Bistro Ravioli

Crossing over from the 2nd floor deparment store to the mall area of SM Mall of Asia, I was surprised to see a new resto by the name of Bistro Ravioli in place of Stars and Stripes. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head. I approached the resto staff standing outside the door holding a menu and asked if they just opened recently. I was told that December 6 was their opening date. I asked further if it's the same as the one at Robinsons Galleria. She smiled and said yes. I returned the menu to her, already thinking when I would be able to try it.

I've always wanted to try Ravioli at Robinsons Galleria ever since I read Anton's post at OAP. Galleria, or Galle as we call it, is actually so much nearer my home than MoA, but somehow Ravioli's location at the food court turns me off. Thanks to a couple of bad experiences at the food court dating back a decade.

My chance to try Bistro Ravioli came last Saturday when my brother suddenly wanted to go to MoA. The place looked clean and the interior design was simple and neat. Framed pictures of their food and quotes from famous people adorned the walls. We liked the interior but it did not seem very "bistro-like", or maybe just to our untrained eyes.

For our antipasti, we ordered Foccacia with Spinach Dip (P125). There were 5 big slices of foccacia. The photo shows only 3 because my sister and I were already hungry and forgot to take a photo before getting our share. The dip serving wasn't stingy either. The foccacia was nothing out of the ordinary but the dip was creamy and slightly chewy. For lack of description in their menu, we guessed that the cheese mixed in was mozzarella. It was really, really good. When my brother arrived, he tasted it and then put a large dollop of the dip on his bread. The dip bowl was scraped clean. We forgot to leave some for the bread that came with the ravioli and pasta dishes.

For drinks, my sister had the Lemon Iced Tea while my brother and I had the Red Iced Tea. Each only cost P30. Cheaper than we expected.

After much deliberation, we settled on the Italian Sausage Ravioli (P190). The Spinach Ravioli seemed redundant with our dip. I was hesitant to try the Chicken and Pesto as pesto is not one of my favorite flavors. There wasn't much to choose from so italian sausage it was.

We couldn't believe it when our server said each ravioli dish has about 2 dozen pieces. We were imagining the size of ravioli we've had at different restos. But Bistro Ravioli's version was much smaller after all. We didn't bother counting the pieces, but it seemed to be more or less that number. I popped a bite-sized raviolo into my mouth and savored the taste of the salty sausage combined with the pasta. Then a few more in quick succession. I would prefer to taste more tomato sauce in the mix but it was good nevertheless. We finished the ravioli in no time.

My brother's choice for pizza was Quattro Formaggio (P325), as I had predicted. I wanted the Margherita but I was overruled by the 2. I thought I would just try a slice because I find 4-cheese pizzas too "cheesy", for lack of a better adjective. I was actually pleasantly surprised. The crust, though thin, was flavorful and the 4 cheeses not nakakaumay as I expected. I ended up having two slices.

Our pasta selection was the Molto Meatball (P180) despite our server's recommendation of the Seafood Pasta. The photo just did not seem appetizing. The Puttanesca with Sun-dried Tomatoes on the other hand seemed a bit boring according to my sister. We ended up being disappointed with our order. The dish did not just look like it came from a can of ready-to-eat spaghetti but the pasta tasted like it too. The meatball was so-so. Its only saving grace was the tomato sauce. Even the Pancetta Carbonara of the couple beside us seemed a wiser choice.

Enough of the shoulda, woulda, coulda. I can try other dishes next time, and I think there will definitely be a next time. The food was good and reasonably-priced. The service was not bad, even bordering on paranoid, when we observed one of the waiters go from table to table asking the patrons if all orders had been served :-P Well, they did charge 5% for service.

However, we were sort of hoping to have some soup, which they didn't have. And I feel that the selection was quite limited. Going back to Anton's blog, I noticed a few items not available at the MoA branch such as Spaghetti Bolognese, Shrimp Diablo pasta, Chorizo & Tomato Ravioli, and Ham & Garlic Ravioli. (I probably should have taken a photo of the menu.) I hope they do add to their menu.


Photos courtesy of my sister.

Dezato Mochi Ice Cream

In my post about Dezato Mochi, I mentioned Dezato's offering of mochi ice cream. Before the Christmas break, I headed over to Dezato Cafe to purchase some. There were 6 ice cream flavors to choose from - chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, coffee, mango, and green tea. An order of mochi ice cream, priced at P175, has 6 pieces. It can also be purchased individually at P35. The pricelist at Dezato's multiply site shows P150 for an order of 6, obviously not updated.

I bought 4 orders of mochi ice cream. 2 for the family, and 2 to be given away. Half had 2 pcs. of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry each and the other half had 2 pcs. of vanilla, strawberry, and green tea each, because they had already ran out of chocolate. I hurried home, excited to try one and possibly relive a Dreyer's mochi moment. I tried a piece of chocolate mochi ice cream first upon getting home. It was still frozen, too frozen in fact to be eaten. But my excitement got the better of me and I ended up disappointed. It was like eating chocolate ice cream covered in ice.

