Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Unexpected Exotic Food Stop: Mesa Filipino Moderne

New Year’s Resolution #2: Eat more exotic dishes! Partly checked.
My friend and I met up one Saturday afternoon to pamper ourselves and to simply pig out afterwards. Yes, you could call this one of those blissful moments where you just spend and spend then regret afterwards when you start getting rid of those receipts fattening your wallet and realize that your wallet is very “anorexic”.
 
We met around 12:30PM to have lunch together and I suggested Mesa simply because I have never tried dining there before. She was actually interested to try Yabu: The House of Katsu but I had to literally drag her to the other side (corner actually) for selfish reasons.
Mesa was packed with diners but we were lucky to get some good seats. Couch!!!
 
As Mesa newbies, we were clueless on what to order. I relied on the “must try” sign beside some dishes and ordered those instead. Since we know that we will eat again, we decided to order only a few: Pork Binagoongan (PHP190), Drunken Ostrich (PHP350), Hito Flakes on Spoon (PHP180), and Crispy Leche Flan (PHP65). I also ordered Calamansi Juice to help burn all the calories. (It works! I hope.)
 I was on my no rice diet so I just snacked on the tasty dishes.
I was surprised that the pork binagoongan was saucy. I guess I was used to the crispy version where the pork is all fried and crunchy. This one though was quite similar to barbeque only it was a bit saltier. My friend didn’t like it that much as it was too fatty for her taste. It was pretty okay with me though but this was one dish that must be eaten with rice. 

The Drunken Ostrich was recommended by the server. I asked if it was being ordered by a lot of people but he said that it wasn’t as most diners find it too exotic. *smile* He just said the magic word. 
When the ostrich was served, I was not convinced that it was ostrich as it looked like ordinary beef to me. I was told that ostrich meat was supposed to be tender. Well, this one wasn’t. It was a bit sweet as well and it was odd to me as I was expecting it to be a bit salty. The meat was tough but at least I was able to enjoy the mushrooms. I'm still willing to try the other ostrich dishes though.
 
The Hito Flakes on Spoon reminded me of Thai food. The catfish flakes were crunchy and the thin slices of green mangoes and bagoong made it even more delectable. I loved that there were different textures and flavors. There was the saltiness of the bagoong and the crispy catfish flakes and the tanginess of the green mangoes. I’d love to order that again!

But the highlight of our lunch was the dessert. I got so excited when I saw the almost faded sticker on the dessert menu. “Crispy Leche Flan”. How can the oh so creamy leche flan be crispy? 
I was surprised (again) when the server gave us mini turon. I was disappointed. They should have just named it Leche Flan Turon. It would have managed my expectations. But upon tasting it, my frown turned upside-down to a huge smile. It was really good. The creamy leche flan was stuffed inside the crispy turon. The caramel drizzled on top added sweetness and made me smile even more. It was really good and the best part was that it was just PHP65! I could afford to buy more than 10 serving of it!
I’d definitely go back for more of their appetizers and desserts and will try more of their entrĂ©es when I’m done with my no rice diet.
Mesa is located at the 2nd floor Mega Atrium, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. 
Mesa Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

2 comments:

  1. This is one of my favorite Filipino restaurants. The food is GREAT and the price is not so expensive. The service I have to say is the BEST ever! The servers are very attentive and helpful!

    I frequent their Tomas Morato branch..

    ReplyDelete
  2. I super agree. Love the fast service.:)

    ReplyDelete

Comments or other recommendations? :)