Fifteen Twenty One (1521) Restaurant
1521 is a Filipino restaurant located along Shaw Blvd. in Mandaluyong. They are not that easy to spot because Mr. Poon, which is located right beside them, has a gigantic restaurant sign.
Anyway, here’s what I think of the resto:
First of all, the location is convenient because you can park right outside their restaurant. Secondly, their Monggo na Mayaman is to die for! The place is also awesome because the interiors stayed true to the Filipiana theme and I’m impressed with the implementation.
After that, the good stuff ends because their food serving is very small but expensive and paying an additional 10% service charge isn’t really thrilling.
This is how expensive their dishes are, and I am so hoping that they reassess their rates:
- Their monggo soup costs 240++ for 1 small bowl just enough for 2 people
- Their rib eye bistek costs 340++ for 1 small slice of beef
Aside from Monggo na Mayaman, we also ordered Bistek Filipino but it didn’t taste special and was kind of hard. Lastly, we had to ask for a receipt before they issued us an OR. I mean, every restaurant I know gives a receipt automatically right? Here’s how it happened:
- Bill came
- We paid
- We received our change but the official receipt or even the bill-looking receipt was not there
- We asked for the receipt but they gave us the bill-looking thing again
- We were about to leave with that piece of paper but they stopped us
- The girl at the counter told us that they’ll issue an OR instead
Weird huh?!
For information about 1521, read this article.
———
1521 Restaurant
547 Shaw Blvd., Brgy. Wack- Wack
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila
Telephone: (+632) 794-0433; (+632) 794-0433
Mobile: (+63917) 8606687 ; (+63917) 8606687
Email: fifteentwentyonerestaurant@yahoo.com
Revisiting Antonio’s Tagaytay
Went back to Antonio’s for the second time and the place looked more beautiful in broad daylight. The food was better than I remembered and the service was above average.
My order: Seafood Sampler @ PHP 1,600
From left to right:
Prawn Thermidor – I think this dish was the best among the three because it gave me the right amount of flavour without becoming too salty, and creaminess without overpowering the natural flavor of the prawn. This dish actually made me regret that I ordered the Seafood Sampler instead of the Mixed Seafood Thermidor
Crispy Cod Fish Glazed with Kombu Sauce on Peppered Egg Noodles – The glazed fish came off a bit too sweet for me and it kinda reminded me of turon (banna fritters). On the other hand, I loved the noodles so much, I think it tasted better than chinese misua being served in popular chinese restaurants.
Pan Seared Scallops on Celleriac Mashed, Truffle Cream Sauce – This tasted delicious but it didn’t offer something new and unique the way the thermidor has; it tasted like a normal scallop ;p
Herb Roasted Rack of Lamb with Cardamon Beurre Blac @ PHP 1,650
Schwein Haxen (Roast Pork Knuckle), Sauerkraut, Chateau Potato, Cabbage @ PHP 1,000
(not sure with this one yet, I’ll have to check)
Organic Free-Range Roast Chicken Leg with Bourbon Tomato and Boiled Potato @ PHP 1,200
My friends were raving for this… its aroma reminded me of my all-time favorite Fazolis’ chicken.
Mixed Seafood Thermidor (scallops, prawn, mussles, and cod fish) @1,450
*drools* I wish I ordered this instead =(
My order: Sorbet (guava, green mango, lamolime, green apple, watermelon, calamansi) - This tasted like an ice shaved off from an ice candy. After tasting this one, I immediately swapped with Nats because I couldn’t bear eating one more spoon of it.
I swapped Sorbet with Profiteroles with Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Sauce or Caramel Sauce
This one tasted a liitle better because of the bread and ice cream but I did not like the very generic taste of its chocolate. This is so far the best among the dessert offerings of Antonio’s.
Overall, Antonio’s is so worth another visit. Their main course dishes are awesome but don’t expect much on their dessert because you’ll be dissapointed.
*Antonio’s main course meals come with salad, soup, dessert, and coffee for free
——–
Antonio’s Restaurant
Bgy. Neogan, Tagaytay City, Cavite
+63918 8992866
Food Tasting in Oceana
A yummy surprise greeted me in the office this afternoon =) I was requested by my boss to go to Oceana (our Christmas party venue) and attend food-tasting offered Oceana for the the Christmas party committee of our organization.
As of now, I’m only sharing the pictures of the food we’ve ordered and will give the verdict after our Christmas party because I know there are still room for improvements; after all, the reason for the food-tasting is to get our feedback on how they can improve the taste of the dishes.
Special thanks goes to Carlo for his Nikon D40 camera; and Barbie + Rhenz for the beautiful photos.
Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Cinnamon, Cream, and Bacon
Curried Potato Salad
Pepper Crusted Seared Tuna Nocoise
Pan Roasted Mahi-Mahi Fillets with Pesto Cream Sauce
Penne Pasta with Pancetta Cream, Wild Mushrooms, and Fresh Peas
Beef Pot Roast with Mushroom Bordelaise
Crepe Suzette
Fresh Mango Tarlets and Creme Brulee
Fresh Mango Tarlets
———————–
Oceana is located at San Miguel by the Bay, SM Mall of Asia Complex. You can contact them at +632 7032515 or visit their site at www.cca-manila.com.
U.S. Rib Eye Steak
Rib eye or ribeye is one of the popular choices in making grilled or pan fried steak dishes because of its tenderness and flavor. In fact, Wikipedia defines it as:
The rib eye or ribeye, also known as the Scotch fillet (in Australia and New Zealand), is a beef steak from the beef rib. When cut into steaks, the ribeye is one of the most popular, juicy, and expensive steaks on the market. Meat from the rib section is more tender and fattier (the meat is said to be “marbled”) than most other cuts of beef. This extra fat makes ribeye steaks and roasts especially tender and flavorsome, and well suited to dry heat cookery.
There are numerous steak houses who brag about how juicy and yummy their steaks are, but the truth is, only a handful of them is telling the truth. Actually, for hubby and I, only Steak Town in Shangrila Mall and Antonio’s in Tagaytay passed the test. The sad part here is, whether these restos serve good steak or not, all of them are very expensive – as reiterated by Wiki’s entry on steak…
…the idea of eating steak signifies relative wealth.
Anyway, the secret to preparing a good steak dish is first and foremost a good quality beef; how you season and cook the steak only follows.
For all the readers of BQ’s Kitchen, I am giving you the opportunity to serve a steak with quality that is at par with the steaks that Steak Town and Antonio’s serve.
We are now importing U.S. Rib Eye Steak and selling it for only P1,250 per Kilo (approximately 4 slices)
For all those who are interested, send me a note at daynelov@yahoo.com or text me at 0917 8210225 or 0922 8210225.
Bistek Tagalog
Bistek Tagalog is the local version of beef steak; it is a very easy recipe but mom taught me 1 secret ingredient to make this dish more delicious and honestly, I will not cook this dish without that secret ingredient. Marinade:
- Soy Sauce
- Calamansi
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Marinate thinly sliced beef with this mixture for a few minutes – trust me, no need for lengthy "babad" =D
- Sear the beef in a skillet then set aside.
Other ingredients:
- Garlic
- Onion
- Sprite or 7-up (this is the secret ingredient)
- Saute the garlic and then add the beef.
- Add the marinade mixture.
- Add around 1 oz of sprite or 7-up, to the skillet, depending on how much marinade sauce you have.
- Cook until tender.
- Add the onion and after 2 mins, turn off the fire.