COAL

Coal Resto Bar and Grill, Roxas Blvd.

Harbour Square, Pedro Bukaneg St., CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.

Manila, Metro Manila

Philippines

As a tradition, before every Med schoolyear commences, my gay friend and I usually meet up to eat and do some catching up on a lot of things. And this time, we had our date at Harbor Square. It was my first time to try out the place and I really enjoyed the bayside view and the outdoor scenery. 

We had a hard time looking for the prefect resto to try out 'cos most of the food establishments were seen in many other places. We decided we wanted to have a good drink, so we looked at the bistros on the second level. And lo and behold, we got to COAL. 

The place had outdoor dining for smokers and I could imagine how it looked like at night. Fortunately, we were there for early dinner so not much people were around. We chose to be seated inside. The place was nice and neat. The interiors contemporary, with various pieces of blacks and reds. We were brought to a table near the glass window for a better view of the busy Roxas Boulevard. We were both amazed that the seats were Jap style ^^ we had to do some Indian sitting and I think it was cool...and comfy too.

WE were both on a diet so we ordered only a few from the menu.

First, we had pork sisig as the main course, although we didn't order rice. The sisig was just like any other sisig and I think I have tried some other better sisigs than this one. Nothing extraordinary, but not bad.

Sizzling Sisig

Then we got ourselves Pork and Tofu. It tasted as expected. Crunchy tofu. Although i hated that the pork were sliced too big. The tokwa't baboy in Binalot is way better because the pork and tofu are placed in a soysauce-filled bowl so as you eat it you have all the soy flavors in it already. I think even Chowking's pork tofu is also better than this. But of course, this wasn't bad at all too...it's just nothing remarkable.

Pork and Tofu


But something i really liked was their generous serving of baked mussels. And you should have seen the wild cheesiness going on all over each mussel. Definitely one of the BEST! Well, mussels baked this way usually taste the same anywhere, the thing is, this had more cheese and more pieces at almost the same price as others.

Baked Tahong

Something notable about Coal, and something I'd crave for and go back for would be this: their beef and cheese quesadilla! 

Ultimate crunch, generous filling! I loved how the tomato sauce and the veggies inside each piece delighted my palate with every bite. Really good. And for 2 people, it was filling. It was something that can give Mexican restos a run for their money. That Good. Haha.

Quesadilla

All in all, the last two dishes made our Coal experience wonderful. The price was reasonable and we did not walk out unhappy or hungry. I will definitely go back for those quesadillas!

Sis Dang

Seaside in Macapagal Avenue has been a favorite spot for friend and family dine-outs because of its 'dampa' style of food service. One gets to buy his own set of fish, seafood, veggies, and meat and the restaurant of choice would cook these for you whatever kind of dish you wish to have prepared. From the many restaurants to choose from, Sisdang has been a family favorite. This restaurant used to be called Sis but rumor has it that the owners had a misunderstanding causing a rift between parties. This led to the birth of Sisdang. Since I was in college, my family frequented this place a lot. And up to now, despite the change of name, they still serve the best baked mussels and calamares I know of!

It's only now when I got into medschool that I was able to document and take pictures of my raved about dishes in this place. This is definitey highly-recommended. Six-stars for ambience, for service, and for the food and cost.

My boyfriend treated his friends to this place and I was the one who decided on what to order. Definitely, all his friends would agree that everything was delicious!

For appetizers, a dose of "ensaladang mangga" with onions and tomatoes matched with "bagoong"  gave us a lot more to anticipate about the dinner! The mangoes we bought were fresh and crunchy which tickled our palates in prep for the main dishes.

Ensaladang Mangga

I suggested our family favorite dishes for shrimp: the one cooked in spicy sauce and the other cooked in garlic and butter. Both had their own twist and character that eating one is not an excuse to not taste the other! I especially love how the garlic and butter dulcified the shrimp shells and how the spicy sauce incited bursting flavors in my mouth. 

Shrimps in Spicy Sauce

Of course, for the veggie servings, we bought 2 huge eggplants and had them grilled. This went perfectly well with soy sauce and tomatoes!

Inihaw na Talong

There was this once when I went out with friends and tried out a different Paluto restaurant in Seaside and they served this tasty and juicy Pinaputok na Tilapia. So I ordered one from Sisdang that night. However, to compare the two versions, I think I like that one from the other restaurant. This lacked the lush the tilapia of the other resto had.

Pinaputok na Tilapia

A five-star favorite for all seasons would be baked mussels! These have been my Pringles during the dinner! Once i tasted it, it was really difficult to stop ^^. The cheese was liberally spread on the oysters and this really blended well with the "seafood-y" taste of the shellfish!

Baked Tahong

And last but not the least, the cream of the crop, calamari in light batter deep-fried to golden perfection! NO sticky wet portions, crisp, and uber piquant! This is why I love coming back to this place. I hate how other calamares are too breaded that they lose the squid-y taste and all you could taste is the breading. Definitely one of the best calamares ever! 

Calamares

Definitely, I'd still be going back to this place because of it's affordability and delicious house specialties!