Weekend Lunch Date: Lemongrass Asian Bistro

Ask me which mall I frequent the most and I’d always answer Shangri-La Plaza. And since I’m the one organizing the mini reunions with friends, I always suggest having lunch or dinner at Shangri-La. So when some of my Dongguk friends and I met up for lunch, we decided to meet at… you guessed it.

 

I remembered that I haven’t tried the restaurant beside Dome so off to Lemongrass Asian Bistro we go. Actually, we were supposed to have lunch at Pho Hoa but we were too hungry to take another step.

T and I went first as E and D were still busy buying stuff for E’s trip to Palawan (which she found out that same day and that she’s off the following day).

T and I decided to order light dishes as we do not know what E and D were craving. We ended up ordering Thai Catfish Salad with Green Mangoes (PHP265) and Crispy Fish Fillet with Tamarind and Sweet Chili Sauce (PHP350). I also ordered a glass of Thai Iced Tea (PHP105) and Chilled Sago with Mango and Coconut Milk (PHP105) to complete my meal.

The salad arrived first and just like in other restaurants, the sauce, nuts, onions, and mangoes were all on the side. Since we were not sure if E and D are fond of the other ingredients, we just took enough to top our portions and opted not to toss the salad.

 

It was crunchy and it was a great contrast to the softness of the shredded green mangoes. I needed to put more sauce though as the catfish was really dry and it made my throat slightly itchy.

 

The fish fillet was served in a very cute way. It looked like mushrooms! It could pass for cocktail gatherings as you do not need utensils to eat it. It was nothing extraordinary but I loved that it was served freshly cooked. 

A Night With Buddha

It all started when H texted me about this place in Makati that was rumored to be a local celebrity magnet. I Googled it and the food fascinated me (in denial of being a fan girl). Anyway, it took us quite a while before we get to match our schedules but finally, we get to visit Buddha Bar last week.

 

It was one rainy Saturday when we decided to pay this hyped place a visit. At first my “old lady” instinct was battling with my “glutton” self. But alas, the glutton won and I found myself waiting for H at a nearby mall’s lobby.

 

Giddy, we found our way with the help of several guards and Google map.

 

When we entered, I had a hard time walking as I could barely see the steps (as I’m a bit blind when it’s too dark). We were ushered to the second floor as it is Buddha Bar’s dining area while the first floor serves as the lounge.

 

Lunch Out Destination: Thai Dara

It has been a while since I last had a lunch out along Kapitolyo and it sure was refreshing to spend lunch outside the office. F asked me if I prefer to eat at Rub Ribs or Thai Dara and since I have not tried the latter, off we go to Thai Dara.

LUCKY! We managed to get a parking spot right in front of Thai Dara.

The little store sandwiched beside Mad Mark’s and Poco Deli sure has this homey feel to it. The small restaurant can accommodate perhaps a max of 20 people. It reminded me of this little dumpling place in Binondo. (Oh Chinatown, how I miss thee.)

Since F was not a newbie like me, I asked him which ones were his favorites and he mentioned several spicy dishes till he mentioned the Tamarind Fish (PHP239). It sounds promising so I gave it a shot. I also ordered a glass of Mint Lemonade (PHP55) simply because it sounds refreshing. F on the other hand was trying to avoid carbs thus ordered a Thai salad and some pork satay.  

 

It took them just a few minutes to prepare our meals (well, there was only one table occupied when we arrived) and it was a good thing since I was famished.

Nav Modern Thai Cuisine Revisited!

For some reason, I had this strong craving for vodka last Saturday. I thought that I hit jackpot when I saw several bottles of chocolate vodka in our pantry only to discover that it was long overdue to be thrown out. Since I was too lazy to go down, I decided to read a book instead. Yes, that did kill my craving… not. So come Sunday, when my friends and I decided to have dinner at Nav, I asked them if we could order at least one drink… and we did. [Note: I am not an alcoholic. I just needed a drink that weekend.]

Hello again NAV!

Nothing seemed to have changed since I last visited the restaurant way back July 2011. It still has the predominant green walls and the quirky clock which I now know came from Dimensione. The menu is still the same as well.

We decided to order the following dishes: Son-In-Law Eggs (PHP180), Shrimp rolls (PHP250), Crisped Catfish with Green Mangoes (PHP245), NAV’s Pad Thai (PHP280), and some NAV Kickers—Phuket (PHP220) for A, Bangkok (PHP220) for L, and Patpong (PHP220) for me.

 

First served was the Son-In-Law Eggs, hard boiled eggs in tamarind sauce. It sure was good. The soft eggs (ironic since it’s “hard” boiled eggs but anyway) went really well with the sauce.

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.

L.A. Food Find Favorite: Thai Chicken Barbeque

My aunt picked us up at the Glendale Galleria after a brief shopping spree and decided to bring us to this Thai restaurant that specializes in grilled chicken.

Hungry and cold, we got so excited after hearing the word chicken. 

The place was like a diner and it made me smile like crazy for somehow, I got to check one off my list.

First thing I noticed when we sat down was the pretty flowers. It somehow made me forget I was hungry for a minute or so.

Weekend Restaurant Love: Simply Thai

Food Warrior Eating Challenge training day 2 (training day 1 was held at Sambo Kojin)

I needed to train my stomach to eat more these days for an eating contest I will be participating in this coming Saturday.  Since I hardly go out during the weekdays (as I lead a life of home-office-home from Monday to Friday), I try to maximize my weekends by checking out restaurants I have never been to or haven’t had the chance to blog about. This time, I have my eyes on Simply Thai and I decided to visit it last Sunday with a friend.

