Cafe 1771: A Dish that’s Worth the Wait

Cafe 1771 Lamb

March 19, 2010 – Cafe 1771, Ortigas Center – I’ve eaten it in so many restaurants. I still dislike eating beef and pork, but I’d sneak in a few bites of lamb from a restaurant or two just to see who did it right.

Gamey meat is notoriously difficult to do right. Not seasoned properly, the taste of the meat is overpowering. Not cooked long enough, it can be tough as rag to chew on. I eat lamb on occasion just to see if the chef managed to get it at the right flavor and fall-off-the-bone consistency.

The basic recipe calls for lamb to be cooked a good seven hours with your aromatics and braising liquid, so restaurants have to precook the lamb for dinner service. Where I usually wait 30 minutes for an order of lamb, Cafe 1771 took a full hour. I understood that slow, winey braises take a long time, but an hour waiting was a little too much.

Cage and I had gone through the rest of the food when the lamb shoulder was brought out in a red casserole. Faint gamey smell. Generous amounts of meat and beans. We spooned the stew into our plates as the meat simply would not hold impaled to a fork before it disintegrates enticingly into the pot.

In my mouth, chunks of the lamb shoulder just melted. Though it was a great finish to our meal, preparation took ages. Next time, I’ll order this when I have a whole evening to spare.