Have you heard of Apartment 1B?

Location: One Lafayette, Makati City

This restaurant has had so much publicity for being included in the book Manila's Best Kept Restaurant Secrets. The chef is supposedly a Filipina alumna of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York. I pass this nondescript restaurant everyday going to my office and, having heard so much about it, can't help but take a peek every time. Located at the ground floor of a residential condominium, I read that the owner bought the condo originally to live in but friends kept coming over to eat, so she decided to turn it into a restaurant. It's proven to be a wise decision so far.

Most of the customers are caucasians; a mix of businessmen and tourists. You can find them from brunch until dinner time. What amazes me about this restaurant is it's open from 7:00am until 10:00pm. Usually, a high-end restaurant like this is open only for lunch and dinner. I can see how the operating hours is an advantage, though. It's the only restauarant at 7am that's decent enough to hold breakfast meetings or simply have a gourmet breakfast.

I was finally able to sample Apartment 1B one morning for a breakfast meal. Here are the stuff on the table:

Eggs Benedict with turkey and tomatoes

Apartment 1B is quite notorious for its breakfast menu, particularly the Eggs Benedict. You can choose from ham, turkey and smoked salmon for the topping, with the prices increasing accordingly.

I had a really hard time selecting from the menu. Being a breakfast lover, I wanted everything. The Orange Glazed French Toast with Almond Slices was calling to me, among other yummy sounding items. There's even plain Oatmeal on the menu; perhaps for the elderly customers? At one point I was tempted to order that, but for P200 a bowl? I could already buy a bag of rolled oats and eat it for a year! In the end I went for Egg White with Grilled Vegetables and a side order of Wheat Bread with Jam. We also had brewed coffee, which they make using Vittoria brand.

Egg White with Grilled Vegetables

Wheat Bread with Jam

The verdict

First of all, great service. Nevermind that there was only one other table to serve at that time. The wait staff are corteous and alert. On the serving size, if only we had known that the serving was enormous, we could've split so we'd get to taste other things on the menu. Then again, B isn't a fan of splitting, and I'm happy with what I ordered. On the food itself, B said the hollandaise sauce was good, and I was glad he really enjoyed his order. As for me, just remembering how crisp and fresh the zucchini, lettuce, tomatoes and onions were makes me smile. The scrambled egg white is so creamy you would forget it's healthy. Plus, I didn't need salt in my dish at all. Both items come with baked potatoes on the side. My only beef about the meal was on the wheat bread slices; I like my bread hot when toasted, and still soft in some parts while crunchy on the edges and the center. The wheat bread slices was toasted all over, which made it dry. I didn't care for the coffee much either. I think I ignored it completely as soon as our order came. One last thing to like about this restaurant is the posh restroom located on the second floor.

I noticed that the restaurant is affiliated with the Australian government. They are even promoting an Australia-themed dinner menu which gives you a chance to go to Sydney. It looks like they get their produce and meat from Australia, then.

By the time we left, the restaurant was filled with foreigners and more were coming in. I'd come back here on a good day, or when I want to celebrate something, and probably order a more sinful item. I also want to try their dinner menu, but for now I'll let B relax his wallet a bit.