Thursday evening was dry - which was good news, it meant we need not have worried about getting rained out, specially since the event was happening at the Piazza open grounds, with just a large tent pitched up and tables with chairs arranged to give an outdoor dining experience mood.
I'd just come form my training (a walk away from where this event was happening - which is a definite plus factor for me) and went through the motion of introducing myself to the organizers with the help of Jinky. Apparently, I arrived just in time as the entire place was already set-up; ready to accept their invited guests. I was given my passport, a wristband was placed on me and settled down to my table, I was then approached by some helpful people representing their respective establishments, with he intent to help kick start my Food Adventure.
As this was my first experience participating in such an event I was definitely excited to jump into tasting mode. I started out my getting an 8oz. Moroccan Mint Hot Tea Latte from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, as this was something I would occasionally order with them, it helped me get into the right, relaxed mood. As always, this beverage had a relaxing effect on me. As I normally get this product, I did not bother to rate it - after all, I would have been biased. SO lets just say that I was happy this was one of the six items offered - the others were Chai, English Breakfast, Tropical Passion, Match Green and Apple Pie - in hindsight maybe I should have tried these others... but I tend to be a creature of habit. Maybe next time, I'll try the Apple Pie, I mean, who wouldn't want to try out such a flavored tea latte?
My first dish, courtesy of Little Asia, was their Vietnamese Spring Rolls (the alternative was their Shrimp Curls with Mango Dip, which I tried at a latter time, courtesy of a friend who ordered this option instead), and what I can say about the spring rolls is the fact that they really tasted great... it had the right crunchiness, and I'm a bit embarrassed to say that what started out as a taste test ended up with me consuming the entire serving (even if I had to contend with the hot food - luckily I did not scald my taste palette, but this was my fault and not the food's). We tend to have vinegar as condiment for the spring rolls, and Little Asia's vinegar dip had the right combination of being mildly sweet and sour. Out of five stars I would give this dish a strong 4-stars!
After this, I tried out the Karaage and Kakuni buns from the Ramen Bar. I must say that the Karaage (chicken in this instance) was one of the best tasting dishes of the night - I could have wanted seconds on this; as for the Kakuni buns, they came across as not that spectacular... I guess, by themselves they would have been good - but placed beside the Karaage, they were just easily disregarded (not that I disregarded mine - after all, I still loved eating them. If I were to rank this dish as a whole, I'd give it a 3.5 stars, only because the Karaage - which to me deserved a five star, got dragged down by its side dish.
My next two samples came courtesy of Kuse, Traditional Filipino Cuisine and Old Vine Grille, Kuse's choices were their Lechon Kawali or their Chicken Relleno - I gave into temptation and and got the Lechon Kawali a.k.a. Bagnet, with rice and some pickled unripe papaya strips (a.k.a. atchara). Simply put, the skin was crunchy, the pork was tender, and I had to definitely trim down the fat - even if there was not too much of it, for health food-conscious me. Still, it was nice to indulge a bit. I would suggest that next time, Kuse would try giving the traditional lechon sauce to further emphasice the 'Filipino' experience. I ranked this dish with four stars.
From Old Vine, the options were Grilled Fish Fillet with Lemon Butter sauce or Chicken Barbecue with Fries and Red Beans - I opted for their Grilled Fish Fillet which came with some vegetable salad and rice. Did I say I was not anymore taking the rice that comes with the dishes? Nope, I was concentrating on the dishes themselves. That being the case, I got to enjoy the dish better - and realize that there were some slightly saltier portions. For this dish, I will have to say I loved the fish, and the salad was nice too - but gave it a three and a half stars for the uneven saltiness. Personally, I'd lessen the saltiness - I don't mind a relatively bland dish where I would add the condiment to better fit my taste.
