Opulent Dining Experience

I received a txt message from my friend Cat asking me, Alma, and Jtt to join her and hubby Thierry to a dinner date. Cat just got married 9 days ago and had just been back from her honeymoon in Boracay. Thierry will go back to France on Saturday hence Cat would like to have a get together before weekend. We are supposed to meet around 530pm at Galleria. Unfortunately because of the heavy traffic towards NLEX I was only able to arrive at Galleria around 730pm. They were all waiting for me at Figaro, Cat told me that we should just have dinner at any resto within Galleria since it is already a bit late and they still have another commitment to attend to. I said NO I did not travel all the way from far North and endured more than two hours of traffic just to eat at some restaurant I can find in every mall in the metropolis. And yeah I am fully aware that she is going to foot the tab. Cat and I were arguing as usual and I forgot that her French hubby was with us.... I wonder what he must be thinking? har har har.....




Anyways, I won the battle..... all five of us crammed inside Jtt's Toyota sedan and off we went to a place I have no idea where.... The resto we are supposed to go to is just nearby according to Jtt, only Cat and Jtt had the pleasure of dining there...for what I can remember Jtt's been raving about the place years and years ago..... but we have not gone there as a group until now. When we get off the car I immediately noticed that the restaurant's facade was not very impressive... however... once you stepped inside you'll be in for a big surprise. The place is teeming with curios, trinkets, antique furnitures, potteries, chinas, and much much more. It is like inside a huge kaleidoscope and the burst of colors is simply overwhelming.... in a very nice way.



We came there primarily because according to my companions the food in this restaurant is really good. Cat and Jtt were the ones who took the reponsibility of placing the orders to the waiter. The first food to be served was the Catfish with Mango salad and boy oh boy the catfish is like a swirling flake of a snake.....it looks soooo good and taste equally good as well. The catfish is crunchy and the dressing and mango compliments the taste of the cruchy fish very well.




The shrimp dumplings is also very good...... it tasted great and I had mine without dipping it in chilli sauce. The wrap almost melts in your mouth and the shrimp is very succulent.




The shrimp gambas is also good...... the spiciness is not overwhelming... just enough to enjoy the heat without scampering for a glass of water.


When we were still on our way to this restaurant Jtt mentioned to me about this particular sinigang that they serve at this restaurant. At first I find the main ingredient to be a bit weird and I am a bit unconvinced about the whole thing. However, the moment I tasted the Corned Beef Sinigang I realized that using corned beef makes sense if not a genius of an idea. The meat as expected was very tender and the soup was sour enough to make one cringe in delight.



The spring rolls' wrap was crunchy and the filling was nice and chewy, also the dip compliments the taste of the spring rolls.




Cat was looking forward to tasting again the Lechong Kawali with Bagoong and I can't blame her. The pork was crunchy yet it was not dry and the bagoong had an equal balance of sweetness and saltiness that enhances the flavor of the deep fried pork.

The Fettuccini and Maya-Maya with Pesto Sauce was likewise excellent.... the fettuccini was al dente and the fish was neither rare nor overcooked. The pesto sauce was creamy and flavorful.

The only entree that did not impressed me favorably was the Osso Buco. I've heard so much about this Italian dish and I was looking forward to tasting my first Osso Buco. The meat was very tender but the taste was so bland. From what I've heard it should be a braised veal in olive oil, white wine, stock, onions, tomatoes, garlic, anchovies, carrots, celery and lemon peel. Well I guess I'll have to try my next Osso Buco in some other Italian restaurant.


The last entree was the Bistek Tagalog and it tasted great.... the beef was very tender and the flavor of soy sauce is very mild that allows you to taste the beef.

We were all quite full and not sold to the idea having any dessert.... however there was one small voice in our group of five that insisted that we should try even just one dessert that we are going to share to complete the whole dining experience. I don't remember who it was but it was definitely not me. Anyway, we decided to have Creme Brulee in honor of our French host. As we all know creme brulee is a custard with caramelized sugar crust. Thierry took the first crack and tasted the creme brulee.... and he said it was excellent... just like what he usually have in France.
To quench our thirst we either had Dalandan Shake, Dalandan Juice, Watermelon Shake, or Beer.

My dining experience in Cafe Juanita was a great adventure..... it was a visual and gastronomical delight. I will definitely go back there over and over and over again.