Dining Snippets: 75 Lilac Café and Kitchen x Black Canyon Coffee x Ping Pong Diplomacy
75 LILAC CAFÉ + KITCHEN
My visit to 75 Lilac Café and Kitchen marks a special milestone as it’s my very first review of a restaurant in Marikina. As someone who rarely goes to this city, the stretch of Marcos Highway felt like forever to traverse. Fortunately, Waze was dependable that day, making the restaurant easy to find. Recommended by my Marikina-based friends, Mina and Tonet, the restaurant had a laidback and homey ambiance filled with quaint decorations.
GARLIC BABY SQUID (P190)
The Garlic Baby Squid was a delicious starter. Tender baby squid pieces were tossed in a delectable olive oil base, and generously topped with garlic. It’s actually a lighter version of the Garlic Baby Squid from Locavore.
CRISPY PATA (P440)
Oh, Crispy Pata. The mere sight of it on a menu excites me. Fortunately, my friends were as excited about ordering it as I was, so we got one to share. 75 Lilac seems to have perfected the cooking of Crispy Pata, as the meat was kept tender and juicy, with skin so gloriously crunchy. One thing they have to work on though is their sauce. I like mine salty, sour, and spiced. Theirs went overboard on the sweetness.
ROAST BEEFSTEAK (P220)
My main dish was the Roast Beefsteak. Instead of the thick spiced gravy I had in mind, the beef was served with an extremely thin and light gravy, with mayonnaise on the side. I wasn’t a big fan of this version as the beef steak didn’t really pair well with the mayonnaise. Good old fashioned gravy would have been better.
75 Lilac Café + Kitchen
75 Lilac St., Concepcion Dos, Marikina
Date of Visit: August 5, 2017 with Tonet de Jesus, Mina Tionloc and Bez Viernes
BLACK CANYON COFFEE
There’s not much to shop around in Ayala Malls The 30th so to kill time before our movie, my mom and decided to just lounge around in Black Canyon Coffee.
SOLO PAD THAI (P265) AND HOT THAI TEA LATTE (P120)
As Black Canyon Coffee is a Thai café, I helped myself to a Hot Thai Tea Latte. The flavor was subtle, but the taste of the tea was still distinguishable even after one mixes in the condensed milk. Topped with peanuts, beansprouts, shrimp, tofu, and a wedge of lime, its well-cooked rice noodles produced a tasty but forgettable version of the classic Pad Thai. Overall, it makes for a good place to kill time or to cozy up to a cup of tea, but it doesn't strike me as a destination restaurant.
Black Canyon Coffee
3F Ayala Malls The 30th, Cinema Level, 30 Meralco Ave., Ortigas, Pasig City
Date of Visit: August 5, 2017 with Lily Chua
PING PONG DIPLOMACY
I first fell in love with Ping Pong Diplomacy after a bite of its fiery and addictive Not Mapo Tofu. As I badly craved for it, I decided to quickly make a second trip to the restaurant to have another taste of it, and try its other dishes as well.
CRUNCHY EGGPLANT (P195) AND YANG CHOW FRIED RICE (P280)
Ping Pong Diplomacy definitely likes playing around with different ingredients to produce dishes with a lot of color, a lot of texture, and a lot of attitude. Its crunchy eggplant fritters seem unnoticeable as it’s topped with a medley of green onions, garlic, sesame seeds, and caramelized onions. Once you bite into the light golden brown fritter, you get to appreciate its thin and glossy batter which possessed a nice crunch and a subtle sweetness.
PING PONG WINGS (P320)
If you’re looking for something saltier as a contrast, its Ping Pong Wings are rubbed in a 12 spice blend which immediately brings the Taiwanese pepper chicken to mind. Pair this with their char siu filled Yang Chow Fried Rice!
STEAMED SEA BASS (P1400)
Ping Pong Diplomacy elevates the Chinese classic, Lapu Lapu in Soy Sauce, by upgrading to the Sea Bass. Tempered by black vinegar, the soy based sauce tastes sharper. This was very much a welcome upgrade!
SURF AND TURF NOODLES (P295)
If you’re looking for something interesting, its Surf and Turf Noodles pairs mussels with char siu as toppings of its wok fried noodles. Mix in the 62 degree egg as it lends the noodles a thicker consistency you’d definitely enjoy.
Ping Pong Diplomacy
3F SM Aura, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
Date of Visit: August 6, 2017 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua
