Arya Persian Restaurant's Couscous Salad and Chicken Koobideh

Scoring a good meal is more art than science. Sometimes I overlook certain restaurants just because they're mall-based or I had one bad experience with them. Fortunately I'm always open to recommendations which may come anywhere--from friends, fellow bloggers, food writers in traditional media, even celebrities in the know. All these I enter in a database of restaurants to visit. One thing is sure--the list gets longer and longer. 

I had already eaten in Arya before (click here for my review), and I thought that was it, until I reviewed my database. While waiting for a movie to start I headed to Arya to cross a couple of times from the list. 

First is the lovely, refreshing Couscous Salad. Couscous is a traditional Berber dish of steamed semolina (granules of durum wheat). The salad is tart from the vinegar and tomatoes, crunchy from the veggies and peanuts, and with the welcome sweetness from the raisins. The ingredients came well together, all these on top of a tortilla-like base.

I then had the Chicken Koobideh with pita bread. I'm a fan of anything that resembles shawarma, so this is a no-brainer for me. I  love crushing the grilled tomatoes over the smoky meat, which I also douse in chili and garlic sauce, and wrapping everything  in the bread.

Arya Persian Restaurant
Midtown Wing
Robinsons Place Manila
(+63) 02 567-7200

Cafe Adriatico MOA's Knockout Knuckles and Claude's Dream

After watching models with nary an ounce of body fat prance around in Philippine Fashion Week, I walked to the nearby mall in a daze, determined to drown feelings of inadequacy with comfort food. And for readers of this blog, you know what that means--pork.

I perked up when I saw a branch of Cafe Adriatico in Mall of Asia. The main branch has always been a culinary landmark in Malate, around 30 minutes by car from the mall. Despite Malate losing its cool factor to other areas in the Metro, I draw comfort in the fact Cafe Adriatico is still there, soldiering on, a food oasis with an Old World charm unmatched by its mall-based sister.

Finding a corner by the window, I ordered Knock-Out Knuckles, a forgettable martini hybrid, and for dessert-Claude's Dream

 
Knockout Knuckles is a fancy name for crispy pata--beloved of beer drinkers--deep fried pig trotters served with a spicy soy and vinegar drip. The dish was mostly crackling skin, tender meat, fat and cartilage, showered generously with fried garlic bits. To this day I can still remember the strong taste of garlic cutting through the rich taste of connective tissue, meat, and fat. After a few bites I asked the server to bag it, fearful for my already expanding gut and thighs.

 
Claude's Dream is a Filipino dessert favorite--pandan gelatin and young coconut on buffalo milk's ice cream--the perfect cap to a savory dish.