beyond toxicity

Guess what type of food we had for dinner on a lazy Monday-holiday…

After a brief phone conversation in the morning and few text messages until afternoon, I, my wife Tina and our son Gabby were invited by our good friend of 16 years and counting, Rob to a dinner in one of the restaurants at the Atrium of SM Megamall.  He’ll depart again to middle of nowhere by the end of the week after his official days off so he had to see us and feed us; LOL, before he bids temporary good bye for another 3 months of medical work that gives him his bucks.

Because our host doesn’t eat meat and practices Pescetarianism by choice, seafood and no-meat diet should be present on the menu every time we’re eating with him. WE ARE NOT COMPLAINING!  We love seafood!!! But that night it was only him who had such craving, or was he?  I know it’s unusual, but believe it or not, I wan’t craving for anything.  I just went with the flow and trusted Rob’s preference.

Enough with the guessing game. I know I’m no good at that

OK, we had our first chow at THE KEBAB FACTORY.   It’s our first time there but Mediterranean food is never new to our palates.  I’m a fan of beef or chicken shawarma.  There was an episode in the life of Gelo & Tina when we became so addicted to shawarma that we had it for almost a week as late afternoon snacks  to the point that we got so umay or found it  ‘sickening’.   But after few weeks, we craved for it again, lol and had tasted so many varieties from food stalls on streets and groceries to high-end hotel restos like CIRCLES EVENTS CAFE at MAKATI SHANGRI LA  where the chefs also serve such dishes to bakeshops like BreadTalk where they also sell Naan. 

Going back to The Kebab Factory, it was almost empty of customers when we got there that late Monday afternoon but as our son’s ‘magnetic powers’ with diners worked again; as everywhere we eat he attracts more clients.  With less than half hour, TKF was filled with hungry stomachs craving for something different.

Here’s a peek of  what we had…

PAPADUM  MASALA,  PhP 65 +.  Fried lentil wafers garnished with onions, tomatoes and coriander.

I ordered this appetizer. It’s marked as one of the bestsellers of TKF on their menu and the logic got into me after trying it.  The wafers were thin but crispy and were perfectly served with dips of  yogurt and hot sauce.

I wanted to compare  Naan of Breadtalk and Circles with that of TKF so I aslo ordered its kind…

GARLIC BUTTER NAAN, PhP 65 +   Traditional leavened Tandoor bread with garlic…  Not bad either.

HYDERABAD  CHICKEN  BIRYANI, PhP 200 +  The famous city known for its authentic chicken simmered in rice with the rich array of spices.   Tina and I shared this dish and again, we can tell that this was satisfying.

I only remembered that I’ve watched an episode on Asian Food Network long ago, on how to prepare this Hyderabad Biryani when we got home.  And now that I’ve tasted the dish, I can tell that it’s truly flavorful and perhaps next to paella which tops my list of rice dishes,  I think given few more exposures, I can learn to love this too.

A visit to The Kebab Factory isn’t complete without trying one of their kebabs on skewers…

BEEF  KEBAB, regular PhP 225+ / also available at 1 skewer for PhP 115 +  Mouth watering minced beef kebabs cooked in a Tandoor oven.   It was Tina who chose this and Beef Kebab doesn’t disappoint.

As for our pescetarian friend, here’s what he ordered that he genererously shared with us as well…

SAFFRON  RICE, PhP 120+.  Long grain rice cooked with butter with delicious aroma of saffron.  

VEGGIE MEAT KEBAB, PhP 250.  This plate got mixtures of flavors. There was a little bit of sourness we tasted which I guess, was part of its character.

PRAWN TANDOORI, PhP 480+.  The plump shrimps had that lingual stimuli from those unfamiliar flavors that were fused in one dish. It’s neither spicy nor bland.  The taste was good but far from standard and new to my tongue.

Except for the Persian lamps and nicely woven comfy chairs which are far from being eye-sores, the ambiance at The Kebab Factory is typical and casual.  Entire staff was discreetly attentive, although constant smiles would help soar their service to the highest heavens. Food was served after  10 to 15 minutes after order which was good and the taste of what’s in the menu isn’t bad either.  

Considering that our friend, Rob has been eating similar food at his work site, nevertheless, our tongues are still bias with our staples and with the few Italian, Continental and of course, Oriental.  Although we found the food at The Kebab Factory as uniquely tasteful and a bit new to our senses, to nicely put it- I think it would probably take more gastronomic adventures partial to Mediterranean food before it tops our list.

Do you like Persian food?

The Kebab Factory, 2/F SM Megamall Atrium, Julia Vargas Avenue, Mandaluyong City.