Revisiting an Old Favorite, Mely’s

There are only a few instances wherein I would gladly volunteer to become the designated driver for a road trip. Eating at Mely’s in San Fernando Pampanga is one of them.

Curls and I first learned of Mely’s three years ago from Pololo, our Kapampangan friend. Since then, Curls and I have made it a habit to visit Mely’s at least once a year.

Welcome to Mely's

Mely’s is a humble roadside eatery, which has gained popularity over the years through the power of word of mouth. Mely’s mostly offers grilled food though its sisig is what put it on the map.



Mely's Simple Menu


Don’t be surprised to see inuman sessions in Mely’s as it is also a popular drink joint for locals. We, on the other hand, surely weren’t here to drink.



 Let’s bring out the food!

Adobong Mani (20php)

Perfect way to start the festivities.

Buro at Mustasa (70php)

Buro is fermented rice with shrimps so it was no wonder I didn’t like this. A taste only Dum appreciated.

Ensaladang Mangga (50php)

One can’t go all the way to Pampanga without having this comforting mixture of tomatoes, green mangoes, and onions.

Bagoong

Included with the ensalada, this bagoong was very fresh with just the right amount of saltiness. One of the best I’ve tried.



The Sauces. I especially love the sauce on top.



Mely’s secret weapon. Everything tastes better when dipped in these.

Mely’s Sisig (150php)

Mely’s has continued the old tradition of serving sisig without chicharon. Devoid of the crunchy bits, the focus is solely on the flavors of the sisig. This never disappoints as its the most flavorful sisig I’ve eaten.

Hito (28php per 100grams)

This has grown to become my favorite Mely’s dish! The hito is always fresh giving it a sweet taste. Dip it in Mely’s sauce and you’re in heaven. No trip to Mely’s is complete without me ordering this dish.

Pork Barbeque (35php per stick)

Pass on this. Not bad but pales in comparison to other dishes.

Pwet ng Manok (50php per order)

Another Mely’s staple. This at first grossed me out as these are the biggest pwets I’ve seen. Good thing I wasn’t deterred as it tastes marvelous. Far superior than what Manila grills offer.

For those who appreciate Filipino food at its simplest, Mely’s is certainly worth the 1 hour trip from Manila.

Can’t wait for next year!

Mely's Bbq and Seafoods is located at San Fernando Pampanga. Better call (045)9615296 for directions and its operating hours.

Family Time at Tender Bob’s

My brother Pelgene Parkus loves carbonara so it's a must to choose a restaurant that serves carbonara whenever we eat out with him. Tender Bob’s was the first restaurant we saw in Promenade that had carbonara in their menu so it was there that we had lunch.

While we were immediately ushered to an available table, the wait time for the food was just too long.

Even the free chips didn't make the wait less agonizing.

chips > bread

We had to wait a good 20 minutes just for the soup to arrive and another 10 minutes for the main course to be served.

Mushroom Soup (105php)

Looks unappetizing but this was made from real mushrooms. Good!

French Onion Soup (110php)

They had a decent version of my all time favorite soup. Not bad at all.

Carbonara for Sharing (410php)

Definitely a kid’s delight. It delivered on what’s expected as Pelgene Parkus had no complaints. As an adult, I found this ok. Nothing wrong about it but nothing great either.

Original Chicken Tenders (220php)

I appreciate that the chicken was fresh and the portions were generous. This was made delicious by the honey dijon mustard dip.

Salmon Head (205php)

I know it’s not smart to order seafood in a restaurant that specializes in beef but I was pleasantly surprised with the freshness of the salmon. The teriyaki sauce also blended perfectly with the fish. The B.O.M.B. which was the siding of my choice was unfortunately just so-so this time.



Vanilla Milkshake (120php)

 Pelgene Parkus gulped this easily.

If you have the patience to wait, Tender Bob’s is a good choice for families to dine as their food are sure kid-pleasers.

Tender Bob’s is located at Unit 6 Phase I Lower Level Promenade GSC Ortigas, Greenhills, San Juan. Contact them at 7262328. Other branches include: Shangrila- Plaza.

It's All Relative at Kashmir

Murtle swears by Kashmir telling me that it’s one of her favorite restaurants. Thinking that I’m missing out on a good thing, I finally tried Kashmir with friends Teej and Vics.

Kashmir tries to stay true to its roots with its Indian and Persian inspired decor. It’s noticeable that the restaurant has seen better days though. Aside from the furnishing, I noticed that a good number of the diners in Kashmir were Indians. This tells me that food here is authentic.

Food that night:

Roti Chanai (90php)

Their version of this bread staple was good especially when dipped in curry sauce. I still prefer Arya’s version though as this was not as soft.

Naan (90php)

A glorified shawarma pita bread is all this was to me.

Palak Paneer (300php)

The cottage cheese was good when eaten on its own but horrible when combined with the spinach. Should Palak Paneer taste burned??? Looked like shit and tasted like shit. :(

Barra Kabab (490php)

Forget about the flavors as the meat pieces here were hard as rock. Meat could inflict serious pain when thrown at someone. I should have complained but didn’t want to bother.

Mutton Sayel (490php)

This doesn’t picture well but it’s actually the only good dish that night. The sauce was uniquely tasty and the lamb was very tender. What every dish in Kashmir should be.

In one word, here’s how we each described our experience in Kashmir:

TEEJ: Ordinary
VICS: Weird
ME: Sucky. But on second thought, my word should have been NASTY!

My friends and I had mixed reactions but were consistent in not giving Kashmir glowing reviews unlike Murtle. I now somehow question Murtle’s choice in restaurants but I guess everything is just a matter of taste. I’ll not be back at Kashmir anytime soon though.

Kashmir Restaurant is located at 816 Arnaiz Avenue Pasay Road Makati City. For more information, visit http://www.kashmirmanila.com/.