My First Bite: Jatujak

After a fun pamper me day that fattened our wallets… with receipts, my friend and I decided to have a not-so-heavy dinner as we were still digesting the food we ate from Mesa.

 

We were planning to eat at this Persian restaurant along Mega Strip but we got lazy after doing a quick grocery. We then decided to eat at Jatujak instead as it passed my one and only requirement: must be a restaurant I have never been to before. It was odd though as I am a frequent diner of Pho Hoa. I guess I have really not been fond of Thai food before. 

 

The place was quite small but you can’t deny the Thai ambiance with the purple motif of the restaurant. Service was also quick. The waiter gave us a menu as soon as we sat down. Perhaps, it was because we sat near where the owner was busy computing the day’s sales figures.

Vietnam in Makati: Вà Nôi’s

I hate it that I’m easy to bribe. RESTAURANT YOU HAVE NEVER TRIED BEFORE seems to be the magic word. Thus when a friend told me that we’ll be trying this restaurant I haven’t tried before (or maybe I did but it has been years ago and my tummy memory failed me), I begged my mom to allow me to go (yes, I still ask my mom for permission). But, the plan to dine in a Japanese restaurant became… a Vietnamese dinner.

The inner nerd in me usually prevent me from socializing at night thus I lead a home-work-home life (or the level up version home-work-corporate event-home life). But whenever people invite me to try out new restaurants, I AM ALWAYS GAME (as long as it’s near). 

Thus, one Thursday night, we went to Makati, near Greenbelt 2 and walked along the dark streets of Legaspi Village. Some of our friends were already waiting inside Вà Nôi’s, a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant located at Greenbelt Mansion.

Restaurant Favorite: Pho Hoa

I love Pho Hoa, its chicken dishes, marinated prawns, spring rolls, tenderloin beef, crepe, and their sweet vinegar dip. Now, let me share with you my love affair with this restaurant.

Vietnamese food? Why?

That was my first reaction when my mom told me to try this restaurant. I was quite iffy since I have never tried Vietnamese food… ever (before).

I then read through the menu and I was surprised that not everything sounded so foreign to me. They have grilled meat, several chicken dishes, soup, salad, and even desserts such as crepes. I remember that I was fond of chicken when I was young so I ordered Grilled Chicken with Fried Spring Rolls (which I thought was just like your ordinary lumpia). I was surprised though that they served it with vinegar… sweet vinegar. And that was the start of our wonderful love story.

Years later, I have tried several other [non-spicy] dishes and I would say that I’d still go back for more. My must-orders though are the Fried Rice Paper Roll with Pork and Vermicelli (PHP127) and the Tenderloin Beef with Rice (PHP295). And that was what my mom brought home for me for dinner one happy Tuesday night.  

Fried Spring Rolls freshly removed from the take-out container

The Fried Spring Rolls were still the crispy and scrumptious rolls I remember. You could taste the pork in every bite. It wasn’t as oily as well. It was not the type that will make your lips shine and blind people when the light hits it. Plus dipping it in the sweet vinegar brought out the savory flavors of the stuffing of the roll.