Rarely Ordered | Adventurous dining or insanity? You decide.

Located somewhere in Thomas Morato, known to most as the prime location for really good restaurants, right beside Shakey’s is a hidden gem for Japanese cuisine fans. Offering the usual and common in Japanese cuisine they also have the chef specialties for the Makis, not your usual makis but definitely worth to give a try.

Out of the eight dishes we ate, we chose to feature 3 of the more interesting dishes. Joining us is our High School bathmate and longtime friend, Mr. Leonard Dizon from DLSU who was sick that day, so we kidnapped him and forced him to dine with us!

Seafood Dumplings

Ren: I half expected that it would have a taste of fishballs inside the dumplings but I was delightfully wrong when I took a bite of this dish. The fish still remains whole inside the entire thing, still giving a wholesome expression of the fish, along with the crunchy outside smothered with sauce to top it all off. The crunchiness with the soft sauce gave the dish an overall a very impressive taste. A 9/10. With the “God-Sauce”, well it already has but more wouldn’t hurt, a 9.5/10.

RJ: This dish was a splendid surprise for all of us. The taste of the fish was not diminished at all, giving it a powerful taste and texture. This is what fishballs should taste like! For meeting beyond my expectations, I give this a 7.5/10. The dish was already blssed with the Sauce from the Heavens, but you can’t have too much of the stuff! It jumps to 8.5/10.

Allen: I ordered this dish expecting an amalgamation of fishballs/squidballs/kikiam XD
It surprised me when I took a bite though; you can actually make out the different seafoods that make up the dumpling (the fish was the most prominent out of them all). It’s actually the cheapest dish we reviewed, so do try it out~

8.00000001 / 10

[ + godsauce ]
Makes it much less “umay-ing” (lol translation pl0x), which is always a good thing

8.50 / 10

Mix Sunomono

Ren: A mixture of vegetables and seafood marinated in vinegar, very rich in flavor but definitely not for everyone. The tastelessness of the seafood highlighted the vinegar as they were not thoroughly marinated long in the vinegar but the cucumbers had a sour taste of the vinegar. Not for your normal consumption, but could it have another use? A 6.5/10. With the “God-Sauce” a 7/10.

RJ: Being alchoholics, we definitely had an “UY!” moment when we first tasted this dish. I just loved the crab and prawn, the squid was ok and we just couldn’t get enough of the seaweed. Just avoid the cucumbers, you’ll get overpowered by the sour taste of vinegar. 7.5/10. The All-Mighty Sauce didn’t really affect this dish, 7.6/10.

Allen: This is something that in my opinion, would sound better if it was called the “Japanese Pulutan”. I found myself avoiding the sea cucumbers though, since the taste was really too sour for my preference; the squid, prawn and seaweed on the other hand, really went well with the vinegar. You could think of this dish as an expensive version of the pickled radish you can find at Yoshinoya’s ~_^

7.131323 / 10

[ + godsauce ]
It makes the sea cucumbers actually bearable! Didn’t do much to help the squid/prawn/seaweed though

7.5 / 10

Jurassic Maki

Ren: The mixture of the soft rice and seafood with the crispiness of the unagi, definitely made this one a keeper. But this tiny package isn’t complete without the sauce! Taken in as their secret recipe (we tried to ask and they wouldn’t just give it to us how) just made this dish more delectable! A rare treat, and something I would come back for 10/10. With the “God-Sauce” a 12/10. (not sure if its possible but what the hecK?)

RJ: I fell in-love with this dish. It’s just fantastic! The Crunchyness, the softness, the tenderness. It all blended so damn well, it’s heavenly! Definitely a must-have if you decide to go to this establishment. 9/10. The Sauce of Divinity made a heavenly dish even more heavenly! I couldnt believe it! 11/10!

Allen: Crunch. crunch. The name jurassic fits quite well, since the maki does seem to give of a “meaty” experience. The crunchy eel and soft crab is a nice combination, and really goes well with the dip. Crunch. crunch.

8.2343343 / 10

[ + godsauce ]
HEAVENLY. this is certainly a dish where you could throw away the much familiar soy sauce + wasabi combination~

9.00 / 10

The Aftermath

What you see in the center of the photo is the Legenadary God-Sauce. The sauce that was served with the Seafood Dumplings and Jurassic Maki. All eight dishes were dipped in it and it showed remarkable results! Our questions on what made this heavenly sauce possible were denied, Omakase intends to keep their Sacred Sauce a secret.

When we went: Saturday, August 30, 2008. (sorry its late Fiel – -;)
Where it is: Thomas Morato Food Strip!!!
Budget Range: About 200-300 per person.

Closing this month of August, this post will be the closest thing to our 2nd monthsary! Yey! Two months of daring the menu is past us and we are still at it! Wooh!

This is also our second dessert review – and this time we reviewed the known but not so familiar Italian ice cream – gelato. Quoting Ricardo Cuna, the owner of the very famous Fiorgelato brand, that “Gelato is different from ice cream as it has significantly less butterfat making it more dense – which lets you taste the flavor immediately compared to ice cream.”

