Delicious Singapore Food at Ang Mo Kio!

Last Sunday, we hit the road to visit two prospective principal sponsors for our upcoming wedding. Coming from the house of one of them, we decided to have lunch in one of the restos at the Podium before driving to the other one's residence in Pasig. Upon seeing the inviting aura of Ang Mo Kio with its artsy, Singapore-themed interiors, I just had to drag my two companions inside the restaurant. Soon enough, we were enjoying a light and healthy lunch composed of authentic-tasting Hainanese Chicken, sauteed bokchoy and teh tarik.


cool store concept art


clean, neat dining space


white-washed table (I love vintage-inspired furniture!)

According to the waiter who served our food, Ang Mo Kio means "tomato farm." Primarily, it serves Singaporean dishes at reasonable prices. Our 1/2 Hainanese Chicken that came with two bowls of sauteed bokchoy and two cups of chicken rice, for instance, was priced at just P500. Ideally good for two persons, we made it feed the three of us by getting an additional order of chicken rice. Smart, eh?


1/2 Hainanese Chicken


Hainanese Chicken up close

The Hainanese Chicken was good. It was authentic-tasting as I imagined it to be (which made me miss Singapore and its delicious cuisine in an instant). The deboned chicken meat was tender with just the right amount of fat. It's bland when eaten on its own but once you dip the meat in the three sauces (chili sauce, ginger sauce and sweet soy sauce), you automatically enhance the taste of the chicken a million times. That's what we did!


condiments for the Hainanese Chicken

It helped that the sauteed bokchoy and the chicken rice that went with it had rich taste and texture, too. We had a satisfying meal right then and there.


sauteed bokchoy


chicken rice

Our complimentary soup arrived only when we asked for it. We saw the other tables being served with the same so we thought it was given for free and we're right, haha. Hot as it was, I poured some into my chicken rice to enrich its flavors. It was effective! I finished everything on my plate within minutes. Yum!


complimentary soup

While my two companions had lemon iced tea (P50), I got a glass of teh tarik or milk tea (P70) to complete my Singaporean dining experience in Manila. The milk tea was creamy and had just the right tea flavor. I liked it as it was.


Teh Tarik, P70

We dined at Ang Mo Kio on their third soft opening day. The service was terrible (super slow and the waiters seemed confused and cramming), but we didn't mind. We went there for the food, anyway.


with the fiance

The menu was still very limited, but according to one of the owners Ritchie, more items will be added soon. I guess we have to go back to Podium to see what they are and try them.


open kitchen; chef at work


with Ritchie, one of Ang Mo Kio's owners


Ang Mo Kio restaurant from the outside

If you're craving for delicious Singaporean food at Manila prices, Ang Mo Kio is a good place to visit.

Ang Mo Kio
3/L The Podium
ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center
Mandaluyong City


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Get a Taste of Asia at Crustasia Asian Bistro

Friday night last week was spent dining with fellow foodie blogger friends at Crustasia Asian Bistro**. The restaurant is nestled at the ground floor of Power Plant Mall in Rockwell, Makati. I've heard of the dining place before but it was my first time to actually dine there to sample their various offerings: Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Chinese specialties plus mouth-watering seafood. If you're a Pinoy like me, forget about your local cuisine for a few hours (because they don't serve any Filipino dishes here) and indulge in the distinctive cuisines of our neighbor countries. Now, lemme tell you about my awesome dining experience.



For starters, we had the Thai Catfish Salad and the Grand Javanese Sampler consisting of Martabak Telor (Indonesian bread stuffed with eggs and meat curry), Sambal Teri Kacang (spicy dried anchovies and peanuts), Kerupuk dan Emping (Indonesian assorted crackers) and Bakwan Jagung Manis (corn fritters).


Thai Catfish Salad, P245


Grand Javanese Sampler, P295

Taste wise, I found the catfish salad okay (tasted better when eaten with the chili-vinegar dip!) though the catfish was a bit oily. As for the sampler, I happened to try some of the spicy dried anchovies and peanuts and I loved them. It makes for a good pulutan, methinks.

To get things more exciting, we had a soup called Sichuan Boiled Catfish. It's one recipe taken from the Sichuan cuisine of China. It had boiled catfish, fresh mung bean sprouts, dry roasted chilies and other spices. The boiled catfish was divine, so soft, fresh and tasty. The soup itself, on the other hand, was tolerably hot and spicy.


