Newark CA - You know this was coming. Mama and Papa bear returned the favor and went to Goldilock's. Tasted the tuna kinilaw (ceviche), bbq chicken, pork short ribs, fried calamari, garlic rice and everything wasn't just "just right, "too cold", "too hot", but just perfect.
Usually Pilipino food can be too dry, too spicy, too greasy, too soggy and too whatever.
Chef Brian cooks traditional Pilipino food with french preparation. The presentation isn't a blob of this or that, but nicely appeal ling. The veggies are uniformly cut and sauces smooth and flavorful. The tuna dish with a creamy mango sauce is an example. The sauce is not too sweet and it's creamy. The BBQ chicken on a bamboo skewer had a sweet and not too tart (acidic) sauce (achara included). The chicken was plump and moist. Chef Brian's signature dish of the tuna ceviche had the nicely uniformed cut veggies. The tuna was moist. The calamari was crispy (vinegar and garlic dip included). Each bite produced a crunch followed by the softness of the squid. I like the tentacles the best.
The wine: Sonoma Landing 2005 Merlot. It was fruit forward, smooth and nice nose. It matched the dishes we had.
For dessert, we had the coconut pandan. It was fresh, cold and not too sweet. It was very refreshing.
We were invited by our Ate (not really my eldest sister) but our friend from church. The Friday night we had dinner, the band Vintage Plus Dance Band played until midnight. They played uptempo beat music.
The service was surprising attentive. When we were ready to go, we asked for the check. Whatever we needed, we got promptly.
On this Friday night, there was a $10/person cover charge, but it's credited back when you order dinner. We just presented the receipt with the bill and our payment. We'll be back when we're in the area and when there's live music.
It was great to have Pilipino food that was nicely presented. Go Chef Brian!
No comments:
Post a Comment