Shoot First Eat Later

A Slice of Pizza Love @ Nolita

I have a love/hate relationship with pizza. I love it to death but I hate the fat and calories that come with it. I did the ultimate sacrifice by not eating pizza for 1 year and now it’s time to get reacquainted with an old love.

Where else should I celebrate this momentous occasion but in one of the hottest pizza places in Manila? I’ve been reading so much about Nolita’s pizza that I just had to try it. I didn’t even have plans that day but after shopping in S&R I felt my stomach murmuring for some nourishment. Armed with only my iPhone I went to Nolita after the peak lunch hour.

Is there a more perfect food than a slice of pizza? Think about it. A slice of pizza contains all the important food groups. There’s carbs, dairy, protein and veggies. How awesome is that?

The pizzas were around 20″ in diameter and were sold by the slice. Normally I would get the pepperoni without a second thought but I wanted to eat healthier even with pizzas.

I chose the pesto grilled chicken with sun-dried tomato pizza. It was almost a big as the paper plate. I was a 100% sure I wouldn’t be able to finish it since I can only down half a slice of S&R’s pizza and this looked even bigger.

pesto grilled chicken with sun-dried tomato pizza P250

The first bite was pure nirvana. The crust was thin but firm enough to support the weight of the cheese and toppings. It was the best pizza crust I’ve ever eaten bar none. Light, super crisp and not doughy at all. The toppings as good as it were almost seemed secondary. I loved the flavors from the pesto and sun-dried with the creamy cheese.

Just look at the golden brown crust. Perfect!! I’m ashamed to admit I finished the entire slice.

I still had room for a chocolate chip cookie made with semi-sweet chocolate chunks. Not bad at all!!!

chocolate chip cookie P100

When I came home from Italy where I had not so great pizzas and all I could think about was going to Nolita to erase those sad pizza memories. A week after I arrived I went again and got the chicken parmesan pizza. I didn’t like it that much. It was too salty and there was too much chicken. It’s funny in Rome I complained that there wasn’t enough toppings.

Next time I go to Nolita I’m sticking to pizzas with less meat which I enjoy much more. Despite this one not so good pizza I still love Nolita’s pizza and I think it’s the best in Manila so far.

chicken parmesan pizza P250

NOLITA
7th Ave. corner 29th St. South,
Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
cellphone: +63 917 532 2612
email: nolita_nypizza@yahoo.com
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Operating Hours:
Sunday and Monday: 11 am – 12 mn
Tuesday to Thursday: 11 am – 2 am
Friday and Saturday: 11 am – 5 am

Dinner at Tanabe Japanese Restaurant

Before watching Lady Gaga’s concert last May we went to Mall of Asia for dinner. Deb asked me where I wanted to eat. I asked her if the Japanese restaurant I ate at when Mall of Asia was newly opened was still around. She excitedly said, “Yes, Tanabe is still open!” To say I was shocked was an understatement. Some more popular restaurants have already closed shop and they were still open. Their staying power is a testament to their good Japanese food.

I haven’t been to Mall of Asia in a loooong time that’s why I was surprised to see a ferris wheel behind the mall.

I didn’t feel like eating a heavy meal so I ordered 3 appetizers we could all share.

agedashi tofu P180

I’ve been in a tofu-love phase that’s why I ordered two very similar dishes. Both were delicious but the tofu steak had a little edge with a more flavorful sauce.

tofu steak P200

It’s weird but I don’t eat sashimi or any raw fish but when it’s slathered with spicy mayonnaise I love it. This spicy tuna sashimi isn’t on their menu but it should be. It’s one of the best versions I’ve tried. The spice level was spot on and there wasn’t too much mayonnaise. The tuna was very firm and fresh too.

spicy tuna sashimi P320

Deb ordered the oden which was made with egg, tofu and fish cake in a sweetish broth. I’ve never had it before and I really liked it. It was specially good when eaten with the spicy yellow mustard.

oden P350

I loved the presentation of the cold soba noodles.

zaru soba P280

We teased Pat with her very common order of beef slices on rice.

gyu don P420

Common or not it was really good so I don’t blame her for her choice. If only I can eat rice I would have loved to order this too.

The food of Tanabe hasn’t changed from the first time I ate their many years ago. It’s still as good and consistent. The portions are fair and the prices were reasonable. No wonder they remain open to this day.

Tanabe’s menu

Tanabe Japanese Restaurant
SM Mall of Asia, Entertainment Mall, Seaside Blvd
Manila Bay Reclamation Area, Pasay
telephone: 556-0360

Dinner at El Cirkulo

In Manila new restaurants open and close as fast as you can blink. Some restaurants are so popular that they reach their peak too soon and lose business in a year or so. In my opinion restaurants which serve consistently good food stay open much longer. Such is the case with El Cirkulo.

Whenever the question of “where to eat” arises new restaurants are often the first suggestions. But sometimes the best choice is an old time favorite which will always guarantee a full and happy tummy.

free appetizer

Our friend Florence has been dreaming of lechon for weeks so we decided to make her wishes come true by going to one of the best places to get cochinillo (young roast suckling pig), El Cirkulo.

cochinillo asado P5,950 (whole) P2,995 (half)

You need to order this baby pig a day in advance.

The beauty of eating a young pig is it’s tender and milky meat and little fat. El Cirkulo always serves their cochinillo with a very crispy and flavorful skin. Eight of us managed to finish only half a pig.

Just to balance out the sinful piggy we ordered salad.

salad

This is only place I’ve seen that has vegan paella. This paella with only portobella mushroom, whole roasted garlic, asparagus and truffle oil was a delicious as the typical paella with saffron. The flavor was more sublime but equally satisfying.

paella montaña P825

Whatever paella you end up choosing it’s all good. Next time I want to try their paella negra, the only variant I haven’t tried in El Cirkulo.

paella cirkulo P745

callos madrileña P445

Their beef belly is my all-time favorite dish. I just love the melt-in-your mouth beef with lots of horseradish. I have to order this every time I eat at El Cirkulo. If you eat at El Cirkulo for lunch on Wednesdays an order of the beef belly with steamed rice, soup and dessert is only P545+.

slow roasted U.S. beef belly P875

My friends ordered halo halo from Milky Way located on the 2nd floor of the same building for dessert. This was half an order. They just loved this version. I’m not a big halo halo lover so I just had coffee.

Milky Way’s halo halo

El Cirkulo will always be my preferred Spanish restaurant. One day I vow to try their other dishes but it’s hard not to order all my favorites. What should I try next in El Cirkulo? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

El Cirkulo
Ground Floor Milkyway Building
900 Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road)
corner Paseo de Roxas,
Makati City 1200 Philippines
telephone:810-8735, 810-2763
website

Dinner at Brasserie CiÇou

The first and last time I ate at Restaurant CiÇou in Makati was in 2010. I really liked the food despite lots of mixed reviews I’ve heard and read. I was sad when they closed since I wasn’t able to go back.

When I heard they opened a new restaurant in Greenhills I was ecstatic. Imagine a good French restaurant in my home turf. We finally got to try it last May to celebrate Rochelle’s birthday.

They now had some sweet and savory goodies for sale.

macarons P35

quiche

I was surprised to see the tiny kouign amann selling for P50 while Gourmet Finds sells theirs for P75 and it’s more than double the size. I never got to try their version but I love buttery kouign amann.

kouign amann P50

Brasserie CiCou’s menu

Their hot and super crusty rolls were just amazing. It tasted just like our favorite from Chef Philippe which has now closed shop. I wish they would sell these bread too.

We all liked the quiche specially the flaky and buttery crust.

leeks & goat cheese quiche P150

This was another winner. The puff pastry was light, crisp and buttery and was the perfect vessel for the creamy chicken and mushroom filling.

bouchee a la reine P220

My friends are soup addicts and can’t eat a meal without soup. I never order soup since I know I’ll be full after a bowl of soup. The cheesy onion soup passed with high colors.

onion soup P270

I recommended the prawn bisque since I remember how much I loved it when I had it in their first restaurant in Makati. The soup stock used was an intense flavor made from prawn shells. It was rich and very, very flavorful.

prawn bisque P360

Rochelle is quite an adventurous eater so she ordered the boudin noir or pork blood sausage.

boudin noir P420

It was everyone’s first time to try pork blood sausage. Sad to say the flavor was too strong for our taste. The mashed potatoes with the beef jus was pretty good though. This was the only thing we didn’t finish.

I was debating whether to order the bouillabaisse or my CiÇou favorite ox tongue. The waiter told me the ox tongue was more popular so that’s what I ordered again. Sometimes when I really like something in a restaurant I tend to order the same thing again and again instead of trying something new.

It was delicious two years ago and it was just as yummy in 2012. Ultra tender ox tongue braised in ravigote sauce, a classic lightly acidic French sauce. Love, love, love it! Instead of the usual side of baby potatoes I requested salad greens instead.

braised ox tongue P450

My friends really enjoyed the hanger steak too.

onglet poele P510

For a dish to be shared I suggested this pasta dish which was my favorite when I first ate at CiÇou. Al dente pasta with bacon, mushroom and parmesan cheese. You see all those bubbles on top? I suspect that’s butter. No wonder this simple dish was freakin fantastic. This is good too share. I think it’s would be too rich for a main course unless you really love your pasta.

coquilettes P370

I highly recommend the French comfort food at Brasserie CiÇou. They don’t exactly market the restaurant as comfort food but that’s what I felt when I ate there. I was happy and satisfied. Isn’t that what comfort food does to you?

Brasserie CiÇou
57 Annapolis St., Greenhills, San Juan.
telephone: 661-9200, 0917-885-8841
website
Facebook

Breakfast Buffet at Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa

I would never deliberately pay for breakfast buffet since I always eat a simple and boring breakfast and all the choices would simply overwhelm me and tempt me beyond reason. But since buffet breakfast at Shangri-La Boracay’s Vintana restaurant was included with the room I might as well enjoy myself.

The small shots of mango lychee juice on ice welcomed diners at the entrance of Vintana restaurant.

If I thought Discovery Shores had lots of breakfast offerings well I was simply blown away by the volume and assortment at Vintana. There was probably 2-3x more food.

Just take a look at the choices of fruit juices. From the ordinary orange and mango to the more unique honeydew and orange carrot juices. There was even iced tea!

fresh juices

Nice selection of tropical and western fruit.

fresh fruits

I guess some people eat salad for breakfast. Not me!!!!

salad bar

cold cuts & smoked salmon

They had an international selection for the tourists staying in the hotel.

Japanese breakfast selections

Chinese breakfast selections

Korean breakfast selections

eggs, eggs, eggs

I understand ensaymada and pan de sal are Filipino breads but muffins?

Filipino breakfast breads

Filipino breakfast selections

American breakfast selections

I was quite excited when I saw the crab cakes since I seldom see those in Manila.

crab cakes

I liked how this corner of the buffet looked the best. It’s because of all the cast iron skillets and pots.

grilled sausage, ham, quiche & fritata

pasta, fried rice & veal sausage

This was the first time I’ve seen panini sandwiches in a breakfast buffet. Splendid!

panini

I loved the buffet area for kids which were placed on a lower table for easy reach.

kids breakfast buffet

The character pancakes were actually in the adult area but I’m sure kids and adults had a kick eating those cute pancakes.

pancakes, waffles & French toast

There was no shortage of tempting bread and pastries, my no. 1 weakness.

bread & pastries

If you are a regular reader of my blog you can probably guess what I ate.

muesli and dried fruits

Banana milk? Eh?

milk

The hot chocolate was surprisingly dark and unsweetened which I really appreciated. A mug of hot chocolate with two shots of espresso was my choice of drink that morning.

hot chocolate

espresso machine

jam assortment

Yes, yes I had the muesli again. It was good but not as good as my all time favorite muesli at Hong Kong Disneyland hotel. I wish they had more dried fruit choices instead of just granola and nuts. I should have cut up some fresh fruit to add to my muesli.

muesli

The cheese croissant was yummy but even better was their coconut croissant which had a sweet, sticky coconut filling that reminded me of pan de coco. Genius! The danggit (dried fish) was very disappointing. It was hard and chewy and not crispy as I liked it. It probably because of it’s huge size.

The crab cake was made with 80% mashed potato and 20% fresh crab meat. Our crab meat is so fine it won’t support the shape with just a little binder like breadcrumbs the way American crab cakes are made.

day 1 breakfast

mango lychee juice

Unbelievable but the second day the food was all different. I couldn’t handle more choices so I stuck with my usual muesli and sausage with a bit of beef tapa. Told you my breakfast choices were boring.

day 2 breakfast

If you can eat a lot and love breakfast then the breakfast buffet at Shangri-La Boracay is for you. Some may say just the breakfast buffet will sway them to choose this hotel over the others.

The price of our room at Shangri-La and Discovery Shores was about the same. You’ve seen the pictures of the hotel, rooms and breakfast buffet for both hotels. Where would you choose to stay in Boracay? Let me know in the comment box below. I’d love to hear your opinions.

Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa
Barangay Yapak, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, 5608, Philippines
telephone: (63 36) 288-4988
website
Facebook

What I Ate in Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa

Last April I had the good fortune of staying at Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa. Since the resort was a bit isolated and we were just too lazy to leave the beautiful hotel we had more than a few meals in their restaurants.

