Esmeralda Kitchen: Filipino Food Meant to Delight
- Steffi Milcah Chua
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
The fact that Filipino cuisine has been gaining international recognition is a fact worthy to be lauded – however, most often, these restaurants would feature elevated Filipino fare or modern twists on the classics. Although, I do appreciate and treat myself to meals from these concepts every now and then (which come up at equally elevated prices as well) – sometimes, the palate and the stomach yearn for something simple, nostalgic and classic.
Enter: Esmeralda Kitchen. Its bright and sunny interiors – complemented by the warmest service you can ask for – make it an absolute delight to dine in!
At times, Esmeralda can get a bit busy – so during one of our lunch visits– without us prompting them to or even making a follow up, our server gave us freshly toasted malunggay rolls from their Bakery on the house as he felt we were waiting a little bit too long for our orders. Sure, this may be part of their strategy to get us to try its baked breads, but it definitely made us feel attended to and well taken care of.
I’m not a big fan of nachos – but boy did I enjoy the immensely colorful Tita Esme’s Nachos – which came with an killer chorizo and cheese dip. Pickled onions lend a nice sharp and refreshing balance of flavor to this appetizer. Unfortunately, the Pako Salad was a let down – as the greens were not as fresh as we liked it to be.
My favorite item on its menu would be theLechon Belly. You can enjoy this house special in two ways – the first of which is the Lechon Sinigang. I love how they served the soup separately – so that greens won’t get soggy and the skin of the lechon belly remains crisp. No need to dig through the palayok to cherry pick your favorite sahog!
However, you can enjoy the Lechon Belly in its full glory – when you order it ala carte. Served with your classic toyomansi and interestingly, Esmeralda’s take on the chimichurri, you’ll definitely enjoy this over a cup of garlic rice. This will definitely one of the most flavorful and tender lechon belly you've ever tasted - that's a guarantee!
However, they also have the immensely interesting Burong Mustasa Fried Rice – its local take on the classic Kimchi Fried Rice. Do be warned though that this bowl tends to be a bit greasy – and would need a more discerning palate for this to be appreciated. Don’t be fooled by its ‘solo’ size as this is more than enough to be shared! (The same can be said for all of its dishes)!
To balance the richness of the Lechon Belly, do consider ordering a plate of Esmeralda’s Crispy Bangus Ala Pobre. It looks simple, but the marinade packs in a flavorful punch! It’s served with the same chimuchurri that can be found served with its Lechon Belly. It comes accompanied by a delightfully fresh green salad with green mango strips – definitely, a welcome palate cleanser.
The Chicken Inasal is also a lighter alternative – although, when we did try this – despite being perfectly smoky and flavorful – the meat was on the dry side.
So we didn’t really plan on ordering the Esmeralda Sisig but it smelled irresistibly good when it was served at a neighboring table, that we just had to get one ourselves. Unfortunately, my personal preference is the crispy version of the sisig (similar to what’s served by Manam) or one that’s served with mayonnaise (similar to what’s served in Relish) so as their sisig is of a similar vein to the classic Pampanga version of sisig, it wasn’t to my liking.
Long-time readers of my blog would know that I’m not fond of Kare-Kare. I just help myself to the bagoong it’s served with but basically ignore its peanut sauce and whatever’s stewed in it – but somehow, Esmeralda’s version made me question my perception on Kare-Kare. I found myself getting succeeding scoops of its immensely thick and rich peanut stew and enjoying it! Esmeralda's Kare-Kare is filled with the usual suspects – tender beef, oxtail and vegetables – but somehow, it came with the best-tasting Kare-Kare sauce I’ve ever tried and a killer bagoong to pair with it! Definitely - the ONLY kare-kare I actually have enjoyed in my life!
I absolutely adore Adobong Pusit so upon seeing the Squid En Su Tinta in the menu, I knew I was going to order it. I loved its generous use of garlic- however, I wanted the sauce could use a little bit more acid.
Dishes cooked in coconut milk tend to be on the heavier side – but surprisingly, Esmeralda’s take on the Tinumok was light and refreshing. It’s not a photogenic dish – but the gabi-wrapped ground shrimp and pork mixture would definitely satisfy!
Esmeralda Kitchen
43 Mayon St., Santa Mesa Heights, QC
Dates of Visit: September 17, 2023, December 4, 2023 and Aug 13, 2024 with Wilson Chua, Lily Chua, Jared Chua and Jem Chua
Comments