The place gives off a feeling of entering an old ancestral house. The floors and most of the furniture are made of wood, heavily stained to give it an antique look but with enough details on the grain to show texture on the surface. A couple of sections made from finely cut adobe slabs are reminiscent of the Spanish colonial era, a rightfully placed accent to the wood-dominated space. With a banana leaf-shaped placemat, spoon-andfork tandem third-wheeled by a steak knife, a big plate enough to take in rice and viands, you are in for a feast. We kicked off with something light to whet our appetites before pushing on for the heavier meals. What better way to do it but to start with vegetables. No, we didn’t go for a salad; we had lumpiang ubod. The crunchy freshness of the arugula toppings, shoots, carrots, and flat beans could be heard with every bite. The wrap, obviously made from the kitchen and not bought somewhere else, gives the dish a soft and mild texture. But what really blended all these flavors together was the sweet combination of peanut and coconut milk sauces.
Indulgence
Moving on, we were then served with a very attractive pot of kare-kare. Two big chunks of cookedto-tenderness ox tail at the center, slathered with thick, mildly sweet, vibrantly orange peanut sauce with perfectly blanched vegetables jutting out on the side, added a colorful contrast to the dish. It was perfect for a cup of rice with all these flavors filling your spoon,
The entrance to APU bodes well of the awesome culinary experience one can expect
departing from the table and into our mouths. We put a bit of shrimp paste to tickle our taste buds in a very nostalgic, feels-like-home pleasure. By this time, we were already stuffed enough to cap off our meal with a steaming cup of hot coffee or tea. But we couldn’t resist APU’s take on the classic pork adobo. Two half-slabs of fall-off-the-bone back ribs oozing with soy sauce and pepper flavor sat on top of shredded purple cabbages and carrots made slightly sour from the vinegar, together with caramelized shallots; all these in a distinct sweetness that balanced the savory and sour when it all came into our mouths. It may all sound too indulgent, and somehow it did send us back in time, to a kitchen with our
HOW TO GET THERE APU is located at the Upper Ground Floor of the City of Dreams Entertainment Complex, Asean Avenue corner Roxas Boulevard, Parañaque City. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The APU's interiors resemble dining turn-of- the-century style, but with a modern touch
EXPER IENCE TR AV EL A ND LI V ING // Vol. 2 No. 2 // 2015
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