MANGO TREE PHILIPPINES NEW 2019 MENU!

 

Our friends from Mango Tree Philippines invited us to their newly renovated branch in BGC to try their new additions to their menu! Despite the spiciness and the presence of crab in their dishes (which i normally dont eat), I found this to be rather superb!

 Make sure to try the grilled pork belly and Stir Fried Crab in Curry Sauce!

MANGO TREE PHILIPPINES
C3, Bonifacio High Street Central, 
7th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, 
Taguig City

A YULE-THAI'D FEAST WITH MANGO TREE HOLIDAY SELECTIONS

Happy Holidays from The KTG!

          With the Yuletide Celebration fast approaching, restaurants have been preparing holiday meals to help pep up their menu. One restaurant whose menu doesn't need any pepping up, is Mango Tree. However, even with its extensive roster of classic Thai dishes on its menu, I was surprised to see that they beefed it up anyway in honor of Christmas! 

        The KTG members along with some other blogger friends were invited to Mango Tree at Bonifacio High Street, to try  their 2017 Holiday Selections! 

A DELECTABLE STROLL DOWN SILK ROAD

                I won't lie to you.. Being a blogger certainly does have it's privileges. But to me, all the free food and hotel perks that I have had the pleasure of enjoying comes only second to being able to meet some inspiring people behind the business, that I am proud to call a friend. 

         One of those people is Chef Cecille Chang. 

         I first met Chef Cecille when a fellow blogger, Shen's Addiction (congrats btw Shen!), invited Rina and I to try Thai Bistro, which at that time, had just opened. My first impression of her, was that she isn't your sterotypical Chef that stays in the kitchen in her Chef Whites, with her hair up, as she stirs pots and pans. True to her nickname, "Chef in Stilettos", Chef Cecille cooks amazing food, and knows how to look fabulous while doing so. 

       More than anything, it was how incredibly down to Earth she is that endeared her to Rina and I. She sat down with us as we ate, and we swapped stories, just like we had known each other for ages. And we loved how she was unafraid to speak her mind with her firm, yet fair opinion. 

      But make no mistake about it- Chef Cecille knows her food, especially when it comes to the complex art of Thai food. She proved that with her work at Thai at Silk, and reaffirmed that with Thai Bistro. It is one thing to know how to cook Thai food.. But it's another to take it to the next level. Which is what Chef Cecille does with every dish she makes. 

  

      It is in her latest "Baby", Silk Road, that she puts a definitive stamp on being the leading name in Thai Cuisine in the country today. Easily one of my best dining experience in 2013. 

        

COCA RESTAURANT NOW IN THE PHILIPPINES! - RINAZ

With Mr. Trevor McKenzie, Managing Director of COCA Group of Restaurants

           I’m really fascinated with restaurants that serve family dishes that have been passed along for generations, but with their own special twist! And this is COCA restaurant’s legacy. Mr. Pitaya Phanphensophon, the CEO of COCA international Co. Ltd. Told us a simple yet powerful statement that night. “I would not serve you anything that I would not serve my children”. And this is precisely how it should be.

            Just a little history:  This restaurant started back in 1957 when Mr. Pitaya’s parents Mr. Srichai Phanphensophon with his wife Mrs. Patama opened a 20-seater restaurant that immediately became a huge hit, until they moved to a different location (Soi Tantawan) and eventually expanded to a 150-seater restaurant.  From there, everything was history! Suki style cooking was introduced. And this, my friends, was the birth of COCA Restaurant. (COCA derived from “Kekou” which means appetizing. 

       And I gotta tell you, “appetizing” is an understatement! 

A NEW THAI EXPERIENCE AT THAI BISTRO

            Ever since I visited Robinsons Magnolia during the opening of Yabu's branch there, I've had a fascination with the mall. Around half the stores aren't open yet, so the place isn't too congested, and even parking is very accessible (not to mention at the moment, free!). Of course, once the mall begins to fill up with more and more stores, things will change, which is why i'm savoring every moment of it while I can. 

        Rina wanted to take Baby Rain out for the day, so I thought a trip to Robinsons Magnolia would be a nice change of scenery for her, because we usually take her to Bonifacio High Street (Of course it probably wouldn't make a difference to her). There's a nice garden area that Rina thought Baby Rain would enjoy, as she's slowly learning how to walk. 

