Lamb and cherries

A hidden gem of a bistro, La Cabane is right along Pasay Road/Arnaiz Avenue, near the Tesoro's store and Anson's Arcade. It is labeled a resto-bar, but most of the customers there were eating, not drinking. And eat we did, filling ourselves with homestyle french food, and happily content at the end of the night. We shared the tastes of a terrine de foie gras, munched on salads full of liver or goat cheese, and slurped on creamy asparagus or mushroom soups.

The mains were substantial. We commented on how satiated we were just looking at the plating of our dishes. These were not your nouveau cuisine plates, with a couple of tablespoons of meat. There were good cuts of lamb loin, or full bowl of lamb stew with couscous, and in my case a large braised lamb shank served with caramelized vegetables and a dijon mustard sauce. Two of our group ordered the lapin aux olives - stewed rabbit with olives and penne pasta ("It taste like cheekin!" lol). And another two chose to go for the beef bourguignone. You might imagine that we were starved from runnning a marathon (kudos to Anton) or had been training for intensive swimming practice (go Ann go), but to be honest most of us had just been to watch a movie. Happy gluttons were we...

Speaking for my dish, if lamb could talk, it would say "here I am, a beautifully braised lamb shank, tender meat lovingly cooked, draped with a flavorful gravy of my drippings. Eat me you fool!" And let's not forget the hints of citrus in the sauce, and the vegetables (baby carrots, zucchini, radishes, cauliflower and broccoli) perfectly rendered in butter.

For dessert, try the black cherry pie, stewed fruit on a savoury cheese tart. It blew the other options away. All the ala mode this and that were pale in comparison to the black cherry pie.