Based in Manila, Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a chronicle of the food-obsessed food writer, Lori Baltazar. This website is all about desserts, restaurants, coffee, and the pleasures of homebaking. Read more about me Want steak? Go to Myron’s
Wed, May 31st of 2006
8:30 am
oysters granita
I’m wary of eponymously-named restaurants: unless the person is terribly well-known, I’m left wondering what kind of cuisine is served. Take for instance this restaurant called Jestine’s that opened along Jupiter Street in Makati. It’s been in business a few months and all I know from driving past it several times a week is that it’s open 24 hours a day and they deliver. There’s no indication whatsoever of what kind of food they serve; heck, it could be a vegetarian restaurant for all I know.
So you can imagine my consternation when my extended family decides to celebrate my nephew’s first birthday at a place called Myron’s. Who or what is Myron?
Taking over the spot that used to be Delifrance, Myron’s has the words “steak, ribs, seafood” under its signage. At least it’s an indication of what to expect. Eating is also an adventure, no? and let it never be said that I’m a coward when it comes to food. As if.
oysters Rockefeller
Turns out Myron is named after the owner Mon Eugenio’s father-in-law. With the million-peso question out of the way, I turn my energy towards the food. I scan the menu and my jaw drops. While no dish in particular pops out at me, I’m astonished at how reasonable the prices are. An order of oysters granita (P225) and oysters Rockefeller (P295) are quickly ordered and dispatched. The former are fresh oysters on which a granita (also granité) of citrus is topped. Along with the fresh lime and the sparkly flavor, I detect pineapple juice in the mixture. The Rockefeller is classic, served on a bed of rock salt.
grape juice
They’re not on the menu because of a printing oversight but Mon says that the soups are all worth trying: French onion, cream of pumpkin, and cappuccino of mushroom. I also spot a server carrying a piping hot bowl of clam soup to some lucky patron. Do quench your thirst with one of the fresh fruit shakes at Myron’s, like the frosty grape juice pictured here. Mon says his personal favorite is the black plum drink, which sounds deliciously mysterious.
have it sliced for sharing…
… or all to yourself
At Myron’s, the steaks are certified US Angus beef, grilled and served with sautéed vegetables, and a potato cooked your way (baked, mashed, or fries). Steaks come in specified ounces – 5 (P495), 8 (P750), or 14 (P1,350). I pull out all the stops and announce that I’m having Myron’s Choice (P1,650), a 14-ounce steak topped with foie gras. Request it sliced (see photo) for sharing, although I prefer it unsliced and all to myself. (oink, oink). Lush with beefy goodness, the juices ooze onto my plate, delighting me. I prefer my steak cooked to medium rare. The sight of the vibrant pink makes my Bin queasy; he prefers his steak well-done, an outrage, if you ask me.
lonely pieces of foie gras
When my steak is served to me, the first thing I do is look for the foie gras that’s supposed to be resting atop the meat. It’s not under the steak or the potatoes. I’m starting to get this silly idea that perhaps the foie gras has been cooked into the steak (???), when a server rushes up and hands me a saucer with the loneliest looking foie gras I’ve ever seen. It kills the thrill factor of having steak with foie gras, so if the server forgets to serve the liver, ask him/her to take it back into the kitchen and put it on your steak for you. Presentation counts a lot.
baby back ribs
The baby back ribs (P425) are impressive. Always a pricier cut because it’s fabricated from the loin section, baby-back ribs are perfect for grilling along with steaks because they can be cooked over direct heat. Other types of ribs are best when slow cooked. Served with a mustard-bourbon sauce, the ribs are meaty and satisfying enough for one person.
the hero of all roast beef sandwiches
If I had it my way, I would’ve stolen my dad’s dish: a he-man of a deeply smoky roast beef sandwich. Practically bursting with caramelized onions, it drips with gravy and melted cheese, garnished with eye-poppingly large rings of tomato and raw onion. It’s the kind of dish that I imagine someone eats with the juices running down their arms. Slurp.
Since Myron’s is just over a month old, there are no desserts just yet. (Awww). If I remember correctly, Mon tells me that his wife will take care of the desserts once she’s back from maternity leave. And as we take our leave from the restaurant, I’m in awe at how reasonable the prices are here at Myron’s. These days, it’s not possible to get this quality of food at these prices. Perhaps there’s something to be said about eponymously-named restaurants.
