First Bite: Just Thai

It's hard not to fall in love with Thai cuisine. With dishes like Pad Thai, Tom Kha Gai, Pad Krapow Moo Saap, Gaeng Keow Wan Kai and refreshing Thai Milk Tea, it is a tough battle not to like this Asian cuisine. And so, when the lovely gals of The Foodie Station invited me to savor some of Just Thai's dishes, I quickly said yes and cleared my schedule for a fanTHAIstic day. (Okay, that was a lame pun but it was really fantastic and let me tell you why.) 
 
Hello, Just Thai.

Love at First Bite: Manam

I have been eying Manam for quite some time now. Anyone who could resist good sisig at an affordable price is not human. Come on, crunchy sisig on sizzling plate at less than PHP200? I’m drooling just thinking about it. After months of planning to visit this place, it finally happened.

Hello, Manam!

The spacious and high ceiling restaurant was barely full at 6:30 p.m.. Diners started to pour around 7 p.m. and it was packed by the time we left. 

It was a good thing that I made a mental list of what to order as we were really famished while browsing the menu. We could have ordered more than we could eat that night. After some “process of elimination” for the other dishes F wanted to try, we finally settled with House Crispy Sisig (PHP135, solo), Overloaded Garlic Bangus Belly (PHP175, solo), Gising Gising (PHP120, solo) and Bagoong Rice (PHP95, solo). F ordered Strawberry + Kamias (PHP115) while I went with Mango + Pomelo + Coconut Cream + Sago (PHP120). 

The drinks arrived first and both looked good.

F’s drink was refreshing yet a bit tangy because of the kamias.

It was balanced though by the strawberries (if it was indeed naturally sweet).   

My drink was like the beverage version of Mango Sago with a hint of pomelo. 

It was delightful yet not exactly thirst quenching. 

The dishes were served right after our drinks and the aroma made us drool.

Exotic Food Trip Stop: Abe Restaurant

If you checked my previous entries, you’d know that I like, uh, love exotic dishes! Blame Balaw Balaw for turning me into a normal-people-do-not-consider-this-as-food freak. I fell in love with exotic dishes ever since I tried Uok. I just can’t describe how happy I was every time I discover a yummy exotic dish. I just can’t.*Big smile here*

Part of our Fear Factor Exotic Food Trip itinerary was Abe just so we’d feel a bit more… posh after jumping from one place to another in Binondo. 

Restaurant Discovery: Nav Modern Thai Cuisine

I used to dislike Thai food since I find it too spicy. But for some reason, for the past few months, I’ve been hooked to Thai dishes. It all started last June. I went to Silk (Eastwood), Siam (Ayala Cebu), Simply Thai (Greenbelt), and now Nav (the nearest of them all… Brgy. Kapitolyo).

Our fascination with NAV started when one of my colleagues suddenly gave us fliers of this new Thai restaurant called NAV Modern Thai Cuisine and she suggested that we dine there to hold my dear boss’ despedida. :(

The place was pretty small and parking is very limited. Perhaps only 2 to 3 cars can park (unless Uncle Moe’s and Slice n’ Dice are not stingy with their parking lots). The place can accommodate perhaps around 30 people the most. 

What I noticed was the rather cute interior. It was able to maximize the limited space by hanging some of its decorations and using some of the shelves to serve as the place to store the glasses and pitchers of water. 

We ordered a lot since we were 10 hungry publishers craving for a good lunch. Our mistake, though, was that we ordered a tad too much.

We started our meal off with the Crab Cake with sweet chili sauce (PHP230). To be honest, it was pretty ordinary deep-fried patties. I also found it a bit bland and the sauce was nothing to rave about since it tasted exactly like the bottled sweet chili sauce available in supermarkets.

The Shrimp Rolls (PHP250) was different though. It was tasty! The rolls have vermicelli noodles inside and it was a rather filling appetizer. 

Next served were Nav’s Pomelo Salad (PHP300) and Crisped Catfish Salad (PHP245). The pomelo added was fresh and the bits of chicken and nuts truly complemented the fruit. The Crisped Catfish Salad (with green mangoes) was pretty good too. It was not fishy like the other catfish salad served by other restaurants. The spice and sweetness of the salad made it one great dish.

After the two appetizers and two salads, we were starting to feel full since most dishes were good for 4-5 people (but the servers said that it was good for 2-3 only). But since we ordered it already, let the chewing continue.

The next dishes served were the Pad Thai (PHP280), Nav’s Bagoong Rice (PHP225), Crispy Tilapia (seasonal price), Green Curry (PHP240) and Penang Curry (PHP420).

The Pad Thai sure was a heavy dish to consume since it was a dish full of carbs. The noodles were well cooked and it was flavorful. The glutton in me could not stop get two servings of it. 

 The bagoong rice was your typical bagoong rice. Redundant but true. 

 The Green Curry with chicken bits and bamboo shoots was pretty good. I am not a curry person but this curry was quite good. It was a bit spicy though for me (but my colleagues did not find it spicy at all).

I didn’t bother trying the Penang Curry with beef brisket since all those who tried it said that it was so spicy. If they find the Green Curry mild and the Penang Curry spicy, then it must be really spicy.

Last dish served was the Wok Fry Tender Pork (PHP250). I wasn’t able to really taste this one as I was trying to save space for ChaTime. 

We didn’t order dessert but Nav treated us with two servings of their Pandan Crème (PHP140). It was a delightful dessert. The texture reminded me of egg pie. Actually, it tasted like egg pie only it was green.  Nonetheless, I loved it.

Nav is located at United St. Brgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig City (Across Pioneer Center and Ace Water Spa).