Handmade Pasta, Wine, and a Poblacion Speakeasy: This Special Dinner Series Is Straight Out of a Movie

(SPOT.ph) Pasta and wine. A match made in heaven, especially if we're talking about handmade noodles from Noodle Lab paired with Portuguese bottles from Wine With Spirit, courtesy of Allora—add in the eclectic and private space of La Vie en Rose, a true speakeasy in Makati's Poblacion, as setting and it's one for the books. Now, when and how can you be a part of this magical equation that sounds exactly like the type you'd see in movies? Through special dinners to be held this October by these very groups, happening only on two nights this month with two seatings each. 

Plated dinners like this "tend to be very formal," said Camille Lhuiller-Albani of Allora during the media preview, one quiet night in Makati. "What we did here was we wanted to make it a communal experience." So think of it as a more relaxed and very filling dinner with people who may very well become your good friends by the end of the night. Yes, all diners will be seated together in one long table to allow for food, wine, and talk to flow more freely.

Lhuiller-Albani partnered with Noodle Lab's Ally Lim-Gonzales for this dinner, two old friends who wanted to make more memories with more people while sharing their two passions: wine for the former, and fresh, handmade noodles for the latter. And, of course, for a dinner as once-in-a-lifetime as this, they tapped their friends over at La Vie en Rose, an truly hidden speakeasy along Gabaldon Street, for their space. You can book a seat for P4,900 at this can't-be-missed table on October 25 and 26, either for the 6 p.m. or 9 p.m. runs. 

Also read: 
The New Poblacion Dining Spots to Put on Your Must-Visit List
This Hidden Makati Spot's P1,500 Tasting Menu Features Japanese Flavors Gone Vivid

Noodle Lab and Allora's Wine With Spirit team up for a special dinner series at La Vie en Rose

La Vie en Rose is tucked into a residential apartment in the quieter streets of Poblacion area. If you've never been, the place alone is worth visiting—just note that there really will be no signs you've arrived, until the very moment you walk past the nondescript door and into a dimly lit space chock full of curio. It's the type of space a neo-noir Sherlock would fit right in.

At the media preview, a long table was set up right by the open kitchen—this is the same setup they'll employ for the actual runs. We watched Noodle Lab's Ally and team plate our dishes just a few steps away, with both Camille and of Allura explaining what went into each pairing between every course. The intimate setting makes it feel as if you've been invited over for a meal by a close friend, and yes, the dishes and drinks are just as genuine.

We started the night with a Tortellini, squid ink pasta stuffed with local crab, ricotta, lemon and parsley, all smothered in a bright nduja cream sauce, paired with a fun and friendly Seafood & Co Vinho Verde. The little flavor pockets of pasta had character all on their own, but with the thick and creamy nduja sauce—given more depth with brown butter—this dish made sure to let us know we were in for one hell of a dinner. Add in the naturally bubbly Vinho Verde, and we were immediately brought to a coastal town somewhere in our imagination, relaxing by the waves.

Next up was a wine-on-wine extravaganza. Bastardo! wine—a right bastard in the sense that it's got buttery smooth moves—was used to make mafaldine. What you get is an already flavorful pasta that latches on to the emulsified sauce of grana padano, pecorino romano, butter, with deep brown butter and dashi shimeji mushrooms. Stripped back, this plate had noodles, lots of cheese, plump mushrooms, and butter; already a winning combination, made even better by technique, and of course, our new favorite Bastardo! wine, which don't worry, you'll have a glass of alongside the plate, too. Fun fact: Lhullier-Albani shares that she first met this bottle via a dear friend who brought one to help ease her boy troubles, thus starting a love affair that would rightfully eclipse the one that just ended.

Whoever believes that too much of a good thing is bad has clearly never had a 60-layer lasagna before. Noodle Lab ups the ante with this dish, giving everyone what they want: the crisp, almost burned bits of lasagna, by slicing up the pasta—yes, with 12 rounds of the pasta, ragu, bechamel, and other goodies—and frying it before serving. The hefty slice is placed atop a bed of parmesan foam, covered with more mozarella, and torched for added crisp and flavor. The Bread & Cheese wine pairing is a kinder, more well-meaning bottle, and allows the lasagna's rich flavors to shine.

Also read: 10 Essential Tasting Menus in Metro Manila to Try Right Now

Noodle Lab caps off the noodle courses with a stunner: a giant cacio e pepe raviolo with a surprise center. Camille rightly calls it "self-saucing" as they've managed to put a yolk right in the massive raviolo, that oozes as you slice into the noodle. The rich yolk blends right into the cheese and butter, with the bright red (and whole!) peppercorns set off in the opposite, yet not opposing, direction. Balancing off the pasta is perfectly pink and seared Australian wagyu ribeye. With the raviolo is the sexy Dine With Me Tonight Red Wine.

As a sweet ending, the La Vie en Rose team came up with a type of tiramisu you can simply pick up and stuff yourself with. That is, after you take all the pictures of this gorgeous dessert. It's paired with a light and bubbly Basta! Brut White Sparkling Wine. 

It isn't often stars align for a night like this. Now all that's left is for you to take the opportunity. After all, no matter how the night goes, you're already guaranteed one hell of a meal and drinks. 

Book a seat at the dinner via the La Vie en Rose Instagram account. 

Photos by Mia Rodriguez. Post-editing by War Espejo.