My friend Anna was in Manila and despite everyone having a very hectic schedule last week, we still managed to meet up for dinner and drinks on Friday night. She wanted us to try the new Japanese whisky bar in Serendra so in keeping with the Japanese theme, we agreed to have dinner first in Mogu. We were all pretty hungry when we got there so I ended up ordering the Spicy Crispy Kani Maki and the Pork Kakuni (braised pork) and both were very good. I also shared Harami (thinly sliced imported marbled boneless beef shortribs) with Anna and Lala and that was a really solid dish. I can't believe I had never been to Mogu before given how good my meal was. I will be definitely be eating here again.
After dinner, we headed to LIT to enjoy some Japanese whisky. The three of us sat by the bar instead of getting a table and I thought that was a much better move for us as it allowed us to interact with Francis, the Japanese bartender (and I guess also owner?). He's a really cool guy and he took the time to share information about Japanese whisky with us. The ambience and the vibe here is so relaxed, comfortable, and inviting and having wonderful conversations with Francis made the whole experience even more enjoyable.
I gotta say that once a menu was handed to me, I couldn't figure out what to order, mainly because I'm not a whisky connoisseur and also because there were so many options that I almost found it overwhelming LOL. I say almost because I eventually did make up my mind which ones to try. They have two serving sizes here: taste and experience. Taste, as the name implies, is a tasting portion while experience is a full shot. If you aren't sure what you want, you can order one of the four flight selections; these include three tasting portions and a highball. Lala ordered a flight, Anna got a Manila Old Fashioned cocktail, and I ordered two different whisky experiences. The first one was the Hibiki Japanese Harmony on the rocks (which is how Francis recommended that I have this drink).
The second one I ordered was the Nikka Takesturu (served neat, meaning a plain shot with nothing added to it; the other bartender suggested I have this one neat).
Both whiskies I ordered were good and I wouldn't mind having them again although I'm pretty sure that the next time I visit LIT, I will their other whiskies. :) As we were wrapping up the evening, I decided to order one last drink, a Manila Old Fashioned (similar to what Anna ordered) before we all called it a night. It was a really good experience and I'm glad I got to spend it with people who actually enjoyed it just as much, if not more, than I did. I am definitely visiting LIT Manila again.
After dinner, we headed to LIT to enjoy some Japanese whisky. The three of us sat by the bar instead of getting a table and I thought that was a much better move for us as it allowed us to interact with Francis, the Japanese bartender (and I guess also owner?). He's a really cool guy and he took the time to share information about Japanese whisky with us. The ambience and the vibe here is so relaxed, comfortable, and inviting and having wonderful conversations with Francis made the whole experience even more enjoyable.
photo from the LIT Manila facebook page
I gotta say that once a menu was handed to me, I couldn't figure out what to order, mainly because I'm not a whisky connoisseur and also because there were so many options that I almost found it overwhelming LOL. I say almost because I eventually did make up my mind which ones to try. They have two serving sizes here: taste and experience. Taste, as the name implies, is a tasting portion while experience is a full shot. If you aren't sure what you want, you can order one of the four flight selections; these include three tasting portions and a highball. Lala ordered a flight, Anna got a Manila Old Fashioned cocktail, and I ordered two different whisky experiences. The first one was the Hibiki Japanese Harmony on the rocks (which is how Francis recommended that I have this drink).
photo from www.suntory.co.jp
The second one I ordered was the Nikka Takesturu (served neat, meaning a plain shot with nothing added to it; the other bartender suggested I have this one neat).
photo from www.masterofmalt.com
Both whiskies I ordered were good and I wouldn't mind having them again although I'm pretty sure that the next time I visit LIT, I will their other whiskies. :) As we were wrapping up the evening, I decided to order one last drink, a Manila Old Fashioned (similar to what Anna ordered) before we all called it a night. It was a really good experience and I'm glad I got to spend it with people who actually enjoyed it just as much, if not more, than I did. I am definitely visiting LIT Manila again.
1 comment:
Hi, thanks for sharing! do you have photos at Serendra?
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