|
Saturday, October 01, 2005
The mix between the mad rush
Overlooked in the mad rush that can be Banilad Town Center, somewhere between fighting for the last vacant parking spot and running to the first available table at the jam-packed since 10 a.m. pizzeria, is a quiet little corner called Mélange.
A new kid on the food block, this newbie has to contend with being thumbed over for more familiar dining digs. Not to be mistaken with the “fashion capital” in Mandaue or the café in Manila, this mélange, however, is worth getting to know.
For those who shy away from its slick interiors with the subconscious fear that a peek at the dining bill would cause a slip and fall brought on by financial shock, the good news is, the place isn’t as pricey as it looks. As they say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” to which an irrepressible gal pal adds, “just cover the book.” Here, both sides of the fortune cookie wisdom crumble quite nicely, as the book, or in this case, the menu is covered chock-full of dishes to send your brain into a glucose-deprived tailspin.
Comfort food
“An eclectic combination of classic dishes with a twist,” is how owner Mary Rose Kang-Lu describes the dishes listed on the carte. But then, she immediately breaks down and confesses that it’s really all about “food that I like to eat.” And thank God her taste runs the gamut from an exotic Fish with Potatoes and Clam au Jus, to a hearty Beef Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Sauce and doesn’t stop short at all-time favorite Bolognese with Meatballs. Believe me, eating tapsilog in all its shapes and forms doesn’t quite cut it for everyone.
But that’s not to say that less complicated fare has lost its shining moments. Maru, as her friends like to call her, along with husband Robert, remember as they refined the menu, how sampling four to five dishes a day, five days a week, months on end, left them with a craving for “piniritong isda, barbecue and puso.”
Bicoastal
Between mouthfuls, diners have been compelled to comment, “It’s so New York,” or “It’s so California,” says Maru, which in turn makes you wonder about the bicoastal nature of the cuisine. As it pans out, a hint of forthright Atlantic attitude has been kneaded into the resto’s basic dough through Maru’s eight-month stint at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, while a sprinkling of the experimental, which is often considered “so West Coast” flows from her innate inquisitiveness about food, and the need to, like Hollywood, “do something different to bring in the crowd.”
Thankfully, the pizza-ed, coffe-ed, pastry-ed and club-ed out crowd are starting to trickle to the spot, making long-time regulars uncross their fingers and let up on their muttered mantra “I hope this place doesn’t close.” But they’ll probably start sputtering something else when they have to begin clawing over elbow room.
(October 1, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
