manila polo club

had to sing the national anthem for the testimonial dinner of ibp makati for the new appointees to the court of appeals, regional trial court and other executive offices.

the testimonial was scheduled at 6 but the program started at 7. so we had a full hour to eat!

it was supposed to be cocktails but the food was really filling. they served tuna, salmon and crabstick sashimi, assorted sushi, angel hair pasta with mushroom sauce, banana wrapped in bacon, calamares, and assorted cakes and pastries.

their sushi and sashimi are good. the salmon looked fresh and the crab stick was perfectly firm. the angel hair pasta was okay but not spectacular but the banana wrapped in bacon was so delicious! at first i found the combination weird but once i popped one in my mouth, i realized that the combination was perfect.

i also loved the chocolate pudding - it was deliciously creamy and it wasn't too sweet.

the best thing of all - everything was free!

Bubba Gump

I love shrimps. I'm allergic to them when they're not fresh but I always take the risk. I can always take anti-histamines if I get itchy.

For this reason, I've been wanting to try out Bubba Gump in Greenbelt 3 ever since I heard that they have shrimp dishes for their specialty. And so, when Rey asked me where I wanted to eat, I jumped at the opportunity and dragged him to Bubba Gump.

When we got there, we were so hungry so we ordered their appetizer sampler and their drunken shrimp.

The drunken shrimp was served first. The serving size was okay, it was more than enough for 1 persons but it was barely enough for 2. Since the menu described the shrimp to be soaked in bourbon, i was expecting the sauce to be white. I was mistaken. The sauce was reddish and there were about 10 pieces each of shrimp and sausage slices surrounding a humongous mound of mashed potatoes with fried shoestring potatoes on top. I loved the shrimp but after a few pieces, i got tired of the taste. The mashed potatoes were pretty good - the consistency was even and it was very creamy and buttery. The shoestring potatoes were also crispy and the saltiness was just right. Except that there were so much of the mashed and shoestring potatoes that I got full just by looking at them.

The appetizer sampler was very good! I loved the battered fried shrimp and the nachos with the dip. Rey and I loved the chilly shrimps. We loved it so much that we ordered for more chilly shrimps.

The chilly shrimps were really cool. Literally, that is. These are steamed shrimps that are served with ice cubes. The shrimps were tasty and it's fun dipping them in the tomato sauce that was served with the dish.

Rey ordered beer with his meal - nothing fancy, just the plain and predictable San Mig light. It was served cold. I ordered the strawberry shake. It wasn't too sweet but it wasn't sweet enought either. It can stand a couple of teaspoons more of sugar. But the good thing about it was that there was a huge but still tastely whole strawberry in it.

When we got the bill, we were a bit surprised. It was a bit high, which led to our discussion on which item in the menu pumped up the price - was it the ice or the giant potato?

Segafredo, De la Costa

I had a meeting at the Trafalgar Plaza til 6:30 and I was attending a concert with friends at the nearby Equitable Bank Building at 7:30. So, I decided to grab a bite at Segafredo's while waiting for my friends.

Since I wasn't sure what time my friends would arrive and I've been nibbling on some nuts and chips during the meeting, I wanted a light meal that can be prepared in less than 5 minutes.

The waitress recommended choosing from their the antipasti and their pasta since it takes them at least 10 minutes to prepare a sandwich. I chose the salmon carpaccio. I also ordered mint tea.

The mint tea, which came in a teabag, was served in less than 5 minutes. The salmon, which was swimming in an ocean of soy sauce, was served in 12.

I wish I just ordered sandwich.

It's no wonder why Rey hates the place.