Filipino dishes cooked at home are the best. Sinigang, Adobo, Kinilaw, Nilaga, Lechon Kawali, Dinuguan, etc. Each household has a different version, sometimes very different from what we grew up with but more often than not, just minor tweaks here and there. Restaurants who have ventured into serving Filipino dishes must have a lot of pressure in their cups. Imagine the challenge of having your fellow kababayans fancy the food you serve when they've been exposed to such dishes since birth. Creativity and play of flavors are important. Abe sure has made a name for itself. Then came Sarsa.
Filipinos love dipping sauces of all sorts. Sarsa came into life because of this. I have been seeing a lot of good reviews about Sarsa and I can't believe I have only tried this now. It was a weekday, no house help and I was too lazy tired to cook. I urged hubby to eat out for lunch instead and he agreed right away. We were Makati bound that day and it was the perfect time to try Sarsa in it's new location - Rada Street.
 |
| Sarsa Kitchen+Bar - Rada Street, Makati |
Big space, simple interiors - loved the blue and white walls and the blue cushioned seats. Everything was simple but clean and nice. We were attended to right away. Looking at their menu, we got some kids' friendly dishes.
 |
| Sarsa Batchoy Special for 275Php |
When you have a toddler and an infant, you always need to order some soup. In this case - Sarsa Batchoy Special. They have a regular version of this but for an additional of 75Php, you'll get an egg, bone marrow and bacon-cut liempo. Not bad at all. Soup was great! Warm, salty, flavorful and then some sweetness. It had generous servings of chicharon, pork and pork liver. Everybody liked it!
 |
| Sinigang Fried Chicken for 420Php |
My eldest was shouting for Sinigang that day. There was no traditional Sinigang in the menu of Sarsa but there was this very interesting dish - Sinigang Fried Chicken. I was hinting that it'll be a sour kind of fried chicken and I was right. However, I was not sure how the "Inihaw Bell Pepper Gata Sauce" would pair with it. Then it came. I needed to explain to my daughter what it was and then she tried it and cried - "Wow Mommy tastes like Sinigang!" Great! Deep fried to golden brown perfection, the skin was crunchy and sour and salty and everything that a good Sinigang broth is all about. The meat was tender and well marinated. I tried to put in some of the sauce and noticed that it enhanced the flavors of the dish. Great pairing indeed.
 |
| Piaya Ice Cream Sandwich for 145Php |
For dessert, we tried their popular Piaya Ice Cream Sandwich. You can opt for Ube, Vanilla or Quezo ice cream and we went for Quezo. The combinatin, play of flavors and textures worked. The Piaya was a bit difficult to cut but not a big deal at all. I liked that they generously garnished the whole thing with Salted Muscovado Caramel which added a new dimension to the usual flavors. The caramel was thick and had an interesting contrast of sweet and salty. This dessert was finished off with pinipig as well, which added another layer of flavor and crunch.
 |
| Strawberry Banana Shake for 115Php |
We were also intrigued with how a Buko Guyabano Shake would come out but it wasn't available that time. We settled for a familiar flavor - Strawberry Banana which was served in a tall glass. Refreshing smoothie.
Service was great! The servers were attentive, very understanding of the mess we created and forgiving of all the requests I made.
There were a lot of interesting dishes in their menu. I can't wait to go back. I have actually came up with a list of what I wanted to try next - Pritchon, Sizzling Kansi, Twiced Cooked Pork Belly and Pancit Palabok (to name some lol).
5 out of 5 Stars for Sarsa!
***Sarsa Kitchen + Bar : Frabella Bldg., 109 Rada St., Legazpi Village, Makati City
---you can also find them here: Forum South Global, 7th Ave. cor. Federacion Drive, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
That Sinigang Fried Chicken looks so good!
ReplyDeleteIn Transit PH
It is really good! Definitely a hit if you fancy the dish :)
Delete