RESTAURANT 101 at Enderun Colleges – Your Food Network Food Dreams Unexpectedly Within Reach
When people hear about Enderun Colleges, the premier college in McKinley Hill known for turning out quality culinary graduates, they immediately think that it is an expensive place, and that its flagship restaurant, Restaurant 101, is an expensive place to dine.
It’s actually not that expensive, and is a good place to go for special date, or some foodie “me” time, or for those times when you feel like you deserve a better lunch/dinner than the same-old-same-old place you buy from. 
Restaurant 101 has a LUNCH prix fixe 3-course meal for Php450, and a DINNER 3-course set menu for Php550. The adjacent Bistro 101 offers bistro meals for only P180 that include a salad, a meat course and one round of iced tea.
Restaurant 101 is open from 11:30 am – 2:00 pm for LUNCH, and 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm for DINNER.
Bistro 101 is open from 7:00 am – 10 am for BREAKFAST, 11:30 am – 2:00 pm for LUNCH (until supply lasts). Bistro 101 also serves an Afternoon Menu from 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm that includes sandwiches and pasta. From 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm, it’s Drinks & Bar Chow.
Restaurant 101 changes their a la carte menu every three months, and their tasting menu every two months. There is a 5% gratuity on top of the prices.
J works in the area, so we’re always looking for new places to dine there. We didn’t even know that Enderun Colleges has restaurants open to the public!
Last week, I tried their new A Breakfast Affair, a one-week menu showcasing breakfast items re-invented as dinner. They often offer this type of special tasting menus to showcase new dishes, new ingredients, or to try something new.
A BREAKFAST AFFAIR
The menu consists of 5 courses, and includes a cocktail and coffee or tea.
The menu is the brainchild of Justin Baradas, Chef de Cuisine at Restaurant 101. Justin is a graduate of Enderun Colleges, and now, two years later, is running Restaurant 101.
Mimosa
We started with cocktails, and I chose to get a Mimosa (orange and champagne).
We were also served some really good bread while waiting – with a crisp crust and chewy inside.
Blinis
This blini dish is a wonderful start to the meal. The sweet, savory, earthy, bite-sized pancakes are surrounded with maple foam and a wasabi sauce. The smoked salmon is perfectly salty. There’s sweet, savory, hot, salty and creamy in one plate.
Tomato Soup
The Tomato Soup is very comforting. It is creamy and cheesy, with just enough acidity from the tomatoes to cut the creaminess. I could drink a big, big bowl of this every day! The toasted bread with melted mozzarella turns into a puffy, cheesy sponge that soaks up the yummy soup! I felt like a cat eating this, if cats liked tomatoes and cheese in their cream! This is my favorite out of the 5 dishes, although it was really hard to pick which one I liked best, because everything was delicious!
Uni Scrambled Egg Toast (2 pcs)
A bite-sized symphony! This is the most unforgettable dish out of the 5 courses, taste-wise. There’s creamy, moist, and fluffy scrambled eggs, a crispy bread chip as the base (also adds crunch and a contrasting texture), topped with some pickled onions that wake the palate, and cubes of delectable, fatty unagi (eel) and drizzled with sweet and salty unagi sauce.
Marinated Hanger Steak with 63-degree Eggs
The hanger steak was well-seasoned, flavorful down to the center. It was also tender and juicy. It was served with a hollandaise espuma (foam), and pickle relish (which tasted like a coleslaw) that was a good foil to the rich eggs.
Take a look at that egg yolk! The golden, molten goodness had me itching to scoop it up with the accompanying crispy bread chips (croutons). The egg white was soft, gelatinous and just beginning to set. I love sous vide eggs, and 63-degrees is the perfect one for me!
Brioche French Toast Millefeuille
This was our dessert. It looks pretty! However, it wasn’t my favorite dish. It is a stack of brioche french toast, filled with a honey cream, and decorated with strawberry glaze and dots of passionfruit mousse. I found the brioche with cream a bit bland. I loved the sweet and tart passionfruit mousse, and wished there had been more on the plate to provide more flavor and contrast for the brioche millefeuille.
This is Restaurant 101’s kitchen, where you can watch your food being prepared, if you wish:
Restaurant 101 is a part of Enderun Colleges, so it comes as no surprise that students from Enderun Colleges staff the restaurant. It provides training and work experience for Enderun Colleges’ students. I also learned that Enderun Colleges also does a lot of charity work, although they are quiet about it. They offer free training for street children, and those who display intelligence, talent and diligence are offered scholarships and support.
Having learned this, I was more observant about the service staff. They were young, eager to please, and shy, but I get the sense that they were keen to learn things.
SUMMARY
If you work or live near McKinley Hill, or if you’re just looking for somewhere different to dine, check out one of McKinley Hill’s original restaurants – Enderun Colleges’ Restaurant 101. Check out their good-value-for-money set meals, too. You might even spend less than you would if you went to one of the mid-range chain restaurants, but get better ambience, better food, and score more cred with someone you might be looking to impress!
As for the food, try their main menu items or check out their tasting menus. Experience the type of dishes you think you’d only see from your favorite cooking competition shows! There are different kinds of mousses and foams, sous vide eggs, and delightful flavor combinations of sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami in one plate. It’s nice and fun, especially for a relaxing date with someone who also appreciates food.
At P1,380+ per person, the A Breakfast Affair menu is a good value considering the quality ingredients used and the inventive food combinations we got to experience. Unlike buffets where the food has been prepared way in advance, the food here is prepared upon your order. It’s especially made for you! I didn’t think I’d be full, but in the end, I was full, and very satisfied.
And while the A Breakfast Affair menu is not available anymore, Restaurant 101 will be coming up with other menus in the future, so keep an eye out for them!
Restaurant 101 is located on the ground floor of the main building when you enter Enderun Colleges. Parking is available for guests, just let the guard know that you will be dining at Restaurant 101. Enderun Colleges is located along Campus Drive, literally just behind Venice Piazza.
Restaurant 101
Enderun Colleges
1100 Campus Avenue, McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila
Website: 101.enderuncolleges.com
Contact No: (632) 856-5000 loc. 101 ; (632) 219-7836 ; 0917-874-3751
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Restaurant101
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restaurant.101/
