Mother's Date dinner at Elias Robinson's Magnolia

I chose Elias as venue for our Mother's Day dinner because I was looking for a good restaurant at Robinsons Magnolia. I thought of Conti's at first but after reading out loud to my mom Elias' menu on Munchpunch, she said she wanted to eat there. It helped that we'd eaten in Crisostomo at Resorts World in 2013 and we liked the food too. The place was packed, but we luckily got a seat in the "outdoor" seating -- that is, one outside the main restaurant, but still within the air conditioned mall premises, not in the al fresco area. 

For appetizers, we got the Victorina's Secret (P300), which were actually fresh oysters with native vinegar and chili. And, being a sisig-lover, I was of course adamant in tasting their Sisig Lengua (325), or ox tongue cooked sisig style. 

Victorina's Secret (P300)

Sisig Lengua (P325)

The oysters were indeed fresh, served on ice, and complemented perfectly by the vinegar. We were also pleased with the sisig -- a different take, with chunky bits, compared to the usual pork sisig where the meat is usually presented in finely diced pieces. Needless to say, we really lapped up every chunk.

We chose La Paz Bulalo (P545) for our soup. The meat was soooo tender and the soup was really tasty, like what you get when you boil meat for hours. I think the fresh veggies, the corn, and the peppercorns really added to the flavor. 

La Paz Bulalo (P545)

For our entree, we had Santiago (or Lechon Kare-Kare at P525). As you can see in the pic, the veggies were also fresh. As for the meat -- well, I'm not really fond of lechon (really!) except for the skin, and only when it's crisp. Since the lechon was already steeped with the kare-kare sauce, of course I didn't touch the dish except for the sauce and veggies, and attacked instead the fork-tender bulalo beef :-)

Santiago (P525)

Sago't Gulaman (P85)

As is our practice when it's our first time in a restaurant and we really want to enjoy the fare, we ordered plain rice. (We think ordering garlic or other types of rice makes the tastes "battle" each other.) Whew, their pandan rice costs P60 a cup! Thankfully, it was a big cup and it was so fragrant and deliciously cooked that we thought maybe it was jasmine rice.

For drinks, my mom ordered Fresh Buko juice (served in a coconut shell for P150), my brother Ed and his GF LA bought lemon iced tea (bottomless at P98), and I ordered the sago't gulaman (P85).

They served my drink with a paper straw instead of a plastic one. So of course, when it got soaked I asked for a plastic one. They gave me a thin one (used for softdrinks and iced tea). Then another crew member may have noticed me slurping at my drink and came over to give me another plastic one, this time much thicker in diameter, the same one you use for your regular sago drinks. So why didn't they give it the first time? I ended up contributing two straws to trash :-(

Narcissa (P200/slice)

For dessert, I had read good reviews about Crisostomo's favorite Narcissa (Quezo de Bola Cheesecake at P200/slice) so we ordered two slices to go. On the way home, we stopped by a Starbucks and decided to eat the cakes there. Wow... Yummy on the palate for me, but the uniquely salty taste may be a put-off for some not used to that unique quezo de bola taste, and I'm not talking about the cheddar cheese version! Quite a change from the usual American-style cheesecakes.  And at that price, you would really eat up each falling crumb!

Now you might be thinking, "That's all you ordered?" Well, it was a late night dinner (we started at almost 9PM because we had to wait for my brother who had a shoot somewhere in Ortigas). And as you can see, the price was no joke, hahaha! But we already expected it, since I had browsed the web the day before (an advice to anyone who plans to eat somewhere). This resto chain (which includes Crisostomo) is a bit on the high-priced end, actually. And some may even say, "But that's Filipino food we can easily make at home or is available in other restos like Max's, Aristocrat, or even along the street, etc." But my mom wanted to be in Rob Magnolia (she likes the ambiance) and she wanted Filipino food and wanted to try out this restaurant so that's what she got. Thank goodness Mother's Day only comes once a year and I can split the tab with my brother, LOL.  

After eating my mom said, "Thank you for bringing me here." She was so pleased with the food. Delicious indeed.  The servings (except for the drinks, of course) were good for two to four people, depending on the appetite. So it was probably one of the rare times where we did not have any leftovers to take home -- except for the sauce of the kare-kare. After all, we may also have worked up an appetite from browsing for almost two hours at all those P88 stuff at Daiso while waiting for my bro, haha. 

Anyway, while browsing the day before, I chanced upon their FB page, and I saw these two promos:

Mom's Day promo

Free sago't gulaman when you like their page in-store

So while we were selecting what to order, I first showed the free drink promo (via my FB on my mobile) to our server, but he told us that they had no promos. Then when we were almost through, we noticed that not one customer seemed to be taking home an eco-bag, so we thought maybe they'd run out of stock (like I said, the place was pretty packed, but we were sure those red bags would be easily visible) and did not ask for our bags anymore. So we ended up empty-handed, but I still commented on these posts in their FB page. 

Well, guess what. Their operations manager, Ms. Aileen Laig, contacted me and apologized for the "shortcomings" of their staff. Then she told me that she would be sending over two bags to the branch over the weekend and I could pick them up. She said we could also claim our free sago anytime by just following the instructions (like and share the page in-store). Thanks Ms. Laig! 

Anyway, I forgot to try their "Sinigang ni Eva" which is your sinigang with watermelon. Yep, you read that right. How interesting could that be? I read about it in their FB page and even read it out to my mom, but we forgot about it (note to self: next time, write down your preferences beforehand!) The funny thing is, why did the servers not promote it or ask us if we wanted to try it? Hmm. Were they too tired? I guess, they need to be trained more on new dishes that are being promoted.

You can view Elias' main page here or go straight to see their menu by clicking on this link.