At this point, I needed to slow down, so I opted to take one of the desserts, namely the Yo Swirl yogurt - specifically their Vanilla-flavored version with some chocolate toppings. This would give me a breather, and hopefully reset my taste palette. Now, I have to say that I know how the vanilla yogurt tastes like, as its a regular item I order - though I've yet to try it with some chocolate toppings (as opposed to the usual strawberry toppings I take with my orders). The Yo Swirl break hit the spot, and I was ready to continue my adventure. Next time though, would it be possible ot get more Yo Swirls? No star rating here for the same reason I gave earlier regarding the tea.
The adventure continues and this time I ordered Pho Hoa's Pomelo salad and Red Crab's Dory Fillet with Honey Mustard Sauce - its other option was Fried Stuffed Bean Curd with Crab Relleno served with Garlic Chili sauce. The Pomelo salad is, once again, something I've regularly ordered when I dine in Pho Hoa, and though it is considered an appetizer, I needed it to help make sure I had something to counter any dish that I might be tired of. In other words, 'pang alis nang umay'.
The Red Crab Dory, I'm sorry to say, had that effect on me. I felt that it had too many extenders (flour) and not enough fish in the dish to sort of lose the fish taste - granted that Dory is not a strong tasting fish, something had to be done ot make the fish taste rise up - and tasting the extenders instead gives one the thought, likely or not, that the dish was made with scrimping in mind. So I guess it was just proper that as I was trying out the Dory, I had the Pomelo salad. It is with this concern that I have to rate the dory dish a two stars. In hindsight, I should have ordered the crab relleno - after all, the place will not be called Red Crab if their specialty isn't crab dishes, right?
It was at this point that I felt the need to end my adventure, after all, I was full... really full, and any further adventuring would be less appreciated. But I was not yet ready to leave the venue - not without dessert and a coffee drink. Saving perhaps the best for last, I got my scoop of gelato, courtesy of Sol Gelato. I always was curious as to how their mint flavored, chocolate shell topped gelato tasted like, and this evening was a perfect chance for me to try things out. Now, Sol Gelato is another place I frequent when at the Piazza; in fact, I was just there right after lunch to get some dessert. So I knew that ending the day with a Sol Gelato was the perfect way to cap my eating adventure.
I also ordered my 12oz iced coffee (decaf) from Figaro (another place I frequent for their Barako blend, so no review for this as well... lets just say I liked it, and the fact that it was Decaf meant I wold not be awake in the middle of the night. Also note, that the decaf option was my preference - you can order regular. This drink I milked and sipped as I drove home. There were definitely some other dishes I was unable to try - believe me, I tried trying them all in one sitting... maybe in my younger days as a college student, I might have been up to finishing every dish in the resto hopping adventure - not now though.
Just to let you know what I missed, I'll just make a roll call:
- Empire Deli and Restaurant's options of Grilled Tuna or their Empire signature salad. My colleagues swear to the Grilled Tuna, so that's what I might have ordered.
- Pinchos' duo of Buffalo Chicken Fillet with Chips and Salsa (I like Buffalo wings - thus I'm curious about this as well.
- Blackwood Bistro's Penne Puttanesca (looked tasty, but I was just too full)
- KBOP's Chap Chae (glass noodles) or their Seafood and Vegestables Pancake (this one sounds like its worth a try).
Four dishes left out... man, maybe if I wasn't weight conscious.
So the bottom line... is this adventure worth its Php600 price tag? I'd have to say DE-finitely. You have to try it. It might be too pricey for a family to get individual passports, so maybe in the future Megaworld can consider a family version of the passport. This way, even the members who don't really eat a lot (and in my family, I'm the one who eats a lot) can likewise partake of such a food trip without feeling guilty that they aren't consuming their passport's worth. This allows the possibility of enjoying the adventure Then again, remember... when the adventure is done (it only is valid for the Saturday it was purchased - unless you bought is late Sunday, in which case you can continue using said passport the following Saturday.
For more information, call the Megaworld Lifestyle malls concierge at 7099888, 7090888 or 09178380111.
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