For this review, we went to a very historical Italian franchise – Amici in Thomas Morato. The original is now called Amici di Don Bosco near Don Bosco school, Makati founded by Chef Giorgio and Father Francis of said school. This place is reputed to serve authentic Italian – and is very famous for its gelato. The flavors you see here are ones we carefully selected – making sure nothing is to common to our readers’ taste keeping it Rarely Ordered.

Stracciata

Fiel: This actually disappointed me as it tastes basically the same as double dutch or cookies and cream. The difference is in the chocolate used – which is notable since it is bittersweet complementing the vanilla gelato. Still very ordinary though – 6/10.

Ren: Comparable not to cookies in cream but more to the double Dutch to average ice cream goers. The chocolate is hard and has a lingering taste making the gelato notable. Notable but still ordinary, so I give it a 7.75/10

Blueberry

Fiel: After tasting it, I find that blueberry probably isn’t up to the Filipino tastebud. The whole fruits used are frozen – making it bland whenever you eat a berry. However, I commend the use of natural ingredients making this easy on the palate. For those who like your desserts really tasting like the fruits, give this a shot! 8/10.

Ren: Could have been good gelato, it had a nice texture and the use of fruits was exquisite but what didn’t click for me was that the fruits were frozen making eating it a hassle than the flavor could have given off. So I give it a 7/10.

Mango Jubilee

Fiel: It has the same fruity feel of the blueberry gelato. This time, a variety of fruits were put in a mango gelato base. Creative and you can really tell the gelato itself used mangoes with no additive unnatural flavorings. Again easy on the palate. 8/10.

Ren: Again it could have been good but the frozen fruits just didn’t work for me. The soft texture of the gelato was in great contrast to the hardness of the fruits. If maybe we went in to get an earlier batch where the fruits aren’t as frozen like ice maybe it could have turned out better. The taste of mango was in the cream the taste of the other fruits could have complemented it but it was just too hard to get a mix of it in. A 7/10.

Hazelnut

Fiel: This is just fantastic! Tasting the gelato, you can feel the very finely ground hazelnut take its powdery toll on your tongue. Imagine eating Ferrero Rocher but without the chocolate taste – and I tell you the nuttiness of hazelnut is heavenly. It got consumed quite briskly haha. 9.5/10.

Ren: Not just a nut ice cream, no whole pieces of hazelnut on this one. The flavor comes from the hazelnut itself you can taste it as it has a bit of a powdery taste to it. A nice smooth texture as can be expected, but the taste is excellent as it captured a good sense of what hazelnut taste like. A solid 9/10.

When we went: Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
Where it is: Thomas Morato Food Strip!!!
Budget Range: Its just P50 a scoop – trust us its worth it.

This time we decided to make things simple as we reviewed the pioneer of pares – Jonas! Surprisingly, Jonas is only well-known to the people who have tried it as it proved memorable for them – good taste, great service and very affordable. Their most common dish is of course the classic pares, which is as its namesake a tandem – between Filipino style beef stew and garlic fried rice. We tried a couple of dishes then – an interesting twist to a classic and a rarely ordered item on the menu.

Chicken and Mushroom

Fiel: The chicken was very soft and the vegetables were done right. It almost frighteningly tastes like home cooking by my Aunt. It was rightly bland as it should be – although I am not a big fan of not so flavorful food. Good job though – 7/10.

Ren:It had a nice feel to it. the sauce was very light and didn’t overshadowed the steamed chicken giving it a slightly “homey” feel for the dish. a 7.25/10

Beef and Isaw Pares

Fiel: The highlight of this dish is the blissful mix of perfectly softened beef and the enticingly sinful taste of isaw. It has a salty stew, which was balances well with the garlic fried rice. I have tried other pares versions from other restaurants but this one bluntly outshines them for great taste and excellent value. For that, it deserves a 9.5/10.

Ren: The beef pares was great! You can taste of the marinated beef was able to go through the center of the meat, giving a somewhat presence of the sauce. with the addition of the steamed isaw it was able to give it a balance between taste and bland. A solid 8/10.

When we went: August 9, 2008, Saturday around 7PM
Where it is: Ali Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao
Budget Range: P100 for a very filling meal! XD

Rain, Fiel and RJ

This is the review that celebrates the return of RJ Palabasan – who just got home from Dubai after 7 months! RJ we miss and love you and we’re glad that you are back – you are indeed the proof that GMA must further secure the borders to our country.

We were actually supposed to attend a bloggers event sponsored by Coca-Cola; but when we arrived at Taste Asia, NO ONE WAS THERE! Turns out that the parteh was the day before! We’re sorry ate Aileen! We blame RJ! After getting laughed at by kuya Andrew, we decided to enjoy ourselves anyway by getting lost and eating where destiny took us!

Tempura restaurant at the Mall of Asia proved to be a very authentic yet very different sort of Japanese dining. First of all, they serve Japanese rice in all their dishes – which is a big deal because Japanese food really isn’t Japanese food without it. So for all other restaurants that serve normal rice – beware for this place rocks! Secondly, it is not as expensive as most authentic Japanese restaurants – so you get authentic Japanese food at about P150-P250 per dish. Lastly, they serve not-so-popular-here but very-popular-in-Japan dishes such as the Hamburger Curry Rice.

