Traditional Filipino Feasting at Mesa Filipino Moderne

"Filipino food" and "feasting" go hand-in-hand, especially when you're with family.  Without a doubt, your stomach will be filled for the night.

At Mesa Filipino Moderne, you get traditional plates of Filipino food in a pleasantly casual setting with affordable value pricing.  It's no wonder that I've never seen this place empty on any day of the week.

Some of the dishes are modernized with appealing plating.  Every dish has strong flavors, many with fun sauces like shrimp paste or tamarind sauce.

If you're looking for an affordably priced Filipino restaurant that serves good tasting selections, this is a great option.

Place your cursor above "Notes" below to read the captions for each photo.

If you can't see the slide show here, check out my Flickr album: Mesa Grill

Starting a Ramen Search in Manila

There's nothing more comforting than noodle soups. Every cuisine has their own creation - American chicken noodle soup, Chinese wonton noodle soup, Vietnamese pho, Japanese ramen, and so on.

Miso ramen and tonkotsu ramen are my two favorite kinds of ramen. The broths are deeply pork flavored and rich with goodness. The noodles have a nice chew - with bonus points if its handmade.

When I was living in the Bay Area I searched for some of the best ramen joints. Ryowa for miso ramen and Santa Ramen for tonkotsu. And in Vegas, Monta serves some quality bowls of tonkotsu as well.

Here in Manila, I have just started my search. First up, Kenji-Tei Ramen House.

A perfect ramen house has amazing ramen AND gyoza. The gyoza here was just all right - nothing horrible, but nothing spectacular. It actually reminded me of those frozen potsticker packs from Trader Joe's, meaning a bit on the bland side.

The Spicy Negi Ramen is a miso ramen with chilis. The broth retains the ground pork chunks. It's mildly rich with a pretty good flavor. The noodles have that nice bite. Overall, this is a decent bowl of miso ramen. If I was really really craving for a bowl of ramen, I'd come here for the convenience.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: Kenji Tei

Top 10s of 2011: Top 10 Favorite Restaurants in the World

Now this is a difficult list to rank. There were countless of amazing eats this year. These past two years of living in Asia have been phenomenal for my taste buds and stomach.

My Top 10 Favorite Restaurants in the World from 2011:
10. People's Palace, Manila
9. Ye Shanghai, Hong Kong
8. Jin Sha, Hangzhou
7. Wolfgang's Steakhouse, New York City
6. Bocadillos, San Francisco
5. Every restaurant in Eataly, New York City
4. Sen-ryo, Hong Kong
3. Sala Rim Naam, Bangkok
2. Every single Din Tai Fung in Taipei and Shanghai
1. Chef's Table at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chiang Mai


Next Weekend's Top 10s: My Top 10 Favorite Cities from 2011

Top 10s of 2011: Top 10 Favorite Restaurants in the Philippines

These Top 10s are getting harder. It's difficult to narrow down 10 and, mostly, to rank them. 1 and 2 came easy, but the rest became subjective to my favorites right now from the restaurants I dined in this year.

These are restaurants that are doing great things for the dining scene here in the Philippines. They bring us to world standards for being a culinary destination. From casual, traditional eats to modern, trendy dining.

My Top 10 Favorite Restaurants from 2011:
(The links vary from this year's entries, past years' entries, and restaurant's websites because my reviews will be posted after my travel entries.)
10. Grappa's Ristorante
9. 2nd's Restaurant
8. Chef's Table
7. Abe
6. Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice
5. Cerveseria
4. Mogu Shinsen Bar and Grill
3. Chef Laudico's Bistro Filipino
2. Bale Dutung
1. People's Palace

Next Top 10s of 2011: Top 10 Favorite Restaurants in the United States

Early Morning Breakfast

One thing I can expect after every cross-Pacific flight...jetlag. This time around my jetlag had me in bed before 10pm and up by 5 or 6am (which may seem normal for some people, but I prefer sleeping a bit later and waking up an hour or two later as well). And each time I woke up, I was so ready for breakfast.

After an early 7am mass (which was the first time I was so awake and alert for a mass that early), my parents and I enjoyed a Sunday morning breakfast. Usually, our Sunday routine is brunch past 1pm. Going out to breakfast this early was actually quite enjoyable. There's no traffic, the crowds aren't hitting the malls yet, and the early morning breeze is still refreshing.

