Keep Coming Back to Recipes

My cousin M is here in Manila for training and so I grabbed the chance to catch up with him over dinner. My J and I met with him at Shangri-La Plaza.

At 4 in the afternoon that day I made a reservation by phone for a 7pm dinner at Recipes (by Café Metro). I gave the usual details and as a final note I requested that we take the seats on the far side, away from the entrance. I always ask for this every time I make reservations because I don’t want to be disturbed by clients going in and out of the restaurant.

While we were stocked in heavy traffic (plus the rush hour) we made it at Shangri-La before 7. I went straight to Café Metro and asked for our table. To my disappointment there wasn’t a table for us.  I gave my name to the restaurant employee and she handed the waiter a piece of paper where my reservation details were written. The other employees just shook their heads and asked us to wait.

Well, sometimes misfortune happens. I stayed calm and kept my cool. I didn’t want to spoil the evening. While we waited for a table, I already ordered our food.

We had our three favorites- Crispy Tilapia, Gising-gising and General’s Chicken.

The Crispy Tilapia (P205) is fillet fish, coated with corn starch and deep fried. I really like it because it is perfectly crispy and it tastes really good when dipped in soy sauce with onion bits and red chili. The corn starch coating is not too thick that’s why the fish taste is still intact.

General’s Chicken (P205) is a combination of chicken and eggplant cuts in a sweet and spicy sauce. The chicken is crispy on the outside but reveals a tender meat inside. The savory taste is very Asian-Oriental. Surprisingly, the soft eggplant flesh goes well with the chicken.

Gising-gising (P160) is chopped Baguio beans with ground pork cooked in coconut milk. I actually don’t eat beans but this dish is an exemption. It is a little bit spicy but the coconut milk balances the taste. It is reminiscent of the very popular Bicol Express.

Although our dinner didn’t begin conveniently we ended up very satisfied with the food. I really missed the Crispy Tilapia. I think it has been months since my J and I last ate at Recipes in Greenbelt.

I just noticed that the Shangri-La branch has poor ventilation and air conditioning unlike the Greenbelt branch. The restaurant is small. The dining area is too close to the counter. Nevertheless, the food is excellent- tasty and worth the price.

Have you dined at Recipes by Café Metro? What are your favorite dishes there?