Tandoori (Persian Palate)

Fancy Some Indian Food?

so i’m the type of foodie who’s not afraid of trying some new stuff. i’ve always wanted to try indian food because i love curry. as much as it smells foul to some people, i like curry on my food. but contrary to what most people think, indian food is not only about curry. it’s how the spices play well with each other creating one gastronomic explosion in your mouth (i guess, i do watch too much TLC).

Not long ago, I discovered Tandoori at the Parkmall.  I tried this along with my Japanese students and i fell in love with the place. It’s part of the Persian Palate enterprise.

Step Inside Tandoori - IT Park

They have numerous other restaurants around Cebu, but most of their dishes are the same. There’s one too at Skyrise 1 at IT Park, but I was disappointed to see the lack of dishes that wanted to eat when I visited.

True enough, every experience at an Indian/Mediterranean restaurant is worth spreading the word for. It’s quite frightening at first and is not for the faint of heart. Spices are so rich and their most basic ingredients are lamb, beef, chicken, vegetables and spices (lots of them).

Musaka - Fave!

Everything seems perfect from appetizers to desserts. So far, I’ve always been a fan of their Musaka that resembles a pizza. Surprisingly, the best thing about is in not the meat at the center, but the eggplant that spread as base. Then there’s the hummus, which is actually bland when they put it in front of you, and all you have to do is season it. Their lamb dishes are also good, but again lamb has a certain smell to it that doesn’t suit everyone well. Their lamb curry is to die for.

On my latest trip to Tandoori, my friends and I tried their Musaka, Kebab Platter, Chicken and Spinach Curry,and Paella.

It was something new for my friends. Too bad the selections at Tandoori IT Park were different from Parkmall, but it was the same flavorful taste. The Musaka was a hit, and they never expected that the Nan was just as satisfying as rice. Needless to say everyone was filled up to the brim at the end of the meal. Everyone had a sip of my favorite mango lassi as well (although the small glass and the lack of ice almost upset me here).

Paella - was ok, but never was a fan

One thing I regretted about choosing the IT Park branch was the space was not that big and the menu was not even half of what Parkmall had to offer. Both branches also offer shisha pipes (?) for those who want to give it a try. Most of their dishes are good for groups because of their servings.

REVIEW:

Food: 8/10 I’m not an Indian food connoisseur, but somehow I feel that there is still something lacking with their menu and the taste. My friend Ali said this place wasn’t the best, but it would suffice. I was satisfied with every meal I had, in fact always very full. And I will always love their lassi and Musaka.

Value for Money: 8/10 it’s not very expensive, but it ain’t that cheap either. That’s why when someone wants to eat there, it would be best to bring along some friends to divide the cost. The servings are also mostly good for groups of 2-3, so it would be impossible to finish everything when you’re alone.

Kebab

Service: 9/10 there’s not much to expect in this kind of restaurant, after all it’s not fast food. You’d always have to wait for a few minutes for it to be served. Tandoori at Parkmall and Persian Palate at Mango Square scores a 10 for me when it comes to service. and IT Park an 8. People from Mango Square are very accommodating.

Cleanliness and Ambiance: 9/10 Like my rating above, I’d always be partial to Parkmall because they have better ambiance.

No, that's not goo. It's the must-try chicken spinach curry

The place occupies two-stories, very Indian-inspired decor and a veranda, but one time their airconditioning unit was no good and it was summer so you’d have to ask for the electric fan to be facing you to cool off. All other branches look like small diners, except for IT park, which looks more like a bar on the outside with many kids drinking.

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Everything goes well with some nan

La Marea – IT Park

La Marea - IT Park

I won’t lie, I’m addicted to sweets. I probably know my way around them through experience, and boy do I have experience. Well, I know I just posted my review on Phoebe’s Cupcakery, so I’m planning to make my first two posts for August about sweets.

