We had lunch at Nono’s at The Podium last Saturday to celebrate our son’s 12th birthday. Owned by Chef Baba Ibazeta-Benedicto of Classic Confections, Nono’s is a classy yet homey restaurant that offers modern comfort food.
As far as I know, I’ve only tried balsamic vinegar as bread dip, mixed with olive oil. That’s probably the reason why this dish fascinated me. I wanted to discover how it tastes like. Pork Belly Balsamic Adobo is basically pork belly marinated in balsamic vinegar and served with adobo rice. The pork belly chops are tender, and as expected has lots of fats, which I’ve mostly tried to avoid. Compared with the regular adobo cooked in white vinegar, balsamic vinegar is lightly sweet but more sour than white vinegar, but the tartness is pleasantly manageable. And oh, I loved the crispy-fried leeks on top of the pork belly! While I’m okay with this pork dish, I think my husband would have enjoyed this more since he’s the certified pork lover in the family.
Hubby’s Parmesan Crusted Sole with Tomato & Basil Spaghettini should have been mine. This is baked sole fillet with parmesan cheese, herbs and lemon, served with tomato and basil spaghettini. The fish was mildly seasoned with a crispy, outer crust. Hubby said the spaghettini was good, although I wasn’t able to try it, but I know for a fact that tomato and basil together go well together.
The birthday celebrant settled for the Fried Chicken Nibblers, which is fried chicken fillet with fries, served with gravy and ketchup. He liked this very much! He said the chicken fillet was crispy outside and juicy and tasty inside. He also finished the fries rather quickly, and he said he was “bitin” because he wanted more chicken fillet and fries. I guess the serving wasn’t enough for a hungry 12-year-old.
For the Cookie Skillet a la Mode, diners have the choice of freshly baked brownie cookie or chocolate chip cookie, topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with salted caramel. The birthday celebrant chose chocolate chip cookie. He said he found the combination of hot and chewy chocolate chip cookie and the cold ice cream to be quite delightful. It also wasn’t too sweet.
This was how our son’s birthday lunch went. We then headed to a shoe store to buy his birthday gift.
Nono’s
Second Level, The Podium
12 ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center
Mandaluyong City
Telephone No.: (02) 637-5147
Email: nonos@tastematers.com.ph
FB & IG: nonos.ph