The three dishes featured here are novel – and they did not fail the Rarely Ordered expectations! And to top it off, we have a omfgsupergadengsizzlinghot reviewer in Rain Santos-Ocampo! This indeed is a great way to go! So here goes:

Buta Sansho Yaki (Pork Slices with Shiitake Mushrooms and Spinach in a Special Sauce)

Fiel: The thing I loved in this one order is the variety of the stuff in it – which all complemented the sweet sauce nicely. The pork was soft, and cut in the same way as in Pork Asado. I love shiitake and spinach – which when all put together was a wonderful dancing variety while I ate it with rice. The sweetness wasn’t overpowering either. Very solid – 8/10!

Rain: This had a very good sweet sauce that blended well with the taste of spinach and shiitake mushrooms. Unfortunately, the pork slices in this dish didn’t seem to have much impact on me. 7/10.

RJ: The meat in this pork dish wasn’t very memorable. However, what made the impression in this dish was the Spinach – we were fighting over ‘em instead of the pork! The sauce was very good as it blended well with the pork and spinach. Recommended for those who like salty dishes. 7.5/10.

Ebi Bacon Furai (Fried Shrimp wrapped in Bacon)

Fiel: I felt that the bacon was non-existent for me in this dish. However, it was fried nicely and the sauce (which we theorize to be honey-mustard with Japanese mayonnaise and sesame seeds) was very good and different. Try imagining the taste – or better yet, try it! 7.7/10.

Rain: This went very well with the sauce. I loved the crunchiness of the batter and the subtle taste of bacon wrapped in shrimp. I was happy that the sauce they served to compliment the dish wasn’t the usual or common sauce one would expect to receive. 9/10.

RJ: I just HAD to try this dish. First of all, it has bacon; and everybody knows that bacon (and lesbians) make the world go round! It is also rare to find dishes with both shrimp and bacon in them – and it was awesome! I absolutely loved the sauce, which we deducted as honey mustard, Japanese mayo and sesame sesame seeds. I will definitely come back for this dish. 8.5/10.

Gyu Hamburg Curry Don (Beef Hamburger Patty Curry with Rice)

Fiel: This for me is just loooove – eating it made me feel some of my memories in Japan come back to me as I ate this dish happily there. So far, this is the only restaurant here that I know of that serves this – and trust me when I say they do it very well! The curry was blended just right and the hamburger patty was very juicy. For curry lovers out there, this is a must try. 9/10!

Rain: This had tender meat and was served with an ample amount of curry sauce mixed with veggie tidbits. The veggie bits made the curry sauce interestingly crunchy. I find that this dish reminds me of a regular Pinoy breakfast food because of the egg, rice, and meat combination only with the addition of the curry sauce and veggie bits- its a fun and filling dish! 8/10.

RJ: I got so used to eating Indian-style curry that I forgot how good other curry variants are. The curry sauce was excellent as it went surprisingly well with the patty. Eating a burger patty with curry sauce on a flat plate using chopsticks was a bit troublesome (we refused to use other utensils) but it was a fun experience. 7/10.

When we went: Saturday, August 9, 2008.
Where it is: Mall of Asia
Budget Range: About P150-P250 for good enough servings.

Bangus is an interesting restaurant that promotes the bangus – in English the milkfish. This tasty freshwater fish is not the national fish of the Philippines for nothing. The milky taste that comes from the modest amounts of its fatty belly is absolutely heavenly. The meat is hard to prepare professionally since one has to tediously remove the little and numerous bones found virtually in all parts it. It is a delicacy for foreigners and an all-time favorite for Filipinos.

Usually, this fish is usually just either fried, stuffed, mashed or made into Sinigang. However in Bangus Restaurant, we find very unconventional ways of cooking it. We chose the three we found most interesting in the menu and put them here for your delight!

Bangus Lumpia

Fiel: This is a great new twist to our favorite fried lumpia! Other than the enticing taste of the bangus, the main difference of this from regular pork lumpia is the texture. It is smoother and it slides down much easier since the mashed fish meat is much softer. The seasonings and spices used in the mashed fish meat was great too! The dip however, didn’t match the dish itself and I preferred to eat it as it is. This gets an 8/10.

Ren: A different approach to the ever popular lumpia. The fish was grounded well the meat was juicy at most, and the sauce just gave the right kick in comparison to the calm taste of the lumpia. I give it a 8.5/10.

Bangus Kare-Kare

Fiel: I did not think much of the kare-kare sauce as it was not viscous enough and the bagoong was not flavorful enough. The fish was a bit dry too and it did not go well with the sauce. All in all, it just seemed to be too bland for me. This is a dish that could have worked, but not this time. 4/10.

Ren: Well for the Kare Kare part, it was like a regular Kare Kare. The taste of the Bangus fish just didn’t mix or wasn’t there with the creamy broth. and the fish was dry of sorts. But a good thing to try but not a favorite. Another nice “to-try” dish for me 7/10.

