Mister Kabab

April 6, 2013. Saturday.

We left the cold comfort of our homes, and braved the very hot weather the country has been experiencing the past few weeks. You would think we were crazy for doing so. But I'd brave the heat anytime if it means a food date to Mister Kabab!

Mister Kabab has been around for as long as I can remember. But it's not in the form that most people know today. People are familiar with the new West Ave. and Ayala TechnoHub branches, which are both nice and modern (-ish, I guess), but once a upon a time it was a little hole in the wall joint in Delta West Ave. It didn't have most of the modern amenities that the new branches have today. It was al fresco dining. It was a little dingy but the food was always great! My friends and I used to walk a good 3 and half kilometers from our high school just to eat there! That's how great the food was! That and we were still living off our measly allowances and needed to save every peso just for a taste of that heaven set garlic sauce and for that important extra rice.

That old place is now gone, and in its place now stands a supermarket. Mister Kabab has since moved on down the street in West Ave, and they also have a branch in Ayala TechnoHub. Both places are not as charming as the original one for me, but at least both offer better ventilation. The West Ave branch is still not air conditioned, but it has more fans and better exhaust than the old one. On the other hand, the TechnoHub branch would look like a Michelin starred restaurant if you compare it to the old, dingy joint. For starters it has air conditioning. It is also very well kept and has great charming interiors. Which is why we chose to eat in this branch.

But enough about the changes that Mister Kabab has gone through in the past years! The food has always been great and that's what's important. We ordered the following:

Keema with Eggplant

In Mister Kabab's version of the keema, you can order it plain or with eggplant. We ordered the one with eggplant as it offers a very subtle taste that blends in nicely with the minced meat. I've always liked their keema because it tastes a little richer compared to most other keema's. If I didn't know better, I might think this actually had some liver in it. Just like with most dishes on their menu, this one goes very well with their very popular garlic sauce.

Special Beef Chelo Kabab

This is one of Mister Kabab's best seller! I guarantee you that most who frequent this establishment has ordered this on at least one occasion. The meal consists of one strip of tenderloin, a strip of ground beef, grilled tomato and buttered rice. All of those combined is like the perfect storm of ingredients coming together. The rice is served steaming hot, easily melting the butter in it. The kabab strips are cooked just right, tender and still very much juicy. And just like above, this is best eaten with their garlic sauce.

Lamb Chelo Kabab

Kim has been on a lamb craving lately, so she ordered this one. The ground lamb was tender and juicy, but it didn't have that distinct lamb flavor to it. But Kim was fine with it that way, since lamb sometimes has too much of a mutton taste to it. This plate also comes with buttered rice and grilled tomato.

Extra Fried Egg

Cause everything is better with fried egg on the side.

Watermelon Shake.

Since the summer heat is in full bloom, we ordered watermelon shakes to quench our thirst. It was really refreshing! Kim said she thinks it has milk in it, but I'm not sure. It was good though.

One constant knock on Mister Kabab has always been how it is not authentic in taste. For me that doesn't really matter. Yes it might be a little watered down in taste compared to authentic Persian restaurants, but I think what they serve is just right for the Filipino taste. The prices have about doubled since I first started frequenting the original Delta location more than a decade ago, but it is still more than affordable! A good meal here would be 200-300php, and the serving sizes aren't bad either.

Mister Kabab
UP Ayala TechnoHub,
Commonwealth Ave., QC
(02) 332 - 3935

Tri Mo Shawarma Co

March 9, 2013. Saturday.

We usually don't feature small, cheap hole in the wall joints here in our blog. But that has always been one of our guilty pleasures -- finding and eating at these small places that have been around for so long that they are practically institutions in their neighborhoods.

And Tri Mo Shawarma Co is an institution. Growing up in Fairview my whole life, it has been there for as long as I could remember. Okay, technically Tri Mo (as it is regularly called) is in Lagro and not Fairview, but who cares? Lagro is basically in Fairview, or vice versa. The point is this shawarma joint has been around a very long time. How long? I don't know, but I do know that a special (I'll explain later what a special is) used to be at 40php and it's now at 75php.

From the outside, the place doesn't look much and frankly the inside isn't any better. The place is a little worn out, there's no proper exhaust and ventilation, and it's essentially just a garage filled with a counter and tables and chairs. At least the tables and chairs are new- ish compared to the last time I was here, and there's a working bathroom now! There was a time some years back that I had to find the nearest tree in a dimly lit area to do my thing, but that's a story for another time. But people flock here for the food! I've heard stories of people coming from as far as Parañaque just to grab a bite here. That's crazy, right? All just for some hot beef on a pita bread? If you want to know how crazy people are for this place, you have to be here during the prime hours when it gets so jam-packed, you have to grab a number and wait for your number to be called for you to order. If there's a number system just to order, then you know it's good.

