Lunch at ‘Cue Modern Barbecue

When I go to out of the country I insist on only eating that country’s cuisine. When we went to Spain all we had was Spanish food. Makes sense right? But in Manila I want to eat different kinds of food and it’s a good thing that new restaurants keep opening with new and improved cuisines for Filipinos.

Americans visiting Manila would hardly want to eat barbecue here but expats who miss Southern cooking would do well to visit ‘Cue Modern Barbecue.  In my opinion their food is pretty authentic with some dishes amped up a notch higher.

Aside from adding a ‘country’ look to the restaurant I suspect the cowhide in the ceiling is to help with the restaurant’s acoustics but it’s not enough. When the place was full I could hardly hear the conversation in our table.

Thank you ‘Cue for giving your diners free freshly popped spiced popcorn. It doesn’t cost much on your part but we really appreciate and enjoy it.

Some of my friends ordered this gingery grape fruit shake. You can also request them to split and order for two if this big jar of frozen goodness is too much.

grapes n’ ginger fruit shake P190

The soup had plenty of crab but I found it a bit too salty and rich but Tisay who ordered it liked it. It just wasn’t for me.

Charleston she crab soup P260

I always order crab cakes when I’m in the US and until recently you can’t find authentic crab cakes in Manila.  The good crab cakes in the US use jumbo lump crab and have minimal fillers.

In Manila our crab are small and the meat is too fine but sweet and you would need lots of whole crab to get a decent amount for crab cakes. As I expected these crab cakes had more fillers than I liked but the taste was quite decent. What made it stand out was the super delicious garlic sauce which we kept and ate with the other dishes.

smoked chili Louisiana crab cake P315

The baby squid was ordinary but it was crunchy and well fried. The only thing amazing was how tiny and tender the squid were. Tiny squid meant more surface for the batter and oil so in essence you’re eating more flour than squid. It tasted better with the garlic sauce instead of the mayonnaise it came with.

crunchy baby squid P265

Adding pieces of steak to the roasted bone marrow was a great idea. It stretched out the goodness and complemented the beef very well as filling for these mini tacos. Don’t forget to add the spicy salsa verde!

bone marrow & steak tacos P485

This is exactly how I like my baby back ribs, barely glazed with sauce yet smokey, tender but not too soft and the flavor permeated evenly through the meat. It came with two kinds of barbecue sauce and I liked the spicier one.

baby back ribs full slab P1,185

coleslaw P55

For me the best dish during lunch was the charred corned beef belly
hand cut charred corned beef P685

Whoever thought of putting cured and boiled beef belly on the grill was genius! Imagine tender and mildly salty fresh corned beef with a locked in grilled flavor? It was literally corned steak!!! Take a piece of corned steak and slather it with whole grain mustard and creamy horseradish and give you tastebuds an express trip to yummy heaven!

This would also work even better in a sandwich. Hear that ‘Cue?

Their corned beef sandwich was also fab but it would have been so much better with rye bread instead of sourdough and the grilled corned steak above. Until they come out with that you’ll have to be satisfied with this sandwich.

When you’re ready with the corned steak belly on rye you can give me a call okay, ‘Cue? Serve it with whole grain mustard and horseradish and not catsup. Oh sweet potato chips on the side would be perfect too.

Finally a restaurant in Manila that served sweet potato fries! Hey ‘Cue may I suggest a thinner cut of the fries like these since our local sweet potatoes ain’t that sweet?

sliced corned beef belly sandwich P485

I actually ordered this pot pie since I have this strange love for pot pies. This wasn’t bad at all since the flavors of the spicy chicken filling was good but they can improve on the crust which quickly became limp and soggy when I dunked it in the sauce.

chicken chipotle chorizo pot pie P325

I was already beyond full when this tall burger came out but I tried a small piece of the cheese drenched patty. To say I was astounded was putting it mildly. Wow o wow can you say steak? It was awesome and it passed by criteria for a burger having to taste like steak. This was one great burger! It’s going to be a tough choice for my next visit,  corned beef or burger.

the house burger P395

You get my two thumbs and two toes up ‘Cue!!!

menu

‘Cue Modern Barbecue
Space NELG 105, Lower Ground Floor Bonifacio High Street Central, Global City, 1630 Taguig
telephone: (63917) 899-2283
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