Nobody ‘Düz’ It Better

By Alexis Yap
Lex in the City

THERE are times when your friends kidnap you and take you to places (in the city you think you know like the palm of your hand) you never knew even existed.

It was one of those nights.

Henry Octobre, a jack of all trades and a good friend, came to my office one random late afternoon to tell me about his new and exciting business. It was 6 p.m. and both of us were starving. I was craving for some dim sum but he decided to take me to Düz Grill, a restaurant owned by his good friend Alduz Aison.

The restaurant is unsuspectingly located on Fourth St., San Antonio Village in Banilad. To get there from Capitol, we took the road at the back of IT Park. We arrived at a closed gate with a circular, medium size Düz Grill sign. We honked our horn twice and the gates opened, revealing an enchanting garden with outdoor dining tables, series lights, and a driveway for parking.

It was beautiful! I never expected to see a place like it in the middle of a residential village. I had already met Alduz once through Henry in one of the bazaars a few months back. We went inside their house to find more seating and were welcomed by the smell of great old home cooking. The guests seated inside had already started their meals and I saw a couple of appetizing plates on the tables.

I was excited to order. We decided to take one of the tables in the garden because it was a breezy night, perfect for al fresco dining.

We waited only over 10 minutes and the food arrived. I ordered Aldus’ famous ribs and I was not disappointed at all. It was a tender, meaty, generous, and delicious serving for only P195.

Henry ordered the pork kebabs with rice and he enjoyed his every bite. It was a steal for only P150!

We shared a serving of Pork Tenderloin, a very flavorful preparation of tender slices of pork, garnished with sesame seeds, over a cup of rice. It was served with sautéed vegetables around the plate. This is also priced at an affordable P150 per plate.

I particularly like their version of Iced Tea. It had a very citrus base flavor that was perfect for what we had ordered.

When we asked for the bill, Alduz stepped out of the kitchen to say hi. I told him I was impressed by the food we had ordered and had promised him to come back to eat again and try the others in his menu.

I was so glad Henry came by that night. We continued our evening at a Japanese place called Egao Café located in the vicinity of the University of San Carlos in Talamban. I tried their Japanese Shaved Ice, Matcha Flavor. It was delightful!

We hung out there for a bit and people were ordering food. From where we were seated we could see the staff cooking the food and we could smell everything they were making. I was so tempted to order the Pasta Gorgonzola but I had to hold off ‘til my next visit – something to look forward to.

Sometimes the best nights are those random nights when nothing was ever planned. It was one of those nights. Thank you, Henry!

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