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| - Location: Tucked right on the edge of Queen/Bathurst, the restaurant carries a modern decor that unfortunately did not reflect much of the Filipino "soul" that I was hoping to see and expected out of a place that's labelled itself as a Filipino kitchen. Because of it's obscure and dim signage, I almost walked past the establishment.
A party of two, we proceeded to order San Miguel beers (not that we had a variety of drink options). With the entrees priced between $20-$27, it was a no-brainer to pick the $35 tasting menu.
For our Pulutan (appy), had the Mushroom Pancit Canton and Halo Halo Sisig. The Canton/Bihon (bean thread vermicelli) noodles were delicate and tasty and was a perfect start to a promising meal ahead. A disappointment to me however, was the Sisig. This is my all-time fave Filipino dish that I have to have whenever I venture out to the Philippines - so I'm a tougher critic on this one. Lamesa's version was disappointingly lack-luster as it under-delivered in all the key elements of what a Sisig should be: (1) meat - "safe" ingredients (as opposed to the adventurous pig ears, pork face and liver); (2) presentation/serving suggestion - it came warm (as opposed to sizzling given that it came in a mini cast iron skillet); (3) texture - the meat was just soft (it should be cooked crispy-soft); (4) spices - under-spiced (no chopped chillies, no onions, and just missing a flavor kick). Improvements to any of these elements will definitely be steps closer to getting this one right.
For our Ulam (entree), we had the Short Rib Nilaga and Pork Belly Adobo. While the two dishes were so good and tasty on its own, I was confused on why the dishes were named as such. While I did not expect a full-on Nilaga or Adobo dish, I was expecting a somewhat modern take to the two classic dishes; hints on the classic and not an entire reinvention/bastardization of the classic dishes.
Nilaga is to be cooked in a clear ginger beef broth with traditional vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, and potatoes - sort of like the Canadian-classic, corned beef hash). Instead, Lamesa's version reminded me more of a soy sauce braised beef dish that you can get at any other restaurant, like Lee's (but Lee's is still tastier!). The bone marrow blended in the mashed potato was barely noticeable.
The Adobo was pretty good (although a little on the salty side) because it was crunchy, crumbly, and melted in your mouth - all thanks to the flash-fried technique used. This dish should have been more aptly called Lechon Kawali. Add a little more tartness to the "gastrique" and they would have nailed this more as this other Filipino dish than as an Adobo dish.
Finally, for desserts we had the Maple Leche Flan and Saging Cheesecake. Both desserts were pretty good and were quite filling. While my friend preferred the Leche Flan, I took a liking to the Saging Cheesecake. I thought the use of Polvoron (a traditional Filipino sweet made of toasted flour, milk, sugar, and butter) instead of graham crumbs was ingenious! The cheesecake mixture was delicious and creamy and I definitely recommend this dessert!
PS. The tasting menu also came with 2 amuse bouche / palate cleansers but I didn't care much for them. They came in Chinese spoons so it wasn't really much & undistinctly Filipino-influenced to be even mentioned in here.
Overall, this is a great and promising attempt to what I hope will be a start to the restaurant's evolution over time. The price range is quite steep for the area/neighborhood and there are still lots of room for improvement. I hope they'd inject some Filipino "soul" in their decor, put more adventurous dishes on the menu, implement a more reasonable price range (i.e. under $20 entrees, $30 tasting menu), and increase their drink selection (wine and beer) and they'd be sure to increase their intake on business!
At this current rate I can say I've tried the place, however I wouldn't be back any time soon because of it's steep price. I love to eat out and will pay the price (as all downtown-dwellers do) but unfortunately this place has not (yet) quite made my regular "go-to" spots in the city.
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