Zarzuela

Ilongga lady Racquel Sian and her cohorts Owen Gan, Mel Sanchez-Dumlao, and Trina Tiaoqui-Imperial have been in the food business here in Manila for a loooong time. They’re the kind of restaurant group that remain a bit anonymous to most, but have a long standing relationship with everyone who frequents their establishments – usually located in an office building or similar foot traffic heavy environs. I mention her Ilongga roots because like a lot, if not most, true Ilonggos, she likes the good stuff – Pinoy grub that’s tasty, often slightly sweet (a nod to her Sugarland roots), and will have you reaching for hot steaming rice faster than you can say “baboy”. Yep, it’s that kind o’ place.

THE GOOD:

Plain and simply put: their grub is delicious! Everything I’ve had in my two visits here – spaced months apart - was yummy. However, I don’t think this is the kind of place you visit  when you’re on a diet. (But it’s the shiznit for your cheat day! Haha!)

The ..uhm.. “Fountain Of Youth” in particular – think of it as KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicharon.. gasp! Faint) – is one of those crazy dishes that only a true blue Pinoy pork-o-phile can come up with. It’s exactly as I described it – like chicharon that’s been battered and fried, served with bagoong, mangga and vinegar. It’s killer, for sure, and may even sound a little too out there, but it’s delicious. Have it once every six months.

Squid stuffed with minced beef and bagoong teeters on the sweet side, and again will have you reaching for the rice in no time. Same goes for crispy binagoongan, that pork staple that’s pure evil yet pure heaven in your mouth.

Adobo is served two ways (“Sa Pula, Sa Puti”): flaked on one side of the platter, on the other stewed in vinegar and garlic sans the soy sauce (the way I love it, actually!).

Bangus is made into tasty sardines – it’s braised in olive oil and brandy, and paired with pickles and chilis. Rellenong manok (stuffed chicken) has bits of chorizo and raisins, and is topped with a cheese sauce that oddly enough works for me (though I’m sure some will find this too over the top).

“Cowboy” sisig is BOTH pork and beef bits, grilled first before combined and seasoned. Chichos is also thinly sliced pork and beef spiced with paprika, pimenton and roasted garlic, like a version of salpicao – they go together like Ernie and Bert. For dessert – a take on Maruya – chunks of plantain and langka (jackfruit) fried and served with ice cream.

Yes, they do NOT play around here.

All the food tastes great and is filling, and designed to give you the greatest bang for your hard earned money’s worth. They deserve the “super sulit” restaurant award, if one ever existed.

Service is tight and attentive (although admittedly I made my reservations through the owner, so they may have been extra attentive), and the space is pleasant, if a bit hard to find in the new wing of the mall. 

THE BAD:

I have but one complaint – and it’s not really a complaint – but more of a suggestion. I wish they had more vegetables on the menu, and perhaps a few more healthful dishes. I don’t mind the menu items – it’s all good - but they do need something to balance all that richness. Perhaps some house made pickles (an atchara, if you will), and other refreshers. You can only eat so much binagoongan and “fountain of youth” without getting guilty about all that indulgence. You need something to “de-guilt” you.

Lipitor shakes might help too.

THE SWANGIT:

The feeling you get as your system tells you you’ve ingested way too much of that lovin’ pork, rice and bagoong. You’ll need a hug for sure. Pass the hot water. Zzzzzzz..

Zarzuela

6/F Shangri-La Plaza Mall, East Wing, EDSA cor Shaw Blvd

Wack Wack, Mandaluyong

Popped and Loaded

As we greet the sun kissed months, the ever morphing local restaurant scene seems to be getting THAT much more interesting.

Like, for example, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that a place like the vaunted International House Of Pancakes (that’s IHOP to you, bud) would show up on our shores. A US diner chain in the middle of urban BGC, with people queuing up for hours to eat there is absolutely crazy! (Have you lined up yet? Because I haven’t. haha!)

And for that matter, how crazy is it that US West Coast burger giant In-N-Out went and did a one-day test run to dip their toes in our food obsessed waters? Considering that they’ve gone on record saying that they hardly have plans of expansion in the US, that they bothered showing up in Southeast Asia at all is just a bit shocking (they did this stunt in Singapore and Hong Kong as well).

