Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Sutra: A New Wave of Asian Cuisine

After a long time of hiatus in food blogging, here's my first Eat's a Date come back with OpenRicePH this year.

This time, we had food tasting at Sutra in Bonifacio High Street Central. I felt excited on this restaurant because I don't know what they'll serve us unlike other famous restaurants popping nowadays. I arrived early at the place, and I was astonished on the restaurant's modern and sophisticated look.
A glimpse of Sutra's menu.
Khaezel and Mr. Kevin Prasad, Managing Director, welcomed me as I entered the restaurant. He was also behind the restaurants such as Duo (Serendra), Zuni (Greenbelt 5), and Asya (Eton Centris Walk). 
It has a touch of Chinese and Japanese ambiance which makes the place simple yet elegant.
The staff was accommodating and friendly. They're at your service any time you need them and they're happy to assist you on your needs. 
And I fell in love on the drop light :)
Chef with my favorite dish of the day! :)
Firecracker Sushi ( P310.00 ) - Spicy tuna, unagi, scallions, and tobiko on top of a sushi roll. I'm not really a fan of spicy foods, but this doesn't mean that it's my limitations. When I tasted a bit of the toppings, the spiciness was not quite evident, all I felt was a crunchy and creamy texture. As I go through, rich, flavorful, and hints of spicy flavor came along like a firecracker. This is really good that's why I agree that this is one of their best seller.


They also have dumplings which was inspired from the elements of the earth. I chose to have the green dumpling which they called Earth Dumplings ( P185.00 ). It's basically spinach and shiitake which tasted very light.


The other dumpling was Water Dumplings ( P170.00 ), which has bamboo shoots and shrimps inside - similar to Chinese's famous Hakaw.
Sutra Salad ( P450.00 ) - A healthy plate of greens, pomelo, green mango, apples, and shrimp! This is perfect for me since I'm on a diet mode - no cream dressing. I'm not actually sure what the dressing is called but it's a mixture of sweet and tangy flavor.
Sutra also offers Chef's specials or simply called as "off the menu" dishes. It's great that if you suddenly crave for something but it's off their menu, there's a chance that they can serve it in front of your table! Aside from that, they change/update their menu once a year to prevent people from getting tired of the same old menu they're using. Of course, they take away the bottom ones, and save the top sellers which their customers loved. Change is good - if it's for the better. :)
Mixed Seafood in Lemongrass Broth ( P695 ) - It has salmon, shrimps, mussels, cream dory, served with a bowl of jasmine rice. It's basically like a seafood tinola, made better by the chef. Who would have not loved our very own Filipino dish - tinola? And this calls for all the seafood lovers out there. This dish has a soothing and refreshing aroma, perfect for cold weather we're experiencing nowadays. The seafood was of enough serving and was cooked well.
Lamb Shepherd's Pie - Wow, this just hooked my attention because of it's delectable presentation. The meat is tender and boosting with flavor. The mashed sweet potato was creamy, which matches the flavorful lamb meat.
Rice shouldn't be absent for this feast ;)
Sutra's Meat Lover ( P995.00 ) - We were mesmerized the moment we saw this dish. Oh great meat, why are you so inviting to us? This is just perfect for sharing with family of friends! It's a combination of crispy pork belly, US beed rib finger, and marinated chicken served with tomato salsa and liver sauce. Every kind of meat has its unique and scrumptious flavor. They're all tender and cooked into perfection! I personally love the beef ribs. Its sauce is similar to barbecue sauce made better! The marinated chicken, was indeed boosting with flavor in and out! I could eat it even without the salsa, but I suggest you should even try to put a bit to give twist on the flavor. The pork belly, seems normal to me, but also gave an exciting crunchy texture.
Mango Panacotta and Fruits with Balsamic Ice Cream ( P180.00 ) - Balsamic? What? At first, I thought it's a chocolate ice cream, but I didn't know that this scoop of ice cream will surprise me. It's balsamic. It's sour and has a very little amount of sweetness -- basically, the weirdest dessert I've tasted. But when you really think of it, it's a daring experience to try this very unique flavor of cold treat. You just have to learn to accept the fact that there might be desserts that do not require an ample amount of sweetness. It's actually not bad at all, honestly. On the other hand, the Panacotta was soft and has a light amount of sweetness. These two desserts were actually matched with each other.
Frozen Chocolate Cake filled with Eclair and topped with Mango Flambe ( P175.00 ) - This just ended the day with an authentic smile from all of us. It satisfied my taste buds and it really tastes good!
"You can't be too safe. You have to take chances." - Mr. Kevin Prasad
Chef in his kitchen. I was delighted that they allowed us to view their kitchen and had some shots. 
Chef! :)
Thank you Sutra! You just made my day so great and I'm looking forward for another dining experience here... or maybe I should try Duo, Zuni, or Asya? :)
Photo from Ben.



