w/c was necessary as no copy of program sequence was provided to us, they also did not inform us which tables to serve the mangoes, that these were served for the thai.s These contributed a lot to delays in service. Sorry that it has to end this way.”
Yes, she sent this all via TEXT MESSAGE – very unprofessional, and also very inaccurate (the captain waiter DID have a copy of the program, the mangoes were never to be reserved for our Thai guests alone — they didn’t even serve them, my Mom and my in-laws had to demand for them, and people moved from cocktail area to dinner area because, as previously mentioned, cocktails weren’t being served!).
Moreover, we felt very insulted. We weren’t after the money or the free meal. We wanted them to apologize SINCERELY and not arrogantly; to know that what they did during the wedding and how they treated us afterwards was completely wrong — in Filipino, we say “binalewala nila yung kasal namin”. They didn’t care at all. Instead, they were defending their actions, putting the blame on, first, their Captain Waiter (they told my brother they would look into FIRING their captain waiter! Hey, if the Captain Waiter didn’t know what he was doing, it’s largely because he wasn’t briefed by his Manager what to do!) and then on my coordinator (who almost got a heart attack when she was told that the food hadn’t arrived yet).
Luckily for me, my wedding night wasn’t ruined as my husband, my coordinator and my mom were doing their best not to let me know about Chef Laudico’s disastrous errors. I personally had a blast because all of our other wedding suppliers were excellent! I only learned about Chef Laudico’s lousy service after the wedding (buti na lang!). Unluckily for my husband, he was acutely aware of the shortcomings of the caterer during the entire reception dinner and was painfully trying to assuage the situation.
How unfortunate that some of the older guests did not have their fill, and that our foreign guests, which comprised 1/3 of all guests, were left with a very poor impression of Filipino service! Most of all, my husband’s parents, who are also non-Filipino, were very angry with the poor catering service, causing them unnecessary distress during the entire dinner.
Everyone on this site seems to be raving about Chef Laudico’s food. I certainly used to love his food — I was so proud pa that he was catering my wedding. What a big mistake! Most of my friends who are familiar with Chef Lau’s cooking criticized the food served at the reception dinner to be substantially sub-par compared to that of the restaurant. There were also many comments on how the display of food at the buffet stations was no different to standard cafeterias.
I should’ve gone for a cheaper caterer who would have been more professional, with better work ethic and morals. Most guests told us that they know that we spent a lot of money already on the wedding and understand why we picked a cheap caterer. At PHP 1,100 per head, Chef Lau was anything but cheap and people definitely need to know about our experience so that they don’t have to go through the same thing!