FROM the flavors of the Filipino comfort food Davao has grown to love, the Benedicto’s new restaurant, Mr. & Mrs. B, will venture into another flavor profile—Asian and Continental. The ooh and aahs of diners on opening day proved they were successful in their new cuisine.
If there is one good thing one should expect from this restaurant, it is good food. Why? Because the owners have been in the food business for more than 30 years now and have a chain of successful restaurants under their wings—Rekado, Golden Brown and Patok Sa Manok.
Mr. & Mrs. B represents Rommel and Lena Benedicto. From selling roasted chicken on take-out counters across the city in the 80’s, they have built a restaurant chain to become one of the most successful restaurateurs in Davao.
The children have started to take over the family business. Chef Pauline Benedicto-Malilin held the reins in the Rekado kitchen to put the restaurant on top of mind of every diner when it comes to Filipino comfort cuisine. Based on opening day of Mr. & Mrs. B, she’s going to lead this new family food outlet to the top of the Davao restaurant ranks.
“Mr. & Mrs. B is a tribute to our mom and dad. While the other restaurants will sate your taste for just-like-mom’s-home-cooked FIlipino specialties, MMB will take you on a culinary trip across the globe. Each dish is inspired by the Benedicto’s constant food trips abroad. The ones they fell in love with are mimicked and tweaked to become a MMB creation,” said Chef Pauline.
She said that the Grilled Corn side dish was inspired by the street food in Bali, the pasta from a trip to Italy, etc. We adjusted the recipe to give it a taste that will appeal to the locals. Each dish will have different layers of flavors that will excite the palate.
From starter to desserts, from fish to fowl, each item on the menu is a must try. But if you’re dining for the first time, do try the items marked with “MMB”. The MMB Grilled Salad is truly original. It’s a take on the Caesar Salad but a more interesting one. For one the greens are grilled and second, the smoked fish and grilled eggplant puree dressing gives it very distinctive note of local flavor. The other is the MMB Grilled Pork Chop. It’s 400 grams of grilled tender meat goodness.
The look of the restaurant’s interior is tropical chic. It incorporates a lot of green to give it an appeal of dining on a veranda of an exotic destination. The aim is to exude a very relaxing dining experience, said Chef Pauline.
Mr. & Mrs. B is at the back of Patok Sa Manok in Lanang. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner at 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Follow ofapplesandlemons on Facebook
For more photos about this story and other lifestyle features, visit www.ofapplesandlemons.com
For travel stories, visit www.jeepneyjinggoy.com
Email me at jinggoysalvador@yahoo.com