Filipino Cuisine for Lunch 😋

Hello, Foodies! 🥄

Mesa is a Filipino restaurant that you can find in popular malls. The aesthetic of the restaurant resonates with the island’s vibe-- the wooden walls and light fixtures. 🤩 I recommend this restaurant if you visit the Philippines. For sure you will experience the authentic culinary and vibe. 🙌🏻

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Right off the bat, the menu looks good! 😋 Visually, it is appealing. It has a list of various Filipino cuisines presented in an appetizing way. I noticed too that it has a Korean translation on each dish, too. Perhaps, more Koreans love to dine here. 🙌🏻

They put up signs for the best sellers and food with allergens content. That is thoughtful of them.

The kind staff took our order and waited 15 minutes before serving the first dish.

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These were the dishes that we ordered

Sizzling sisig

This dish is made of pig’s ears and face. It is seasoned with calamansi (lime), pepper, chopped onions and red pepper. The pork is cooked on a sizzling plate and topped with egg.

The plate was still smoking hot when it was served. The portion is good for 3-4 pax. I can say that it has more meat than the onion, which is a big plus for Mesa. I like the crispiness and chewiness of the pork.Ahhh~ so good when eaten with tinapa rice! 5/5!

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Tinapa rice

Speaking of Tinapa rice, I thought it was just a one-person potion. It turned out to be at least 4 of me portion, haha. 😆 It has toppings of yellow tomato, salted egg, fried garlic, and green onions. It was kind of dry for me and not warm enough. It could have been fried for an additional three minutes. 3.8/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Garlic Chicken

Not a Filipino dish but it was on the menu, just throwing a mix of western food. Small legs in six pieces for $8.43…. This is way expensive for this portion. The chicken was crispy but dead-dry inside.😫 It was tough and a bit chewy. The garlic sauce carried the chicken to at least make it tasty. 😮‍💨 I will rate the sauce perfect 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, but the chicken itself… never mind.

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Fried Smoked Milkfish

A humongous portion of the fish barely fit on the plate. This is just a quarter of the live fish, so imagine how big it was. It was heaven in every bite. 😋 The exterior was perfectly crispy fried. The meat is juicy and well-seasoned. I like to deep the fish in a sweet soy sauce and pair it with rice. It was a balance of saltiness and sweetness. 6/5. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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2-tone Calamares (Squid)

Served with a creamy sauce with a kick of tanginess. The crispy calamari came with two coatings, the regular one and the inked one. I honestly cannot distinguish the difference in taste. 😅 Perhaps I ate some dishes before hand and then messed up my tastebuds. It looked appetizing and complemented the colors. I liked the creativity thus elevating the friend calamaris. I would give this 4.8/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Baby Ink Squid Adobo

I am not sure why it has an “adobo” in the name. Looking at it was like the food of the underworld, haha. 😅 Kidding aside, again, Mesa is creative for this one. The meat was tender and flavorful. Now I can say that I can taste the ink here, unlike in the fried calamari. It has the right balance of sweetness and saltiness. I wanted to eat more rice with it. I was cautious not to drip the ink on my shirt, haha. 4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Watermelon shake

I am a sucker for watermelon shakes. It just gives me that sweet refreshment. The shake was velvety and well-blended. Just a regular one but they made it right, haha. Straight 5. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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This is my initial plate. I am not a big eater and so, I keep a little of everything in it. I added more of the sisig and squid adobo. It was a satisfying dinner! 😁

Check out Mesa here.

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That is it for this food blog. I will see you at the next one!
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