Our first dinner was at the Vintana restaurant which also served as the coffee shop and breakfast venue.

Since I had an abundant seafood lunch at Boracay Crab House earlier I didn’t want to have a heavy dinner so I skipped the seafood buffet.

seafood bufffet

My seared steak salad with Asian vinaigrette was pretty good. The beef was very tender and well spiced.

steak salad

Michelle who had the buffet was so nice to give me a slice of chocolate cake. Thanks Mitch!!

chocolate cake

The next day I spent time in the beautiful pool.

I found this area with a jacuzzi pool connected to the infinity pool.

This was my favorite part of the pool. I could have just stayed there and looked at the sea for hours.

This was the other beach near the pool.

They had a quite extensive menu for the poolside. Aside from the usual sandwiches there were also pizza, pasta and surprisingly lamb kofta which I ordered. It was the healthiest thing I could find.

lamb kofta P500 & iced coffee P150

I liked the flavor of the mini lamb patties except it needed some salt. The yogurt dressing was spot on for the small wraps I made.

When I was done with my lunch I called for a golf buggy which brought me to Sirena, their seafood restaurant. I went to take pictures since we were eating there for dinner.

The Solana bar was also located there.

Solana Bar

Sirena restaurant

We celebrated two birthdays that night.

I had the the black cod which was just ok.

pan roasted black cod P950+++

My very last meal before going back to Manila was a quick smoked salmon sandwich at the Vintana. I became quite enamored with their iced coffee.

smoked salmon & cream cheese sandwich

The food in the hotel was expensive and was mostly just satisfactory. I missed all the good restaurants Boracay had to offer. Next time I know better.

Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa
Barangay Yapak, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, 5608, Philippines
telephone: (63 36) 288-4988
website
Facebook

Lunch at Boracay Crab House

As soon as I finished taking pictures of the rooms at Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa we hightailed out of there for a much needed late lunch. We couldn’t wait for the resort’s free shuttle so we hired their van to take us Escondido Beach Resort to eat at Boracay Crab House.

The van dropped us off at the corner and we had to walk in the narrow road that led to the hotel.

Escondido Beach Resort

Right across the resort was the restaurant.

We arrived at the restaurant at around 2:30 pm that’s why we were the only customers.

Boracay Crab House menu

pineapple shake P75

garlic fried rice P45@

sinigang na hipon P295

I don’t know what was in their special sauce but it was spectacular. I tasted coconut milk as the base but whatever else was in it made the simple boiled crab into a very tasty dish.

Boracay Crabhouse Special P650

This was an instance that the sauce alone could be a viand for the garlic rice. In local parlance, “sauce pa lang ulam na.”

Our second crab was doused with coconut cream sauce. Not bad but it wasn’t as good as the first crab. We wanted to order another Boracay Crabhouse special but they were out of crabs. They still had to buy more crabs for the night’s dinner service.

coco crab P650

Aligue is crab fat and sauce made with it is rich, salty, savory and a bit tangy. Prawns with aligue sauce is a classic Filipino dish and this version was really, really delicious. I couldn’t help but eat a couple of spoonful of garlic rice with the sauce. We actually ordered one more since we were ‘bitin.’

aligue prawns P295

The crispy shrimp was good too.

crispy shrimp P195

I found the price very, very reasonable for all the fresh crab and prawns we ate. I highly recommend this restaurant in Boracay.

It’s sad but this was my last meal outside of Shangri-La hotel . It was not practical to go out just to eat. For one it could be quite costly if you miss their free shuttle which ran at specific times. The hotel van that took us to the restaurant cost P150 per head for one way. It cost P600 pesos for the 4 of us!

The tricycle going from the restaurant to Shangri-La cost P150 instead of the usual P75. The tricycle couldn’t drop us off at the entrance either. We had to be dropped at a waiting shed halfway to the resort and waited for the hotel van to pick us up. Remember the masseuse I used at Discovery Shores? She refused to go to Shangri-La because of the same transportation issues even though I told her I will pay for her ride.

Boracay Crab House
Escondido Beach Resort
Zone Escondido, Station 1, Balabag, Boracay Island
Malay, Aklan, Philippines
telephone: +63922-640-1981
cellular phone: +63922-850-1161
website

Breakfast Buffet at Discovery Shores Boracay

I eat low fat yogurt with fresh fruit every single day. The only time I let loose is when I stay in a hotel that has buffet breakfast included.

