Thursday, February 5, 2015

Zarzuela - New Twists on Pinoy Gastronomy (Shangrila Plaza East Wing)


Shangrila Plaza Mall's East Wing has a lot of surprises, from branded shops to restaurants and cafes. Suddenly, there's so much more variety for the consumers to choose from. After all, people are constantly drawn to new products and places. If they're any good, they are rewarded with repeated patronage. One such restaurant worth checking out is Zarzuela located at the 6th floor of the mall's East Wing.

I like the window seats. When you're sitting there, watching the muted goings-on from the ground level, you're cloaked with a slice of sobriety. What's better, Zarzuela re-imagines Pinoy culinary with their own version of popular Filipino food.

My favorite would be Humba, the Visayan dish of tender pork belly cooked with sugar. Their pork cuts are well chosen pieces, meaty with an ordinate amount of pork fat. Cholesterol alert? Bleeh. Live a little. Shown above is the "Food for the Gods", deep fried pork belly strips that look like chicken skin chicharon - and tastes as good as it looks. Sauces for these include tomato vinaigrette, bagoong and green mango on little saucers. We also ordered their smoked sardine efuven, an Iloilo noodle dish employing flat noodles on chicken oil.

Chichos is a house specialty which kinda reminds you of adobo. I couldn't resist their maruya, banana fritters a la mode - and when it's topped with vanilla ice cream, doesn't that make for a perfect dessert?

Each serving is good for 2-3 persons. I even love their fried rice. I think we chose the one with adobo flakes. It is hard to find fault in the food we ordered so this visit was definitely two thumbs up. It did not disappoint. For inquiries, call (63-2) 470-3296. Zarzuela is open daily between 11AM and 9PM. It is mostly quiet though. If you want peace - and good food, this is a good option.

Zarzuela, the term, refers to a musical presentation both spoken and sung-through, combining music, dance and drama. This Spanish form of entertainment spread to Spain's colonies and other Hispanic countries like Cuba. The Philippines has fully developed this artistic form and has made it into its own. It is a curiosity then why a restaurant is named after the term which could probably be a simple homage to anything celebratory.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Food for the Gods

Humba

Humba

Smoked Sardine Efuven

Fried Rice with Strips of Adobo Flakes

Chichos: This is a must-try!

Maruya



4 comments:

Ramakrishnan said...

Lead us not into temptation, hallowed be thy name :)

eye in the sky said...

Hahaha. That's so funny. :)

Sherry Ellis said...

All those food pictures are making me hungry!

eye in the sky said...

Me too. Haha.