Sunday, April 6, 2014

Restaurant Discovery: Boqueria

When you get older, it's so hard to schedule a regular lunch date with your friends. There will always be someone who would be busy, someone who has to cancel last minute, and someone who's too in love to meet the friends. But when we do meet, we talk like there's no tomorrow with a few breaks to chew our food. I'm usually the resident PRO so I schedule the meet ups and this time, we decided to block March 8 and explore the Fashion Hall of SM Megamall.
Since we didn't decide on where to eat, I took the liberty to decide for us. I've been targeting Boqueria for quite some time but my mom wanted burger (thus a trip to 8 Cuts) during my first trip to the new hall and I saw a new Japanese place (Osaka Ohsho) the second time I went. So, third time's the charm I guess. ;)
The place wasn't packed when I arrived and managed to get a table right away. They seem to have a shortage with menus though as the server asked if he could borrow my menu for a while. He returned it in less than 5 minutes though. 
I browsed the menu long enough to make me look less of a loner and decided to get the following: Pulpo a la Gallega (PHP280), Salpicon de Mariscon (PHP198), Cocido de Madrilena (I forgot to take note of the price), and a glass of Apple Iced Tea.
Since I was already hungry, I started getting a few bites off the appetizers but I try to spread the food to make it less obvious. The baby octopus was delicious! It wasn't as chewy as squid and I just love munching it. One order is good for two but I can finish it myself. (It's the glutton me talking here.)

I was caught red-handed by my friends though when they arrived. My plate was... greasy.
The Salpicon de Mariscon is your usual kinilaw but I love that dish and I ended up not sharing... much. The shrimps were fresh and were slightly sweet despite the vinaigrette. I just hope that they included more bread.
The Cocido de Madrilena was love! It was tangy because of the tomato sauce and the meat was cooked well. Tender and juicy! Think afritada on a cute small clay pot. (Okay, perhaps I got carried away with the "cute" clay pot.)
B and K ordered pinchos or open faced sandwiches each that cost around PHP60 per slice. They got salmon and sardine. I got a bite of the salmon and it was yummy. Okay, I'm biased. I love salmon too much.
M on the other hand ordered the Paella Valenciana (PHP368) and Chocolate Churros (PHP308 for 5 pieces). 
The paella was great. There was a generous serving of seafood and chicken. The three girls finished it off while I focused on my orders. 
The churros on the other hand wasn't as good as I expected. It was too sweet. Drizzled with sugar, I hesitated to dip it in sugar. I think it'd be a sin to do so. Still, Dulcinea takes the top spot for churros. 

Overall, the lunch went well. We just had to ask the server to turn the air conditioner down as it was too chilly in our area. I'd go back for those baby octopus and Cocido de Madrilena. I'll skip the churros though.

Boqueria is located at 3rd Floor, SM Megamall Fashion Hall, Mandaluyong City.

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Comments or other recommendations? :)