Post-Birthday Treat at Banana Leaf

Posted on July 25, 2014

Two weeks after my son’s 8th birthday, we went to The Podium and had lunch with Justin’s lolo (grandfather) and Tita Meme (my younger sister) at Banana Leaf.

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We ordered the following: Roti Canai, Deep-Fried Pandan Chicken, Tilapia Fillet with Assam Sambal Sauce, Malayan Chicken Curry with Potatoes and Barbecue Roasted Whole Baby Back Ribs.

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Roti Canai, Php88.00 and Curry Sauce, Php30.00

This is one of our favorite Banana Leaf offerings. Roti Canai is a flaky and slightly crispy flatbread that is dipped in flavorful curry sauce. Like our previous visit to Banana Leaf last year, this was all our son had for lunch. We ordered more than one Roti Canai, and he ate a lot of it. Ergo, he was already full, and he didn’t want to touch any of the other food served on our table anymore.

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Deep-Fried Pandan Chicken, Php168.00

Of course, this Deep-Fried Pandan Chicken is always included in our list of must-order food at Banana Leaf. It’s fried chicken wrapped in pandan leaves. What you get is soft, juicy and perfectly seasoned chicken in every bite.

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Tilapia Fillet with Assam Sambal Sauce, Php288.00

You can expect this Tilapia Fillet with Assam Sambal Sauce to be spicy as fresh chilis are the main ingredient for sambal sauce.

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Malayan Chicken Curry with Potatoes, Php238.00

The thick, silky Thai curry sauce looks so inviting, and it wasn’t too spicy. This Malayan Chicken Curry with Potatoes was delicious!

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Barbecue Roasted Whole Baby Back Ribs, Php388.00

This Barbecue Roasted Whole Baby Back Ribs was my least favorite in terms of taste, but hubby found it okay. The meat was also tender enough to enjoy.

You can guess from our smiling faces and the empty platters and banana leaves on our table that we had a satisfying lunch at Banana Leaf, but more than the food, it was the time that Justin’s lolo and Tita Meme spent with us that made this particular post-birthday treat memorable.

Banana Leaf
2nd Floor, The Podium
Mandaluyong City

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Posted in Banana Leaf, Birthday Treat, Thai Cuisine, The Podium

Il Padrino Coffee at Robinsons Galleria

Posted on July 17, 2014

We were finally able to try Il Padrino Coffee at Robinsons Galleria last month. Because we didn’t know what to order, we trusted the suggestions of our food server. We had Italian White Pizza, Seafood Marinara and Margherita Pasta with Herbed Fish.

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Complimentary focaccia bread with dip

While waiting for our food, we were given a small basket of focaccia bread with a dip (olive oil and soy sauce, I think). The bread was soft, and the dip made it more interesting to nibble on. Our son loved it!

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Italian White Pizza (10”), Php290.00

Italian White Pizza is pizza with cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, bacon, olives, garlic and fresh basil leaves. I loved the bacon and the cheese but not the olives. Hubby and son didn’t like it much, so I think we’ll have a different pizza next time.

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Margherita Pasta with Herbed Fish, Php170.00

I was excited to try this Margherita Pasta with Herbed Fish, seared dory with Il Padrino’s Mediterranean rub tossed in tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese and topped with parmesan cheese. The first few forkfuls were okay, but the taste became a bit cloying after a while that I wasn’t able to finish all of it.

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Seafood Marinara, Php180.00

This Seafood Marinara is shrimp, squid and fish fillet with pomodoro sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese. This was good! I actually liked this better than the Margherita Pasta with Herbed Fish. The pasta was cooked al dente with a generous serving of seafood in rich and slightly sweet sauce.

The prices of food at Il Padrino Coffee were quite reasonable, but we have yet to discover what we really like from their list of food offerings. We will only know that if we order other items on their menu next time.

Il Padrino Coffee
4th Level, West Wing
Robinsons Galleria
Quezon City

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Posted in Il Padrino Coffee, Italian Cuisine, Robinsons Galleria

Spatzle Euro Market Café at Shangri-La Plaza Mall

Posted on July 11, 2014

I haven’t been blogging much since school opened last June for lack of time. Being without a helper for 6 months makes it really hard for me to juggle my daily tasks which include my online work, household chores, helping my grade-schooler with school work, and blogging. After 5 days, finally, I have a new food article. Yay! We tried Spatzle Euro Market Café at Shangri-La Plaza Mall last June 15. It’s a small rustic restaurant located at Shangri-La East Wing that offers European dishes. I’ve read from other blog posts that complimentary chips were served on the customers’ table while orders are being prepared, but we had none of those. I wonder why. Anyway, our lunch at Spatzle consisted of chicken and pork dishes.

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TGIF Chicken (Solo), Php320.00

This TGIF Chicken was not on their menu, but our server suggested we try it. She said unlike the Spatz Fried Chicken, this TGIF Chicken was marinated first before it was fried. So that’s the reason why it was so flavorful. It was also soft and juicy inside. It came with two dips (paprika gravy and oh, I forgot the other one, sorry!) and country fries. We all enjoyed this!

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Weekend Roast Pork Belly, Php685.00

This Weekend Roast Pork Belly is one of Spatzle’s house specialties. It’s half a kilo of slow-roasted pork belly with citrus and rosemary rub drizzled with peachy-pork jus and served with vegetable salad and garlic rice. As expected, the meat was tender, but it had a sweet flavor that overpowered the meat. Hubby and I liked the TGIF Chicken better than this.

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Spatz All-Natural Caffeine-Free Iced Tea, Php98.00

We also tried Spatz All-Natural Caffeine-Free Iced Tea. It was bland, but I finished my glass. Our son, however, took only one sip. He said he didn’t like it and just opted for a glass of cold water instead.

We’ll definitely order the TGIF Chicken again but will choose a different pork dish and drinks on our next visit to Spatzle.

Spatzle Euro Market Café
Level 5, East Wing
Shangri-La Plaza Mall
Mandaluyong City

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Posted in European Cuisine, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Spatzle Euro Market Cafe