Bangus Belly in Tamarind Candy Sauce

Fiel: This must be the best bangus dish I have tasted as far as I can remember! The tamarind sauce was not overpoweringly sweet or sour – which is good because you could really taste the fried bangus belly. The belly was cooked just right too – as the “fatty” taste in my opinion, would not dissuade non-fatty eaters from liking it. The fried kangkong leaves with it were crispy and blended well with the sauce too! My only qualm about this one was that there wasn’t enough serving! This is a 9.2/10.

Ren: The sauce is definitely the highlight of this dish! It was sweet and had a bit of its well known tangerine flavor. With the fried fish and vegetable give this dish a bit of a balance. A decent surprise 8.75/10 for me!

When we went: Last July 26, Saturday at around 1PM
Where it is: Mall of Asia!
Budget range: A bit expensive because of the lack of huge servings. Expect to pay P200-P300 per dish on the average that is good for 2-3 people each if you order 2 or more servings.

Ren, Kylie, Joanne and Fiel

Bread Talk is well known for its Flosss and other delectable breads for being very tasty to the point of having long lines all day long! But have you ever tried their cakes? Usually displayed behind the glass, it seems that people rarely order them. So as we wanted to do review some cakes we decided to give this place a try. As women love cakes more than men we brought with us a couple of friends – Kylie Chen, a Chinese exchange student from Sun Yat Sen University and Joanne Costo, a long time friend n’ foodtripmate of ours and student from the University of the Philippines.

Chocolate Mousse

Ren: Well I have tried different chocolate cakes in my time, this one is pretty good with being spongy. It didn’t give you too much of a hard time consuming it, but the taste was more rewarding, with a flavorful icing on top, its more than a site to behold! 7/10 for the cake!

Fiel: While this is good, it didn’t provide for me the usual exquisite pleasure of eating chocolate mousse. It was not very soft to the point that you didn’t have to bite into it – which is what I usually liked about mousse. But it was solid, chocolatey and a good overall cake. 7/10.

Kylie:The icing gave out an entrancing chocolate aroma that tempted everyone to take a big bite of it. However, I expected the inside to have been firmer and creamier yet it just turned out to be too spongy for me. If it had been less spongy, I would have loved it more. As to the fan-shaped black chocolate chip on top, I gotta give it a credit cause its melting in my mouth did boost the dopamine inside me which is exactly why I’m such a crazy fan of chocolate cakes. Sorry about that maybe I’m too picky about chocolate cakes…I would give it a 6.9/10.

Joanne: This cake layered with chocolate cake and mocha cream tastes unbelievably divine in all its simplicity. It had just the right amount of sweetness to have you craving for more! 8.5/10!

Black Forest Roll

Ren: Well as far as the name goes it was a pretty ordinary black forest. Though the hefty serving of chocolate chips on top and the sweet cherry in the center more than makes up for it. 6.2/10 ordinary but it still had a nice touch.

Fiel: Nothing too special, but the grated chocolate pieces that surround it was really heavy – making the chocolate really permeate through your taste. Other than that, it was good enough. 7/10.

Kylie: The first bite kinda turned me off. Maybe black forest is way too common and this one just couldn’t stand out. It’s kinda sad to be ordinary. Yet to be fair, as the chocolate chips cover, the cream and the cherry inside were all okay, it was an adequate black forest after all. It’s just I wouldn’t order ordinary ones! So… a 5/10 for it.

Joanne: This is my first encounter with a black forest cake made into a roll instead of the traditional layered cake. The icing is not very sweet but I find the cake’s chocolate and what seems to be rum flavoring too strong for my taste. For its peculiar presentation, I give it a 6.5/10.

Strawberry Chiffon Roll

Ren: Well eating this cake become one of the rare opportunities that I have to taste strawberry in a cake. The white icing and pinkish cake in the middle did not disappoint. The taste of strawberry in the bread was highlighted by the icing as the two mixed together just as nicely as the white and pink go. A solid 8/10.

Fiel: Oh my you don’t usually taste real strawberry in strawberry cakes – and thus this one is an exception! I love strawberries and cream – but I don’t like strawberry flavoring. Thus, be rest assured that there really is strawberry used her because I can really taste it. The cream, bread and icing blend really well together. This merits a 9/10 for me!

Kylie: Although I’m not a big fan of strawberry, this one did bring out the best of the freshness taste of this fruit! It’s unlike the other ones that might keep reminding you the artificial flavor. It might be perfect for the strawberry maniacs, but sorry I’m not one of them. Hehehe…7.3/10.

Joanne: I find this cake really attractive. The thin white icing complements the pink interior of the cake. To make it more appealing, a slice of strawberry was placed on top of the icing. It is not very sweet but amazingly, every bite is bursting with strawberry flavor. I give it an 8.5/10.

Mango Furomaji

Ren: Well I didn’t have any qualms about the face and dug in and it was worth it! The somewhat thick cream had a tinge of mango into it, and the bread also had taste of mango into it and there were chunks of mango a bit on the inside of the cake. A triple mango taste but you won’t find yourself overwhelmed by the sweetness of the three mango flavors as they were nicely done not overpowering each other in a sense. 9.5/10 for me!

Fiel: If there is such a thing as a “hidden treasure” in the things Rarely Ordered, this is undoubtedly one of them! The prospect of having the smiley face invite you to dig in, and taste the fresh mangoes upon biting into it is just pure love. Actually, everything had mango in it – the icing on the inside and outside and the bread. It is not too sweet either – it is just right. This is a near perfect dessert. Since it is mango, this is also good for all your foreign guests. 9.75/10.

