Grub Review: Mamou & Fely J

The dining experience in Manila is like a buffet line up. It has restaurants that offer a plethora of exciting edibles that are waiting to be shared and enjoyed. For our really late post Christmas dinner and despedida for our Zurich-bound friend last Friday night, my friends decided to have dinner in Mamou, a cozy restaurant tucked away in Serendra that serves "home kitchen" food, which as I was told, food that is normally served in the home of the owner named Mamou. She is the sister-in-law (thanks Anonymous person!) of Gaita Fores so you know you're tummy and tastebuds will be in good hands. The interiors are simple - "period" chairs in red faux leather and dark wood, black and white tiled floor, and bright frosted cabinets in the open kitchen at the far back. It reminded me of a cafe I had dinner in at Montmarte minus the receipts scattered on the floor. The menu is equally as simple. I had the roast chicken and pork that came with black beans, cinnamon banana, onions, with white rice, although you can also have red rice. My friends had the Linguini Vongole, Truffle Oil Vegetable Mushroom Dip with Whole Wheat Melba chips, Crispy Roast Duck with Red Chorizo Rice, Batac Bolognese, a Grilled Chicken Sandwich, and Fish & Chips. Service was exquisite with the owners checking up on us every now and then. After eating, you might have the sudden urge to hug them and thank them for a wonderful dinner. Forking out P500 is a pretty safe price to sample the Mamou experience. Getting a table is quite difficult as it is always full so it's best to book in advance. Mamou is located at Unit 1C-15 G/F Serendra, Fort Bonifacio Global City Mamou Reservations: +632 856 3569 For lunch today, my folks, brother, and I ate in Fely J, a new restaurant in the ultra chic Greenbelt 5. Situated on the second floor across Myth and Religioso, Fely J is a sister restaurant of Abe in Serendra so has pretty much the same type of food. Interior is nothing fancy. What lacked in ambience was made up by the delicious meal we had. We had the usual pinoy fare of Crispy Pata which was REALLY crispy and juicy, Pancit Canton (I'm not a fan of pancit), some shrimp thing that resembled Samosas, and Cadios, a Visayan bean dish with Langka and Meat that was too thick for my liking but yummy anyway. My brother had their signature drink, Tamarind shake, which he said tasted like cola.