Dining Snippets: La Spezia MNL x Kraken Takoyaki x The Belle and Dragon
LA SPEZIA MNL
STINCO DE AGNELLO, POLENTA (P670)
La Spezia MNL is a charming nook that marries the comforts of a casual restaurant with food items that you can chance upon in fine dining Italian restaurants. The menu is on the short side; but seems to be carefully curated. Do be warned that their dishes come in serving sizes ideal for sharing!
SPAGHETTI POMODORO E BASILICO (P480)
The Spaghetti Pomodoro e Basilico may have come with only a handful of ingredients: EVOO, spaghetti noodles, sundried tomatoes, basil, and cheese; however, its pomodoro base will easily win you over. The intense tanginess of the sundried tomatoes becomes subtly masked by the sharpness of the basil leaves. However, as it doesn’t come with any protein; we decided to pair it up with the Stinco de Agnello. This dish features fall-off-the-bone lamb shank which has been braised for four hours. Immensely tasty and filling, this dish is a must-try! My only issue was that it came with too much polenta. Although not a fan, I really don’t mind eating it. However, as the lamb shank rested on a thick bed of polenta, it was quite difficult to enjoy its beautifully spiced tomato stew on its own as it instantly mixed with the polenta.
Apart from a list of house wines, the restaurant also carries the Lick brand of iced teas. It’s definitely a much needed thirst-quencher in the summer heat we’re experiencing.
La Spezia MNL
90 Scout Dr. Lascano St., Laging Handa, Diliman, QC
Date of Visit: February 18, 2017 with Lily Chua
KRAKEN TAKOYAKI
I super love Takoyaki balls; however, I usually walk past Takoyaki kiosks sprawled across Metro Manila’s malls. Although friendly on the pocket, these stalls usually replace octopus bits with squid bits as fillings. Worse, there are even balls that use so much vegetable fillers that you could barely make out the seafood bits in them.
SMOKED BACON AND 2 CHEESE (P148)
Fortunately, Kraken Takoyaki was a very much welcome exception. Like the others, I ignored this stall ever since it set up shop in Greenhills Promenade. However, because of its strong word-of-mouth marketing and social media presence, I was curious to try it. The waiting time was quite long, playing between 30-45 minutes so I figured I’d go all out and get the Smoked Bacon and 2 Cheese variant. Was it worth the wait? Oh boy, definitely! On their own, the balls are stuffed with octopus bits that assure you that you got your money’s worth. Apart from that, the cream cheese topping insanely worked perfectly with the teriyaki glazed balls. The combination was so good that you might actually forget that it also comes with smoked caramelized bacon bits! (Yep, it was so good that I forgot about the bacon part)!
Kraken Takoyaki
Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center, Greenhills, San Juan
Date of Visit: February 18, 2017
THE BELLE AND DRAGON
SALT AND PEPPER SQUID (P395)
Starting off our meal would be the Salt and Pepper Squid. Adopting the Chinese-style of preparing this bar chow, the crisp and tender squid pieces were paired with spiced vinegar. The appetizer was executed well; however, I still personally prefer the restaurant’s Green Curry Calamari.
COUNTRY SKILLET (P370)
I’m a big fan of all day breakfast dining; thus, any breakfast-inspired dish is a definite plus for me. The Country Skillet seems to feature all the champions of breakfast piled up in beautiful layers. You’ve got strips of crisp bacon, tasty sausage chunks, sunny-side eggs, and mushrooms generously layered with melted cheese. The best part of the dish would be the layer of potato chips in the skillet which lends the dish crunch and a dash of saltiness.
PULLED PORK OKONOMIYAKI (P390)
Another filling and gorgeous layered dish from The Belle and Dragon would be its Pulled Pork Okonomiyaki. Utilizing all the ingredients that make up a traditional okonomiyaki, from the cabbage, to the sweet glaze and the bonito flakes topping; the restaurant is able to spice up the dish by opting to use 6-hour braised pork shoulder chunks as its main attraction. It gives the classic Japanese dish a meatier and crunchier bite.
The Belle and Dragon
100 OPL Building, C Palanca St., Legazpi Village, Makati City
Date of Visit: February 24, 2017 with Gwen Chuahiock, Tikay Yu, and Michelle Cruz
