On Mondays and Mango Tree

I love Mondays!  My mondays are what Sundays are for people with regular working days and hours.  On Mondays, I get to relax and sleep in.  However, this particular Monday seemed to whiz by faster than I would've liked.  Yes we did get to wake up late, but then we still had to go to a meeting and do one ocular inspection.  In between those two client meetings, we managed to squeeze in a date (Yay!).  You'd be surprised by the amount of greasy drive-through food we eat when we've got events to manage.  I make all these intricate appetizers and desserts for other people but it's usually Jollibee and Mcdonald's for me and Yuri.  I'm debunking some of the pre-conceived notions people have about chefs.  Chefs don't eat hoity toity fussy food all the time.  I can't speak for everyone, but when Yuri and I are working (managing events, logistics, and whatnot), any quick hot meal that'll fill our tummies usually does the trick.  You can't be fussy and choosy when you're pressed for time.  We make up for it when we're doing kitchen tests and when we're off the clock.  That's why our date earlier was such a treat and a welcome reprieve. 

We had a 1 o'clock meeting at Starbucks at Trinoma so we decided to do a late lunch at this resto we've been eyeing for a while now.  We've tried almost every other restaurant at Trinoma except for this one: The Mango Tree Bistro.  It's relatively new.  They opened their doors around mid-October last year.

The Mango Tree Bistro is from the famous Thai Mango Tree restaurant chain.  This spacious resto with its dimly-lit interior, brick walls, and deep violet accents is definitely pleasing to the eye.  We were looking forward to a nice, quiet, and relaxing meal, away from the usual hustle and bustle of the mall.  We were excited!  Yuri and I, we luuuurve our Thai food.  We've been to some really amazing Thai restaurants so our expectations were quite high.

I was determined to shy away from the Thai resto combo trap which is Phad Thai, Chicken Pandan, and Bagoong Rice.  I sort of succeeded.  Sort of.  Haha.  We started off with Por Pia Phad Thai, which was simply deep-fried spring rolls stuffed with Pad Thai noodles with sweet chili dipping sauce on the side.

Por Pia Phad Thai Php 150.00

It was nice and crisp but a tad too oily for my taste.  The peanut oil really comes through.  Props though for originality and well-seasoned Phad Thai noodles even if it was slightly overcooked.

Panang Nua Php 380.00

Next, we had this beef curry dish infused with kaffir lime leaves.  It was highly recommended by our courteous server.  The beef fillets were incredibly tender and the spiciness was just right for me.  The heat was spot on.  The  portion size is definitely big enough for 3 persons especially since you're supposed to eat it with rice.  Not eating rice with any sort of curry dish is just.... oh.... it's just not done!

Khaopad Gai Php 200.00

Me being the rice monster that I am decided to order Khaopad Gai (stir fried rice with chicken) to go with the Panang Nua.  I'm usually not this harsh, but I've got to say that this dish was a complete letdown.  It was totally under seasoned and did nothing to improve our meal and appetite (as most fried rice dishes usually do).  I guess my biggest issue with this dish would have to be the price.  It left us wanting.  We were better off with a bowl of Thai jasmine rice (which we did order in addition to the fried rice harhar).

If anything, the ambiance and service was excellent.  It definitely was not the best Thai food we've had (check out our secret Thai resto and then there's Thai Silk too which I will write about soon), but it was a welcome break from all the fast food grub we've been eating for the past week.

It's going to be another busy day for us tomorrow.  We will be braving the streets of Quiapo, Divisoria, Dangwa again. *sigh*  No more fastfoods please. :-(