Sunday, February 27, 2011

Another birthday in Adarna

Last year, I took my family to Adarna Food and Culture to celebrate my birthday and everyone really enjoyed the food and the ambience. So to celebrate my brother's birthday, we decided to have lunch here again.


The restaurant, owned by Beth Angsioco and Giney Villar, offers customers incredibly delicious Filipino food with a bit of a twist, so you can be sure that the menu items here are unique. To complete the wonderful dining experience, the ambience is Filipiniana, from the furniture and decor,


to the table settings,


to the interesting memorabilia that you can find all around the restaurant.


Our reservation was at 12:30pm and I got there before everyone else to make sure the food was ready by the time my family arrived. I wanted to take photos of the food but I forgot to bring my camera so I had to settle once again for my phone cam (hence the poor quality). I will say that my pics don't do the food justice at all. Among the items I ordered are the Pancit Molo (P140), Minanok na Talong (P155), Grilled Pork Chop with Salsa Monja (P185), Pancit 1913 (P295), Sinanglay na Tilapia (P185), and Batanes Yellow Rice (P150):


One of my favorite dishes here is the Piassok (P335), an exotic Sulu dish of beef chunks cooked slowly in smoked coconut cream and ten spices until tender. The beef is tender and the sauce is exquisitely rich without being overpowering. I can't get enough of it!


My family loves shrimps, so we got two shrimp dishes: Rellenong Sugpo (P280), prawns stuffed with pork, shrimp, and vegetables rolled in butter and fried to a golden brown, and Camaron Rebosado (P366), deep-fried shrimp which is perfect for kids. Both dishes are served with what I think is an olive oil-based sweet and sour sauce. We also ordered the Adobong Batangas ala Adarna (P240), which is a brilliantly flavored version of the classic Pinoy dish.

From front to back: Adobong Batangas ala Adarna, Camaron Rebosado, and Rellenong Sugpo.

For dessert, my nephews had ice cream while for everyone else I ordered the Platanillos con Mangga (P165), Adarna's version of the mango crepe. I also got three cups of Batangas Brewed Barako (P165) and Rico Tsokolate (P100), a rich Batangas hot chocolate drink. My grandparents initially said they were stuffed but I told them to just try the dessert. As it turned out, both my grandparents loved the Platanillos con Mangga and the Rico Tsokolate, and they managed to consume most of it. Unfortunately, by this time I was enjoying the meal so much that I forgot to take photos. :P

Lunch service ends at 2pm but we extended a bit past that time. My nephews, mom, and brother played Chinese checkers and sungka while my grandfather played some music on the piano.


I had dinner here again a few days later with my high school friends Joyce, Iona (with JP and Aya), and Mitch (with Ferg, Aidan, and Rory) and I must say this is really one of my favorite restaurants. The only drawback is that Adarna doesn't accept credit card payments so you need to make sure you have enough cash with you. Nevertheless, it is excellent value for money and definitely worth visiting over and over again.

Adarna Food and Culture
119 Kalayaan Avenue, Diliman, Q.C.

Telefax: 926-8712
Mobile: 0917-961-8113
Email: adarnafoodandculture@yahoo.com

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