Table Suggestions: Sala Bistro

Italian Seafood and Fish Stew

First impressions never tell the whole story.

I first dined at Sala Bistro a few months after its opening. It was a memorable meal for all the wrong reasons. An unsure service staff and food that was bland to point of being boring made dining at Sala Bistro an almost forgettable experience. Every mouthful was a constant reminder as to why diners should try newly-opened restaurants with a grain of sea salt. No matter how ready a restaurant seems for opening, there will always be ‘issues’.

Fast forward to last weekend. For whatever reason, A. and I decide to give Sala Bistro another try. I began my dinner with a hearty bowl of Tomato, Basil and Bread Soup (P280), immediately followed by a flavorful dish of Italian Seafood and Fish Stew (P780) and topped it all off with a decadent Ice Cream Sampler (P260) made up of scoops of Rum Raisin, Honeycomb, Banana Caramel. Rarely has a single meal been so scrumptious that it actually profoundly changed my opinion about a restaurant. Coupled with service that was courteous, informed, attentive and yet casual in their approach, this dinner was memorable for all the right reasons.

Rum Raisin, Honeycomb and Banana Caramel

Most establishments require time to find their footing, improve their service and blossom to restaurants they have the potential of being. You should never write anything off because of a less-than-stellar first impression.

In my opinion, Sala Bistro is now one of best restaurants in Metro Manila.

Sala Bistro
Ground Floor - Garden Side
Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center
Makati City, Metro Manila
Tel: (02) 729 4888/ (02) 729 7500
Fax: (02) 719 4993
Email: info@salabistro.com
Web: www.salabistro.com

Table Conversation: The Definition of Sadness

The November 2009 issue of Gourmet is the last.

Gourmet Magazine is no more. There are no words that can define my grief.

This link is for all of those who loved Gourmet Magazine and wish it was not true. Click here.

Much thanks to Kevin Demaria, former associate art director of Gourmet for sharing these poignantly haunting photographs

The Travelling Table: Oodles of HongKong Noodles

There's simple food and there's simplified food. However I don't believe in simplifying simple food, if you get what I mean. Take for instance a "simple" bowl of shrimp wanton noodles. Conventional wisdom tells us base ingredients for this should include some egg noodles, some shrimp wanton and broth. But putting all these together doesn't automatically make a great bowl of soup. Oftentimes the samples I’d get come with overcooked dumplings or the noodles all clumped up in a gluey mass or the broth tastes of salt or various combinations thereof.

Enter now this noodle house I often go to when in Hong Kong. I never really figured out the name since I can't really read Cantonese but whenever I get a hankering for some good shrimp wanton, I come to this place along Hanoi Road. This diner type establishment doesn't really have a menu because all it serves is either wanton, fish ball or beef noodle soup. A side vegetable or two and some soda but nonetheless the spartan kitchen in front only contains vats of steaming broth and big bowls of dumplings ready to be served out. This visit, I come in at a relatively odd hour of 3pm for a very late lunch but I knew the place would still be filled with people. I was correct. I ordered some shrimp wanton noodles and a side order of veg by pointing at the signs out front. Two minutes later the old waitress plonks the broccoli in front of me. It was noticeably fresh, steamed or blanched but still had that substantial crunch. The oyster sauce itself had a different smoky, meaty taste. Another two minutes passed when the old waitress then plonked the soup on the table. I’ve tried the beef and fishball noodles in this place and not to say that they're not good, but they just don't compare to the shrimp wanton for me.

A typical serving consists of four golf ball sized dumplings mounted on some egg noodles. The dumplings are cooked to perfection; with large pieces of plump, sweet prawn that snap when bitten into. The egg noodles are literally only blanched for a few seconds in hot broth leaving it with this nice springy texture. And there's pretty good separation which makes slurping enjoyable. The clear soup was rich but did not overpower the delicate flavor of the wantons. With some chili sauce, this proved to be some seriously good eats. I naturally tend to gravitate towards these specialized restaurants in that they do only a handful of dishes or even just a specific type of food therefore giving them more time to do them well.

I suppose anybody could make these wanton noodles if they wanted to but experience, knowledge (probably passed down from generations) and skill of doing it everyday would probably not be on their side. This wanton noodle joint, or more accurately, noodle joints in general that don't cut corners such as this wanton noodle joint has ruined me. Forever. In that I can't go back to eating clumped up egg noodle soup ever again.