Romulo Cafe

Had a family dinner with my cousin Sandra and her hubby Jeff, and we agreed to meet at the Romulo Cafe along Jupiter St.  Vicky was a bit nostalgic; the restaurant used to be the residence of her sister Becca's good friend, and now the house has been transformed into a treasure trove of memorabilia featuring the late UN Secretary General.  The renovation is nicely done; you have a few nooks and corners, such that dining is compartmentalized for a certain amount of intimacy, semi-privacy if you will.  Interior colors are in black and white, as if to remind one of the black and white photos permeating the pre-war era.  Interestingly enough, in the twenties, General Romulo was started his career at the Bureau of Commerce where my grandfather was a director, and Gwammy tells of the kindness of General Romulo when he learned that Lolo Pepe had passed away in 1973.

The restaurant is run by the grandchildren of the General, and the menu is basically home cuisine, with a touch of Spanish-Filipino favorites cooked the Romulo family way.  We started off with boiled veggies for salad, and right after that, the dishes just came rushing in--callos, bangus bistek, binagoongang baboy, laing, kare-kare, lengua and sotanghon. 

 

The laing was especially good, not too spicy, done just right.  No itchy feeling whatsoever as you feel the gabi leaves sliding down your throat.  I think we had some adobong pusit too, but somehow, I wasn't able to take picture of that.   For dessert--suman sa latik, which was served in shot glasses, an interesting way to make bit sized suman.

I've eaten at their branch in the Scout area some years back, and I must say that the Jupiter outlet has better tasting food and a cozier ambiance.  Food came in hot, in reasonable time, and attendant staff were pretty quick on their toes.  Serving portions, however, are really for 1 or 2 persons, so if you have a big group, make sure that you estimate the order count well.  We spent something like P650 per head.