7.255

2 (Fri) September 2016

Baby Back Ribs

3.5

at Murray and D’Vine

-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 (7.250 Hummus) / 3.0 / Arabic
5. (19) Murray and D’Vine
6. (6)   Chelsea Grand Café (7.179 … Corned Beef Brisket Sandwich) / 2.5 / American
7. (12) Mogu Bar & Grill (7.213 Grilled Wagyu Roll) / 2.5 / Japanese
8. (4)   8cuts (7.122 I Got Big Game) / 3.0 / American
9. (5)   Larry’s Café and Bar (7.162 Roast Chicken aux Champignons) / 3.0 / French
10. (17) Balducci (7.241 Insalata di Mare) / 2.0 / Italian
11. (2)   Zao Vietnamese Bistro (7.053 Seafood Rice) / 3.25 / Vietnamese
12. (8)   Gino’s (7.182 SMEGG Pizza) / 2.0 / Italian
13. (15) Abé (7.234 Sikreto ni Maria Claria) / 3.5 / Filipino
14. (13) Conti’s Bakeshop & Restaurant (7.218 USDA Roasted Beef Belly) / 2.5 / American
15. (7)   Wang Fu (7.180 General Tso’s Chicken) / 2.5 / Chinese
16. (14) Wee Nam Kee (7.223 Steamed Hainanese Yellow Chicken) / 2.0 / Singaporean *
17. (16) Phat Pho (7.237 Pho Bo) / 2.5 / Vietnamese
18. (11)  Saboten (7.212 Shrimp & Tenderloin Set) / 3.0 / Japanese
19. (9)   Echo Deli (7.189 Korean Beef Stew) / 1.5 / “Korean”

With all the boozer-smokers hanging out in front, and open-to-air main hall on the first floor — a lot of places here do that, pumping out the AC while keeping all the doors open — also the limited bar-app menu, I wasn’t looking forward to taking the family to Murray and D’Vine, regretting that I hadn’t gotten it out of the way while I was still on my own.

But to our delight, the food was quite good.  Fun items.  Everything well-seasoned, well-cooked, well-presented.  Small portions, allowing us to sample a wide variety.  Great meal overall.  Totally going back for more.