I heard about SOCO Private Dining from Paco Magsaysay of the Tuesday Group. I've always wanted to meet the Tuesday Group foodies but I always got intimidated, so I ended up lurking in their Facebook group. :) The closest encounter I had was when I saw them in O'sonho (I didn't have the guts to go to their table and introduce myself). Because of that group, I was inspired to create an experimental Wednesday Foodie Group. (See related post.)
SOCO stands for South of Commissary, deriving its name from its location, which is just beside the Commissary of Oyster Boy. It is located in a rented house. They maximize the living area for private dinner dining on Fridays to Sundays. Dennis of SOCO was very helpful when we reserved. He was able to convince us to get the highest set meal package with descriptions of the Baked Brie in Phyllo with Raspberries. Together with my brother, his girlfriend, and our close friend Maong, we decided to try it and had one of the most memorable private dinners in the heart of Metro Manila.
Check out our SOCO Private Dining experience...
This is the welcome area of SOCO. It is also a cocktail venue while waiting for people to trickle in. You can have a sunset chitchat here before the main event. It is advisable to set 6pm as the call time for cocktails and 7pm for dinner.
It is officially called SOCO The Tasting Room because they only serve tasting portions for a 7-course meal.
We decided to get the SOCO Tasting Menu 1 (P1,350 per person) because of the Baked Brie Phyllo with Raspberries. You can customize the Private Dinner Menu with greetings for the celebrant or whatever event you are holding.
Other Tasting Menu Options:
Tasting Menu 2 (P800.00 per person)
Cocktails: Sundried Tomatoes & Pesto Dip with tossini
Dinner Proper:
- Assorted Bread with eggplant hummus and Olive tapenade butter
- Mixed Green salad with creamy house dressing topped with julienne of carrots, turnips, broad beans, shaved eggs, Parmesan cheese and cucumbers
- Tiger Prawns cooked in tomato-cream vermouth sauce on angel hair
- Baked Cream Dory with green beans and bacon
- Chicken fillet stuffed with Parma Ham and cheese with red wine sauce served with Vegetable risotto
- Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Sauce
- Coffee or Tea
Tasting Menu 3 (P1,000.00 per person)
Cocktails: Cucumber and Smoked Salmon roll with caper cream sauce
Dinner Proper:
- Assorted Bread with eggplant hummus and Olive tapenade butter
- Edamame Beans Cream Soup Topped with grilled Tiger Prawns and bonito flakes
- Arugula salad with glazed pili nuts, laguna cheese and shaved queso de bola with pan-seared chicken liver and raspberry vinaigrette
- Zucchini Dory Papillote
- Cream Dory wrapped in thinly sliced zucchini with fresh Italian herbs and pancetta served in a pool of white wine sauce sprinkled with lemon zest
- Persian Beef Stew (using US Angus Blade Steaks) with Garbanzos served with couscous and grilled vegetables
- Goat’s Milk Mango Panna Cotta
- Coffee or Tea
A good thing about having the entire SOCO place to yourself on a Sunday night is that you can bring your kids without worrying about other people. In fact, one of the waiters entertained Aidan during the entire dinner -- and we appreciated that so much. I do hope the waiters in Manila would be as child-friendly.
The set menu comes with an unlimited supply of a mix of Sjora Mango juice and fresh Mango Juice drink. Piece of advice: Drink only 1 glass of the Mango juice even though it is so yummy. If you drink more than that, you might get full early in the game and you won't be able to enjoy the entire meal. The set menu also comes with unlimited servings of softdrinks but I recommend that you just drink water instead.
There is a house red wine that comes with the dinner. It is a Spanish Table Wine and it is really lousy. I would recommend bringing your own bottle.
Baked Brie in Phyllo with Raspberries.
I was very happy with the unlimited serving of this baked brie. Imagine sweet crusty triangles of creamy cheese with burnt raspberry edges. This is an awesome cocktail dish to start the meal in SOCO.
Tuscan Mushroom Salad. Pan-Seared Foie Gras on Carpaccio of Tuscan Mushrooms, topped with Raclette cheese and served with Chive cream dressing, chopped tomatoes, and edible flowers.
The plate was served hot, so the Raclette cheese at the bottom melted and stuck to the plate and the salad. The foie gras was good and the creamy sweet sauce was just right for the salad. The greens were not as fresh as expected but, overall, we loved this salad.
If you notice, the salad's already heavy with cheese and cream.
Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Goat Cheese Whipped Cream.
The Pumpkin soup was rich, thick and very heavy. Maybe they could change the soup to a lighter one like a clear broth soup.
Tiger Prawns on a pool of Squid ink sauce topped with Chorizo Fritto and Paella-flavored Risotto.
From heavy Salad and heavy Soup, you go to a heavy First Main Course. Each piece of Tiger Prawn was tasty with the right amount of saltiness and crunchiness. I liked the touches of squid ink around the plate. The ink sauce had a strong concentrated taste. The risotto was quite heavy since the risotto grains were served paella-style with bits of chorizo. If I were asked to describe this dish with one word, it would be "Panalo!"
Snake River Farms' US Wagyu Flat iron Steaks with Garlic Potato Puree and Bacon-wrapped Asparagus.
The Second Main Dish was Wagyu Steak. I'm not a fan of Wagyu Steaks now because I have concluded that they are not very tasty like the US Angus Beef. In fact, most of us were not able to finish the wagyu either because it was not cooked very well (or maybe we were already full). We were not able to enjoy it.
I would suggest changing the soup and improving this steak dish with Certified US Angus Beef Tenderloin.
Chocolate Souffle with White Chocolate Shavings served with Vanilla Bean Sauce.
Chocolate Souffle -- what a perfect way to end the meal! I actually love pairing this with hot brewed coffee. Needless to say, we loved the dessert!
SOCO is highly recommended. It would be good if you could have the place all to yourself, though.
“The Tasting Room”
SOCO Private Dining by Reservation
6 General Segundo Street, San Antonio Village, Pasig City
Contact: Dennis Gan +63922.880.48.23 or +632 910.07.24
Driving Directions Coming from the South (MAKATI):
- From Edsa, turn RIGHT on PIONEER, go straight until the end of the road. You will reach the gate of SAN ANTONIO VILLAGE
- Pass the gate and turn RIGHT on GEN. ARANETA (this will be an immediate right after the gate)
- Turn LEFT on GEN. ATIENZA
- Turn LEFT on GEN. SEGUNDO
- After 2 intersections, you will see SOCO on your right.
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Anton Diaz
Founder, OurAwesomePlanet.com
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