My sister chose the strawberry variant, and said it was good. I tried hers, still no moment. She had the chocolate one next and enjoyed it immensely. What had just happened? Did I build up the taste of mochi ice cream in my mind that the actual taste fell short of my expectations? My dad tried it and liked it as well. I'm convinced that I had sabotaged my own enjoyment. I'm suddenly reminded of an episode of How I Met Your Mother entitled Rebound Bro, where Ted was worried that something Stella hadn't had for 5 years would disappoint her because she probably built it up in her mind.

I decided to give it another chance, I bought a dozen after all. This time, I waited patiently for the mochi to thaw a bit. It was better but still not as good as I had hoped. I resolved to forget the Dreyer's moment and just enjoy Dezato's, enjoy the sensation of the cold sticky outer mochi and the flavor of the ice cream inside. The ice cream was typical, probably store bought. But I know better to stay away from green tea next time. It just isn't for everybody.

2 microwaveable containers were emptied after just a day. 1 container supposed to be given away was opened and promptly finished off a few days later. Not so bad for something I didn't think was that good ;-)

Bagoong Club

At my brother's recommendation, we decided to try Bagoong Club for Sunday lunch. The restaurant is located at Sct. Dr. Lazcano, one of the side streets from Tomas Morato, and looked like a house converted into a restaurant. We were led upstairs to our table. I was surprised to see the place full. It seems that this small place has quite a following. Bagoong Club, according to our server, is going on its 2nd year in January.

Our companions who arrived ahead of us were already munching on the complimentary singkamas slices with 2 kinds of bagoong. Our server was also quick to advice us to order enough because additional orders might take a while. Service was pretty good, which was a pleasant surprise given the number of customers with only 2 servers on the 2nd floor.

Our orders arrived after an acceptable wait time. We ordered 2 kinds of soup - La Paz Bulalo and Seafood Binacol. My half of the group had the bulalo, which was decent bulalo. Compared to Gerry's Grill's, I find that the beef shank was more adequately cooked here, and cutting the tendon from the bone was practically effortless. The other half of our group seemed to enjoy the binacol, but it wasn't polished off like our bulalo. Perhaps my side of the table just had a bigger appetite :P

For our veggie dish, we had Pinakbet at Liempo Barbecue, which was good and even had big pieces of shrimp. They certainly did not scrimp on the ingredients on this one. The Bagoong Rice was okay, I still prefer plain steamed rice though.

What's worth mentioning was the serving size of the bagoong rice. The menu indicated that it serves 3 persons, which our server corroborated. We decided to order just one for the entire group, consisting of 7 people. It turned out to be a wise decision, because 2 orders would have been too much. I added a cup of steamed rice for myself after having a taste of the bagoong rice.

Our other dishes were Sizzling Bangus, Menudong Bagnet, and Club Binagoongan Special. I found the sizzling bangus weird, because it tasted like it was marinated in black vinegar, a type of vinegar I really dislike. The menudong bagnet was forgettable. The club binagoongan special was described by my sister as binagoongang baboy with a twist. It's slightly spicy, which did not help any, as some people in our group didn't like spicy food. I did not get second helpings of this dish, one was more than enough. It could be because I'm not really a fan of binagoongang baboy.

Overall, the dining experience was okay and the service was good. But I'm not so certain that I would go back. For Filipino food, I'd still rather be at Gerry's. Haha.

Dezato Mochi

I first read about Dezato Mochi at Dessert Comes First http://dessertcomesfirst.com/archives/360. I remember my first taste of mochi, albeit not the traditional mochi, but Dreyers' ice cream mochi. One bite and I was hooked. Unfortunately, the price was quite prohibitive. So 2 years ago, I was excited to hear that Magnolia released its own version. But turns out it only came in 2 flavors, ube and sesame. I was sorely disappointed.

Last week, we were given a box of Dezato Mochi. The box contained 12 mochi balls in 4 assorted flavors - milk chocolate, white chocolate with walnuts, white chocolate with green tea, and dark chocolate. I swear there were 12 mochi balls but hands were quicker than the camera :-P

I'm instantly reminded of DEC's tikoy strips. And I remember comments I read which likened the taste to tikoy. I thought they meant the round tikoy that's sliced, dipped in beaten egg then fried. But I guess they meant the ready-to-eat tikoy. I tried the dark chocolate mochi first then the milk chocolate variant. The mochi was just so-so for me. But my brother seemed to enjoy it a lot. And I wonder if I've read too many rave reviews that the taste did not meet my expectations. The next day, after being refrigerated to keep its freshness, the mochi still looked just as appetizing, but unfortunately, it did not taste nearly as okay as it did fresh.

Checking out other blog posts about mochi, I discovered that Dezato now offers ice cream mochi as well. Now that's definitely something worth trying.

