CEBU, Philippines - From its name Mesa Filipino Moderne and from the way the establishment is decorated, you know that you are in a restaurant that serves Filipino and Asian dishes. But the moment you get your orders though, you will be surprised of the many twists.
Mesa is a franchise owned by Octa Gourmet & Spices Corp., which is run by four couples – Edwin and Monette Ortiz, Gabby and Lia Cruz, Nonoy and Alice Ty and Ato and Gigi Alvarez.
Monette Ortiz, one of the members of the board of directors, said that Mesa is all about your favorite Filipino and Asian dishes but with a twist. “Of course, when you dine out, you expect extra things rather than just your favorite food. In Mesa, we do not just stop at giving you your favorite dishes. We surprise diners with our creations,” she said. Monette added that the surprises are the creations of restaurant chain owner Ricky Dee and his wife Beng, who travel all over the world to get ideas.
Among the bestsellers at Mesa are the Prawns Wrapped in Egg Noodles – deep fried prawns on a stick that are made crunchier because of the egg noodle that is wrapped around it; Tinapa Rolls – smoked bangus, salted eggs and fresh tomatoes wrapped in lumpia wrapper and deep fried; Sisig in a Pouch – the usual sisig wrapped in crunchy lumpia wrapper; Tofu Salad – tofu with century eggs and prawns; Pomelo Salad with Latik; Patutim – duck (pato) cooked the patatim way; Prawns sautéed in salted eggs; and Sigarilyas – winged beans in coconut milk (Mesa claims to be the only restaurant in Cebu that serves the dish).
When dining at Mesa, you should not also miss trying their Kinulob na Apahap (seabass wrapped rock salt); Boneless Tilapia with 4 sauces (crispy tilapia cubes with a choice of chili, honey bagoong, tokwa’t baboy and honey patis sauces); and the very popular Crispchon (45-day suckling pig roasted and served the Peking duck way, that is sliced in small pieces and then served wrapped in pandan wrapper).
Savor your favorite Filipino and Asian dishes and be surprised with how these are given exciting variations at Mesa Filipino Moderne. ?