Written by Kazumi Shiroma

ORCOMIDA GOES TO TAFT EDITION – PART I

Last week, Marri had featured MidTown diner. A few OrComida articles back, we had featured different places to eat within Robinsons Manila. Now, let’s take a short jeepney ride to an area that’s becoming a hodgepodge of different restaurants and cafes. I, along with two of my food loving friends (Mai and Syd), decided to try two food places while attempting to spend no more than PHP 150.

ABABU

Found on the corner of Estrada and Leon Guinto, Ababu’s the restaurant with the sign that has a yellow smiley with a goatee. Their menu offers various different Persian items, ranging from beef kebabs, keema, and shawarma to grilled chicken options. They also have bread, dips (hummus, motabal), grilled vegetables and other more exotic grilled meats.

What your three friendly OrCom Titas decided to order was their P119 value meals. You can choose from six options: Beef Kebab Rice Meal, Beef Shawarma Rice Meal, Keema Rice Meal, Chicken Kebab Rice Meal, Ababu’s version of Shepherd’s pie, or Chicken Kebab salad.

Their rice meals are served with chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, sweetcorn and a fried egg on top of a plate of rice with butter. Their value meals are also served with bottomless iced tea (add PHP 20 if you want to upgrade to bottomless soft drinks). The meats are quite tasty on their own but if you prefer, you’re free to add yogurt sauce and/or chili sauce to your dishes. Syd and Mai both loved the yogurt garlic sauce, while I always love my meats with a healthy serving of their house blend chili sauce. [Word of warning: Their sauces are not as thick as they appear to be in the bottle. So hold down the cap while shaking because you might end up squirting garlic sauce on the glass window. 😉 ]

Syd and I had the beef kebab meal while Mai ordered the beef shawarma rice meal. While the meals are not #IGfoodpost friendly and the black plastic plates and cups may seem like a downer, as you can see in the photo above, let me assure you that they make up for it with flavor.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

I’ve eaten here a handful times and Syd has eaten here once before we brought Mai for this ORCOMIDA feature. Out of the six value meal options, I’ve tried the first four. I highly recommend going for the beef kebab or the shawarma rice. These are the safest option for those who don’t like spicy food and they are consistently satisfying. They also have this in ala carte options, where you’ll have to order the bread and dips separately (this is pricier) or in a wrap version. I’ve tried all three options, and can say that the value meal is still the most filling and pocket friendly option.

On the other hand, if you’re fine with spicy food I recommend that you try their keema. (Note: For those who may not know what keema is, it’s a dish made of sautéed ground beef with onions, tomatoes and chili. Think of it as a spicier bolognese.)

It’s a simple, no frills kind of place with good food. As Syd puts it: “Ababu is the perfect place to have good food while hanging out with friends.”

We were pretty full by the time we left Ababu, but we still had some room for dessert, so we decided to buy popsicles from Picole.

PICOLE

This is a stall found in Archer’s Nook (the building across DLSU with Yellow Cab and Army Navy) offering different kinds of healthy popsicles—juice-based (JUICY POPS), cream-based (MILKY POPS), chocolate dipped popsicles (DIP POPS), and yogurt based popsicles (YOGU POPS). Syd and I opted for juicy pops (PHP 35) and Mai chose a milky pop (PHP 40).

Mai got the Green Tea Milky Pop which she loved. She seemed quite content with her choice because she finished her popsicle sans any comment. 😉

Sydney had the chili tamarind that she described as “weird” at first. She said that: “Picole’s chili tamarind popsicle was an interesting mix of sour tamarind with just enough spice for that kick at the back of your throat.” I took a bite of it and it reminded me of those sampaloc candies you can find at 7-Eleven. I could hardly taste the spice at first, but Syd was right in describing that the spice kicks in at the back of the throat.

I had the lemon flavored juicy pop which was a refreshing treat after that spicy-garlicky beef kebab meal we had. The great thing about the juicy pops is that you get the fruit flavor all throughout. It doesn’t lose its fruity flavor, which is usually the case with juice-based popsicles.

While we were all full and sleepy by the time we finished, did we manage to meet our goal? We didn’t. Mine and Syd’s total expenses amounted to PHP154 while Mai’s amounted to PHP159. We had exceeded the PHP 150 goal by four pesos. (Mai had exceeded by 9 pesos). However, it’s not too bad considering how full and satisfied we were.

Til the next OrComida!