We went there around 1pm and there were only a few diners. I guess it was because it was already past lunch time.

I tried to recall what Executive Chef Cecille Chang Ysmael made us try during the intimate dinner she held a few months ago. The dish I remembered was the Crispy Catfish (PHP320) and the Caramelized Squid (PHP295). Since the two were pretty similar, we decided to stick to the Crispy Catfish.  

We thoroughly read the menu and looked for non-spicy dishes and we finally ordered Mieng Kham (PHP220), Silom Shrimps (PHP325), Phad Thai (PHP320) and an order of Thai Green Milk Tea and Thai Milk Tea (PHP120 each). My friend and I agreed not to order desserts as we plan to check its neighbor Max Brenner that same afternoon but we came across Simply Thai’s Nest (PHP240) and the description said that it is a MUST TRY sooooo (you already know what we did). Yes, we are easy to convince as long as it is food-related.

The drinks arrived fast and we were excited to try it.

The Thai Green Milk Tea was too sweet for me. It had a subtle avocado taste (was that the reason why it was green?) mixed with condense milk and jasmine. I wasn’t able to (or should I say couldn’t?) finish it. Tsk.

I prefer the Thai Milk Tea as it had a stronger tea flavor (yet was still undeniably “milk” tea). Also, it wasn’t as sweet as the other one. I didn’t order it because of the color as it looked like curry to me. But I hoped that I ordered that instead. (To be honest, I was waiting for my friend to swap drinks with me but it didn’t happen.)

Finally, the dishes arrived.

The first one to arrive was the Mieng Kham. We were quite clueless as to how to eat it. Since there were leaves, we assumed that we had to wrap the prawns, lemongrass, coconut, chili and peanuts in Thai betel leaves.

I removed the chili before eating it as I saw my friend cry because the chili was too spicy.

It was zesty. It was definitely different from those I have tried before. I checked betel leaves out and I found out that it is often used as palate cleanser. I’d say it truly is a must order as a starter.

The next dish served was the Phad Thai.

It was cutely wrapped in an egg net (which made me think if it really has a purpose or if it was just for aesthetic purposes only). What I loved about it was that it was not the salty, oily type. It was just right. The noodles were cooked well and the small side dishes (peanuts, bean sprouts, and lime) brought out the rich flavor of it. It was love.

The Silom Shrimps on the other hand was a bit of a disappointment if you’re after authentic Thai food.

It was your typical pan seared prawns. The lemongrass and tamarind taste as very very subtle.

Now for the Crispy Catfish…

It was the crispy catfish that I remember. It was neither oily nor salty. It was well-seasoned. However, it seemed to be a bit dry this time. It needed to be eaten with the green mango-apple salad to make it easier to swallow (well, water or any beverage works too). Nonetheless, I still love it and will definitely order it again when I visit Simply Thai.

We were still enjoying the four dishes when our dessert arrived. We felt that the servers were in a hurry. I was not really sure why. The server approached us and asked if there was something else that we would like to order as they were about to close their kitchen. (Ehhhh?) One server also started to sweep the floor. (Uhm, can’t you wait till we’re done?)

Anyway, back to the dessert…

The dessert was adorable. The ice cream really looked like an egg. My friend and I just had to have our photos taken with it. As for the taste, it was truly coconut ice cream resting on shredded sweet potato and taro. The sweet potato taste was stronger though (but you could see the bits of taro if you look closely). The coconut ice cream was rich in flavor and the “nest” and caramel (yes, the brown liquid on the plate was caramel) went well together. It was a bit heavy though (probably because of the “nest”).

Nice ambiance, good food, fairly priced items…  I just hope that the servers will let me take my time to enjoy my meal on my next visit.

Simply Thai is located at the Ground floor of Greenbelt 5, Makati City.

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).

When in Cebu eat Thai food

We were pretty clueless as where to go during our first night in Cebu for Entrepreneur Networking Night the following day. To play safe, we decided to go to Siam, a Thai restaurant in Ayala Cebu. (Btw, Ayala Cebu was such a beautiful sight.)



Tom Yum

Some of my colleagues were brave enough to slurp down the Tom Yum Prawn Soup (PHP240) which never fails to make me choke till I cry. I tried it still since we all get a cup each and I still can’t finish a cup—not even one spoonful.

Finally the other dishes arrived. We also ordered Bagoong Rice (PHP180), Chicken Thai Yellow Curry (PHP220), Thai Crispy Pata (PHP330)—yes, apparently there is a THAI version, Sautéed Prawn in garlic (PHP220), and Chili Prawn (PHP230).

Bagoong Rice



Chicken Thai Yellow Curry

The Bagoong Rice was nothing spectacular. It doesn’t have a very strong taste and it worked for us since we also ordered curry. The Chicken Thai Yellow Curry on the other hand was delicious. I’m not very fond of curry and this one doesn’t have the strong taste (and smell) of curry. It was just right. It reminded me of Simply Thai’s version. It was really good. Moving on.

Sautéed Prawn in garlic

 

Chili Prawn

The Chili Prawn and Sautéed Prawn in garlic were goooood. The prawns were big and fresh. I prefer the Chili Prawn over the one sautéed in garlic as it was richer in flavor. What made me in love with it was that it wasn’t very spicy. In fact, it was quite mild. The one in garlic was like your typical dampa type. Fresh and garlicy.

Thai Crispy Pata

Lastly, the Thai Crispy Pata. Well, it tasted like… crispy pata. Crispy skin, tender meat, really good with soy sauce with some onions.

Too bad there’s no Siam in Manila. But now I have more reasons to frequent Ayala Cebu on my next visit.