I am sure by now you have heard that Spiral has reopened. I have read a few of the media releases and some blogs about the launch and I have been meaning to try it ever since. Luckily, I got an assignment to write about it on When in Manila (read about the post I wrote here).
Photo courtesy of Sofitel Manila
Italian food is one of my weaknesses and although it may be true that everyone can whip out pasta dishes, not everyone can make them very well. That is why when I hear or read that an establishment is amazing at serving Italian dishes, I always want to give it a try. In Va Bene’s case, it took me probably more than two years and an earlier planned dinner that did not push thru because it closed, to satisfy my curiosity.
My friends and I were all set for a pho-night. I do not eat Vietnamese food that often but from my last experience, I liked those noodles very much. Thus, the disappointment when I drove by our target Vietnamese restaurant and read that it was indeed closed and transferring elsewhere. It was probably serendipitous since we ended up at Va Bene. At 8:30 p.m., it was full but thankfully, I only had to wait for a couple of minutes to get seated.
I noticed though that the place was cramped. There was even an instance when the glass of the person 2 tables from us got tumbled by the bag of another customer, accidentally of course. But that was really because the tables were so close to each other.
Anyway, even if I have not started ordering (because sometimes friends make you wait, ya know?! 
), I was served with crostini with tomato salsa in olive oil. It was a pretty good gesture not to mention quite a good appetizer to have.
I blogged about Spiral a couple of years ago and now that it is under renovation, I can’t help but to look forward to its re-opening come August this year. During the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila’s official website launch, I got a glimpse of the food being offered by the hotel lately.
If you are familiar with Duo, a steak house restaurant beside Conti’s, across Chelsea in Serendra, and you like it, then surely you will like Zuni. By the same group that runs one of my favourite restaurants, in comes Zuni. The establishment has been around for quite some time now. I remember having dinner there when it just opened but it was not until a few days ago that I was able to return after my first visit.
The first time I ate at Uncle Cheffy was back in December of last year, near the holiday break. Unfortunately for me, my stomach was not able to tolerate the establishment’s grilled oysters. This has caused me (and 2 of my friends) to barely consume food and leave my bed for 3 days. It was insane. I did not like the fact that I had to spend Christmas watching what I eat and not getting out of bed.
