Brasas: Latin American Street Food

November 16, 2012. Friday.

I've always loved how diverse the food offerings in Podium were. There's Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Filipino, American restaurants all over this small upscale mall. And just recently I've discovered a new addition to Podium, Brasas which serves Latin American Street Food as their name mentions. I got to try out eating here a couple of weeks ago as Kim had me tag along with her co-workers.

At first glance, I thought the place would be serving the usual Tex- Mex fare. I was pleasantly surprised at how different the menu looked like compared to a Tex- Mex joint. For one, the menu had a whole lot of rice meals compared to sandwich wraps. We had to go over the menu at least twice before deciding on what to order, because everything looked good!

Note: Even though we ate with her co-workers, Kim didn't take note and pictures of all orders, so it would be just our orders that would be highlighted in this entry. 

We ordered a regular sized Beef Wrap with extra Monterey Jack cheese.

Beef Wrap (220php) with extra Monterey Jack (30php).

We had the wrap halved since we wanted for us to share both orders we had. I was little disappointed with the size of the beef wrap when it arrived on our table. Considering they had a smaller size for the wraps (pequeno), I expected something a little bigger. Good thing it tasted really good! The meat had this nice grilled tenderness to it that really went well with the tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. The extra cheese provided a nice extra salty flavor to the wrap. The taste was enough to temper my disappointment a bit.

We also got Pork Rice Platter.

Pork Rice Platter. 190php.

Like with the wrap, the serving of the rice platter really looked small. Or at least, small- ish compared most local restaurants. It looked, smelled and tasted good, though. The pork really tasted good, and had a grilled- melt-in-your-mouth goodness that was perfect with the chimichurri. The chimichurri was also really good (much more better than the ones we have tried before) that Kim had to ask for an extra cup of it. Except for the serving size, we really couldn't think of any negatives for this dish.

For drinks, we ordered the Guarapo and Latin Iced Tea.

Guarapo and Latin Iced Tea. 90php and 60php respectively.

The curious kid in me just had to order Guarapo, because it sounded different and new. At first sip, I wanted to spit it out immediately. Guarapo is sugarcane juice with lime. It was sweet but tasted really funky for me. Kim liked the Latin Iced Tea, which had a nice lime flavor to it.

Brasas is definitely a place we would want to come back to and try their other menu items. I'm actually already eyeing the Puerco Asado (slow roasted pork belly). The place is a bit small and cramped, so I'm not sure how packed it gets during the lunch and dinner rush since it is near a lot of offices (including mine actually, haha). Despite it being small, it had this upscale- hole in the wall joint vibe to it that was really homey. It's contradicting I know, but I don't know how to better describe the place. Except for the small servings, Brasas definitely gets top scores from us.

 

Brasas Lating American Street Food
5th Floor, The Podium
ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City
https://www.facebook.com/brasasphilippines

Yabu: The House of Katsu

October 12, 2012. Friday.

After reading so many great reviews about Yabu, we just had to try it for ourselves. We both haven't been to Megamall in awhile, so it took a good minute for me to get by bearings on right to navigate the 2nd largest mall in the country.

Yabu is supposed to be the first and only authentic Katsu restaurant in the country, or so they claim. I am not sure if that account is true, but that's what it says inside their informative menu. For those who are not familiar what katsu is, to quote from their menu, "The word katsu is an abbreviation of the word "katsuretsu," which means cutlet. It generally refers to a sliced piece of meat that is breaded and deep fried." So if you are overly health conscious, this place is not for you 'cause almost everything is beautifully deep fried in here. Anyway, if you want to learn more about Yabu and katsu, their menu is very helpful.

When we finally found the place, we were ushered into our tables which had comfortable leather seats. Yabu has 2 dining areas, separated by a divider adorned with manga depicting the cooking of katsu. There's probably no difference between the 2 areas, it's probably just divided to avoid monotony. The restaurant is well lit with a golden color scheme. Made me feel like royalty.

Since it was our first time to eat at Yabu, so we thought we would need to ask the waiters to help us out in ordering. But upon being handed the menu, we found out that it was not needed. Everything you wanted to know was in the menu! So we proceeded to order. But before that, we have to show you how to make your very own katsu sauce!

First, you grind the sesame seeds. The waiter advised us to grind about 50% of it to preserve the taste of the sesame seeds.

Second, you add 2-3 scoops of the tonkatsu sauce. The more you add, the more sour it gets.

Third, mix them together. And enjoy dipping your katsu in it!

I ordered the Rosu Tonkatsu Set.

Rosu - Pork Loin Set 120g. 355php.

At first I wanted to order the Premium Kurobata Pork Set, but I wasn't really sure if I wanted to spend 575php on something I'm not certain of the taste. So to play it safe and still satisfy my love for pork, I got the cheaper Rosu - Pork Loin. It is a juicy 3/4 inch thick pork cutlet with a very generous trimming of fat. Each katsu set is served with unlimited Japanese rice, unlimited cabbage, miso soup, Japanese pickles, and a bowl of fruit. The pork was really juicy and tender with the fat separating immediately from the meat once you go through it. And the breading of panko flakes was very thin unlike the ones you get from fast food chains. It is deep fried in Canola oil which has 0 trans fat thereby eliminating the overwhelming greasy feeling which is common in deep fried food. I'm sure that the pork was well prepared, but I found it a bit bland for my taste. Good thing the katsu sauce made up for it. I'm thinking maybe the pork from the Black Berkshire pig of the more expensive Kurobata Set would taste better, I have to come back and try that one.

Kim got the Chicken Katsu Set.

Chicken Katsu Set 120g. 325php.

When our orders came in, we really couldn't tell the difference between the two. The chicken looked like pork and vice versa. Well at least the chicken tasted like chicken, and the pork tasted like pork. Similar to the pork loin, although the tenderness is commendable, the chicken katsu is tasteless alone. But over-all, the combination of the whole set, with the DIY katsu sauce, makes a one-of-a-kind katsu experience. Every element goes well together, but a variety of condiments is readily available on each table for more preferences. The condiments include Japanese spices, sesame dressing and vinaigrette sauce for the cabbage and salads, and Himalayan salt if you need to add flavor to your food.

Condiments. Tonkatsu sauce, Japanese spices, Sesame dressing, vinaigrette suace, and Himalayan salt inside the pig- looking container.

To wash it all down, we ordered Ripe Mango Shake and a can of Coke which was for 100php and 70php respectively.

We'll probably be coming back here again as I wasn't totally blown away by it. But since it has received a lot of good reviews, then maybe I really have to experience it again and order something different. Other than my complaint of my order tasting a bit underseasoned, everything was great in this place. Service was really fast, and everyone was very courteous from ushering us to our seats, to offering us extra orders. The ambiance and overall look of the place was nice, with the quote riddled walls of the restroom standing out the most. With all that being said, expect us back in Yabu again soon.

Yabu: The House of Katsu
2/F Mega Atirum, SM Megamall,
1552 Manila, Philippines
https://www.facebook.com/yabuhouseofkatsu
http://www.yabuhouseofkatsu.com/index2.php#/home/