       Right in front of that garden area, we spotted a restaurant that I hadn't noticed before, called "Thai Bistro". After a few minutes of walking around the grass with baby Rain, Rina and I decided to give this Thai Bistro a try. 

WHEN IN CEBU: KRUA THAI AUTHENTIC THAI CUISINE

        My family means everything to me, so you can imagine how my trip to Cebu last May was perhaps one of the most amazing vacations I've ever had in my life. We haven't gone on a vacation all together in years, and this was our first trip for Rina and I as parents. 

     Even before we left for Cebu, I already planned the restaurants that I wanted to check out. So during the evening, I asked my dad's permission to leave Portofino Resort, where we were staying, and go out for dinner. 

     My dad was quick to reply, "No need, I'm taking you all out for dinner." I told him that was great, and I had a whole list of places that I wanted to suggest, but all he could say, "Sorry, your mom already chose where we're going to eat.. Krua Thai".

     I've argued with my mother many times, and I've come to accept that there was no winning an arguement with her when she has her heart set on something. So I decided that I would use that list for another day, and prepared for our family dinner at Krua Thai. 

SOMS ENCHANTED EVENING

If you want "Authentic Thai Foods", go to Soms. Remember, not "Food". "Foods".

       My trip to The Mango Tree Bistro made me want to revisit an old favorite of Rina and I. Perhaps the only place we think of when we crave for Thai food, mainly because it's really cheap and, truth be told, pretty darn kick ass. While The Mango Tree Bistro gives you a sophisticated and authentic Thai dining experience at an upscale rate, Som's cuts through all those "unnecessary" luxuries, and gives you no frills, delicious Thai food. 

      My first few Som's experiences were rather interesting. Their dining area was actually the side of the road, across the front of the restaurant. As it was very possible that a waitress could get run over by a passing car while crossing the street to serve her customers Pad Thai.

       Som's didn't have much in terms of ambiance, but what they did have, was excellent Thai food, at a very good price. I had heard about Som's "modernization, and I for one was elated at the thought of finally being able to enjoy Som's food with the benefit of air conditioning, or watching my waitress turn into roadkill.  

     One night, Rina and her BFF Lia made plans to have dinner. Lia had promised Rina and I that once she started at her new job, she would treat us to dinner at Som's, since we took her to lunch at Bob's one time. 

     Since she had been at her job for a few weeks now, and I was running low on things to post, I thought it was high time for the lovely Lia to pay up!

WE'LL EAT BENEATH THE MANGO TREE BISTRO

The title is spin on a line from a Jack Johnson song, in case it didn't make sense to you.

       Although we don't cook, Rina and I are big Gordon Ramsey fans. His confidence (or arrogance, depending how you look at it) when it comes to food preparation is really impressive. At first, I refused to watch Hells Kitchen because I was thinking I didn't want to see some British jackass screaming at the poor contestants, so I started with The UK version of Kitchen Nightmares that was being show on ETC (They don't anymore, bummer), where he was much more calmer. After every episode, I'd be more and more impressed with the man. My brother Ryan gave me a copy of few episodes of Kitchen Nightmares US, that I made Rina watch, and almost instantly she was hooked (She can't resist a show with a "makeover" portion). After that, anything Gordon Ramsey was on, we were watching it. 

     All of a sudden, Anyone who can call someone a "Donkey" with such conviction is OK in my book.

  
    My brother, also a Gordon Ramsay fan, and the person you go to when you want an episode of anything that was shown on television,  gave us a copy of the first few episodes of the TV Show "Ramsay's Best Restaurant". It was a different type of a contest this time, that I found very interesting. Instead of the contest being a battle between amateur and aspiring chefs, this was now an all out war between established restaurants in the UK that wanted the title of "Ramsay's Best Restaurant".

    One of the places that was in contention for the title, was a huge Thai restaurant, "Mango Tree" in London. The Mango Tree was a huge snazzy place that ran like a well oiled machine, although they did bump into some problems with their kitchen and service, particularly with their Signature Dish, the Grilled Chicken (I'm guessing that wasn't the Thai Name for it). I don't want to give out any spoilers, but I highly recommend you to check out the series if you get a chance. Regardless of the outcome though, the Mango Tree still go glowing reviews from Ramsay.

   After watching episode after episode of such great places getting glowing reviews from the great Chef himself, you can imagine how ecstatic I was to find out that one of those restaurants opened here in Manila, in the form of "Mango Tree Bistro".