Dad wanted to have Banapple's Fettuccini for lunch, but Mum and I were craving for Conti's Baked Salmon, and the brother is okay with any. Two against one, so we went to Conti's, and as always, I was in charge of ordering the food.
Mango Royale Salad (270 Php) ✭✭✭✭✩
I am not a fan of creamy stuff, so my salads always have to have its dressing on the side. I only use about a fifth of the usual dressing, because I tend to get umay if I consume a lot.
The dressing of this salad are served separately. In two small bowls were mangoes and their special house dressing that tasted a lot like my mom's chicken macaroni salad which is so delicious. However, serving size was a bit too small to be called "for sharing" as the entire thing was consumed by me alone, and my stomach was barely even touched after.
Chicken Lollies (215 Php) ✭✭✭✭✭
Breaded chicken lollies fried until golden crisp, served with honey mustard sauce. I have to admit, I have never eaten chicken lollipops before, and I had no idea what it looks like and what it's made of (is it pure chicken or what?). But my brother insisted we get this because he wanted chicken, so we did.
I have to say, this is one of the best chicken dishes I have ever had! The meat was so tender and juicy, and the breading was just perfectly crisp--not too soggy, not too floury, and not too breaded (is there even such term). Also, the sauce was bomb! My brother is not a very saucy guy--haha--but he enjoyed it so much.
Carbonara (335 Php) ✭✭✩✩✩
Linguine tossed in a delicate sauce of cream and butter with ham, bacon bits, and parmesan cheese. My family loves carbonara, especially Shakey's carbonara. It has always been our criteria for a delicious or the-best-carbonara-ever carbonara, and unfortunately, this didn't make it, not even close. There were just to little meat, and it tasted more like cream with fettuccini noodles topped with bacon. I was honestly quite disappointed.
Maple-Glazed Baby Back Ribs (405 Php) ✭✭✭✭✭
I love love love ribs. Especially super-tender-fall-off-the-bone ones that are drenched in sweet and tangy sauce. And this just hit both my criteria to good ribs. Ahhh, I need not say more.
Conti's Baked Salmon (385 Php) ✭✭✭✩✩
Norwegian pink salmon baked with our very own topping, served with buttered vegetables and paella rice.
This has always been my favourite and go-to dish in Conti's. But not today.
When this was served, I was so excited to see that they gave us a really big slab of salmon. I was hungry, so after taking a photo, I immediately took a bite. Eeeek, it was too dry and lacked sauce or topping (even Mum said so). It still tasted good, nonetheless, but would have been made better and a bit tastier.
USDA Roasted Beef Belly (385 Php) ✭✭✭✭✩
Fork-tender beef belly seasoned to perfection, as a good roast should be. Served with almond rice pilaf and a creamy horseradish sauce.
Those who have been reading my blog posts know that I do not enjoy eating beef very much, and the reviews for beef dishes were based on my dining companions' ratings and comments.
My brother told me that because of this dish, he now have a new favourite beef cut (beef belly). He also said that the meat was so flavourful and succulent, but the sauce was kinda weird.
Mango Bravo (180 Php/slice) ✭✭✭✭✭
No, your Conti's experience is never complete without their Mango Bravo. This multi-layered, multi-flavoured cake (Mango + Chocolate + Plain + etc) is what Conti's is best known for.
I especially love the frozen mango chunks and the crisp layer with cashew nuts!
Overall
Taste: 3.0 / 5.0
I love Conti's, but maybe today we just didn't get a good spread of food.
Price: 3.0 / 5.0
Food here is a bit expensive for their serving size, but good quality food comes with a price, does it not?
Service: 5.0 / 5.0
People were very accommodating. We were in a hurry so we followed up our orders, and it only took them less than five minutes to serve us our food.
Ambience: 5.0 / 5.0
I love the feel of the place. Very simple, neat, and homey.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes