food porn @ chelsea market café

It seems like Chelsea Market Café has haters out there. Earlier this year, I did a quick search on Google and found some comments that ranged from disappointed to really acid. The negative remarks that I read were quite long-winded and complained about the food, prices, ambiance, and above all, the service. Strangely enough, Chelsea's sister restaurants MoMo and M Café also garnered the same type of reviews. Which left me wondering if there's an internet campaign to bash this group of restaurants. Overkill much?

When cashcashpinoy.com offered a 50% off deal for Chelsea Market Café at Podium a few months back, I decided to give them benefit of the doubt. I've tried their branch at Serendra and although it wasn't remarkable, I didn't dislike it. Steph (silent H) had some nice things to say about the Podium branch, so I bought a couple of coupons and dragged Hot Tuna there for lunch on 26 March 2011, right before our Livin' La Vida Imelda tour.

It resembled neither Chelsea nor a market, but I liked the pop art + chandelier.

While waiting for our chow, we were served three kinds of focaccia drizzled with olive oil, and a bulb of roasted garlic. The flavors were lovely and I would have eaten all of it straightaway, except both the bread and the garlic were stone-cold, I don't know why. I was debating with myself whether to ask the server to heat them up, but then our starters arrived at the table and I got distracted by how photogenic they were.

Focaccia And Roasted Garlic, gratis

To be democratic, Hot Tuna and I agreed that we would choose one starter each and share. He wanted the mussels, and I wanted everything. Chelsea Market Café is known for their generous servings, though, and in the end I restrained myself and settled for the risotto balls.

Saffron Scented Baked New England Mussels, PHP375

Molten Cheese Risotto Balls, PHP295 

The mussels were plump and succulent (read: imported), but if I were you, I'd go straight for the amazing saffron sauce-- herby, lemony, seafoody, rich. This is where the focaccia came in handy, never mind that it wasn't warm. As for the risotto balls, they were molten all right, and so we had to let them cool down a bit before digging in. The golf ball-sized arancini were stuffed with jalapeño cheese, which gave a spicy kick to the otherwise bland rice ball.

Now that we had some idea of the serving sizes, we decided to go with just one main course. We had to leave room for dessert, of course.

Crisp Citrus Rosemary Roasted Pork Belly, PHP495

Delightful layers of porky goodness. 

This was the best pork belly I've had in ages. First, there was that generous strip of crisp skin that literally shattered when I bit into it. Next, there were alternating layers of melt-in-your-mouth fat and tender and moist meat. It was a successful amalgation of the best aspects of pork all in one dish. And the mashed potato, gravy and asparagus really complemented the pork belly, although I felt that the dried fruits were superfluous.

I wanted to give the Crisp Citrus Rosemary Roasted Pork Belly a standing ovation. I would tolerate subpar service for this dish. (Not that we got subpar service that day. It was OK. Maybe the management had taken the bad reviews to heart and done something about it. Also, they weren't very busy when we were there.)

For dessert, Hot Tuna ordered the Peach Apple Crumble, which I would not have chosen myself. (I would have been seduced by the Toblerone Torte and the Choc-nut Valrhona Cake.) I was surprised to be very pleased with this dessert. The somewhat tart fruits juxtaposed quite well with the sweet crumble, and you can never go wrong with vanilla ice cream topped over anything. Taking a break from chocolate sometimes can be a good thing.

Peach Apple Crumble, PHP310

Verdict: It cannot be denied that both Hot Tuna and I love to eat, and that we probably eat more than regular people, but when Chelsea Market Café says that an item is "good to share", I think what they really mean is "good to share among three or four people". The serving sizes offer good value for group dining, and the menu prices reflect that. I would recommend this place for a hearty, tasty and satisfying family or barkada meal. But if one were to go solo and order a pork belly all for oneself... Well, no judgements!

We were there on a Saturday, from 1130AM to 2PM. We were seated next to the glass window, with the sunlight streaming in, but we didn't feel too warm because the AC worked fine. The sunlight made the food look extremely porn-worthy, and I'm sure that added to my enjoyment of this luncheon. We eat with our eyes first, as they say.

See you next year, Hot Tuna!

Chelsea Market Café is located at the ground floor of Podium, 12 ADB Avenue, Madaluyong, Philippines. Phone +63.2.9140006. Their website.