Finally, Ate is here in Manila for a seminar/training! I have been looking forward to her visit because I wanted to take her to The Fort in Taguig. Last night we braved the rain to have dinner at Conti’s in Serendra. I have heard a lot of good words about the pastry shop/restaurant and I wanted to try the dishes for myself.
Starting out as a simple family restaurant in the heart of Paranaque,
Conti’s opened with just a few tables and the desire to serve people with delectable dishes.
Coming back for the delightful Mango Bravo, the tasty Baked Salmon among others,
people found a place where they could gather with family and friends
and enjoy scrumptious meals together.
Thus, Conti’s earned a following of loyal and satisfied customers.
As usual, there were a lot of diners. The place is not too big so we were given the option to wait for a table or stay on the second floor al fresco area. Since Ate was really hungry and thinking the customers would not leave too soon because of the rain, we opted to stay on the second floor.
We ordered a solo serving of Mango Royale Salad (P90)- iceberg lettuce with fresh mango cubes tossed with special house dressing. It is a simple yet refreshing salad. The dressing is a little sweet but it tastes so good along with the lettuce and mango. The serving is really only for one. We thought the servings are huge. We could have ordered the one for sharing (P160).
I had Chicken Roulade with Saffron Mushroom Risotto (P255) - roulade of chicken with spinach, cheese and caramelized onion (with garlic rice P225). This is like cordon bleu but with simpler stuffing. The sauce (which is I think gravy) is so tasty. The marinated boneless chicken is tender and scrumptious. I also like the sweet and crunchy carrot slices on the side. Too bad the risotto tastes like java rice with lots of butter. Saffron has a distinct flavor- a mixture of sweet and bitter. No trace of this spice at all.
Ate opted for Herb Crusted Fillet of Fish (P220) served with apple potato salad and buttered corn rice. I like this better than my choice. The fish fillet is light, tender and moist. It is so flavorful and generously seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper.
Apple Potato Salad- apples, potatoes, carrots and chicken chunks. I am a fan of potato salad and this didn’t disappoint me. It has a rich and lively flavor. The crisp apple slices give a fresh edge to the potato salad.
This corn rice is the best! The delicious flavors of butter and garlic combined in this simple rice mix are just so perfect I can eat this on its own. I told Ate to try cooking this at home so we can experiment on the taste.
Of course we didn’t leave the restaurant without trying on the famous frozen Mango Bravo (P120/slice). The slice is actually big enough to share. Why is this dessert so popular? Well, it is a chilled and crunchy cake with cashew, mango chunks, chocolate mousse and meringue filling and covered with white mango cream, topped with mango chunks and drizzled with chocolate syrup. It’s a piece of heaven! It is not overly sweet and it is light on the stomach. We were tempted to buy the small cake (P425) (big cake P995) to bring home to Pampanga on the weekend but we were afraid it would melt right away so we just content ourselves with the slice.
Overall, the food is superb. I will consider coming back to try on the other entrees. What is unsatisfactory is the slow service and inattentive staff. We were seated for five minutes already before a server gave us the menu and took our orders. Our slice of cake arrived after ten minutes. Asking for the bill took us eight minutes and another ten minutes to give back the change.
Have you tried dining at Conti’s? What are your favorite dishes? How was your experience?
*** Conti’s Pastry Shop and Restaurant
1C-17 Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
(02) 856.23.52 to 53 and (02) 901.34.86
