Thursday, August 21, 2008

Mickey's Deli

I should really call this series of blogs as the Lost Meals. Might be old age but I forget to write about meals I've had in a number of restaurants, this one included.

Anyways, have been to Mickey's several times and the dishes were consistently good (with the exception of an unusually textured meat loaf, evocative of pick firm tofu).

Must try are the Nurnburger sausage (actually all their sausages are good, no wonder given that Mickey the German chef, formerly of the Hyatt), the pates. Serving size is large and must be shared; same goes for the side dishes (I couldn't even finish half of the potato side dish I ordered).

The restaurant also has an excellent deli counter, wonderful for browsing, and better for eating!

BTW attached to the deli is the upscale French Baker (can't recall the name). Prices are a tad higher than French Baker but the breads are way better. Be sure to order a sampler of bread (comes with pate; ask for butter!)

Thursday, August 14, 2008

People Palace three

Just had to update you guys on my third visit to People Palace last week. I was rereading my first article on the restaurant and I must confess, it was probably my orders which accounted for the unenjoyable experience.

Subsequent visits since that first time have been more than fine. Most dishes ordered were quite good, substantial, although prices remain quite daunting. And I think they have the best sticky rice with mango.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

A Tale of Two Meals: Apahap sa Azuthai

The second meal was lunch at Azuthai, the new Thai restaurant at the ground floor of the Milky Way building along Pasay Road. I had also heard many good things about the restaurant, so I was pretty excited to try it.

I wasn't disappointed. We had the papaya salad, the pomelo shrimp salad, apahap in tamarind sauce, penang beef curry, morning glory (kangkong!), and the ever reliable, ever present pad thai. I loved the salad and the apahap. The sauce of the curry was excellent but the beef was rather tasteless. The kangkong was also a winner. I do recommend one orders plain white rice, better to sop up the sauces.

I just had to try the desserts. The water chestnuts in coconut milk was a streamlined halohalo with the dyed water chestnuts providing crunch. The mango with sticky rice was also quite good (but I thought the one in People Palace was a tad better). I didn't care too much for the Tako, but it might appeal to the less sugar-inclined.

Prices are on the steep side but not to heights set by PP or Silk. Service was excellent; but don't believe the nice serbidora when she says mild is spicy enough. I was skeptical but unfortunately, she did manage to convince us to stay on the safe side.

I almost forgot, we had Thai take out a couple of weeks ago; equally good and loads more inexpensive. More on the next blog.

Take Out Thai from SOMS

I had almost forgotten about our Thai take out from Soms (somewhere near the dog and cat hospital, going to Rockwell) some weeks back. If you are looking for five star taste at three star prices, Soms is for you.

We had a ton of food and I don't think it was all that expensive (sorry folks, libre kaya I don't know the actual cost). Two curries (beef and chicken), bagoong rice, kangkong, and the (oh no, its...) pad thai (dramatic pause), in a bilao!

Soms is supposedly a small carinderia-type, owned by a Thai transplant. I must confess I haven't been to the restaurant but I have heard it described as tables spilling onto the sidewalk and street. It's a BYOB kind of place, but the price can't be beat.

A Tale of Two Meals: Steak at Mamou

Had two very good meals recently. First off was dinner at Mamou; I had wanted to try this restaurant for a very long time now. Good reviews all around, and everyone recommended the steak. It didn't disappoint, the serving was substantial with five of us sharing the twin. However, I was not that impressed with the sidings.

We also shared two pastas, the alio with labuyo flakes (spaghetti al dente swimming in a pool of garlicky olive oil and specked with chili - my personal favorite) and the Batac Bolognese (also very good, tomato based with batac longanisa).

The desserts, however, were not up to par with the main courses. I didn't care too much for the pecan pie (the corn syrup center was too thick and gummy); the dark chocolate sans rival also didn't inspire. The key lime pie was okay, just a tad sweet. Desserts came with schlagsahne (german whipped cream); we failed miserably trying to pronounce the word correctly, but it did provide hours of entertainment.

The restaurant isn't very big so reservations are a must. On a Tuesday night, the place was packed. The owner did tell us her personal favorites, namely the steak (which we tried), and the roast chicken and pork. At least I have a reason to go back.