DECEMBER 9, a day after my ex-girlfriend and I commemorated the day she became my ex, we finally had time alone together and decided to celebrate by watching “The Day the Earth Stood Still” at IMAX in SM Mall of Asia — only to find out that it is yet to be shown the following day. †(I should have checked before going. † Stupid, stupid, stupid.)
We were determined not to allow the evening to be spoiled so we went to the regular movie theaters of SM MOA, hoping to find a movie that we would both want to see. †Alas, there was none. †My ex-girlfriend suggested we settle for “Twilight.” †My facial expression was sufficient for her to drop the subject. †At that point the evening was officially spoiled.
If there’s anything that can fix a spoiled evening for us that would be food. †So we went around looking for a place to eat. †As usual we wanted to try something new, on a place we haven’t tried before. †So we walked, and walked, and walked, until our toes started to ache.
We were going around on circles unable to decide where to eat. †And then we realized we were back in front of †IMAX, with the gigantic poster of “The Day the Earth Stood Still” staring us in the face, as if taunting us.
That’s when we saw Jatujak at the 2nd level of SM MOA.
I have eaten in Jatujak-SM Megamall before and I have even written a blog post about it. †My ex-girlfriend and I happen to both like Thai food. †It is one of those we consider “can’t go wrong” food options. †It wasn’t really the first time we were in such a situation — having difficulty choosing a place to eat, that is — in many of those times we ended up in a Thai restaurant somewhere.
For appetizers we ordered Pomelo and Prawn Salad. †It was very good, albeit my ex-girlfriend thinks that Zao‘s version is better. †I couldn’t recall enough of Zao‘s version to make a comparison so I took her word for it.
For our drinks we both ordered Lemongrass Tea with Mint, bottomless. †Lemongrass Tea is a good choice. †Bottomless, isn’t. †As is usual when we order bottomless drinks we ended up taking in too much forgetting that our bellies are not exactly bottomless. †We were to suffer the consequences long into the evening.
We ordered Tom Yum for our soup of course, choosing mixed sea food instead of all shrimps. †I think this is not a very good choice. †I remembered that we ordered Tom Yum with all shrimps when I first ate in a Jatujak resto in SM Megamall and I can recall that it was much better. †Also I find the Tom Yum of Jatujak in SM MOA to be too sour. †I thought the waiter was referring to spiciness when he asked whether we want it medium or mild so we chose medium. †Now I think he must be referring to its sourness.
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For our main course we ordered†Bagoong Rice,†Tod Mung Goong†(Shrimp Cake, this is actually found under Appetizers in the menu), and†Moo Grob†(Crispy Pork with Cilantro Relish, with chicharon-baboy). †All good. †My only complaint is the shredded mango in the Bagoong Rice. †Again it is too sour. †Obviously, they used some local variety of green mango, not the authentic thai variety which is never sour. †It’s a negative point for consistency.
No amount of bottomless Lemongrass Tea can stop my ex-girlfriend from ordering dessert, and we tried†Kao Niew Mamuang (Sticky Rice with Mango) which is reminiscent of a local kakain in my home tome in Isabela, and†Ruamit†(Thai Halu-halo). †Frankly, at that point I was no longer in any condition to make a judgment on whether Jatujak’s desserts are great or not. †But I made a mental note of Ruamit’s ingredients, if only to compare with our local Halu-halo: †buko strips, sweet yellow corn, langka, nata de coco, sago, and coconut milk. †Now what do you think of that?
Our bill: †Php 1,363.00.
And that’s how I came to write the chaotic title for this blog post.
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