Mario's Restaurant

January 2, 2010.
We've been planning to start a blog for a while now and with the start of the new year, we knew when and where to start it.

We usually have lunch dates every Saturday and we make it a point to eat at places that will satisfy our 'bellies'.

With little knowledge about the place and an empty stomach (literally), we and our wallets were off to Tomas Morato to try out one of the best restaurants in Manila.

What better way to start the year (not to mention the blog) than through great food and great company! We had our lunch at Mario's Restaurant today and it was surely worth it!

Bread, originally uploaded by belly happy.

-As with most restaurants, they served us the usual 'bread and butter'. Usually, I (bellyhappy), would not finish an entire basket of bread because I save some of my tummy space for the other food that we order... but MAN! their bread was really good and i wanted to have it all. In the end, we didn't finish the basket as she (bellyhappy too) pushed it out of my reach and distracted me until our salad came (which was too long because I kept staring at the bread that seemed so, so far awayyyy).

The ambiance is hard to describe through text as it surely is something that you need to experience for yourself in order to appreciate it (like kissing). Let's just say that the arrangement is like a mix of a hotel lobby and an old house with wooden fixtures and huge glass windows to add a natural lighting to it. (cooooooool)

Crab and Mango Salad, originally uploaded by belly happy.

-She has been craving for crab and mango salad and I believe that this has been satisfied. There is a natural blend between the flavors that we were able to finish it in no time. It was at this point that they noticed that we were taking pictures of what they served us as we heard a waiter saying to the chef "(name), kinukuhanan ng picture yung luto mo!". We don't know if this unintended and misconstrued display of criticism somewhow affected the plating for the next orders to come but we welcomed it nonetheless.

Surtido De Tapas, originally uploaded by belly happy.

-The Surtido De Tapas was served after just a couple of photos we took of the salad. We don't know what Surtido De Tapas means but based on their menu, we're a little confident that 'Tapas' is the same as 'appetizer' and not the TAPA that you put in TAPSILOG. This mix of appetizers included four types of dishes--Sausage, Calamari, Buffalo Wings, and Drunken Shrimp or Nilasing na Hipon (We're really interested on how this is made and what beer they use to make the shrimps drunk). There are three types of dips--vinegar for the shrimps, tartar sauce for the calamari, and salsa for the buffalo wings. Out of the four, I'd have to say that I had no favorite dish but my least favorite would be the sausage. Maybe because there's no excitement of dipping it in a sauce although she, the ever-experimental one, tried dipping it in different sauces. (-_-)

Steak and Shrimp Orientale, originally uploaded by belly happy.

-At last! The main courses! We have this habit of sharing our food since we both want what the other is having. She orderedd Steak and Tempura which surely was one of the best steaks I have tasted. We usually request for our steaks to be medium-well which usually makes the beef juicy and this was perfectly achieved. The tempura was delicious as well although we don't have a lot of experience in Japanese food that we can compare it to. Nonetheless, it satisfied our palettes which was our goal. The fried rice was also very tasty and i ended up eating half of her rice. Honestly, I wished that I ordered her food instead.

Lengua Con Setas, originally uploaded by belly happy.

-My order was Lengua Con Setas which I only understand as 'Tongue blah blah'. The mushroom gravy was very rich in flavor which was only complimented by the mashed potatoes and sauteed string beans. (she on the other hand ended up with half my potatoes and veggies)

Overall, we had a great meal and we cant wait for our next visit to mario's. Despite the long drive, it was worth it. The price range is almost 500 an entree. in our case, it cost us almost 2,000 bucks. Though it was a bit pricey, the meal made us very happy anyway and we gave a little extra for the waiters who welcomed and served us like we've been there before.


...and that was our first adventure for the year. As they say, start your year right... And we surely did.