I was so excited to show you the pictures of Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa that I forgot to post the breakfast buffet at Discovery Shores’ Sands Restaurant.

omelet station

calamansi, ham & cheese muffins, banana bread

bread

I’ve never seen so many kinds of cheese in a breakfast buffet. Fantastic! And they served it with dried mangoes. Nice touch.

cheese plate

smoked fish

oatmeal

fresh fruit

fruits

juice

cereal

salad bar

They also had a lot of hot dishes with local and international favorites.

congee

congee toppings

coffee and hot chocolate

Here’s my breakfast plate. The calamansi muffin was pretty good. Almost as good as the one from Real Coffee. If you’ve seen my other breakfast posts you will see my love for sausages of all kinds. It’s weird but I can live without bacon or corned beef both which I really love pre-diet days but I still can’t resist sausages. For my healthy contribution I ate a bowl of oatmeal topped with sweet mangoes and oranges. I was quite full after this plate plus my requisite two cups of coffee.

This was the gorgeous view while I ate breakfast.

After breakfast I went to the beach for a quick dip in the sea. I was disappointed that all the beach loungers were taken until the guard asked me if I was with the group who occupied the first two chairs the day before. I said yes and he told me he reserved it again for us. Isn’t that amazing?

The tote bag below was a free gift from the hotel.

I had to have my super favorite pandan water that they give to all the guests. They must have noticed how much I loved it that they gave me a whole carafe of it.

pandan water

Soon enough another staff member came along with cold towels. How I love the ultra attentive and personal service given by Discovery Shores’ staff to it’s guests.

How cool is this? Taho on the beach.

Discovery Shores Boracay
Station 1, Balabag Boracay Island
5608 Malay, Aklan Philippines
telephone: (63 36) 288-4500 / (63 2) 720-8888
email: dsbrsvn@discovery.com.ph

Manila Sales and Reservations Office
Discovery Center
25 ADB Ave. Ortigas Center, Pasig City
telephone: (632) 720-8888
direct lines: (632) 719-6692 to 719-6695/719-6697/719-6699

website
Facebook

Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa

My trip last April to Boracay was a short one but I got to stay in two of the island’s best hotels. My first night was spent at Discovery Shores and the next two nights I got to experience another level of luxury at Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa. How lucky was I?

We had to leave Discovery Shores because they were fully booked and we couldn’t extend our stay. I didn’t mind since I also really wanted to see Shangri-La’s beautiful resort.

lobby lounge

part of the lobby lounge

Really nice view from the lobby lounge which I never got to sit in at all.

After checking in we rode the golf cart to our rooms. You can call for a golf cart anytime you need to go anywhere. After a while we realized it was faster to walk and healthier too.

All our rooms were in the timog or south wing which had views of the sea. The hilaga or north wing had garden views.

My first stop was to see the suite of Elizabeth’s parents. It was huge!!!

seaview suite

The room even had an outdoor jacuzzi!

walk-in closet

The shower was double the size of the one in our deluxe room.

They also had a Nespresso machine as well as an electric hotpot for water.

I helped myself to an espresso.

I was so envious of the tea set-up. There were even two tea pots! Check out the 4 tins of loose leaf tea. The choices were green, earl, jasmine and oolong. Elizabeth’s mom was so nice to give me a couple of cans of tea.

glass bottled water

This was our first room. Why our first? We actually changed rooms three times. I was fine sharing this king bed with Elizabeth but she suggested we move to a room with two beds instead. Sure why not?

I noticed their linens were a bit crumpled.

deluxe seaview room

All the deluxe rooms had two daybeds in the balcony. It was a nice place to relax when I was tired of the beach and pool.

This was the view from the room.

The spacious bathroom had two doors.

L’Occitane toiletries

Only instant coffee and tea bags in this room.

An elevator ride down and a few steps away and we were at the beach.

The sand and water isn’t as nice as in White Beach in station one of Discovery Shores but it was very private. It felt like I had my own beach. There was hardly any people. There was another beach on the other side near the pool area.

I chanced upon a romantic and private dinner on the beach specially catered by the hotel.

special beachside dinner

From the beach there was a short cut to the pool.

I had a quick swim in the beautiful pool which had several sections. I knew the hotel was fully booked but I felt I was all alone in this paradise.

This was our second room, a deluxe seaview with two double beds. I was fine with it but Elizabeth swore she stayed in a bigger room with bigger beds before.

I was surprised with a much smaller bathroom with only one door and one sink.

