Weekend Forever: T's Frazzled Cook Birthday Celebration and My First Civet Coffee Experience

It seems destination restaurants have sprawled around the metro in the last couple of years. These off-the-beaten path eateries offer something special other than food and somewhere to eat. It could be a unique location, rare delicacy, authentic cuisine, kitschy decorations, mood-altering food or doubling as an art gallery (like this restaurant in my previous post). For me, the thrill is in the discovery of something new and the overall dining experience.

One of Frazzled Cook's tables.

The Frazzled Cook hits a few of the destination restaurant offerings I've mentioned. Their location is an ancestral house in a residential area in Mandaluyong City. Their kitschy decoration consists of books, magazines, mismatched chairs and dining tables, antique chandeliers, old postcards and a group of chinese lucky charm cats. The rare delicacy they're offering is Civet coffee or Coffee Alamid as it is known in the Philippines. Sounds interesting, right?

I found a great deal in one of the group buying sites for a four-course meal with drinks, for two. It was only Php800. Great value! That's a tip, when you have some time and can access the internet, look through group buying sites. You can save money, and at the same time, try a new restaurants.

Vegetable Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Our first course was Squash Soup (Php130 a la carte). The soup was thick and I definitely tasted squash, but I find it a little over seasoned. The next course, we shared a Vegetable Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing (Php180) since the serving was huge. It had different mixed greens, tomato and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and nuts on top. The dressing had just the right touch of sweetness to it.

Wagyu Salpicao with rice and vegetables

For the main course, T and I shared the Wagyu Salpicao (Php510) and Pan-Seared Dory in Olive Oil and Thyme (Php325) so we can get a taste of both dishes. The Wagyu Salpicao had mushrooms and toasted garlic slices. The beef was tender and velvety to the taste. On the other hand, the dory was light and nicely seared. It was brown on the outside but just perfectly cooked inside. I enjoyed both dishes, but I liked the dory better. The olive oil and thyme were not overpowering so the overall dish had a delicate taste, which showcased the fish.

Pan-seared Dory with rice and vegetables

Before going inside the restaurant, we saw the sign outside that said they are serving Civet Coffee. My interest has been piqued ever since I heard about this kind of coffee. Working in the corporate world, it's kind of natural to love (or need) coffee. To describe quickly, for those who don't know, Civet coffee is made by feeding coffee beans to Civet cats then harvested once it is digested and excreted. Yes, you read that right, the most expensive coffee is made from cat's poop. That process is what makes the coffee so unique and exotic (and expensive).

We ordered Frazzled Cook's Coffee Alamid (Php295 per cup) to go with our Strawberry Shortcake (Php220) dessert. Shortly after ordering, a staff brought a device to our table that would make our coffee. The device is french press that's supposed to enhance the taste of the coffee. According to the staff, the coffee is from Mindanao's Civet cats (found in the Southern part of the Philippines).

Freshly brewed cup of Civet coffee.

The process starts with the coffee grounds separated on a laboratory-like glass container on top, and the water in another container at the bottom. Under the water container is the heat source, which was just fired up at our table.Once the water was heated, it slowly evaporated to the coffee grounds. And in a few minutes, all the water from the bottom container is gone and the top container, which had the coffee grounds, is now coffee. Finally, the coffee minus the grounds was flushed back down to the bottom container and poured into a cup.

Strawberry Shortcake

What did it taste like? Well, it was strong. I added a packet of sugar but didn't add any cream because I didn't want to alter the taste too much. I don't know if my taste buds are not as discerning as others, but I thought it tasted just like any other freshly brewed coffee. I probably wouldn't know it was Alamid if no one told me. Anyway, I still enjoyed the science experiment-like presentation and it was good paired with the Strawberry Shortcake. The cake was airy and the icing was creamy and frozen, so it was a perfect contrast to the strong and hot coffee.

Books and knick-knacks in one of the shelves
beside our table.

We lingered in the place even after our dessert. It's so warm with its muted lighting, relaxing music and comfortable chairs. You'd feel like you're at a friend's house. You're also free to browse through the books and magazines, which we did throughout our meal. I also liked their staff's service. They were attentive, polite and knowledgeable about the menu.

I told T we should be back next time to try their much raved about Pancake ala mode, and maybe I'll give Civet coffee another shot.