Philippines, Manila: Mesa (Filipino Moderne)

I'm just so proud how Filipino restaurants are developing and catching up with the modern style of the food scene in Manila.  Filipino cuisine is considered unpretentious, simple and no frills.  It's more of comfort food that you can enjoy in your home.  But nothing is impossible for Filipinos :) (i'm proud to be one :D)

Check out some of the Filipino dishes with a twist...

Crispchon - Philippines' table is famous for its lechon - roasted pig.  It's usually eaten alone or with rice with liver sauce (right most).  This concept of adapting how peking duck is being eaten was a pretty good idea.

just like peking duck, lechon's skin shouldn't be missed out.  The skin was juicy and crispy, just how a lechon should be.

ta-dah!  The finished product...we're ready to dig in! :)  They provided 3 sauces: Garlic mayo, Hoisin sauce and the original sauce of lechon.  I still prefer the original.

the remaining crispchon was tossed in garlic.  It was pretty oily and salty.  I suggest to enjoy your crispchon and have it chopped as is.

Sisig Pouch - sisig is usually served on a sizzling plate but hey, why not  put it in a pouch like this!  I'm not fond of pork sisig but i'm sure sisig lovers wouldn't mind this twist.  Check out my previous post of how a normal sisig dish is served and read more about it.

Tinapa roll - We usually eat smoked fish just like fried fish.  This one was shredded, wrapped and deep fried.  It was meaty.  It was a good start up.

Adobong baby squid - adobo is our national cooking way (soy sauce, vinegar with a little bit of sugar and bay leaf).  We use it basically with anything even with veggies (adobong kangkong).  This was my dad's choice.  The squid ink seasoned-like adobo was very tasty and the baby squids' tenderness works well for this type of dish.

A Filipino table is not complete without a good serving of rice.  We're rice eaters.  It's our staple for every meal of the day.  We ordered Bagoong rice.  Bagoong is made of fermented fish and made into paste.  We love eating it with green mangoes and of course with rice.  I love this bowl because it combined both which complemented all the ingredients in it.  It was not too salty and the fish paste was not too overpowering so it was great with the dishes we ordered.

The place behind this modernity of Filipino cuisine is...

the restaurant MESA - which is a Spanish/Filipino word for table.  They have several branches across Metro Manila and their branch in Greenbelt 5 is doing pretty good.  For a bigger group, I suggest to  make reservations to avoid not being accommodated.  The staff were all very attentive and friendly. 

And this time, HT wife enjoyed dining here with HT parents. :) Guess from whom i got the genes of eating and enjoying good food? :)

Price Summary

Appetizers starts from 140 pesos ~ 5 SGD ~ 2.5 euro

 Crispchon (1/6 size with 2 ways of cooking i.e. wrapped and tossed garlic) - 999 ~ 30 SGD ~ 15 euro

Main dishes is about 200 and above ~ 6 SGD ~ 3 euro

Bagoong rice ~ 150 pesos ~ 5 SGD ~ 2.5 euro

*All plates are good for sharing ( 2-3 persons)

Mesa (Filipino Moderne)

Ground floor (outside court)

Greenbelt 5