Mesa is not like most restaurants serving Filipino food. Their recipes are innovative - it's like modernizing the traditional way of preparing the regional dishes.
This was our first time to eat here so we were curious as to how the food will be like. However, being on a diet and not that adventurous, we decided on ordering the laing, garlic chicken and pork barbecue.
Laing is basically taro leaves cooked with coconut cream mixed with pork and shrimp paste topped with adobo flakes. They served it in the traditional and crispy way. My wife and I are laing fans and this was the best we have tasted so far. It wasn't spicy and the adobo flakes added some pizzaz to the overall taste. Five stars for sure.
The way the garlic chicken was prepared was a surprising delight. The mixture of honey and garlic glaze gave the meat a certain degree of deliciousness. My only nit was that there were quite an amount of bones included. Because of that I will only rate this at four stars.
Their pork barbecue was not much different from the usual fare found in every Filipino restaurant. The serving was quite generous though. 3.5 stars
To go with these entrees we had garlic rice, again not much different from most Filipino restaurants. I will also rate this at 3.5 stars.
Service was outstanding! The waiters and staff were polite and attentive to the needs of the customers.
Five stars for that.
One distinguishing aspect of Mesa is their quaint tilted glass which I find rather cute.
Price-wise, an entree ranges from P180 and up. Our total order came to about P750
Overall, considering the quality and taste of the food, the service and the ambiance, I'd rate Mesa at four stars.
Please check out their website: http://mesa.ph/main/3000/index562b.html?pageid=107743
"That was a great lunch!" Cynthia said for the umpteenth time as we were driving home. My wife who is an excellent cook herself very seldom reacts this way after a dining out experience. So what was it at Toni's Grill that elicited such praises from my better half?
The food, of course! We had been to this place along Commonwealth several times before inasmuch as it is very close to La Mesa Ecopark - a favorite birding place of ours, but in those occasions we just ordered from their "99'ers" menu. For the price of 99 pesos (about $2) we get a rice plate - unlimited rice with a choice of entrees and bottomless iced tea. The servings are quite small, which is fair enough considering the price but still the dishes are delicious.
This time, however, we opted for the ala carte menu. We had our friend Irene joining us so we ordered three entrees: Crispy Binagoongan, Seafood Medley and Sizzling Bulalo.
First the Binagoongan. Basically it was deep fried pork loin on top of sauteed bagoong (shrimp paste) and boiled eggplant with hot chili pepper on the side. As the name implied, the pork loin was indeed crispy! The sauteed bagoong had just the right fishy flavor in it that boosted the overall taste of the dish. We all agreed that this merited a 5 star rating.
The seafood medley was super delicious. It had shrimp, squid cutlets and breaded orange roughy cooked with red and green bell peppers, onion, tomato, garlic and bits of black fungus mushroom with soy sauce. The orange roughy definitely does not have any fishy taste at all which, for me, is a big plus. It had that melt-in-your-mouth tenderness. The squid is a bit tough but then that's how squid meat really is. Because of the squid, we gave it only 4.5 out of 5 stars.
The bulalo (meat around a bone with marrow inside) was served sizzling but strangely not painful-to-the-tongue hot. The meat was served with a special gravy, onion rings and mixed vegetables on the side. The beef was tender and juicy and very well done. Without question - 5 stars.
Complementing the delicious food was the excellent service provided by the staff. Ice cold water was served even before we have made any order. The wait for the entrees were not very long - about 15 minutes which was fast considering the kind of dishes we ordered. The waiters were very attentive and courteous.
Overall rating: 5 stars! Did I mention how my wife kept gushing over our dining experience here?
They don't have a website but you can check out important information (address, telephone number, menu) in this website: http://www.clickthecity.com/food-drink/b/NN33222/toni-s-grill-fairview
October 24, 2013
Allow me to beg for your indulgence for not being very specific in my review of this restaurant and for the lack of photos. Two reasons: First of all there's just so many dishes offered that even those that we partook of were simply too much for a detailed discussion. Secondly, today is my birthday.
Originally, Cynthia wanted to celebrate my birthday at Vikings Buffet restaurant at SM Marikina for the simple reason that birthday celebrants eat for free! However, we were at the Ortigas Center for some errands. While my wife was visiting her friends at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) I was checking out the restaurants at SM Megamall. After she finished her chores, I met up with my wife and told her that Dad Kamayan Saisaki (which serves a triple cuisine type buffet) also had the same offer.
We were escorted to our seat by the friendly hostess clad in Japanese kimono. After explaining the "house rules" she told us we can start getting our food. The vast array of delicious entrees, from sushi to Kare-kare made choosing what to get a daunting task. Please realize that for the past three weeks we changed our diet regimen to a minimalist style. However, since it was my birthday, we both agreed that we can temporarily set that aside for today.
Our first selection was a mixture of Japanese/Chinese cuisine - yang chow fried rice, shrimp tempura (for me), fish tempura (for Cynthia), hot chicken salad (for me), fresh mandarin salad (for Cynthia), fried egg rolls, fried calamari and a beef dish (I forgot the name - too much food does that to my brain). For round two, my wife and I concentrated on Filipino dishes - morcon, embutido, lechon macao, and seashells: kuhol (snails) for Cynthia, tahong (mussels) for me.
Then for desert, let me just say one thing: creme brulee. There were dozens of other choices, and we got some of those, too, but for both my wife and I, creme brulee it was! And oh, there was even a cream puff made in the shape of a swan!
Now let me tell you about the service. It was excellent! The waiters were very attentive! They would even carry your plates to your table for you. The bottomless tea glass always got filled almost religously. Used plates were removed promptly.
The highlight was when a quartet of musicians (two guitarists, one bassist, one vocalist) came to our table and sang "Happy birthday" to me. When asked if we have any requests, Cynthia suggested a song sung by the Trio Los Panchos. As they sang Besame Mucho, tears fell from eyes. I can't explain why. I'm sure these were happy tears. Perhaps I was reminded of the times when we visit my children in California. We always go to Mijares, a Mexican restaurant, where a trio (2 guitarists, 1 bassist) sang Spanish ditties. Maybe those memories of times with my family made me a bit nostalgic and sentimental.
I was still sniffling after we left as I told my wife that I was glad that it was here that I had my birthday lunch. And that was not just because my meal was free.
Please check out their website:
Dads Kamayan Saisaki