When it comes to sweets, there is only one place that will ALWAYS pop out of my head almost at lightning speed, and that’s LA MAREA. it’s always been my go-to place when I feel down or when I need a sugar fix. I don’t care, everything is just good there. From their warm brownie cup down to their lavaza coffee, it just creates a deep need in me to fulfill each craving there. NO SUBSTITUTES.

La Marea's famous warm brownie cup

La Marea means the tide in Spanish and ain’t it just the perfect word for this pastry shop that’s created quite a stir. I frequent the branch at IT Park because it’s the most accessible one for me. One funny thing about this place is, once in a while I always find myself complaining about their customer service, but I still find myself always coming back. That’s probably because I’d sacrifice the ire with a good warm brownie cup.

This place is known for their warm brownie cup and as proof, when you get to visit, you’d see it on almost every customer’s table. But to tell you honestly, people should start appreciating the other pastries of the place because it’s worth the try. The warm brownie cup is available in different flavors like triple chocolate and white chocolate. One of my favorites is also the concorde cake, which is very affordable if you compare it with other pastry shops. They also have coffee jelly, cheesecakes, muffins, sansrival, and even budbod (Sticky rice).

Care for some?

Now they’re into this new craze that I can’t stop raving about >> MOCHI ICE CREAM.

Mochi Ice Cream at PhP 60!

And it’s all that I can think about ever since I got a taste of it, I want it so bad almost everyday. I find myself making more frequent trips just to eat mochi. It’s available in chocolate, mango, strawberry, green tea (personal favorite), yema (has a bit of an egg taste in the middle), and ube (haven’t tried). they just started displaying it at their stores, but it’s been around for a while. Mochi is like a ball, semi like butchi, but cold and instead sweet bean paste inside, it has ice cream in it. It’s made of the same ground sticky rice. What’s good about their version is, they make their own ice cream and you can tell! (i think they even make their own vanilla ice cream that goes with their brownie cups)

This one’s a must try and so are the other desserts on their display window. although i think it was their dutch chocolate cake that was too sweet. one more thing, their coffee is awesome! They don’t mix in your coffee with your milk, they serve it in small cups. that means, you’d have to mix it in with the milk just like how they do it europe! you don’t get to do that at a lot of coffee places in cebu

don't you want everything on display?

REVIEWS:

Food: 10/10 - well that’s nothing new since it’s almost obvious how people flock to their shop. and it’s full almost all the time. They have so many good desserts that they outnumbered the bad ones. giving them a 10 doesn’t mean they don’t have any bad dishes, it’s just they have too many good ones to be talking about the ones they should be improving. Although lately the brownie cups have had too much syrup in them.

The Concorde - more like what's left of it

Value For Money: 10/10 - this is if you compare their prices to many coffee shops and pastry shops, it’s quite cheaper than others. It’s also very rich in taste. They don’t attempt to lower the quality of their food to go with the price. Anybody could afford a mochi or a brownie cup if they’re craving for one.

Service: 6/10 – well it’s sad to note that the place still lacks the customer service I’ve asked for, but compared to situations before, I’d say they had improved. To make a long story short, just this May I emailed the management to take action on their waiters and staff because they haven’t been treating their people well. True enough, they have quite better service even on lean hours, so I’m a bit happy, but not totally because they still need to improve.

Cleanliness and Ambiance: 8/10 well, it’s not really a top spot in IT park, but I couldn’t imagine it elsewhere in the compound. But they lack space inside and outside, considering most of the people who go there come in groups. It gets sometimes cramped outside because other restaurants also have al fresco diners. The place is very clean though and the decorations match well with their theme. but im not too sure with the stuff on their cupboard. something tells me that they haven’t been given attention much these days.

US enjoying our sweet loot

OVER ALL: i’d still say, i love this place no matter what. it’s like my comfort zone. this is where i have built my relationships with my friends. it will always have a soft spot in my heart

For more information, like their page on Facebook: La Marea Pastry Shop

credits to Mae Gabuya and Kristine Anusuriya for the pictures