Savory's Big Chicken Chop

Ever since my Taiwan trip in April of 2007, I've been on a quest for something similar to the chicken chop (ji pai) being sold in stalls at the night market (Shilin). I can still remember the atmosphere at Shilin, the people lining up at the chicken chop stalls, and the vendor calling out the orders. I wish to be in Taiwan again, if only to have a taste of the chicken chop again - fresh off the fryer, hot and slightly spicy (just as I ordered it).

To tell the truth, my quest is not so much a quest as me waiting to chance upon a place that offers this. The closest thing I could find so far is Ersao's chicken steak but sadly, it doesn't really come close.

Then came my recent visit to Savory Escolta. Posters of the "Big Chicken Chop", Savory's latest offering, were all over the place. The words chicken chop and Taiwan excited me. Could it be that my long wait is finally over?

When the order of chicken chop came, I quickly take a bite. Salty... tender... but no hint of spicyness. Disappointed yet again, I continued eating. It's actually not bad, better in fact than Ersao's chicken steak which I've been settling for. Savory's version is just a tad too salty, and could use some spicyness. For now, it will have to do. Next time, I'll try adding Ersao's chili powder to Savory's chicken chop and see how that works out ;-)

Flash Your Age at Shangri-la Heat - a Birthday Promo

Are you celebrating your birthday this August or September? You're in for a treat. Dine at Edsa Shangri-la's Heat on the exact date of your birthday and enjoy a discount equivalent to your age. And if you're dining with a group, the rest of your party gets to ride on your discount. Before you start inviting all your friends, know that there's a limit. Discount applies to a maximum of 8 people only.

We heard about this Flash Your Age promo through a family friend whose birthday falls on August. Being a family with a huge appetite, we decided to try it out. On my dad's birthday last August 21, we had lunch at Heat. Dinner was our first choice but we settled for lunch as Heat was already fully booked for dinner when we called to reserve a day before. The place was filled with people celebrating their birthdays. From 12nn until about 2pm, we stuffed ourselves with the assortment of dishes available at the buffet. Between Sofitel's Spiral and Heat, Spiral wins hands down in terms of variety. But for a 57% discount (did I just divulge my dad's age? =P), our Heat visit was worth every penny (that is, every penny my dad paid haha). The celebrant was even gifted with a birthday cake, a 3 x 3in. chocolate cake, with a sheet of semi-sweet chocolate on top and another on the bottom, which I enjoyed eating at home ;-) The one thing that spoiled the experience was the waiter accidentally spilling hot coffee on the yaya, an incident we believe an establishment like Shangri-la should have handled better. Poor yaya, all she had to show for it was a chocolate bar from the hotel's pastry shop.

But don't get turned off by that incident. Food's still good. Just don't ask for coffee =P Don't forget to make reservations beforehand. And bring a valid ID bearing your birthdate or risk paying full amount. Promo period is from August 1 until September 30, 2009 only.

Happy eating! (And keep away from waiters bearing trays with coffee).

Pho Hoa Tomas Morato

Last Sunday, when we heard that Pho Hoa at Tomas Morato already reopened after major renovation, we eagerly trooped to have an early dinner after hearing mass. Pho Hoa is one of my family's favorite restos in the area, well majority of us anyway.

As our vehicle approached the place, we noticed that at the corner stood Congo Grill, in the place where Don Henrico's used to be. Beside it is Pho Hoa, in its old location.

The newly renovated Pho Hoa seemed well-lit and clean from outside. It even looked a bit sosyal, my sister said. I immediately regretted not bringing a jacket, predicting that it would be quite cold inside. It was, after all, just renovated.

When we entered the resto, we weren't greeted by the cold air I was expecting. It might even be warm for some people. But we didn't really mind. In fact, we've experienced warmer temps in the old Pho Hoa where the airconditioning was oftentimes not enough. After being directed to a table, we sat down and surveyed the place.

There was a definite improvement. The counter was bigger and more visible. The tables were spaced further apart. The downside is that the seating capacity seemed less than before, which could be bad news for Pho Hoa patrons. Prior to renovation, we've had to wait for seats on occasion. And on one instance, just left after waiting by the door, unable to get any waiter's attention. But that was more because of the poor service than the lack of seats.

As we looked around, we spotted flies going about but paid no mind. We noticed the lack of air curtain, which might have prevented flies entering everytime the door opened. However, this became an issue when our food was served. It's hard to enjoy the food when you have to be on the lookout for flies while eating. The proverbial straw really was the fly in my glass of water, which came to my attention after just taking a drink. In the waiter's defense, we knew the fly wasn't there when the water was served. It probably just fell into my glass. So we didn't make a fuss and just told him about our issue with the flies and our suggestion for the owner. But I felt queasy, not knowing if the fly fell into my glass before or after I took one last sip. My sister voiced out my exact thoughts. "We are so not coming back here."

The old Pho Hoa had its share of problems, poor service at times, airconditioner not functioning properly. Despite the problems, we always went back because we loved the food. You could say that we were loyal patrons. But loyalty has a limit, and until the fly problem of the new Pho Hoa is solved, we would just have to be loyal patrons someplace else.