Myron’s
P1 Power Plant Mall,
Rockwell, Makati
728-5555 / 728-9898
Other posts about steak:
How I Review Restaurants (Addressing that Myron’s Post)
Handlebar
Red
A.C. Rumpa
…and in San Francisco: Boboquivari
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looks delish! too bad i passed up the chance for myron’s the last time i was at powerplant. ah, all the more reason to go back then! ;p
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Comment by meekerz — May 31, 2006 @ 10:16 am
We kinda had a very bad first experience with Myron’s. Our first choices (that was around 4 dishes) were not available, then our orders (we ended with dishes we had no choice but to order bec we were starving), took soooo long to get our orders, our oyster order (forget which one) arrived at our table cold! like it’s been sitting for hours!
Glad you had a much better experience here.
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Comment by AnneMac — May 31, 2006 @ 11:42 am
Although those prices are reasonable for the quality, you do lose out on the lack of ambience. You might pay just a bit more for nicer steak restos, but they aren’t in a food court-like setting as Myron’s is. Maybe that’s how they keep the prices down, ’cause the rent’s lower?
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Comment by Katrina — May 31, 2006 @ 12:09 pm
there have been a few affordable steak places sprouting up recently. why is that? most recent place i had steak was at “Everything at Steak” on P Guevarra. bloody cheap too. P140-160 for a porterhouse?! a reasonable portion. if i had 2 it still would’ve been relaively cheap. i think the Handle Bar on polaris st. has also been featured here and the steaks are not bad as well. beef good.
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Comment by anonymous paul — May 31, 2006 @ 12:59 pm
Why are steaks reasonably priced nowadays? Hmmmmm, makes me wonder too. Dumping or other countries are so afraid of mad cow disease. Just our luck.
Joann
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Comment by Joann — May 31, 2006 @ 2:56 pm
Gotta check this out! I like a good steak and unless you can buy really good meat (a rarity on the retail level in Manila) you can’t do this at home…
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Comment by Marketmanila — May 31, 2006 @ 3:46 pm
Hello, Ms.Lori!
Yummm the food really looks yummy! Another resto I can take the Japs with.
BTW, I hope you got my email already (and didn’t get into bulk mail). I was the andy_frack sender of the mail.
Also, thanks for clearing up the CIRCLES vs HEAT issue. I got confused in the heat of the comment discussion.
N
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Comment by N — May 31, 2006 @ 9:44 pm
i ordered their beef belly and it wasn’t very good. puro fat lang. i had the paolo (the smallest) steak and it was okay.
-shane
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Comment by Anonymous — May 31, 2006 @ 10:54 pm
The beef belly salpicao wasn’t good at all, in fact we barely touched it. And the pasta we ordered barely had any ingredients aside from tomato sauce on it. It was a more disappointing than pleasant experience for me and my friend. Don’t think I’ll be going back.
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Comment by Anonymous — June 3, 2006 @ 10:21 am
hi lori, ive been reading your blog and im loving it! I tried out myrons this evening, and the food was horrible. i ordered the baby back ribs, the meat smelled malansa and it wasnt even grilled at all. it seemed like the meat was boiled at first then smothered with bbq sauce.it was awful.
the grape shake lacked any grape flavor(just a few grape skin specks floating to make it seem like it had grapes in it) and was too sugary sweet. the onion soup was alright but it was in a tiny cup (about half a sup of soup and the rest was cheese!).
it took a long time before our orders came, the table (12pax) next to us came in some 10 mins after us but their order came first…maybe coz their friends with the owner.
well, im never going back there again
- mrs. g
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Comment by Anonymous — June 3, 2006 @ 10:43 pm
Guess I’m not alone. I went there with my wife a few weeks ago and we ordered the oysters rockefeller (was so-so) ,pumpkin soup (I expected a bigger bowl, not small cup), the beef belly (ditto on the malansa and full of fat) and the salad (only good thing we liked).
At least you had a nice experience.
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Comment by jake — June 4, 2006 @ 12:35 am
Myron’s was also a big disappointment for me and my wife. We went there last Sunday for lunch, only to find that 4-5 items on their menu was not in stock. Who handles their inventory? Geez…
Then my steak comes out, part rare, part medium-rare, part medium! I’ve never seen a steak cooked three-ways before. The fois gras was also overdone, as it was like a puddle of shortening on top of my steak! It was absurd. Then, AFTER I was halfway thru my steak, they approach my wife to inform her that the item she ordered (salmon) wasn’t in stock! Inconsiderate service!
Also, to those who’ve been saying that steaks are cheap at P140 or P160, please consider that you are buying local beef, making it considerably cheaper since pretty much nothing is done to our cows to imrpove their flavor. Angus beef still remains expensive.
