A Members-Only Resto

This restaurant's review is quite different. The probability of one eating at this place if one is not a member is slim to none. One has to be a member of Valle Verde or know someone who's a member and get invited in order to eat here. And since my boss' boss is a member, well, I got invited.

If I'm right, the restaurant's name is Lanai Ala Carte. Looking at the menu, the prices are similar to that of a mid-range priced restaurant like Max's. It's not very expensive but it's up there. We ordered Pancit Canton, Pancit Palabok, Calamares, Lumpiang Togue, and Lumpiang Shanghai. 

I couldn't eat the Lumpiang Togue for the fear of having my ankles ache. With it was vinegar with what seemed to be garlic and pepper for a dip. The Calamares was ok at best. It had with it, white sauce for dipping. Sweet chili sauce was the dip for the generic Lumpiang Shanghai. I'm guessing the sauce's brand is Jufran. The Pancit Canton was alright. From what I can tell, it had slices of pork, squid, and shrimp. The Pancit Palabok was a bit bland. I lacked saltiness that would have enhanced the Palabok flavor.

In spite the fact that the restaurant is exclusive to Valle Verde members, the food could have been better. To be honest, Hap Chan's food tastes better. It's a good thing I was just invited so I didn't spend on anything.

I guess what you're paying for is more of the privacy of the place. Since it's members only, you may have a table all to yourself and you can take your time just using the Wi-Fi. You can say it's free but since you're a paying member, you've probably paid for that.

It's a good experience. But that's it.

Pinoy Tempura?

I haven't been to any food place lately so let's just talk about food.

Tempura is a Japanese food. Most of the time it's shrimp or prawn that's battered and deep fried. There's also vegetable tempura.

If the basic formulation for tempura is seafood that's battered then deep fried, then I believe we have our own local version of the tempura here in the Philippines. We call it Calamares.

Calamares is one of the may street foods of the Philippines. Strips of squid are battered and deep fried. Although some aren't cooked to a crisp, we still snack on them.

So what's the difference between Calamares and your run-in-the-mill Tiger Prawn Tempura? The tempura that you buy in Japanese restaurants are crisp except when they're in your ramen. The Calamares doesn't have to be dipped in batter. Sometimes, the Calamares is dipped in beaten egg then breaded to get the same effect as being dipped in batter.

So do you think we have our version of Tempura? You decide.