A Second Take at Ninyo, Katipunan

Few months ago, Daryl told me about a lovely fusion sort of molecular gastronomy restaurant that's just near Ateneo. She said they have great ideas (like WOW! How do you actually come up with those sorts of things?) but then there were issues with the temperature of the food. Well, I'd say it piqued my interest, and that's why I made my way there with my family one Sunday night.

Btw, Daryl's post on Ninyo here!

The whole restaurant has a rather traditional appearance which is most certainly contradicting the food that they serve. Tables and utensils wise, it was classy, near the fine dining side but tuned to Filipino twists and culture. On the menu, there were plenty of fascinating things, all sounding rather unusual, novel, and inventive.

Chef Doy's: Fusion, Flares& Twists of Filipino Cuisine

Daryl is off to HK and China for the week and I reckon you'd only be hearing from me blabbering about my foodie discoveries and restaurant reviews! Anyway, let's get this show on the road! Starting with this place I dined at when I was in Naga. 

After a day of wicked island hopping, we were all worn out. But we still made an effort (somehow) to head to the city and find some satisfying grub. And that's when we stumbled upon Chef Doy's.

Baby Squid in Oil and Spices.
I seriously haven't had anything this good in the longest time.

In my opinion, it was a rather cozy place to eat, it was very homy and the staff were accommodating. For starters, we had Batang Batang Pusit, which turned out to be such a dream. I'm usually not so much a big fan of oily food, but this dish was too good to pass up, that's why I just kept eating more and more. The small morsels of squid were cooked to perfection, succulent and tender. That aside, it was garlicky as well. Seafood and garlic are best friends, there's hardly any way they would go wrong!

Fusion Cafe

Last Sunday, my family and I had lunch at the Fusion Cafe to celebrate Father's Day. There's not much to say about the venue, I thought that they opted for the clean & modern look although some elements in the restaurant screamed otherwise. Before visiting any restaurant, I often check their website to see what they have to offer. I'm just really crazy in that way. It said nothing about the style of cuisine, it was just- FUSION.

There was a special menu for Father's day and we chose to just have an entree and main dishes cause the portions were HUGE and I still had some tarts from the epic Bourke Street Bakery (post coming soon!) 

Tiger Prawn Tempura 

To start off the meal we had Tiger Prawn Tempura with a Cajun Mayonnaise. The prawns were cooked perfectly and the batter was crunchy. I cannot emphasize how important perfectly-cooked seafood is. Going back, the mayonnaise had a chipotle-paprika flavour that was surprisingly subtle when paired
with the prawns. Thumbs up for the entree!

Wagyu Rib Eye

Grandpa and grandma shared a Char-grilled Wagyu Rib Eye Steak with Mashed Potato and Red Wine Jus. Despite it being top quality meat, they complained that it wasn't tender enough.

Rack of Lamb 

My auntie had the Rack of Lamb with Eggplant Mash and Roast Garlic Lamb Jus. I reckon she liked it cause she polished off her plate! But she always does anyway!:)

Atlantic Salmon & King Prawns

Double Roasted Duck

Here's the thing, my cousin and I always split our dishes halfway whenever we dine, this way, we get to try more things! We ordered the Atlantic Salmon with Grilled King Prawns, Chinese Broccolli, and a Lime & Basil Dressing and Double Roasted Citrus Duck with a Sweet Corn Rosti and Baby Spinach. The seafood dish was mediocre. The vegetables lack flat out boring, prawns were fishy, salmon was bland. The dish was much too reliant on the lime & basil dressing which didn't pack that much of a punch. On the up side, the other dish was good. The aroma of the citrus sauce was delightful and went very well with the duck. The duck was cooked perfectly, the slightest blush of pink toward the center. I would've liked the skin to be crispy though. That would've just done it for me! The corn rosti tasted... I didn't like it at all. 

Overall, for the price that we paid, the dishes just weren't up to scratch, I was expecting something surprisingly magical. I thought that we'd have better value for the money if we'd have lunch at the posh restaurants in the city. 

Lemon Curd Tart- Bourke Street Bakery

...And this is what happened when we got home. Details coming up soon on the Bourke Street Bakery post!:)