There was no glass shower enclosures either. I wonder if this was for handicap access or the shower curtains were just to save space. It was unacceptable to us so we requested to change to another room.

The staff were really accommodating and moved all our belongings while we had dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. Finally we got the room we loved. The room was indeed much bigger and had two queen beds. This room can easily sleep four people.

premiere family seaview room

The bathroom was identical to the first room so we were very happy.

Look what I found on my side table.

On the basement level of the resort was the health club, a boutique and the entertainment center.

regalo boutique

The entertainment center was really big.

entertainment center

Aside from the usual board games they also had sungka (local shell game).

I spent an hour of fun filled activities with Christine, Michelle and Andrew the nieces and nephew of Elizabeth. Naturally they beat me in basketball, air hockey, table tennis and foosball. I didn’t bother with billiards since I’m sure they will laugh at my amateur efforts.

There were even two rooms for video games. I was glad there were no kids playing there since the point of going to the beach was to get them away from video games.

Karoke rooms were available too.

They also had books and dvds you can borrow and take to your rooms.

Shangri-La’s resort was really world class. The rooms were very luxurious and surprisingly the rates were almost the same as Discovery Shores. I’m sure you’re all wondering which hotel I liked better? Believe me I asked myself the same thing over and over again. I’m really torn and can’t decide.

For location and the beach my choice would be Discovery Shores. Their service and ‘freebies’ are also top notch. But for an overall resort and hotel accommodation the facilities of Shangri-La can’t be beat. I was extremely happy and lucky to have experienced both fantastic hotels in one trip.

Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa
Barangay Yapak, Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, 5608, Philippines
telephone: (63 36) 288-4988
website
Facebook

Dinner at Kasbah, Boracay

One of the best things I liked about Kasbah was it’s location. It’s right next to the Discovery Shores hotel where we stayed. We didn’t need to go where the crowds were. A short walk on the beach with the cool breeze blowing our hair and in a minute we were there.

It was my first time ever to eat in an authentic Moroccan restaurant in the Philippines. I was quite excited since I knew lamb is an essential part of Moroccan cuisine and I just love lamb. I would rather eat lamb than beef any day. The only problem is the lamb dishes in Manila’s restaurants aren’t that great so I just cook it myself at home.

Really nice ambiance but quite a challenge for taking food shots without a flash.

I had to use a nearby spot light for these pictures. We started our meal with 4 kinds of dips. Two were made with eggplant while one was made with red bell pepper and of course the hummus was made with garbanzo beans. The dips were all very tasty and well seasoned.

zaalouk, mechoula, hummus harissa, moutabal (baba ganoush) P595

Their gambas was made with prawns instead of the usual small shrimp that’s why an order yielded only 3 pieces. It tasted different from the Spanish version since this dish was made with chermoula sauce, a popular Moroccan staple made with cilantro and other spices.

gambas marocain P385

gazpacho Marakesh P185

I always see watermelon and feta cheese salad in magazines and on tv and have always wanted to try this unusual combination. I liked the contrast of sweet watermelon and salty feta cheese and black olives. This is easy to make at home so I will definitely be having this salad soon.

watermelon, feta & olives salad P385

Thanks to Jason who ordered the lamb chops and was nice enough to give me one to try. The lamb was simply delicious! It was well marinated in herbs and spices and chargrilled to perfection. It’s a cliche but true when I say it was tender and juicy. The price of P895 was quite high but at least we got 4 relatively large pieces of lamb chops. I’ve had tiny bite sized lamb chops that cost more than this.

Maghreb lamb chops P895

A tagine is both slow cooked stew and the dome shaped clay pot used in cooking Morocco’s most popular dish.

lamb tagine P925

I was so happy all my dinner companions were also lamb lovers like me. I usually just like lamb chops and not the other parts of the lamb like the shoulder or the leg. This stew made with prunes, honey and almonds was so aromatic with hints of sweetness that carried through the super tender meat all the way to the bone that I couldn’t help but love it too.

They used lamb ribs in the tagine.

The baklava was a sweet and crunchy way to end my best meal in Boracay. It’s not cheap but I highly recommend anyone going to Boracay to have a least one meal at Kasbah. It was worth every peso!!!

baklava P210

Kasbah’s menu
cold appetizers, salads, soups & Moroccan appetizers, wraps & kebabs,
tagines, exotic Moroccan delights, kids meals & desserts

Kasbah
Station One, White Beach, Boracay, Aklan (next to Discovery Shores Hotel)
telephone: + 63 36 288 4790
website
Facebook