COCONUTS HOT SPOT — Small plates aren’t new. Spanish tapas have been around for a while. Then there’s buvette from the French. The Greeks have mezze, and the Venetian have cichetti. And the Philippines? Well, let’s just say that in our culture, we want our tables festive and overflowing. Even when we’re just out for drinks, we tend to order entreés or upsize appetizers.
Enter 13 Ubay, an out-of-the-way restaurant in Quezon City’s Banawe area that has a tiny bar area separate from the main dining section. At the bar, they serve small plates on the grill, or food intended to be paired with your cocktails or beer, before you proceed to your full meal. Since we did not intend to drink during our visit, we ordered these small plates together with the appetizers and main course.
Tucked inside Ubay Street, the restaurant used to be a home to a printing press. To the young ones, it might look familiar because it regularly appeared on television as KusYna, the restaurant in the teleserye, Pangako Sa’yo.
It’s the brainchild of Chef Zaza Sarmiento and Chef Ryian Sandagon, and feels like the extention of the Sarmiento family home. Everything — from the interiors down to the dishes in the menu — can be traced back to the owners. The artworks on display are owned by the family, and the food they serve is inspired by their travels around the world.
Despite what it sounds like, the small plates actually weren’t miniscule. Here’s what we had for lunch: fried tripe, mushroom tempura, grilled liver and banana, chicken harissa, and shrimp and chorizo pasta.
We ate them all together, Filipino style. The small plates and the big plates mixed well with no problems. I suggest you apply the same strategy when eating with a group.
The mushroom tempura (PHP170) was a pretty big serving. Their recipe had a crisp breading. It was flavorful and addicting. It came with a white cucumber aioli sauce.
Their fried tripe (PHP150) was good! Tripe is twalya, the thing they put in kare-kare.
It was neither gummmy nor difficult to chew. It had a flavorful taste and a nice chewy snap. It would’ve been the perfect pulutan, but since we weren’t drinking, I happily devoured mine with rice instead.
Hands down, the banana and liver (additional PHP50 with the chicken harissa lunch set) was the surprise star of the meal. It provided a nice, refreshing break from all the familiar and strong flavors. It’s chicken liver and banana wrapped in a stip of bacon.
The chicken harissa lunch set (PHP280) was adjusted for Pinoy tastebuds. It wasn’t as spicy as I thought it would be. It was served with egg and a nice serving of fermented vegetables.
The shrimp and chorizo pasta (PHP210) was tasty. It has a tomato cream sauce mixed with a generous amount of chorizo. It’s simple and familiar but full of spice.
For dessert, we tried their beignet, the French version of donuts. They were light, crispy, deep-fried triangles similar to empanada shells but a lot sweeter. They were dusted with powdered sugar, but if you’ve got a sweet tooth this might not be enough for you. Good thing they’ve got several other items you can choose from to get your sugar fix.
Our regret? We didn’t get to try their other small plates like the chicken neck and the grilled cheese. We also would’ve wanted to try one of their interesting cocktails.
I guess this gives us a reason to go back.
13 Ubay St, Sta Mesa Heights, Quezon City; +63 926 8858043. Daily 11am-2pm, 5pm-11pm.
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