Restaurant Love: Balboa

Chicken. I really do not know what made you so charming but most Filipinos love chicken. Tinola, Adobo, Fried Chicken. There’s Max’s, Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Baliwag, Andok’s and much more. And because of our love for it, Max’s and Jollibee are now in other countries too!

It’s funny how we always think that whenever we have a balikbayan friend or relative around, we assume that they want to eat Filipino food. You’d be surprised that most of them are more Filipino than we are and they get to eat Filipino food more frequent than us who are here. 

 

We were thrilled when M and D are both here in Manila. We immediately planned a reunion as we just have to. Last time I saw M was way back in 2009 and it was over a year since I last saw D. However, D’s oh so cute baby got sick so she had to back out. But we still pushed through with the plan and met up with M.

 

Thinking that most of us are near Ortigas (except for K), we decided to have dinner at Shangri-La. We were all late except for T. (Sorry!!!)

 

Since we were all famished and because T was at the 4^th floor of the East Wing, we decided to have dinner at Balboa. I got so excited when we all agreed to eat there as I will get to eat my favorite roasted chicken!

 

The place was pretty packed when we arrived and it was around 8:45 p.m. already that time. We got a table though but it was farthest from the counter so the servers can’t really see us right away. Lucky though that there were a lot of people eating outside so there were servers who pass by every 5 minutes.

We agreed to order a half Roasted Chicken (PHP399) and a family platter of Fresh Spinach Tagliatelle (PHP489; PHP299 for solo). I also ordered a glass of Red Sangria (PHP188). 

I was pretty impressed as despite the number of customers, service was quick. We got our orders in roughly 10 minutes.

First served was the roasted chicken. M being the chef in the group, told us how the sauce was made and the ingredients used to make it sooo yummy. (Click here for the review of the roasted chicken.)

 

The pasta on the other hand is my new favorite. The pasta, according to M, was freshly made thus it was slightly stickier. The sauce was thick yet the taste wasn’t overwhelming. The prawns used were fresh and it was such joy to eat it. I had three! 

 

As for my drink, it was rather too sweet for my taste. I had to wait for the ice to melt. But I love the tangy flavor of it. 

Again, I enjoyed my meal and I will definitely be back for more! And this time, with dessert!

Balboa is located at the 4th floor, East Wing, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City.