Mandarin Deli(cious)

The word “delicatessen” is of German descent that means “fine food”. A deli usually connotes a store that sells fine food. Whenever Person A and I want a quiet place to enjoy a light meal and have gourmet coffee, we head to one of the hotel coffee shops in Makati. (Of course we understand that this comes at a price so we don’t do it often.) Almost, always we head to Mandarin Deli, Mandarin Oriental’s bread/dessert/coffee shop. 

Last week, Person A was at Paseo Uno so I and one of our good friends, Dennis, decided to follow him and have dinner at Mandarin Deli. I just came from a 5-km run/walk/jog so I had an appetite to boot.

The place looks like your typical neighborhood deli, it’s small, it’s warm and has a friendly staff.  You can order freshly-baked breads, salads, soups, sandwiches, main courses, cakes and chocolates.

Salmon Bagel (PhP 610).

Smoked salmon, cucumber, herb crème cheese, sour crème and potato chips. 

Look, I consumed a whole sandwich!(I usually eat half of a sandwich and consume the other half on my next meal, I am on a diet). Everything in this sandwich tastes so fresh. The vegetable is crunchy, salmon serving is generous and the crème cheese compliments the seafood. Even the potato chips are perfect.

I’ll try this with a multigrain bagel next time.

Create your own sandwich (PhP 594 and with 20% discount past 8pm?)

This is Dennis’s sandwich.

There are at least 10 choices of fillings from tuna to liver, pork, duck, egg, salmon, vegetables, etc. For the bread, there’s white, brown, wheat, multigrain and even pan de sal. You can also choose your spread and vegetables.

Each sandwich comes with potato salad on the side.

Iced Cappucino and Hot Latte (~PhP 250/cup)

These are definitely one of the better ones. 

Mine is iced cappuccino paired with the salmon bagel while Person A had the latte. 

The cups are on the bitter side but not too bitter. The sweetener is syrup and the biscotti is easy to bite and chew.

Dennis ordered mango sans rival for dessert. It’s excellent.

Truffles (~PhP 90/pc)

Mandarin makes good dessert and chocolates. You can rarely go wrong with their truffles and it’s as good as those from established international chocolatier.

The round one has Jasmine-flavored filling hence it’s aptly named Jasmine. It’s my favorite because the Jasmine tempers the bitter chocolate taste. The rod-shaped one is called Lotus. It has chocolate ganache.

I love the fact that the truffles are served on doily. And those are gold dusts. 

In Summary:

1. Similar to the hotel’s other restaurants, Mandarin Deli serves great food may it be sandwiches, desserts, breads, chocolates or coffee.

2. The place has more informal feel compared with Paseo Uno or Tin Hau but it’s still warm and inviting. You can grab a sandwich for yourself while reading a book, have coffee with your friends or date and even take your parents for a slice of dessert. The place may not be able to accommodate a large group of 10 or more since the area is small.

3. The meal comes at a price but with the good food and excellent service, it’s worth it.

Mandarin Deli

Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Makati Ave, Makati
63.2.857.4782

Paseo Uno Buffet and That Thing Called Valentine's Day

I had one of the best Valentine's Day celebration this year. We invited a friend to celebrate it with us but he declined the last minute. Nonetheless, it was the funny and anything-under-the-sun conversation over a great meal that sealed the deal.

And who can ever forget a meal at Paseo Uno?

There are 2 buffet offering in Manila that I don't mind paying despite of its price. It's Sofitel's Spiral buffet and Mandarin Oriental's Paseo Uno buffet.

Paseo Uno's value for money meter goes a couple of notch higher when there's a special occasion such as Christmas, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day. Case in point, this is my dinner plate last night.

Main Course



Steak, lobster, crayfish, Norwegian salmon and sea bass. My stomach was definitely in Rolls Royce heaven. Each item tastes really good and deserves a second serving.

There are also other cuisines in the buffet station. The Filipino food station  has lechon. The Japanese section has tempura and the Chinese section has flavorful dumplings among all other dishes. Nahiya lang akong magpicture.

The Western dishes section has lamb, duck and chicken on top of what I got on my dinner plate. Suffice to say, I did not get to try them all because I was already full with what I got and I started off with a good appetizer.

Appetizer

Paseo Uno has a whole stretch of appetizers. There were dinner rolls, salads, and cheese (soft and hard ones).  Once seated, the waiters served focaccia and salted butter.

What's special last night was this foie gras appetizer. The few times I was there, this was only served during special occasions. It's bread and foie gras topped with blue cheese. Foie gras and blue cheese compliment each other.



And yes, if you drop by the carving station, right beside the steak and grill, there is a small sign that says duck foie gras. I had a couple of slices (however you call the serving). Mandarin does it well and it literally melts in your mouth. I tried the liver with my steak and I say, it's a perfect combination. A slice of foie gras costs somewhere between PhP 500 to PhP 900 so if you get 3-5 servings, you could get your money's worth.




Dessert

I always leave room for dessert. The restaurant has an unusually happy dessert table. There were fruits, cakes, ice cream, halo-halo, macaroons, chocolate fondue, jellys, pavlova and all other sweet things I can't name.



Our must try are chocolate mousse, strawberries and cream on meringue and this black sesame ice cream. It tastes like sesame seeds with the texture of ice cream. Hindi siya nakakaumay.



Dinner comes with 3 red roses and chocolates for the ladies.

In summary


1. The buffet price tag is PhP 2500 (all in) per person but with the offering that they have: steak, foie gras, tempura, sushi station, sea bass, salmon, lechon, you can definitely get your money's worth. I did, even if I don't eat a lot. Mind you, each dish tastes as good as when it is served in a fine dining restaurant. On regular days, it costs around PhP 1800 and foie gras isn't served.

2.  The restaurant has great service. The waiters are middle-aged to old people dressed in chinese peasant attire and they're very accommodating. Reservations are confirmed, they seat you at your preferred table and whatever you need, they give it to you promptly.

3. Tea (green and black) comes for free if you request it.

Paseo Uno
Mandarin Oriental
Makati Ave, Makati
632.857.4782

P.S. I apologize for over sharing but I can't help it:  my date was dashing last night and the flowers are also lovely.