Sizzling Shawarma. 90php.

I got Kim the Sizzling Shawarma. It's the contents of a Beef Shawarma put on a hot plate with egg, with torn pieces of the pita on top of it. She absolutely loved it! The beef was tender from being slow roasted on the skewer, and really flavorful. She had it with rice and she generously poured garlic sauce with every spoonful she had. Here's a little tip from a local (naks! haha), we usually don't order this since it's the most expensive thing on the menu. What we do is order a Beef Shawarma and a plate of rice. We just pour the contents out of the pita onto the plate and tear the pita over it. You saved practically 20php which could then be used to buy another plate of rice! I just ordered Kim this since this is not an item you'll see in most menu's.



Special. Beef Shawarma with Cheese. 75php.

I got the Special. You won't see the word Special on the board, but you'll see Beef Shawarma with Cheese on it. Tell the lady you're ordering the latter and she'll just shout to the carver, "Special!" So if you want to look like you've been going here for the longest time, just call it the Special. The price of this has almost doubled, but the taste has remained the same. Still one of the greatest Shawarma's I've ever had. You're pita is always packed to the brim with all the beef, lettuce, onions and tomatoes. With every bite, you get that slight creaminess and saltiness from the slightly melted cheese inside. Just pure food bliss.

Tainga and Isaw na Manok.

There's also a bbq stand right beside the entrance of the Tri Mo. The bbq fare here were always just tolerable in taste, but for some reason on this day it tasted bad. The tainga was hard and the isaw na manok had a really bitter after taste to it. I'll let it slide and just chalk it up to a bad day for them since it has always been a good partner to their Shawarma.

If you want some unadulterated dining experience, Tri Mo is right up your alley. I'm guessing not much has changed here. The food is prepared the same way it has always been prepared, and that's why the taste has remained the same -- still the best Shawarma this side of the Metro. Just one last tip, if you plan on dining here be sure to come real early or later than usual. It opens at 3PM and usually closes shop at 2AM. It is packed during meryenda and dinner time, from about 6PM to 9PM.

Tri Mo Shawarma Co

Bristol Street, Brgy. Greater Lagro
Quezon City

Uncle Moe's Shawarma Hub

November 10, 2012. Saturday.

We wanted to hangout at Citizen Pub but it was still early when we arrived at City Golf. I thought they opened a little earlier in the afternoons during weekends, but I guess I was wrong. It was about 4PM and they don't open until 5. Since we were already parked and we were hungry, we settled for Uncle Moe's Shawarma Hub.

I frequent Mister Kabab and Ababu for my shawarma and kebab fix, but I've never tried Uncle Moe's before. A quick browse through their menu would show that they are priced almost at the same range as Mister Kabab and Ababu. Uncle Moe's also serves beer and for a good reason, they're located in the middle of Ortigas and Pasig which is accessible to a lot of office workers and residents looking for a place to hangout.

We got the ball rolling with a plate of Ox Brain.

Ox Brain. 75php.

I was surprised at how small the serving of Ox Brain was but then again, it was only 75php. And that might also be a good thing, since ox brain is very fatty and high in cholesterol.

Kim got Keema with Buttered Rice.

Keema with Buttered Rice. 110php.

Keema is minced meat. But this one looked more like the ground beef you get from the market or grocery. It tasted good, though. It was seasoned well and the onions provided a nice aroma and sharp taste to the meat. And as is it is with any other fried meat, it really went well with the steamed rice topped with butter.

And I ordered the Kebab Platter with Buttered Rice.

Kebab Platter with Buttered Rice. 170php.

The platter had 2 pieces each of beef and chicken kebab and buttered rice. Both were really tender and still juicy. I just thought that the beef was a bit bland, that's why I had to put copious amounts of the garlic sauce on it.

Compared to its neighbors in the City Golf coumpound, Bugsy's and Citizen, Uncle Moe's is a no frills, stripped down establishment. The menu is cheap and the place is simple, but the food is good enough. The servings were a little smallish compared to Mister Kabab and Ababu, but at their prices, it's nothing to complain about. I don't know how the place looks like during the night time when the people start to trickle in, but then that would be a good excuse to come back here and take a look.

Uncle Moe's Shawarma Hub
City Golf Compound, Julia Vargas Ave.,
Brgy. Ugong, Pasig City
(02) 469-4787