10.9.10

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?

13 comments:

kim said...

i love your food adventures! now i'm drooling over that fried tilapia...I miss eating fish! hehehe

evey ♥ said...

HI! I just followed you too :) super nice blog like it, so neat and organized.. and wow so much foods and goodies. :)
thanks for following.. and passing by my site. Take care...

MariaKristela said...

Thank you Kim and Evey! I am glad you like my blog. :)

Kim, the fried tilapia is really good. Crispy!

Evey, thank you! Take care too!

See you around ladies! :)

Traveliztera said...

HUNGRY! haha!

ALmost everyone I know knows that GENERAL'S CHICKEN is my ultimate weakness haha! I haven't tried their Gising2x yet because I'm in love with the General but I'm really curious with that dish since I'm a huge fan of the awesome bicol express! Thanks for this lovely post! :D I <3 your blog! :) BTW, where did u find me? =D

MariaKristela said...

Hello Traveliztera! General's chicken is LOVE! Super delicious. :) Try the gising-gising on your next visit at Recipes. I'm sure you'll love it. :)

I just saw your blog on my follower's blog. I find your blog very interesting so I decided to follow you. See you around! :)

Mimi said...

those all look delicious! i am now hungry, haha! :D

<3, Mimi
http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/

MariaKristela said...

Hello Mimi! Looking at the photos makes me hungry as well. Haha!

Thanks for dropping by! :)

Michie said...

I so love RECIPES, too. My top 2 favorites are gising-gising and crispy tilapia. Other dishes are blasts as well.

MariaKristela said...

Hello Michie!We've got the right choices. So delicious! :)

elfemme said...

wow. <--- that's all i can say.
wow. <--- really!

crispy tilapia? i haven't tasted that!!
sarap!

MariaKristela said...

Hello Elfemme! You should try crispy tilapia! It's so delicious. Try it with soy sauce. :)

jolaa said...

Aww this really looks delicious. I'm starving right now haha!
Thank you for your lovely commment;) and thanks for following!

MariaKristela said...

Thank you too Jolaa! :)