Crispy Pata!

In the same building as Milky Way Cafe are two other restaurants from the same owners. In one week, we visited all three. They all have one thing in common: amazing crispy pata (deep fried pork knuckles)! If you're in the Philippines, you have to enjoy an order of crispy pata every once in awhile.

Azuthai
We finally ventured away from our favorite Thai restaurant, People's Palace, to try out a new place. Overall, it did not compare to People's. Everything was good, but not great. However, we do have a reason to return - the crispy pata! Wow.

Crispy Prawn Spring Rolls
With Sweet Spicy Dipping Sauce. Nice presentation, but the crispiness was not there because the wrapper was too thick.

Stir-Fried Water Spinach
With Garlic.

Red Curry with Roast Duck
With Tomatoes and Pineapple with a side of White Rice. This was a pretty decent bowl of curry. The flavor of the duck and red curry was distinct.

Baby Crispy Pata with Two Thai Sauces
The crispiness of the skin! The tenderness of the meat! Wow, great stuff.

Bagoong Fried Rice
Rice stir fried with bagoong. It comes deconstructed with toppings: fried egg, onions, pork, and mangoes. I love this take on fried rice. It's full of flavor and goes so well with the food.

Pad Thai
A classic Thai order. Whenever I go to a new Thai restaurant, I always try to order Pad Thai. It's my test to see if the restaurant is good or not. This was pretty decent, but nothing exciting. It could have used more chili paste sauce, but I like the larger width of the noodles.

Cirkulo
Of the three restaurants, Cirkulo is the most "fine dining." The cuisine is International. Overall, it was a nice experience and worth a trip back, especially to try out more things on their menu like their cochinillo.

Amuse Bouche
Mini Bruschetta.

Boquerones
White anchovies, olive oil, garlic, and capers. The anchovies were pretty small and skinny, but the flavor was good.

Croquetas
Jamon serrano and chicken filled béchamel croquettes. Nicely fried for a decent order of croquetas.

Espinicas
Baby spinach, tomato concassé, crisp pork cracklings, sherry vinaigrette. A tasty sweet, sour dressing. I love a salad that's paired with chicharones.

Spaghettini Palermitano
Anchovy, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, olive oil, pine nuts.

Baby Crispy Pata with Garlic Potatoes
Yum! Another well done order of crispy pata! This time it came with lechon sauce. The garlic potatoes were basically home fries, which I really enjoyed.

Thai-Style Halo Halo
We were originally going to order Halo Halo from Milky Way, but the waitress recommended to try Azuthai's Thai Halo Halo. It's basically Filipino Halo Halo, but with coconut milk instead of evaporated milk.