Cilantro

Just the family wanted to eat out tonight. Nothing too fancy, yet nothing too casual, either. Ended up at the recently opened Cilantro, a hop, skip and a jump away from Pane and Amore (Love). Although I was a bit skeptical about trying out a new place, and that too because my dad read a review in this Sunday’s DAWN (I was like, Abu, really? You want to try out a new place because of a newspaper ka review? Kisi se puch toh lein!). Khair, my Abu being my Abu, insisted we go there, so with some trepidation, I did. Little did I know, that I was entering a fun, colorful little joint with one wall filled with chefs from all over the world. Is it weird I knew half of them? And if the owners of Cilantro read this, please add Marco Pierre White’s picture to the wall. Blasphemous he’s not there. Thank you. 

On to the food. It’s very rare when every single person likes and enjoys what they ordered. Now, if you know me, you know I tend to never, ever remember the proper names of things eaten. So please excuse that lapse of mine. Before we got our order, we got a complimentary pizza toast type thing, which at first glance seemed dubious regarding the taste, and I was afraid the toppings would make the toast itself soggy. We were pleasantly surprised to find it was quite delicious! The flavors of the tomato base, onions and green pepper on the crispy toasted bread coated with mozzarella was a beautiful combination. I ordered the calamari and prawn soup, which is not for those who like mild, flavorful soups. This was hot, like hot and sour soup hot, and as expected, frozen seafood tends to have that halkiii si smell. I must say though, that the prawn and calamari weren’t too rubbery or overcooked. Next up, as appetizers, we ordered Lunch on a Stick. While it may sound interesting, to say the least, it was deeelllliiicccious! Kind of like a desified version of a corn dog, with fries covered in garlic mayo, which was again, very good. Just the right kick of garlic and a hint of sour. Lunch on a Stick was served in a fry basket, and me being easy to entertain, found the curls of carrots on top really cute, and yummy to eat. The batter-fried chicken that comprised of our appetizer had a salsa verde type filling, and the batter itself wasn’t bad at all. It wasn’t the tempura batter at Sakura by any stretch, mind you, but had some crunch to it. I wouldn’t mind having that as a midnight snack, to tell you the truth. 

My sister ordered the Caesar salad, which she enjoyed as well. I asked for the grilled chicken and mushroom spaghetti, which while it lacked salt, was beautifully done. Tender pieces of chicken flavored with tarragon, and a hint of spice to cut the richness of the white cream sauce. Once again, I had my entertaining carrot curls, which might bother some, but since I like my veggies, I ate them right along with my meal. My sister ordered a club sandwich, which she and Abu shared, and it looked mighty fine. 

Even Abu, fussy as he is about his club sandwiches, enjoyed it immensely. My brother in-law ordered a steak, the Americano, I believe, and since he wasn’t talking while eating, I’m guessing he really liked it. Oh, and did I mention it was pink in the middle? The steak, not my brother in-law. From my limited knowledge, I could tell the steak had been grilled to perfection. My mother ordered the Hannah or Hannan chicken, not too sure, and she told me the sauce was jalapeno flavored, and she really liked her dinner too. I also asked for the mint lemonade, which was a refreshing change, since most places usually use 7 Up as the basis of their lemonade, this was closer to home, made in water and strong on the mint, which is how I love it. 

The service was bit slow, however. But I was expecting that since it’s a relatively new place and as all businesses, will settle with time. Now, considering that two people from the six of us hadn’t ordered any entree, the bill was phir bhi much, much lower than expected, and with the quality of the food, ambiance, and servings, unbelievably reasonable. After that, we couldn’t resist Pane and Amore’s cupcakes, could we? If we hadn’t been so stuffed, I would have insisted we sit there and have a cup of coffee and share cupcakes. That still didn’t stop me from taking a bite (Or 2) out of my peanut butter cupcake, which was just…I mean…I have no words. And I have more cupcake for me tomorrow! Yay!