7.250

11 (Sun) September 2016

Hummus

3.0

at Hossein

-Serendra Piazza, Taguig-

with the family

TERSP.  Try Every Restaurant in Serendra Piazza.  The family now living in Manila, our new home is in the One Serendra condominium complex.  The complex includes a mini-mall (“Serendra Piazza”) dedicated primarily to food and drink, with 23 restaurants (plus additional dessert/snack joints).  We’re going eat our way through all the restaurants (and probably the dessert/snack joints, though not as part of TERSP).  In contrast to the negative net returns on similar projects conducted by myself in Ermite/Malate, I’m optimistic that The Fort — one of the country’s poshest neighborhoods, where food is taken seriously — won’t disappoint us. So far, so good.

Each restaurant is listed below in order of preference based on the overall dining experience, including the quality of all dishes tried, cost, service, cleanliness, ambiance, and any other factors that may apply, cumulative through multiple visits (if any).

1. (10) Mamou (7.203 …T-Bone Steak) / 3.25 / Italian
2. (3)   Lartizan (7.060 Vol-au-Vent de Poulet…) / 3.5 / French
3. (1)   Sentro 1771 (7.004 Tortang Talong) / 3.0 / Filipino
4. (18) Hossein
5. (6)   Chelsea Grand Café (7.179 … Corned Beef Brisket Sandwich) / 2.5 / American
6. (12) Mogu Bar & Grill (7.213 Grilled Wagyu Roll) / 2.5 / Japanese
7. (4)   8cuts (7.122 I Got Big Game) / 3.0 / American
8. (5)   Larry’s Café and Bar (7.162 Roast Chicken aux Champignons) / 3.0 / French
9. (17) Balducci (7.241 Insalata di Mare) / 2.0 / Italian
10. (2)   Zao Vietnamese Bistro (7.053 Seafood Rice) / 3.25 / Vietnamese
11. (8)   Gino’s (7.182 SMEGG Pizza) / 2.0 / Italian
12. (15) Abé (7.234 Sikreto ni Maria Claria) / 3.5 / Filipino
13. (13) Conti’s Bakeshop & Restaurant (7.218 USDA Roasted Beef Belly) / 2.5 / American
14. (7)   Wang Fu (7.180 General Tso’s Chicken) / 2.5 / Chinese
15. (14) Wee Nam Kee (7.223 Steamed Hainanese Yellow Chicken) / 2.0 / Singaporean *
16. (16) Phat Pho (7.237 Pho Bo) / 2.5 / Vietnamese
17. (11)  Saboten (7.212 Shrimp & Tenderloin Set) / 3.0 / Japanese
18. (9)   Echo Deli (7.189 Korean Beef Stew) / 1.5 / “Korean”

* In light of a disappointing follow-up meal recently (in real time, not yet on the GMTD timeline, to be posted in the future), Wee Nam Kee’s ranking has dropped from its previous position at #11.

The menu also offers curries from Thailand and Malaysia (+ 1.5 zones), which is a major stretch, culinarily speaking, as curries from Southeast Asia bear little in common to curries from South Asia and beyond, only that they’re all blends of various spices and aromatics, even though they’re both referred to as “curry” in English (admittedly, they’re also both tagged together as “curry” on GMTD).

The food was good, maybe even leaning towards really good.  Starting with my all-time favorite appetizers from the Iranian-Arabian side of the globe, including the first hummus that I’ve had since Jordan well over a year ago (see mostly recently 6.159 Memories of Hummus), and of course tabouleh (see most recently 7.152 Pan-Grilled Pork Belly with Tabouleh…).  Rounded out the meal in India, with biryani, naan, and butter chicken.  Nice meal.