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Comment by Cusinero Ge — June 7, 2006 @ 12:22 am
Hubby and I went to Myron’s last night after reading your blog. We really enjoyed the food! We ordered
- steaks with foie gras (mine 5oz, his 8oz)…it was really good and we thought the prices were reasonable considering its in power plant (rent is expensive no matter which floor you’re on!). We liked Florabel’s (Podium) steak too but her portion looks like the 5oz one at Myron’s and she charges P900.
- the oysters rockefeller…good!
- caesar salad…very good!
- grape shake…kinda watery vs. cibo’s but it’s ok.
We’ll definitely bring the rest of the family to Myron’s. Hubby loves steak so let us know if you find another good steak place!
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Comment by HappyJaz — June 7, 2006 @ 10:11 am
Lori,
The food is good and maybe some of the readers just get into the opening logistics issues. Thanks for sharing this, and again sorry for the offending question in my mail.
Only complaint is the value since you could argue that you can eat in better restaurants with almost the same price. But the food is good
!
anton
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Comment by anton — June 19, 2006 @ 12:38 pm
Hi,
Just wanna share our dining experience at Myron’s last night.
We tried out:
1. Paolo (5 oz) – beef steak-like-thinness
2. Louie (8 oz) – lots of fat
3. Myron (14 oz) – lots of fat too
4. Australian grain-fed porterhouse – was leaner compared to the others
5. Baby back ribs – was told this was no good at all
6. Caesar salad – 4 leaves of lettuce drizzled with sauce bacon and tiny croutons
We were very disappointed with the portions. The 8 and 14 oz portions and thickness were satisfactory if not for the sizeable chunks of fat. The sidings were measly as well. A small scoop of mashed potatoes or thinly-cut fries plus an assortment tiny veggies (2 sticks of asparagus, half a tomato, half a head of garlic, a small slice of cucumber).
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Comment by kikay — June 26, 2006 @ 5:32 pm
Honesty, I’ve become quite careful of what you review, Lor. I think I’m captivated by the writing and the photos more than anything. One of the restos you reviewed called Sakae (owned by UCC) super sucks says my foodie friends. The Cello’s donuts were a disappointment too. It tastes day-old even when it’s fresh out of the oven. The latest is Myron’s which got terrible reviews from a good number of friends I have. In fact, a friend clutched my arm tightly to dissuade me from ever going there. At the end of the day, I know that food appreciation is personal… I still love your blog. Will just be careful though …
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Comment by Anonymous — June 26, 2006 @ 5:51 pm
Visited Myron’s June 27, our anniversary, actually 2nd time na for me and my wife. The 8oz steak I ordered was perfectly grilled to my liking. My wife ordered the chorizo pasta and I had to help her finish it, she was too stuffed. The pasta too was very satisfying. Try the red grape shake, you wont regret it. Contrary to the other comments, I commend Myrons for having a crew that’s alert and very courteous. We really had a great time, I also did spot some name-droppables during our dinner Vhong Navvaro with Desiree del Vale and Mr. Bobong Velez with Ms Maricar Nieto among the few. Am sure to be back.
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Comment by LARYET 27 — June 29, 2006 @ 3:14 pm
just ate at myron’s last night. was not dissapointed. super yummy. I had the Louise’s choice, and red grape shake. My husband had the corned beef, also very good. i knew that i’d love the food here because i’ve been having it a lot in salcedo market place at the weekend gourmet. excellent and straightforward food, no “arte”.
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Comment by Anonymous — June 29, 2006 @ 5:54 pm
i’m glad a lot of people share the same opinion as me regarding myron’s. the first time I was there I just wanted to try someting light and had the caesar salad. can’t go wrong with that. but what made myron’s dish better was it was exactly the right amount – just enough to whet your appetite. that’s why it IS called an appetizer.
the next time i ate there, my brother and i ordered the beef belly salpicao and coconut curried vegetable samosas to start with, then we had the penne with italian sausage and grilled white snapper with sundried tomato sauce. all of them were excellent!
again, each serving was just exactly enough, and the different flavors really came out in your tongue. service is good also -the waiters always smile,are eager to serve and make you feel so at ease.
i’m definitely going back…and i’m going to enjoy one of those big steaks i saw in the next table!
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Comment by maldita — July 2, 2006 @ 2:18 pm
hi there
nice blog, care for an exlinks?
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Comment by glitter — April 19, 2010 @ 9:53 pm