Many more chains are popping up like mushrooms: Cold Stone Creamery, Saboten, Paul Patisserie – all just around the bend.

Not that I’m complaining, of course. Bring it on, chain restaurants – Manila is a hot place to be now (literally and figuratively!)

It’s a really interesting time to be a diner in Manila – many new local joints are popping up as well, with some of them pushing dining into new directions, which is fantastic for the dining community. Check out spanking new places like VASK and Grace Park.

Speaking of “popping up”, just last night, I found myself in a pop-up concept in Salcedo Village. My buddy Jeremy “The Delicious In Mr. Delicious” Slagle just texted me saying he had extra seats to this event by a group that called themselves Pop Up Manila, so I jumped at the chance. The pop-up restaurant, in case you haven’t read about it yet, is basically a restaurant within a restaurant: a cook, often one without his/her own place yet, takes over another restaurant’s kitchen on it’s quieter night, cooking his/her brand of food.

Does that make sense? Well, let me just say it’s pretty fun.

The people behind this – Erwan Heussaf (who doubled as the waiter. Saan ka pa?!), Dee Jae Pa’este (well, that’s his Twitter handle..haha!) and some members of the Concepcion family (Michael, is that you behind this?) – hooked up with young chef Bruce Ricketts (yes, he’s related to Ronnie..) formerly of the now defunct Robot and currently of his own place called Sensei Sushi in BF Homes. The food concept: Latin American via Vietnam.

Did you get that? Again, let me just say it’s pretty fun. Mind you - it’s not the time and place to expect haute cuisine. No, son, you come here to enjoy the ride.

Called Barba Cua, they decked out this small Thai restaurant along Valero with DIY attitude: South American posters, sombreros, rice paddy farmer’s hats, and ukuleles – and presented a cool little menu of small plates – perfect for sharing.

Being the adventurous peeps that we were, of course we just proceeded to order most of the menu (research, my friend. All in the name of research.)

Besides, the small plates concept – like tapas with international flair – is a great way to eat without feeling like you’re going to rip your jeggings.

A lapu lapu ceviche type thang came with little cubes of watermelon, crab, citrus bits and fresh dill.

Shredded oxtail and lengua rode in on a slightly greasy garbanzo based tortilla and topped with salsa verde and pickles. This was one of the tastiest stuff we ate. High on fat it seemed too (which may explain why it was so good.)

Some rolled and fried bits of pig head, topped with a little salad and some pig ear bits, was quite over the top. Did we like it? Well of course! Wouldn’t you?? But this was the kind of food that you could only eat a few bites of, and it begged for an ice cold beer which unfortunately was not available. (They had a cocktail menu instead – which I think could have used a bit more booze. Apparently I can be a lush too.. heehee!)

The slightly more virtuous smoked tofu came with a nice “relish” of cauliflower, raisins, carrots and other veg in a nuoc nam (fish sauce) based dressing and would’ve been great with rice, with the other vegetarian offering crispy tamales (more like a veggie and quesong puti taco of sorts) being equally tasty as well.

A steak and eggs with black garlic, and an avocado sauce was good – something every meat loving Pinoy will take to like a moth to a flame – but it was the lone starch dish of rice cooked in what was probably crab stock and topped with uni and prawns that took it all home. All in all, pretty loverly stuff.

Considering that this was probably a bitch to pull off (when we do dinner events like this with Pinoy Eats World, my body definitely takes a beating!), I gotta hand it to their team for producing a fun, let down your hair sort of evening. I had no expectations whatsoever – which is probably the frame of mind you want to have entering events like this. The food was pretty good, the room was pretty vibrant, there were lots of celeb sightings (well, Anne and Solenn, plus fashion icon and provocateur Rajo), and my company was great. (A side note: Rajo introduced me to Solen, and she said she remembered me!!! Of course, I don't think we've ever met. I would've remembered by now. Sorry Erwan. You probably get this all the time.haha!)

I can’t think of a better way to close out the weekend. The Manila Pop Up guys and gals throw a great experience our way – just the kind of thing this town needs more of. I’m looking forward to seeing what else they have up their sleeve.

Pop Up Manila is on Twitter. Follow them at @PopUpManila to find out about their next gig. Pareng Erwan said sometime in April - wait for their announcement!