Kylie: At first sight the all-cream smiling face amused me. It looked cute yet I worried that its cream cover would be too much hence making it a bland taste. However, once I tried the first bite, the spork (a funny thing for me cuz I’ve never seen one in China! hehe…) kept automatically heading to the cute yet no longer complete (all of us were digging in it) smiling face! The cream cover was just right and the cake itself was a superb mango incarnation! The fresh and brisk mango aroma that lingered in your mouth was absolutely irresistible and its creamy smoothness captivated your every single taste bud. This is a kind of cake that you would definitely ASK FOR MORE! 8.5/10!

Joanne: This cake is simply cute. It resembles a large puffy marshmallow with a happy face. The icing is not sweet however it complements the subtle hints of mango and cheese hidden within the cake’s chiffon interior. Personally, I am not fond of mango cakes but this one made me change my mind. It’s a 9/10!

Follow up points by Rain Santos-Ocampo: (we’ll be seeing a few of these in the future – to keep things objective here at Rarely Ordered! – submitted August 3, 2008.)

• The cream is smooth and has a sweet taste to it.
• The chiffon cake is soft but bland.
• It does live up to its name mango furomaji.
• For a simple bread cake, it’s enjoyable dish.
• 7.75/10!

Simply Tiramisu Cup

Ren: I honestly thought it was going to be another chocolate cake but after biting into it I have to stand corrected. The cup was there to give a creamy feel into it. And the coffee taste made it even better than drinking coffee! For that I give it a 8.5/10!

Fiel: I’m a big coffee fan – take this into consideration. I also LOVE very soft cakes that aren’t just made up of bread – and this was one of them. You had several layers of different flavors and textures which had coffee, chocolate and cream. This as you can imagine – is heaven for a coffee person. 9/10.

Kylie: It was a nice combination of pudding and cake with strong coffee scent. I had never tried such combination before so this was kinda creative to me. You wouldn’t get bored tasting it as the different feelings of pudding and cake interested your palate. Definitely a delicate mixture despite its humble appearance. I’d give it a 7.8/10. Overall, I think in BREADTALK, CAKE TALKS, too!!^O^

Joanne: Composed of layers of chiffon, powdered semi-sweet chocolate and coffee-flavored soft jelly, I find it reasonable for the cake to be literally inside a cup. However, being in one doesn’t make it very attractive. I like the confectioner’s sugar on top forming a simple leaf design, though. Basically, it tastes like coffee. The cake is so soft that each bite would simply melt in your mouth. I believe the serving is good enough for one to optimize the utility attained from buying this commodity. Being a coffee lover, I give it a 7/10.

When we went: Friday, 8pm on July 18, 2008
Where it is: Ground Floor, Gateway Mall, Cubao. It is across Taco Bell. Just take the LRT going to Araneta-Center Cubao station and you are here.
Budget Range: The cakes shown here are all just exactly P68 each. Very, very worth it!

Our expressions masking the extreme urges to stick our faces in the food

An interesting challenge is to have a relatively unknown restaurant in a place that is already abundant with places to eat. The restaurant we went to is Rory’s in Katipunan Road – a place with a small entrance and with a very intimate motif probably suited for small barkadas and for dating with the intent of getting away from everybody else. To our delight, we were greeted by a menu that is rich with seemingly unusual dishes. This restaurant is truly a job for Rarely Ordered!

We would like to thank Steff Someda for being our lovely guest reviewer here and for taking all the pictures. This food fanatic, finicky eater and vegetarian is perfect for dealing with this situation and is our first female voice. Steff you rock! Also, hands off to Ryan, co-owner of the place for being so accommodating with us – needless to say Ryan your staff service is excellent! Bravo!

Nutty Apple-Chicken Salad

Fiel: While it was an interestingly good blend of flavors at first, taking the next few bites seems to dissuade you from eating it. The best part about this was the crunchy aspect of the nuts – the apples were good too but I really don’t think the chicken and the dressing especially, blended with this well. Perhaps there was too much dressing here that it was too strong. 5/10.

Ren: Well as much as the name of the dish is, it is exactly what it tasted like. But what was interesting here was that instead of using regular leaf salad, it used apples, if I remember correctly, was a nice touch. Its different in the sense of what a salad it but I the chicken didn’t hit me as much as I somewhat expected it to be, nor was the dressing, a little bit too much on my side. So for being different and it could have been good, I would give it a 6.5/10

Steff: The moment I tried this, it took me some time before I could analyze the taste. Although I didn’t eat the chicken, the combination of apples, nuts, and the creamy dressing was very unusual. The white dressing was very indistinct and somewhat lacked flavor. You couldn’t tell if it’s ranch or ceasar because of the weak flavor. But since some apples were green apples, the sweet & sour taste compensated the dressing. The addition of nuts gave the dish its finishing flavor. It sort of became reminiscent of peanut brittle because of the sweetness of the apples with the nutty hint. The dressing could have been better to complement all the ingredients. Honestly, it’s not a dish I’d come back for. Overall it’s a 5/10.

