XO is XOXOXO

I was at a restaurant called XO46 Bistro Filipino (XO for "Extra Ordinary" and "46" for the year of our beloved Philippines' independence).

For starters, I wanted to relax with an ice cold drink. The ice cold Tanglad at Salabat (lemongrass and ginger) refresher sounded well, refreshing. Lo and behold! You can't find a better and more refreshing drink than that one! Aah..

Refreshed, I started with the Sopas de Mariscos with a flaked pastry blanket. It reminded me of a French Bouillabaise I had in Saint-Tropez. It had a nice rich broth.

Next I had the Kare-Kareng Crispy Tadyang (beef ribs). The Tadyang was boiled tender then deep-fried. The meat and sauce were served separately so that the meat stayed crispy. This was good too but I feel that if a different cut of meat was used, like Oxtail or Beef Shank, then the dish would be even better.

The Kare Kare, sauce was rich and good because it was made from freshly ground peanuts not just peanut butter. A lot of love went into making that sauce for sure. It was accompanied by a mouthwatering bagoong (fermented fish or shrimps) on the side.

Pollo A la Plancha was simply prepared but yummy! These were crispy morsels of chicken with loads of toasted garlic and olive oil. Now tell me, who doesn't love garlic?

The photo below was actually an ambush photo, I stopped a waiter on his way to a neighboring table and took a sneak photo of their Lechon Kawali. Pretty much after that, I was hungry enough and forgot to take more pictures, sorry. I remember there was the Bangus Salpicao which I highly recommend though.

Ó, kain na!