The Vegetarian Kitchen

My husband has been begging to try the vegetarian restaurant which I casually mentioned to him in passing. Don't get me wrong. I love vegetables. I would choose a vegetable panini anytime over a meat based panini. I would also be just as happy with a salad for dinner. But I'm not a fan of fake meat after my husband brought home fake bacon from the U.S. and insisted that we replace it with Lean and Mean bacon. That bacon was really nasty. So, I finally agreed to a date night at The Vegetarian Kitchen knowing that Burger King was just around the corner. At the last minute, my son said that he was coming home for dinner. What? Dinner at home with the parents on a Friday night? Great! My son, the carnivore, would never agree to eat in a vegetarian restaurant. But, surprise, surprise. He said that the location was perfect since he had to meet up with his friends a block away after dinner.

The menu noted that the servings were good for sharing and so we decided to order two dishes.

Shredded Korean Spareribs with a side vegetable and buttered rice at Php 190. My son loved this dish but we all noted that it could do with less sugar. He said that it tastes just like meat. The texture of the "meat" is similar to corned beef. We were told that this was made of vegetable protein which is marinated in the sauce for 3 days to absorb its flavor. The rice was just as good. You could really taste the butter in each morsel of rice. My son commented that since the owners were into vegan because of their religious beliefs (Hare Krishna) it does not mean that it needs to be healthy. Thus, the sweetness of the meat and the buttery rice.

Green spinach lasagna with tomato sauce at Php 270. This was so creamy and really tasty. What is so interesting is that eggs, onion and garlic are not allowed because of their religious belief but the dish is still full of flavor. How did they do that? 

The side salad that is served with the Lasagna. It has greens, corn, chickpeas, cherry tomatoes and cucumber.

Oops, I forgot to take a photo of our guava lemon cooler drink. It was excellent at Php 60. 

After the meal, my son announced that we will have to return to try out the other dishes. I am curious to try the pastel. I was told that it will contain morsels of "meat" which is also formed from the vegetable protein, vegetables and gluten. Their meatless dishes, fish and prawns are also made of this protein thingge. Interesting. 

The only downside about this restaurant is that it is closed on Sundays and Mondays and they close early too at 9 pm. Of course they will not shoo you out after 9 pm but you have to come in before 9 pm. Why Mondays, I asked? Our car is color coded on Mondays, Kiko replied. Haha...

The Vegetarian Kitchen

62-B Mother Ignacia Ave. (a few blocks from Crossroads and across St. Mary's College)

Herb Grilled Chicken, Thai Style

Herb Grilled Chicken, Thai Style

Adapted from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Herb-Grilled-Chicken-Breasts-Thai-Style-5471

Ingredients:

·         1/3 cup finely chopped fresh basil

·         1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint

·         1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro

·         3 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

·         4 garlic cloves

·         1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

·         1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce 

·         1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

·         1 1/2 tablespoons washed/brown sugar

·         1 teaspoon red curry paste mixed with 1 tablespoon coconut milk

·         Chicken pieces (I used leg and thigh parts)

Procedure:
Combine first 10 ingredients until well blended.

Spoon herb mixture over chicken, covering completely. Cover dish; chill at least 2 hours, turning chicken occasionally. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)

Cook in turbo oven at 200C for 25 minutes.

If using boneless chicken breasts, grill chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

Cut chicken into strips before serving if using boneless chicken breasts.

My Notes:

I don’t know which ingredient in this dish made my chicken so moist and tender. This dish is so flavorful. I’ve never eaten chicken with this texture. It simply melts in your mouth..

The cilantro flavor is very strong and so you should lessen it if you’re not a cilantro fan.

Zong Restaurant

When Groupon offered a 50% off coupon for Zong Restaurant, I didn't think twice about buying the 600 peso coupon for 1,200 pesos worth of food. I've eaten here ages ago and I recall that the food was quite good. Furthermore, I like it that they have a big sign which says that they don't have MSG in all their dishes.

The menu stated that all their dishes were for good for 2-3 persons. We decided to order fried rice plus two main dishes. It's strange that their vegetable dishes cost as much as the meat dishes. Thus, my son suggested that we forego the veggies.

Yang Chow Fried Rice at Php 288. This was cooked to perfection. You could actually separate each grain of rice which is a good sign of excellent rice. The shrimps were also plump and large.

Chicken with Salted Egg Yolk at Php 438, This was a house specialty and so we decided to try it. This was served without any sauce and it works as is. It's full of flavor. Some pieces were boneless while some were not. The texture is strange though.You know that grainy taste of the salted egg yolk? You can taste that in this chicken dish.

Roast Combination Platter at Php 468. Every time we eat in a Chinese Restaurant, my son almost always orders this platter because it has his favorite suckling pig and roast duck. We were happy with this platter. The skin of the suckling pig was super crunchy. The roast duck and the chicken were just as good. We even loved the hoisin sauce that was served with this dish. We didn't like the asado though. It was too dry. Maybe that's why it's not in the menu.

The servings are ample. We had some leftover of all the dishes. So, I suppose that our three dishes are  actually good for four persons. When we got home, I clicked to buy another voucher. Yes, the food was great.