Sichuan Boiled Catfish, P395

For the main courses, we had a few dishes to share:


All Meat Sate Sampler,P685 for 16 sticks



This All Meat Sate Sampler came with two sauces: soy-chili dip and peanut sauce. The tender and succulent pork sate tasted a lot like Pinoy pork barbecue (take that as a compliment!) to me while the chicken sate was too spicy for my liking (people who love spicy food will surely enjoy it!). According to Chef Nur (the resident chef who graced our dinner with his presence), it is best paired with rice to neutralize the spicy flavor.


the smiling-faced Chef Nur


Hunan Cumin Ribs, P465

I'm not a big fan of spices with very rich flavors (except curry) but I enjoyed this rib item that had lotsa cumin. The recipe, by the way, is from the Hunan cuisine of China.

I don't have a photo of the Thai Style Grilled Squid (P285) but I love squid and so I liked this dish a lot. The squid was grilled to perfection and the meat came out soft and succulent. It's perfect as is or paired with a chili-vinegar dip.

At Crustasia, the star of the night will always be the giant crabs cooked to the Asian dish of your choice. For our group, we had two orders of Kepiting Masak Sauce Mentega (Indonesian sweet soy and butter crab):


Indonesian Sweet Soy and Butter Crab, P145 per 100g.

Each order had one giant crab (more or less than a kilo heavy!) sitting on a slightly thick sauce with sauteed onions and fresh red chili slices. Oh boy was it good! I've tasted pepper crabs and crabs cooked in coconut milk before. But it was my first time to try this particular crab dish and it left a lasting impression to me. The flavors were so familiar yet so unique. Did I mention the crabs tasted really fresh, too?

True to its origins, our feast was paired with perfectly-cooked steamed rice and beverages like dayap mint cooler, pineapple shake and Thai iced tea.

Crustasia Asian Bistro is one posh dining place where you can bring your family and friends without worry. Some of the things I easily noticed upon entering the restaurant were the lovely 3D wall art, the leather-covered cushioned seats, the artsy light fixtures, and the high ceiling. I heard the place has had a makeover recently and I think they did well. The restaurant turned out to be modern-looking yet very cozy. And quite spacious, too.





That Friday night, the restaurant was half-filled (mostly yuppies and foreigners) and we even had some celebrity sightings (hello celebrity couple Bea Alonzo and Zanjoe Marudo!). All in all, it was a great dining experience for me at Crustasia Asian Bistro. I hope to be back soon! :)


our group


Crustasia entrance door

**Crustasia Asian Bistro is one of the concept restaurants under the Red Crab Group.

Crustasia Asian Bistro
G/F Power Plant Mall
Rockwell, Makati

(+632 728-5463)


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Dinner at MakanMakan Asian Food Village

After a sweat-inducing brisk walk at the Quirino Grandstand and Rizal Park grounds, Edwin and I had a good dinner in one of the restaurants housed inside the Manila Ocean Park. The name of the place is Makan Makan Asian Food Village. It serves delightful Asian dishes at reasonable prices. Name it, and they surely have it.



As soon as we got a table and was asked by the waiter what our order would be, Edwin and I settled for two dishes: Seafood Pad Thai (P165) and Nasi Lemak (P165). The pad thai is a personal favorite while the Nasi Lemak is something that I've long wanted to try just because I heard it's the national dish of Malaysia.

Our food and drinks arrived longer than we expected. There were only four tables occupied that night; I wonder what made the service quite slow. Anyway, I was glad to know the food didn't disappoint. The freshly-cooked Pad Thai was very good! There was no umay factor with this one. The flavors were a clean mix of sweet, salty, sour and spicy. It also had a generous load of shrimps and squid which we appreciated. I silently hoped they put a lot of bean sprouts, though. Haha.



Edwin's Nasi Lemak was a complete meal. It had a cup of coconut milk steamed rice, some fried dried anchovies, a slice of hard-boiled egg topped with some red, oily sauce (that looked like chili-garlic sauce to me!), some cucumber slices, and a potato patty. I liked the crispy and lightly-seasoned chicken. All in all, it was okay but nothing exceptional.



While Edwin had a regular Coke (P40) to wash down the food in his tummy, I went for a familiar drink with a twist -- Kalamansi Sour Plum (P50). It was just kalamansi juice with a piece of orange-colored sour plum. This drink was surprisingly good. I thought the sour plum gave the drink a unique flavor. And color, too. Cool.



MakanMakan Asian Food Village has cozy interiors with a cosmopolitan feel to it. After a little inquiry with the waiter, I learned that the place opens from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. for breakfast, closes from 10:01 to 11:00 a.m. and goes back to business from 11:01 a.m. to 9:00 pm.





Did I mention they have an open kitchen where guests can see how their food are cooked? I think that's a plus factor, a great way to attract more diners, especially the foodie ones.



We are definitely going back to Makan Makan Asian Food Village to try more Asian dishes! I'm taking a mental note now of the food I'll order next time. :)



Makan Makan Asian Food Village
2/F Manila Ocean Park Mall
Manila


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