SUTRA Restaurant and Bar
Bonifacio High Street Central,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Big Daddy's Chicken: Trying Out a New Kind of Chops

Living in the south, shopping and roaming around at Mall of Asia is just normal thing to me. I've tried one by one the restaurants I write on my "resto list". Though I admit, this one is not written there, E and I got curious and tried their chicken. Big Daddy's Chicken can be found in the Entertainment Mall, somewhere down the cinemas.
Quite small place, and not ideal for tambayan.
Pricy or quite fine on your budget? Hmm.
The aroma of the freshly deep fried chicken was really mouthwatering.

Chop + Rice + Soup ( P120.00 ) - There are some dishes that's really filling even though I don't have extra rice or extra dishes to eat; and there are some dishes that even though I ate the full meal, it doesn't fill my stomach that much. Bitin. The mushroom soup is ok, like those of Campbell's. For the chops, it's really mouthwatering. Though I look for more flavor. The chicken is tender, however, I am disappointed that it's not boneless.
Chop + Meaty Pasta ( P135.00 ) - I'd rather order a rice meal than this. There's nothing special about the pasta. In this picture, you can see the chicken bones in the chops.
It was not really bad, but it's not that really good. Maybe, they just need to improve on their chops so that people would be looking and craving for their chicken. :)

Big Daddy's Chicken
Mall of Asia

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Rufo's Famous Tapa: A Saucy Experience

Hello foodies! It's been a looong time since my last post. Anyways, during the Christmas season, me and my two best girlfriends went on a quick catch up bonding within the vicinity. I chose Rufo's Famous Tapa since I was really curious on their food. I waited for a couple of months from the first time I saw their "Coming Soon!" banner along the main road.
Luckily, it was their grand opening that day so balloons and a bunch of guests welcomed me as I entered the place.
Neat and well-lit place! Another good place to catch up with good friends. The staff were also kind and accommodating!
We never knew that the owners of the place were just in front of us. Though, I haven't got a chance to personally greet them.
 
Good thing about Rufo's is that they offer variety of Fil-Am and Filipino food.
Yummy treats from Rufo's. Now, what to order? :)
My date for the day! Hahaha. Naah, my other friend was late that's why she doesn't have a picture.
Mushroom Adobo ( P104.00 ) - I love these mushrooms! I like its sweet-salty flavor. Swear!! I can eat these all. It's a perfect appetizer to munch in especially when you're waiting for a friend who's running late. Hahaha! :p
Rufo's Famous Tapa ( P108.00 ) - As first timers, we decided to order this for the three of us. Looking on the plate, the serving was quite reasonable. I never knew that their tapa is saucy like this. Though, I like the tenderness of the tapa. It's mildly flavored, saucy, and all worth it!
Ending this post with their tag line:

'Sauce pa lang, ulam na!'

-which is really true :)


Rufo's Famous Tapa
Alabang Zapote Road, Las Pinas City
Website: http://www.rufos.com.ph/index.html