My Silly, Happy, Wonderful World: Food Trip Weekends: Thai Dara and Mamou Too

Friday Dinner:

I was in the mood for some hot soup after a tiring afternoon of doctor check-ups for both Jacob and I. I also didn't want to venture far from home since traffic was horrendous. I love the Christmas season but I detest the heavy traffic that inevitably goes with the Christmas rush. So off we went to get Thai food to soothe my tummy with hot and spicy soup and deliciously tangy beef salad.

Thai Dara is quite small but looks spacious and clean with white walls and corrugated metal accents. It is a neighborhood restaurant, a place where you drop by when you feel like eating hot food on rainy night.

Tom Yum soup- a good balance of spicy, sour and salty.

Beef salad with toasted rice powder- This is a pretty unusual dish for us to order. It is a light summery dish with the bonus of protein. Mint leaves and tomatoes add a fresh crunch to every bite.

Green curry- So so. Not gonna order this again.

Bagoong rice- The fish sauce with chili put this dish from ordinary to really good. It would benefit from a better variety of rice.

Pad Thai- and one more carb-y dish to make my tummy happy. A bit too sweet but the noodles are chewy and not too oily.

Mangoes with coconut rice- Oops..forgot we had another rice dish hehe

THAI DARA
Gilmore Avenue Corner Granada Street
San Juan, Metro Manila
+639183654250

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Sunday Lunch:

We had lunch at Mamou too! for my dad's birthday. We went to the Power Plant branch since the weather is a bit drizzly.We also had lunch at Mamou for his birthday last year but at the Serendra branch. My dad basically eats anything you prepare or order for him, thus his nickname as the vacuum cleaner. Saan pa ba ako magmamana? Although my vacuum cleaner-ness is 10x of his. hehehe One of the dishes he really enjoy is a piece of well prepared steak.

Mamou serves their steak in big, family style portions. It is thick, juicy and dripping with unctuous oil. My mom, who doesn't eat beef, cringe at the sight of us dousing our rice and dipping our bread into the flavorful drippings. I say bring on the fat!

Truffle cream pasta- Could use more truffle oil.

Jacob enjoying pieces of pasta. I think I have a little foodie in the making.

28 Days Dry-Aged Porterhouse (1 kg.)- Before anyone reacts, four of us shared this monster. The steak takes a little time to get to the table because they cook it on a per order basis. It arrives on the table sizzling hot. The server places one end of the steak dish on a coaster so the dish slants and collects the yummy oil on the other side. I must say that we should have ordered the rib-eye instead of the porterhouse only because the rib-eye is more tender. The porterhouse has a sinewy part that connects itself to the massive bone. But the flavor is still outstanding. Sarap to the bones!

We had a side of steak rice and baked potatoes.

The Mamou staff is also outstanding. They provide great service and ask for feedback about your meal ( we got asked three times though hehe). Overall, a great place to splurge on great food.

We had to take family pictures with the Power Plant Christmas display.