*This restaurant is now closed*
We go to Shangri-la Plaza Mall almost every Friday. We were so excited when they constructed the East Wing because it mean more additions to the list of restaurant choices. One of the ones we tried recently was Zarzuela on the 6th floor. The place was bright and airy looking but there was hardly any other customers in the restaurant. If you like your restaurants quiet, then this should be one of your choices.
We started with something called the Fountain of Youth (P199), strips of pork belly, breaded and deep fried. There’s a trio of chopped green mango, bagoong and vinegar on the side. The first few pieces will elicit the crunchiness one expects paired with one’s choice of condiment. The problem is that it gets cloying after awhile, maybe because of the breading. Despite that, I still feel this is a nice sharing choice.
Irene and her sister are enamored with Chicharon Bulaklak (P279), so we had a plate. Irene’s verdict was that it was good but she still gives the edge to R.Lapid’s.
Munggo Sabaw Sosyal (P249). A bowl of the common mung bean soup that’s been amped up by the addition of chorizo. The soup was not really memorable for me, my taste buds still prefer the out of this world munggo soup from Bagoong Club.
You can never have enough meat so we got an order of Sa Pula, Sa Puti (P429). The name is a homage to the betting done in cockfights and is executed by the contrasting colors and way of cooking of the adobo. One side is a crispy flakes while the other is vinegar and garlic based. The presentation was nice and both dishes were good by itself but I still felt something lacking, probably its my bias on the more common execution of adobo.
Stuffed Pusit with Bagoong (P559). I love squid so this was a predictable choice for me. For the listed price, I was expected more than the two pieces that arrived on our table. Each piece might be stuffed to explosion and the taste delicious, at the end of it all, there was just two measly pieces.
Pinangat (P229). A dish that is quite similar in cooking style with laing, there are just much more meat. Taro leaves encases minced pork and vegetables and cooked in coconut milk. Sweet, creamy and spicy flavors that will have you reaching for the plain rice.
Adobo Rice (P159). Fried rice with crispy adobo flakes, a safe choice but the taste was hardly special. It was actually a bit bland, white rice would have been better.
Flavor wise, the food at Zarzuela was good but the two pieces of squid really ruined how we looked at the place. It’s an option for Filipino food in the predominately Western and Asian leaning restaurants in the mall.
Zarzuela
Level 6, Shangri-la Plaza East Wing,
Shaw Boulevard cor. EDSA, Mandaluyong City
Contact No.: 470-3296
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