Tofu and Mushroom

Fiel: This is really really good! Its has an interesting flavor, and the mushrooms were very creamy. If you can imagine creamy mushroom on fried tofu, then you can imagine how uniquely good this was. The strong flavor of the mushrooms in their sauce was perfect for the blandness of the tofu. I believe that this could also be excellent on rice or pasta. 8.5/10!

Ren: A good dish for me, as for presentation it was really good, the tofu was fried on the side. The taste was very creamy and it had healthy portions of mushroom with it. Mostly vegetable dishes would be served as a side and won’t have too much of a flavor, in order to give more impact for the heavy and meat dishes, but this dish was able to hold out on its own and give a wonderful performance to stand alone. For that feat I’ll give it a 8/10!

Steff: My first impression of the dish is the lack of color. When it arrived on the table, it looked like a pool of mushed fungi surrounded by little blocks of tofu (well, it actually is). It was plain and simple. It may not seem appetizing but the aroma was heavenly. The mushroom mixture had a very mild spicy flavor. It was not like gravy or mushroom sauce. The taste was more salty and strong. When paired with the crunchy tofu, the dish became Bonnie & Clyde. They were perfect for each other. The crunchy tofu complemented the flavorful saucy mushrooms. I’d give it a 7.5/10.

Black Magic (Squid’s Ink Pasta – for descriptive purposes, not officially stated)

Fiel: This pasta has a unique appeal to it because it is black – but it still tastes like great pasta. There is no squid’s ink after taste – it was just pleasantly sour and topped off with the strong flavored cheeses. Imagine good quality pasta – just that its black. This is a solid 8/10.

Ren: Definitely not your everyday pasta. Made with squids ink as the sauce and topped with powdered cheese on top with a bit of squid meat. It had an interesting taste as you can taste a bit of the squid ink as the sauce but it failed to highlight the taste of squid as the cheese seems to overpower the sauce leaving you kind of empty without the taste of squid. A good “to try” dish, a 6/10 for me.

Steff: This is known as “Pasta Negra” in some restaurants. It’s the very Pinoy black ink pasta with squid. I’m not much of a fan for pasta but I do like putanesca and pesto because of their exceptional taste. This dish was also exceptional, but in a negative way. The sauce hardly tasted like squid ink. It had a powdery taste mainly because of the powdered cheese sprinkled all over. It was appalling. Everything just wasn’t right. For those fond of exotic food, however, this may be worth a shot. For me, this one’s a 2/10.

Grilled Fish with Mango Pesto Sauce

Fiel: This piece of talakitok fish goodness is probably their crowing glory! The sweet mango with the flavors of pesto on the fish blended perfectly. The fish was cooked just right and even the potatoes on the side were excellent. Creative and more than solid – going to this place and not ordering it would be a mortal sin. This is the best fish I have had in a very long time. 9.5/10.

Ren: Though I am no fish connoisseur, I can only recognize few of the fish that we use for cooking, salmon, milkfish, tilapia etc. etc. but setting that aside, I can say that this dish is pretty good. Who knew that ripe mango could be so good with fish. And the combination of fish and sweet mango, is a worthwhile performance in your mouth! A 9.2/10 for me!

Steff: I don’t eat fish anymore so I just tried the pesto with rice. I was surprised with how a simple pesto and rice combination can taste so exquisite. The leafy basil-made pesto was spiked with lemon & citrus sauce that gave it a unique tangy flavor. Even with potatoes, the pesto was superb. If only I still ate fish, this dish would have been in my favorites list. Maybe they could come up with a similar dish for vegetarians (even just pesto and rice!). This is definitely a 9/10.

THE ARCHER’S BOW V.S. THE BLUE EAGLE!

Animo La Salle! One Big Fight! These drinks make the UAAP more exciting to watch at Rory’s. Every school has a certain alcoholic beverage matched to it. Ren being a Lasallian and Fiel being at Atenean couldnt resist to have one each and review them at only P110 for two drinks in any combination. Just to be fair, we promised to review each drink as objectively as possible! (yeah right…)

Fiel: Wah! The Archer’s Bow definitely tastes better! It had a minty-cool lime taste to it that easily made it the one of the best custom drinks I have ever had at this price – 9.5/10. The Blue Eagle was good, but it tasted generic to me. It was like having your ordinary vodka-spiked juice to me only that it was colored blue – 8/10. NOOOOO!!!

Ren: What can I say? Archers ROCK! Well putting that aside it had a very soft feel into it. It doesn’t hit you hard and leaves a pleasant taste in your mouth after. Unlike the *cough* Atenean *cough* counter part it doesn’t hit you hard on the alcohol and soon you’ll realize that your drink is gone! Archer’s Bow I would give it a solid 9/10 and as for the *cough* Blue Eagle *cough*, even though it had a blue color it deceives you as it hits you hard on the first sip, a 7/10.

When we went: Thursday, 7:30pm on July 10, 2008
Where it is: Along Katipunan Road, Loyola Heights, Q.C. in the same block as Bo’s Coffee Club, it has a small entrance so watch out for it. It is also beside a barber shop.
Budget Range: About 150-250 per person. Not expensive but not thrifty enough to go for an every day meal.

