Buffet and a Chocolate High

A family home transformed into a restaurant every Friday... Interesting, huh? Ralfe Gourmet is located at Topaz street, Casals Village in Mabolo. They have a buffet every Friday from 2pm-6pm (strictly by appointment) at 185pesos per person. It's basically just soup, salad, pasta, grilled sausages and an assortment of breads, chocolate truffles, cakes, brownies and of course their traditional hot chocolate with Puto. Sounds like a light buffet but trust me, it isn't. 

It was quite tricky to find which house Ralfe Gourmet is at. We didn't see a signage from the outside but guessed that we were at the right house when we saw a lot of cars parked outside. 

Ralfe Gourmet entrance

So we went in and felt like we crashed a party. Different groups were seated around the garden enjoying their dinner and we were standing there not knowing where to go or who to approach and ask about our reservation. We were starting to think that we were at the wrong house! LOL. 

Just like a private party

Dining Area

Good thing Edu, the guy who I called when I made the reservation noticed us and quickly sat us at a wooden table in the garden. We were then led to the buffet table located inside a small room beside the main house. Chow time.

Warning: This is not a light buffet

The buffet table was small, like I said, it's just soup, salad, pasta, grilled sausages and an assortment of breads, chocolate truffles, cakes, brownies and their traditional hot chocolate with Puto. There were quite a number of diners that night which made the small room crowded since there's also a big table inside. We took our plates and started filling them with Ralfe Gourmet's homemade dishes.

The Pumpkin Soup was quite bland, I would have loved it if it were creamier too. Not the best part of the buffet and I was too full to try their Onion Soup which I saw when we were already done with our dinner. 

The Herb Potato Salad was good, the potatoes were cooked thoroughly but not overcooked that they would fall apart and ruin the texture of the salad. 

Now here's the best part of the buffet, PASTA! That Friday they had Fettuccine with double meat tomato sauce. How can I resist that? The sound of it made me drool already! This isn't some kind of pasta dish that's just made with store bought spaghetti or tomato sauce. It had real chunks of tomatoes in it which I enjoyed eating. Light but flavorful and because it was absolutely delicious, I went back two times to the buffet table for it. Then I realized I had to leave some space in my tummy for the chocolates, cakes, and of course, the hot chocolate with Puto!

Ralfe Gourmet is a chocolate boutique and they started doing the buffet just recently. I had too much of the pasta that I only got to try a few of their desserts. The Choco Peanut Butter Truffle was so good, I'd give it two thumbs up. I didn't know we had local gourmet chocolate makers in Cebu. 

Truffles!

Tablea Moist Cake!

More cake!

Sinfully good!

Here are more of their products:

We ended our dinner with some hot chocolate and Puto. Look at how this guy makes hot chocolate the traditional way.

Chocolate being whisked using a Batidor

Ahhhh... my hot chocolate!

Puto and Sikwate, the traditional Cebuano breakfast

What a very filling dinner and I did not expect that! We even walked around the village before heading home. Oh well, I love evening walks. If you don't know where to go on a Friday night, head over to Ralfe Gourmet in Mabolo for a dinner buffet and get a chocolate high too!

Nice Friday night dinner!

* Call or text Edu at 0917-628-7661 for reservations

* Saw a recent post on their Facebook page and they now have an afternoon chocolate buffet every Tuesday and Wednesday! Here's what they posted on their page:

Every Tuesday and Wednesday 

savor a rich chocolate tradition through 

An Afternoon Chocolate Treat at

Ralfe Gourmet Chocolate Boutique:

TRUFFLES

Tablea peanut butter

Peanut butter caramel with cacao nibs

Tablea Ganache

SPICED CHOCOLATE

Chilli | Cumin | Cinnamon | Ginger | Garlic | Mint | Pepper

HOT CHOCOLATE

with three kinds of

QUICK BREAD:

Coffee-Maize

Chunky Double Chocolate

Enjoy these for only Php 150.00

1:00 - 6:00 pm

Strictly by appointment

Please make your reservation thru Edu

09176287661

09228960803