BigBang Dinner

I love Korean food. Fortunately, Makati is studded with Korean restaurants. My favorite so far is located just along Malugay St., right beside the Ospital ng Makati Acute Care Center and Makati Golf Compound. Ara Korean Restaurant.

Ara, just like most of my favorite dining havens, is an accidental discovery, being strategically situated right beside the hospital where I work. The seemingly high-end appearance of the exterior and interior is a far cry from its reasonably-priced food selection, relative to other Korean dining places in Makati City. The place is neat and wide. The food servers are welcoming and polite. Even the Korean owners smile a lot to the customers and supervise in the serving.

As with most Korean restaurants, Ara serves a set of complimentary side dishes / appetizers. Although these vary from time to time, kimchi is a mainstay. What's more delighting? The side dishes, especially kimchi, are refillable. These side dishes are served immediately while the customers browse through the menu. Ara also serves pineapple slices and cold cinnamon tea at the end of the meal, also complimentary.

These are my much-loved dishes in Ara. In fact, the food servers already know that these are my favorite orders. Top photo: pork backbone broth -- two big chunks of pork backbone in chili-base soup, mixed with potato, onion leaves and cabbage. The broth is refillable. Bottom photo: seafood pancake. A simple but appetizing dish made of chopped squid and scallions.

Yours Truly feasting on a generous serving of pork backbone broth.

Mom and I enjoying a Korean dinner with Japanese touch -- tempura. Mom is not that into Korean and Japanese food. She's still in the process of "acquiring the taste". She loves prawns/shrimps, though. Thus, the tempura.

Shi Lin Chillin'

Mom and I were looking for a good restaurant for dinner in the Power Plant Mall (Rockwell Center, Makati City) when we decided to check the Archaeology wing, an area in the mall that we seldom visited. There we saw Shi Lin. Since it's the only remaining restaurant inside the mall that we still hadn't tried (being relatively new), we checked the menu and chose to give it a try.

The food selection looked Chinese but not exactly Chinese (I'm referring to the typical menu in most Chinese restaurants). It was, in fact, a Taiwanese restaurant. The place was neat and well-lit. The staff were all very courteous and knew what to suggest for first-timers like us. And most importantly, all the food we ordered were delicious and reasonably priced. It's getting our money's worth, so to speak.

Shi Lin Restaurant is located in the Archaeology wing of the Power Plant Mall. The establishment has a very nice red-predominant interior with beautifully-arranged Chinese ceiling lanterns.

Freshly-made and artistically-designed dumplings, ready for steaming or frying. Top photo: Mushroom & vegetable dumpling. Bottom photo: Shrimp & pork siomai.

Top photo: A hot pot of freshly-prepared, decaffeinated, tropical mango tea. Its light aroma and fruity taste are perfect complements to the strong flavor of the main dishes. Bottom photo: Our appetizer, Japanese cucumber. It's the usual pipino-sa-suka made spicier and more sophisticated.

Top photo: Noodles with shrimp and pork wonton. It's actually the broth that makes this dish special -- its light taste brings out the flavor of the meat. Bottom photo: To add soluble fiber to the diet... stirfry Taiwanese spinach, with just the right amount of garlic and oil.

 Top photo: Crispy prawn cake. This dish uses finely-chopped prawns, thus the fantastic "shrimpy" flavor in every bite. The sweet-and-sour sauce is a perfect match. Mom loved this dish so much. Bottom photo: For dessert... red bean pancake. Not too sweet, but so full of flavor.

Mom and I enjoying a fantastic Taiwanese dinner. Mom even requested for a food to go -- fried shrimp and pork wonton (bottom photo).