It was Ann’s birthday yesterday so Paul and I took her out to dinner at Galileo Enoteca. Friends have been recommending the place for a long time but I haven’t had the chance to check it out until last night. I wasn’t disappointed. Even Paul who wanted to go somewhere “tried and tested” was won over.

The place is tucked away nicely in small corner in an unassuming neighborhood. You park at the side of the street and enter the restaurant’s door into a deli/wine cellar. Inside are long wooden tables and benches. The walls are all covered shelves holding hundreds of wine bottles. The few sections not covered with shelves are painted with Italian art inspired paintings. The lighting is just right: soft and dim but not too dark. The music, instrumental versions of classic love songs, could have been better but is good enough.

We ordered the samplers or a little bit of everything: cheese, cold cuts, pasta, meat, and wine. Coffee or tea is even included. Even better, we were served complimentary shots of limoncello and grappa. And the best is Ann was served a birthday gelato complete with a candle on top.

Great place, great food, great service. What else can you ask for?

Rating: 4/5

Val learned about this new restaurant along Morato called Nasilemak. So she, Rose, and I decided to meet up there. I found the place quite easily. It is in front of the McDonald’s at the intersection of Morato and Roces and beside an Office Warehouse branch (Let me practice my French: Il est devant McDonald’s a l’intersection de Rue Morato et Rue Roces et pres de un Office Warehouse branch).

The interior was well done. It is minimalist and Zen-inspired. The furniture is dark and the walls are light. Reproductions of paintings are hung here and there. The lighting is subdued but not too dark. At a corner, I saw Val chatting with the owner and I joined them. After a narration of the history of the place and the menu by the owner, we sat down and checked out the menu while waiting for Rose who arrived a soon after.

We ordered fried rice with dilis, fried fish with sambal sauce, pata tim, and milk tea. They actually come with more exotic sounding names but I just couldn’t recall them. The fried rice was good. The burst of flavor when you bite on the dilis is just great. The fried fish with sambal sauce was also good. The aroma from the sambal sauce is mouth-watering and the fish itself absorbed some of that. The best has got to be the pata tim. It’s a bit salty but it’s still so good I even sampled the fatty stuff :D

It’s a bit expensive but about still worth it for that occasional food splurge.

Rating: 3/5