Mesa Restaurant SM Lanang
When going to SM Lanang Premier, we usually go to the fountain court because little girl really loves it there. We noticed that there is a newly opened quaint looking restaurant, right in the center of the fountain court on our last visit.
Mesa Restaurant Ambiance and Interiors
This restaurant intrigued us and knowing that it serves Filipino dishes makes us want to try it out. We went in front of the restaurant and looked at the menu displayed outside. As we looked at the menu and the price range of the food, we decided to dine there.
The interior of the restaurant is very cozy and true to its name, it has a native design yet a touch of modernity. It is evident in the embellishments of their lighting and the cone-shape design that is made of native material, yet the cushions are made of modern fabric.
The Food
It was mid-afternoon yet we are up for a heavy snack. There were only few people inside the restaurant and as we get inside, the waitress, knowing that we were only three, ushered us to a round table with a beautiful cone-shape native design enclosing it. We were literally wowed by it because it afforded us real privacy from other diners. There were around four of it and in front of us are 2 enclosed rooms fitted for business meetings and VIP affairs or gatherings.
Our order consist of grilled liempo, mesa way which I believe will surely appeal to little girl who is a picky eater. It is a classic grilled pork belly served with a dip. It is very tender and deliciously marinated.
Fish is my favorite. We decided to try their pan-fried lapu-lapu with latik (fried coconut meat) The fish is huge and delicious. The flavor of the latik gives contrast to the luscious lapu-lapu meat.
A warm soup would be very good so we ordered Soup Buntot – Double boiled oxtail and tripe soup, since it was a rainy afternoon. When ordering an oxtail, first consideration is it must be really tender or else it will be like eating a rubber. The soup was contained in a big soup jar when it arrived. The waitress then placed some soup and oxtail on the 3 soup bowls she brought. When dining at other restaurants and when ordering soup, we are used to be left serving ourselves with our respective soup bowls but this time, it was the waitress who served it for us. Excellent customer service, I must say. The taste of the soup is really good and it is very rich. The best thing is that the oxtail is very tender that the meat easily fall off from the bone.
Our drinks consist of sago at gulaman for little girl, fresh buko shake for me and mango juice for hubby. Overall, it was not an inexpensive treat but definitely it was a great dining experience with superb service.