We had our first meal of the day at the only place that seemed to be open before 9am at Greenbelt mall, Museum Cafe. We opted for the a la carte menu and not their Sunday buffet selections. It was pretty enjoyable, although the service was a bit lacking.

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The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album.

Restaurant Week, Stop #3: People's Palace

Hands down, my favorite restaurant here in Manila is People's Palace. My parents and I eat there at least once a week. And if we don't eat there in a week, it's because we're out of town. The ingredients are fresh, the flavors are full, the ambiance is pleasant, and the service is excellent. This restaurant makes me less homesick for San Francisco because it feels like a great restaurant in San Francisco. Actually, sometimes there are more Caucasians here than in restaurants in SF. I think People's can rival with the best SF Asian restaurants, like The Slanted Door.

The menu for Restaurant Week was off the menu selections. Everything was so enjoyable! We had a variety of six orders to share. Of all the four places we ate at for week, this place was definitely my favorite because of the wine selection and the execution of the foods.

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Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Restaurant Week, Stop #2: Sala Bistro

Reviewing the menus for Restaurant Week, we decided to try out Sala Bistro next. We have enjoyed our visits to this restaurant, so we knew the meal would be satisfactory. For the most part, the meal was pretty good, but overall the flavors of the meal lacked basic seasonings. I will go back to this restaurant in the future, though, because they have a fun menu selection with some really tasty offerings.

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Check out my Flickr album if you can't see the slideshow here.

Lunch at the Museum Cafe

For a quick weekday lunch, my dad and I walked to Greenbelt 4 for a bite at the Museum Cafe, or M Cafe. It was surprisingly pleasant outside, so we enjoyed their outdoor eating. The food was pretty good and nicely presented. If I do go back, I think I would go back just for a casual drink, though. Although it still isn't to my standard of a good strong drink, it is the least watered down cocktail I've encountered thus far.

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More Dim Sum

When you go to a restaurant for a specific craving and the food is just average, you are left with craving that food even more. That was the case for our dim sum craving. So we ventured to Peking Garden in Greenbelt 5. Unfortunately, we found it to be another average dim sum meal. With all our traveling and fondness for good quality food, we do set our standards and expectations high. We're looking for quality, fresh ingredients, and authenticity (though there are those chefs and restaurants where creativity successfully modernizes authenticity). I loove food, but I'm also a conscious eater with my health and weight in mind - I'm not going to waste my calories for average food.

Here are pictures from our meal:

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Sala Bistro

Located in Greenbelt 3, Sala Bistro is also owned by the same owner as People's Palace. The cuisine presents modern bistro style dishes. Overall, I enjoyed all the dishes and the restaurant. The menu has many choices that encourage you to come back.

 

The Bistro Mezze
Lamb Koftas and Tsatsiki, Courgette Fritters, Tabouleh, Hummus, Baba Ghanoush, Imam Bayildi, and Pizza Bianca.
A great mediterranean plate to share as a starter. It's typically served with pita, but they ran out and substituted it with pizza bianca.

Artichoke, Spinach and Three Cheese Dip
A generous and creamy bowl of warm dip. Another great starter to share.

Macaroni, Bacon, and Cheese
A great plate of mac n' cheese! These definitely is up there with some of the better orders I have had. Creamy, cheese, and full of flavor.

Fish and Chips
Nicely fried and a good cut of white fish.

Chicken, Leek, and Bacon Pot Pie
A nice take on pot pie. The crust was separately baked and laid on the creamy chicken filling before served. It was nice and flaky! A satisfying order of chicken pot pie.

Ice Cream Sampler
Rum 'n' Raisin, Honeycomb, Banana Caramel
A fun presentation!

Halo Halo

For dessert one night my parents and I were craving for halo halo. We went to the Travel Cafe in Greenbelt 5. The menu said it's big enough for 3 people. When it came out it looked like it was big enough for 6 people. It was huge! It was a complete halo halo with the native ice creams, ube, beans, tapiocas, fruits, pinipig (Filipino Rice Krispies), and leche flan. Yum!

The Inside

Halo Halo

Banana Leaf

A few years ago, some relatives took my family to eat at one of Banana Leaf's branches. It was a fun experience. I have great memories of eating off of banana leaves. Unfortunately, those fond memories were not repeated when we tried the restaurant again. This time, we tried the Greenbelt 3 branch. The concept is still great, but the execution of the food was disappointing. The food was decent, but it was not something that made me want to go back and eat there again.

