I couldn’t decide what kind of food and which restaurant to eat. Paikut-ikot ako, naiingayan kasi ako. At the same time I didn’t want to leave the building to go to another place.
I went up to the third floor of SM Megamall’s Fashion Mall and saw several restaurants. I looked at their menus one by one but nothing inspired me. I went down to the ground floor, up again.
Third floor where some restaurants are.
I went down again and walked back to the old building but naguluhan ako sa dami ng tao so I went back to the third floor of the Fashion Mall. This time I took the elevator na.
I narrowed down my choices between Japanese and Spanish. Spain won.
Boqueria it is.
Boqueria is the name of a market in Barcelona, Spain. It comes from two words boca meaning mouth and teria, a taste of. The Tagalog expression “maboka” which means masalita, masatsat or madaldal was derived from the Spanish word boca.
Their specialties are La Cochinillo and Churros
I’ve seen a restaurant in Milan that also displayed fresh vegetables at their entrance.
Onions, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes
Pwede pa lang gawing kurtina ang sausages. Hotdog pwede rin.
Uso na itong ganitong baso, garapon ito talaga.
Sopas
Appetizer
I couldn’t decide what to order. I asked the waiter what’s the most popular among their main course and he enumerated practically everything in the menu. That didn’t help. When I asked about the soup, etc. I got the vibe that he was a little bit impatient. So as not to irritate him, I picked one, Callos na lang P395 which does not come with rice.
My food took a little while to arrive. They saw me standing and craning my neck watching one of the cooks. Nakatalikod sya pero nakita ko he used a ladle to taste what he’s cooking. I became curious if he is going to use the same ladle to stir the food.
Yun nga, ginamit nya para haluin yung niluluto nya eh di ba may laway na nya yun? Dapat the cooks use different spoons for tasting. Kahit sabihin mong nakuluan na yun, dapat hindi pa rin pwede.
First time I couldn’t finish a serving of callos. I couldn’t chew the what’s supposed to be beef tripe. I called the waitress. I asked what kind of meat was that. She called the chef which was seated at the table in front of me lang pala. He was wearing a black uniform and looked very young, like in his early 30s. I asked him what kind of meat was used, he said beef tripe or beef tongue. I didn’t say anything na lang. Kala ko tuwalya di ba yung beef tripe? Malambot yun pag naluto and the texture was not like this.
Callos has tomato sauce eh bagay yan sa kanin kaya I ordered steamed rice.
I wasn’t happy with my meal. I decided to try their churros.
You have a choice of 3 pieces = P160 or 5 pieces = P190
I had trouble finishing this kasi the middle part was pasty. I like my churros a little crispy in and out. Eto parang mabigat kainin. I knew already that I would have trouble eating all three after the first bite. I just forced myself to finish one and two, three. sayang kasi. But I ate lang the outer crusts.
I felt suya after my meal, maybe from the churros and I was disappointed with the texture of the meat in the callos. I don’t mind going back to Boqueria to try their other stuff. The place is nice and classy. The service was very good. Maybe next time I will try their other dishes to give a chance at redemption.