Greetings! I am RJ, Rarely Ordered’s Middle East correspondent. I was busy cursing Fiel via YM because their Italian review made me hungry when my cousin Sultan asked me if I wanted to grab a bite. We then went to some Indian-operated cafeteria somewhere in Sharjah(read: I have no sense of direction) and ordered food to go.

Chicken Shawarma

Here’s something I learned during my first week here in the Emirates: Authentic shawarma is vastly superior to the ones I had in the Philippines! Having said that, this one easily passed my expectations. The chicken blended well with the garlic mayonnaise while the vegetables and tahini added flavor along with the toasted pita bread. I added some hot sauce for to add some kick. For a very solid dish, I give it solid 8/10.

Roasted Chicken with Garlic Sauce and Hummus(mashed chick pea)

We ate the roasted chicken by placing the chicken meat on pita bread and dipping them on the garlic sauce and Hummus. Hummus, for those who are unfamiliar is a popular dip in the middle east made from mashed chick peas blended with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and other ingredients. The texture and juiciness of the chicken was very good, but it generally lacked flavor in my opinion. This was remedied by the garlic sauce and hummus. I give this a 7/10.

When I went: Tuesday, July 8, 2008.

Where it is: Al Rawda Cafeteria, Al Falah Camp, Sharjah UAE.

Budget Range: The Roast chicken costs 18 dirhams, a shawarma costs 4 dirhams each. (x12 to convert to PHP).

Probably Italian cuisine is something that most of us have experienced one way or another. We are all familiar with the usual Italian course of pastas and pizzas, but have you ever wondered whether it was truly Italian? Pasta is of course, already standard with fast food joints, and we even have purely dedicated pizza places, but they serve it in the well-known American Style, or suited to fit the Filipino palette such as the Italian-scorned Filipino “Sweet Spaghetti with Hot Dogs.”

So after hearing of a real authentic Italian Restaurant we knew we just had to give it a try! Its called Bellini’s the place is hard to spot as its across Rustan’s supermarket in Quezon City, and inside the Marikina Shoe Expo. We were served by an excellent waiter, Rolando S. Salazar, who did not only served us but also entertained our questions, knew all the technical Italian food terms, strove to give us what we wanted and was very cheerful in this dining experience. When you go there, make sure you ask for him!

Grissini (Italian Breadsticks)

Fiel: This is very pretty grissini because it has the cute “twirl” at the end of it. It does a perfect job of being that crunchy, well-baked tasting, I-want-more-after-each-stick-I-eat appetizer. A give it a 7.5/10.

Ren: Simple, it didn’t have any superstitious flavor or kick into it. But it does a good job being an in-between and before the course making it a very good appetizer. A 8.75/10 is a good merit for it.

Anchovy and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta in Chili Olive Oil

This is so Rarely Ordered – it is not even part of the regular menu! Many thanks to waiter Rolando S. Salazar for recommending this. According to him, this is an authentic Italian dish.

Fiel: One thing – I hope that once people read this and decide to eat at Bellini’s, they would unhesitatingly order this one! It was so good in the sense that just eating the pasta brings out every main ingredient’s flavor in harmony. The anchovies, sun dried tomatoes, chili olive oil and the Parmesan cheese we eventually topped on to it were all significant to its taste. At this point, this has been the best tasting Italian food I have ever tasted. It is a 9.5/10 for me!

Ren: Its definitely not the usual pasta that I have come across. Usually you’ll find it smothered with heavy sauce or overloaded with toppings. With looks alone you can see that the sauce is just very light and translucent, with only a few toppings of sardines and sun dried tomatoes look deceiving. But after just tasting it you can feel the distinct flavors in your mouth. A little bit on the spicy side but not enough to burn you out. I give it a 9/10!

Parma Ham and Arugula Pizza con Fungi

Fiel: For those who do not know what arugula is, it is a leaf vegetable that has a herby-bitter taste usually eaten raw as part of a salad. Let me make it clear: I HATE arugula! I do not eat nor order it. No. No. Never. I was a bit worried then about this one – until I tasted it! Oh my, the saltiness of the super thin and juicy Parma ham clashed with the shredded arugula creating a unique, yet simple taste. The crust was stone-baked to perfection as it had a softness to it that felt like bread but with the flavorful quality of a true thin crust pizza. When I put chili oil and Parmesan cheese, it was absolute heaven for me. I found out today that I like authentic Italian food! For meeting beyond my expectations and making me like a dish with an ingredient I hate, this qualifies as my first 10/10!

Ren: The pizza is just kept simple overall. Simple thin crust, simply put toppings, of ham mushroom, cheese and arugula. But as soon as you take a bite into you can taste how simple the pizza tasted. You can distinctly taste each ingredient as the flavors don’t mix mash brashly and leave you wanting for more. The key word for this dish? Simplicity. For keeping it solid I’ll give it a 9/10!

Sweet House Wine

Fiel: Its sooooo smooth! For those who like drinking flavorful wines and spirits this is truly for you. Most sweet wines that are already commercialized tastes like spiked grape soda juive (don’t get me wrong, I find nothing wrong with that). If you like sweet wine and you like flavorful wines, then you have to try the only Italian house-made wine I know of. This merits an 8.5/10.

