First Bite: Samba

Shangri-La chain of hotels has been known to offer superior services. These past years though, the spotlight has been on its dining establishments. From the well loved Heat, Senju and Summer Palace of Edsa Shangri-La to Inagiku of Shangri-La Makati, tastemakers have grown to be fascinated with the new additions Canton Road and Raging Bull of Shangri-La at the Fort.  And late last year, a new restaurant was added to the list and it is designed, just like the others, to give us a gastronomic experience worth remembering.

Hello, Samba.

This Peruvian restaurant on the 8th floor of Shangri-La at the Fort, may seem to be a bit misplaced at first given that Canton Road and Raging Bull are both on the 3rd floor.  However, one would understand why this restaurant is placed there upon stepping in its al fresco dining area.

Restaurant Discovery: Boqueria

When you get older, it's so hard to schedule a regular lunch date with your friends. There will always be someone who would be busy, someone who has to cancel last minute, and someone who's too in love to meet the friends. But when we do meet, we talk like there's no tomorrow with a few breaks to chew our food. I'm usually the resident PRO so I schedule the meet ups and this time, we decided to block March 8 and explore the Fashion Hall of SM Megamall.

Since we didn't decide on where to eat, I took the liberty to decide for us. I've been targeting Boqueria for quite some time but my mom wanted burger (thus a trip to 8 Cuts) during my first trip to the new hall and I saw a new Japanese place (Osaka Ohsho) the second time I went. So, third time's the charm I guess. ;)

The place wasn't packed when I arrived and managed to get a table right away. They seem to have a shortage with menus though as the server asked if he could borrow my menu for a while. He returned it in less than 5 minutes though. 

I browsed the menu long enough to make me look less of a loner and decided to get the following: Pulpo a la Gallega (PHP280), Salpicon de Mariscon (PHP198), Cocido de Madrilena (I forgot to take note of the price), and a glass of Apple Iced Tea.

Since I was already hungry, I started getting a few bites off the appetizers but I try to spread the food to make it less obvious. The baby octopus was delicious! It wasn't as chewy as squid and I just love munching it. One order is good for two but I can finish it myself. (It's the glutton me talking here.)