We’re surprised to discover that in the already bustling fifth floor of Shangri-La Plaza’s East Wing, where dining options abound and are varied, there’s not a place like Kettle.
This newly opened restaurant serves casual comfort food, with popular items like fried chicken and sandwiches in the menu. Sure, there is the occasional grand thing (like the PHP2,500 steak and marrow) and the trendy little piece (like the PHP389 baked brie), but Kettle’s menu remains accessibly familiar for a solid weekday nightcap.
When its GM Bambi Meer said, “we serve comfort food, elevated and redefined,” she wasn’t being pretentious, which is, by the way, another thing that Kettle is not.
Take for instance its fried chicken (PHP519). “It’s marinated in buttermilk for 24 hours, and it’s crispy juicy,” says Bernice Tenchavez, who first told us of the restaurant. [Full disclosure: her family is part owner]. Already, it appears to be an early favorite — on the evening that we visited, the chicken rolled out the kitchen window quite a few times.
Note: Kettle’s serving size is on the heftier side of things, which makes sense, because when you come looking for your comfort food, you come wanting to drown in it. An order of fried chicken means we will be too full to try any of its sandwiches, and we wanted to try their sandwiches badly.
So we leave ordering the chicken for another visit and get a slew of other things instead: the baked brie, which is a surprisingly heavy number; the Kettle house salad (PHP339), which is quite a charmer, and our early favorite the Shrimp P’Boy sandwich (PHP419). Crunchy shrimp balls sit on a bed of vegetables that lie on a layer of spicy mustard, between well-toasted hotdog bun. It comes with a side of fries, that are a bit too chunky but whatever. Fries are always good.
The Checkered cake is a heavy hitter: red velvet and chocolate sponge cake assembled in checkered fashion held together by cream cheese icing.
We think it’ll take two visits for Kettle’s magic to really do a number on you. The first one, for you to get a sampling of their menu. The second one, for when you decide to you to drown in it.
OUR NOTES:
Cost: PHP 1,500++ for the salad, appetizer, sandwich, a soda, and a beer, plus service charge and VAT.
Cleanliness: Very clean! The eager staff has a close on tables to see if there are any empty plates to clear out.
Service: Quick and easy, and a tad too cheerful. Is it just us who don’t quite appreciate it when they ask for your name and call you on a first-name basis?
Sound level: Didn’t notice the music, couldn’t hear the gossip in the next table.
Kettle, 5/L East Wing, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong; +63 2 654 7077, www.facebook.com/kettleph. Daily 11:30am-9:30pm.
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