The friend that my palate keeps

(Part II)

MANILA, Philippines - In my last article, I wrote about my best friend a.k.a. food. I introduced to you my favorite restaurants as my way of thanking them for giving me the luxury of eating tasteful food and it is also my way of sharing to you what is good. Oh, you see, just by saying that makes me feel like a guardian angel.

In my search for fine dishes, I have been to several restaurants, from the modest to the grandiose ones. What is interesting though is finding splendid food in humble eating places for it gives you pleasant surprises without needing to be pretentious. It is like discovering a castle in a secret garden where the staff preparing your meal seems to have the sole intention of nourishing you with love.

I was delighted to come upon three restaurants which are so enchanting regardless of their simple façade.

The first one that I have searched out is Ye Dang (Julia Vargas cor. Meralco Avenue). My husband and I were hesitant to go inside because we can hardly see through the glass wall that is covered with big pictures of Korean actors and beside it is a sign that says “KTV Bar.” To sing was definitely not a part of our plan. Eventually, our adventurous side overwhelmed our doubts so we decided to push through. We were amazed by the number of customers inside and it immediately gave us the feeling of being outside the country. We were surrounded by people of different nationalities enjoying Korean dishes like Kalbi (grilled sweet beef ribs), Bulgogi (roast beef) and Dulsot Bibimbap (vegetable, rice and egg in a hot stone bowl). After the first bite, it gave us the feeling that our soul left us into oblivion.

The second one is an unassuming one called Manos Greek Taverna (Tagaytay). I have been passing by this place several times until I got finally lured; probably because at that time, my friend and I were planning our trip to Santorini. We were welcomed by a homey ambience and by a genuine Greek guy named Manos, who is the owner himself. He took pride in telling us that he only uses natural ingredients and virgin olive oil. We tried their red wine, Chicken ala Corfu (chicken with raisins, calamansi and olive oil), Mousaka (eggplant, ground beef, bechamel sauce) and Saganaki (baked shrimp with feta cheese). Hmmm. From here, we got our first taste of Greece already!

And the third is Som’s. It’s a Thai restaurant recommended to me by a friend. Looking out from my van, I saw monoblock tables with big umbrellas by the road just across the building. Since it was drizzling, my friends and I had to stay inside the air-conditioned section. Too bad, we missed the feeling of eating sa tabi-tabi; too good, we didn’t miss the Tom Yam soup (shrimp soup), catfish salad, bagoong rice with chunks of beef and their popular dish with red curry which can go with your choice of pork, beef, shrimp or fish. With the cool soft rain, I can stay the whole day accompanied by the warmth of Tom Yam soup and some friends.

This is making me dreamy. I wish you will get enchanted by its magic, too.