The Outside
A lot of restaurants in Greenbelt have outside seating. Because of the warm weather, it's pleasant to eat outside and enjoy the night.

The Setting
Instead of plates, you eat on banana leaves! It's a fun way to eat South East Asian cuisine.

Coconut Juice
I love coconut juice in Asia! They come presented in the actual coconut, and afterwards you get to enjoy the tender coconut meat inside.


Coconut Rice
Completely not what we expected. We thought it would be that sticky rice with coconut infused oils and flavors. Instead, they opened a can of dense coconut milk and slathered it all on top of white rice. Not a good order.

Mixed Vegetables
You can't really mess up an order or sauteed vegetables, so this order was all right.

Stir Fried Oat Prawns Singaporean Style
This was a pretty interesting dish. The oats were fried and provided a nice texture. A pretty good order.

Charcoal Grilled Whole Squid Thai Style
Another decent order. The sauce had a nice sweet spice, while the grilled taste of the squid came through.

Stir Fried Crab in Vermicelli
A decent order of crab with pretty tasty vermicelli. The order was a bit over-priced for what you can get at other places, though.

Cibo

From the same owner as Pepato, comes Cibo Restaurant. There are several Cibo restaurants across Metro Manila. We went to the one in Greenbelt 5. The food is comforting and decently priced.

The Back of the Place Mat
For kids to color.

Chips
Instead of bread, they give homemade chips with a homemade mayonnaise dipping sauce. A nice light start! The chips are thinly cut and not overly fried.

The Pairing
A white wine to pair with the pizza and pastas. Light and refreshing.

Pizza
Half with anchovies and half with squash blossoms. We requested to split the pizza with two sides of toppings. It was tasty, but at the same time it doesn't compete with Settebello or Pizzeria Delfina.

Penne
With mushrooms and a tomato cream sauce. Topped with goat cheese. The best dish of the night. A tasty plate!

Spaghetti alla Romana
The sauce could have had more olive oil, but other than that it was a pretty good pasta dish.

Chocolate Cake
A semi-flourless cake. Pretty good, but the chocolate could have had more depth.

Pepato

Pepato in Greenbelt 2 is one of the places I remember eating at when I was last in Manila two years ago. I was eager to go back and test the consistency of the food. It's just as great as I remember it. It's Italian cuisine with a Filipino background.

Amuse Bouche
Chicharon with whipped parmesan butter and adobo flakes.

Bread Sticks

Bread Bowl

Buffalo Mozzarella
On a Squid Crostone with Yellow Peppers and Anchovies. A great start!

Caesar Salad

Veal Loin Cannelloni
This is the dish that I remember loving two years ago. It's no longer on the menu, but we asked if they could make it. It's still so good! I love the delicate cream sauce and the fresh-tasting pasta.

Spaghetti Pepato
Finished in the Parmesan Wheel. Cool!


Baked Trotters
The winner of the meal. This order was so awesome! It's basically Crispy Pata. Yum!

The Sauces
A soy-vinegar sauce and a less-sweet lechon sauce.

Success!
We enjoyed every bite of the meat and skin down to the bone. Delicious.

Palate Cleanser
A generous scoop of mango sorbet.

Pavlova
The meringue was nicely baked and not too sweet.

Pyramid
Chocolate Cake with Parmesan Ice Cream. The ice cream was not too sweet, and that was a nice balance to the rich chocolate cake.

Another Round at People's Palace

I love restaurants where you can go to again and order something completely different from the first visit. We did just that at People's Palace.
The Pairing
Riesling, Casa Nuestra, Napa Valley, 2008
We brought this wine from our collection and just paid a little corkage fee. Riesling goes so well with Thai food.

Crispy Squid
with Tamarind Relish. Nicely fried calamaris. A great plate to start the meal!

Fishcakes
The warmth of the fishcakes was comforting. Another great starter.

Papaya Salad
A refreshing salad with fresh ingredients. A nice balance after the fried starters.

Kapi Fried Rice
This normally comes deconstructed, but we asked for them to mix it already. The plate was really generous, but it was so good we managed to finish it.

Whole Lapu Lapu
Crispy fried. I love whole fried fish, and this did not disappoint.

Sticky Rice
With ripe mangoes and coconut cream. I found the coconut cream to be a bit too sweet, but the dish was still a nice end to the meal. I love the sweetness of the mangoes.