MESA - Food on the Table

 

     A good friend, Fides celebrated another milestone recently. So we feted her with a sumptuous lunch at Mesa in Greenbelt 5. Don't get me wrong, it's not a new discovery we've made recently. Mesa's been around a couple of years since Greenbelt 5 was opened to the public. But we felt (specially Sarita) that since it was our friend's birthday we should gorge on her birthday. Not just ordinary Filipino food, mind you... but the kind of Pinoy food only Mesa's chef can conjure up.

     I mentioned conjure because despite of its no-nonsense interiors, the food has retained its magical quality. The interiors are laden with slats of bamboo that have been lacquered in dark tones. Yellow lighting enrich the ambiance with a warm, cozy glow... It was a rainy day so the weather didn't spoil our appetite!

     The pommelo salad was light and tangy... The sourness of the citrus was offset by the sweetness of the grated coconut and the light dressing. The scallops with garlic butter provided the perfect foil with the aroma of the drizzle filling the air...  Like Julia Child always says; "you can't always have enough butter..." How right she is...

     After the starters came the Sisig in a pouch. Sisig is a meet dish that's sauteed in lots of crushed garlic and butter... Traditionally Sisig is made of minced pig's ear and snout. The humble dish made its way into Pinoy culinary pop culture when it was popularized by an enterprising housewife who lived along the railway tracks in Pampanga. Now it's been re-invented and served in a crispy pouch that's been deep-fried and laid out on a banana leaf with a chili sauce on the side.

    

     After the Sisig came a medley of seafood... Large crispy Tilapia cubed and deep fried and served with four types of dip: bagoong and honey, sweet chilli, adobo drippings and vinegar with garlic. The baked mussels were smothered in cheese and garlic with chopped chives. The bangus (milkfish) was served ala pobre style with raw onion rings for added zing. Baby squid  was also served with garlic oil and a little soy sauce.

     The coup de grace was the CRISPO ( acronym for crispy liempo). To round out the surf and turf meal we had this instead of the usual Lechon ( which sadly, was not available). Nonetheless, we made a startling discovery because the Crispo was served two ways. The first wave was the crispy skin and fatty layer was finely chopped and served wrapped in a pandan based won ton wrapper much like a Prichon (prito'ng lechon) and served with three types of dip: hoisin, red chilli sauce and a garlic mayo dip. The second wave of the Crispo was served deep fried in Garlic oil and cubed into bite size pieces.

     

     Thankfully, all my friends were prepared for the feast... the brought their medication. Hah! Wait till you hear what we had for postre... =)