Mamou-rrific!

MILLIE: I am very fond of pasta dishes. Fact is, I have occasional cravings. Tired of the usual pasta places we go to, Karla and I took off one day for a quick lunch.

It was a pleasant breather before and after heavy meetings at the office. It allowed us time to get in touch, as well as gain focus on goings-on at work and at home.

We zeroed in on Mamou, a place we’ve been to only once at Serendra, but remembered for their awesome truffle-oil pasta dish. Although the place was packed, Karla managed to land us a cozy table for two by winking at the manager, who was very accommodating.

It’s quite surprising how this daughter of mine is so much like me. She thinks like me, works like me, is a mini-me and we really do have identical taste buds! Except for pepper, which she’s slowly learning to appreciate. For my part, the only difference between us is that she’s athletic and I am an athletic watcher. Haha!

Going back to Mamou, I was curious what it meant. It’s funny because when my mom was suspected of being afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease way back in the ’90s, there was a reversal of roles and she called me “Mamou,” thinking I was her mom.

Great appetite tickler: Truffle-flavored vegetable mushroom dip served with whole-wheat Melba chips

Ziggy Gutierrez, Mamou’s manager, explains it was named after his aunt, Malou Fores, who owns the restaurant. Malou had a nephew who could not pronounce her name properly and called her Mamou.

KARLA: Since we were very hungry running out without breakfast, and sneaked out of the office before another meeting, we asked for the truffle-flavored vegetable mushroom dip with whole-wheat Melba chips to nibble on before our orders came, aside from consuming our basket of assorted breads and butter.

Without batting an eyelash, we both wanted to order Lorenzo’s Truffle Cream Pasta. In the car on the way to the Fort, we had already agreed to order this. It has always been a challenge for us to find a place that serves good truffle pasta ever since Café Maestro on Reposo closed. Don’t underestimate the simplicity of the dish because it truly is something we can keep going back for. As soon as the pasta was laid on our table, I immediately served a portion to mom, as she asked for spoons. Most people find it weird or sosyal when we ask for spoons to eat pasta with. But Mom insists that the correct way of eating pasta is with a spoon. Whether the dish is served from a pasta bowl or from a plate, the proper way of eating pasta is by holding a fork in your right hand to pick up the pasta and rest on a spoon held by your left hand to twirl it before you put it in your mouth. Be careful not to take on too much pasta or you’ll end up with a mouthful! It is not proper to cut up the pasta into bits and pieces.

Awesome: Lorenzo’s truffle-oil pasta by Mamou is the best we’ve tried locally.

Wanting to try something new, we ordered the Kurobuta Mamou Katsu with red buttered parsley rice. Kurobuta, which means “black pig” in Japanese, is the breed of pork and is also considered the Kobe of pork. It supposedly should be more flavorful even with less seasoning because of the feed of the animal, which are oats and corn. It should also be very juicy and tender with a good marbling of fat. It is expensive because of the rare breed it comes from.

MILLIE: There was room for dessert after the meal. Dessert was a tossup between the key lime pie and chocolate sans rival. When asked, our server recommended the pie and we have no regrets about taking on his suggestion. It was really good. The tartness of the key lime was perfect. We didn’t even leave a crumb.

Ziggy graciously offered us a second dessert and we were curious to try the fried milk. By the time it came, we were running late for our next meeting, but managed to have a pillow each to try. We will definitely be back at Mamou’s and look forward to another mother-daughter lunch date soon!

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Mamou is located at Unit 1C-15 G/F Serendra, Bonifacio Global City. For reservations or inquiries, call 856-3569 or e-mail mamou@info.com.ph.

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Send e-mail to milliereyes.foodforthought@gmail.com and karla@swizzlemobilebar.com. Find us on Facebook and read articles you might have missed: Food for Thought by Millie & Karla Reyes.