Ren: Here we find a rare occasion of a restaurant with an in-house wine. I’m no connoisseur of wine but this wine I find very excellent. Unlike most alcoholic beverages it doesn’t hit you with a hard hitting flavor but it slides smoothly in your mouth a good way to get things going! 8.75/10 for this drink!

Pharaoh’s Delight (Fig Gelato topped with Pistachio)

Fiel: This dessert can be described in one word for me: interesting. Shaped like a pyramid, is tastes like vanila ice cream with pistachio at first but when it melts, it tastes like honey! I really do not know how figs taste but this is really entertaining. I give it an 8/10.

Ren: Ice cream for dessert is not new to the most of us but this Gelato Ice cream is. Other than the creamy flavor of the dish what struck me most was the sweet crystal after taste that kicks in after the ice cream melts in your mouth. For that surprise the score would be 8/10!

When we went: Friday, lunchtime on July 4, 2008.
Where it is: Bellini’s – If you can go to Cubao (Ali Mall, SM Shoemart, Gateway, etc.) you can get here. A bit secluded but fairly easy to find, it is in the Marikina Shoe Expo across Rustan’s. Ask directions from Ali Mall or from Rustan’s and you should be able to find it.
Budget Range: Not very expensive. About P250-P400 per person depending on how much and what you want to order. If you want to order everything from appetizer down to dessert, expect to dish out more than P550.

Chinese Seafood Restaurants are nothing new to those who frequent Binondo (Chinatown) and other places that have Chinese communities near them. Most being quite expensive but worth it – as only the freshest sea food is used. An established one is the Annapolis Seafood restaurant – probably mainly catering to the Chinese living nearby such as in Greenhills and Wack Wack Village. That being said, this restaurant is quite high end. But as the Chinese are known to be keen businessmen – the food and the excellent service here gives you the value for your money. We ordered quite a number of dishes here – but we chose to review the more novel ones to fit our standards for what is rarely ordered!

Soup – Spinach and Seafood

Fiel: The taste and aroma of spinach and shrimp fills your nose as it comes out steaming hot from the pot. When I tasted it, its light flavor and slightly viscous texture together with the stimulating aroma really fired up my appetite. The greenness of it really looks fresh and inviting too. I am usually not a big fan of soup – but I’d make an exception for this one. It does its job well as the start of our meal. An 8/10 for me!

Ren: I had tasted something similar to this, back when I visited China, and even now I still find it good. The main attraction of this dish is the fact that you can’t seem to taste the spinach! (though its all over the soup) I’ll give it a 7/10 as much as the dish tastes, I felt that it had that generic Chinese soup taste.

First Main Dish – Scallops on the Seafood Platter

We chose only to review the scallops here as the crab and shrimp seen here are steamed – the traditional way of cooking them. Don’t get us wrong though – they were absolutely good and fresh. Its just that we stick to our theme of reviewing novel dishes.

Fiel: At first, I could not believe these were scallops! It had a blend to it that seemed like the texture and the faintly the taste of chicken relleno. As I started eating more, I realized that the chewy texture indeed belonged to scallops but cooked in a new way for me. With the onions and the perfectly seasoned rice, it was heaven to eat it. Pity there were only a few pieces as you can see here. If you go here, order it as it is without the crab and shrimp and you’ll see what I mean. Highly Recommended at 9/10.

Ren: This is the first time I had scallops this way. The dish was marinated very well, as you can still taste the sauce through the meat of the scallop. The texture of the meat as it melts in your mouth makes you think that its not scallops! Over all this dish gave me quite a surprise so I’ll give it a 9/10!

Second Main Dish – Dragon Eel in Blended Soy Sauce

Fiel: If you have ever had the fantasy of eating fresh bangus without having to manage the bones – well your wish is granted here! Cooked in the traditional Chinese style of steaming then adding the blended soy sauce, no wonder they named this in reference to the mythical dragon. It was even served swirling around to really give it the “dragon on a plate” look as you can see here. The difference between eating eel and bangus though is that eel has more chewy skin – which made it taste even better. Overall, it is an excellent version of a Chinese classic but using a main ingredient novel to me and probably to most people. Highly Recommended (Also!) at 9/10.

Ren: Admittedly this is the first time I have had eel and this is a great way to do it with a bang! With the soy sauce and bean soup it’s a very good first, for first time eel eaters. The meat is cooked thoroughly and was very soft all through out. Also, I didn’t have problems with fish bones. Definitely different from regular fish meat. A pretty interesting taste for my first time trying out that kind of meat! I’ll give it a 8.5/10

When we went: Saturday, around 8PM on June 28, 2008.
Where it is: Annapolis Street, Greenhills Complex. Coming from EDSA turn right into Annapolis street, pass Choi Restaurant on your left and you will see the white banner of Annapolis Seafood Restaurant on your right.
Budget Range: A bit high end. Normal dishes are about P300-P500 each good for 3-4 people without the rice yet. Maybe you’d be brave enough to try their HUGE aquarium-grown lobster at P3000 per kilo. The biggest one there probably weighed in at 3 kilos.