Eating food that's too hot has never been a problem
A lot can happen in 5 years. Since I started this blog in 2014, several restaurants I’ve featured have already closed shop. Mister Kabab in the Araneta Center isn’t one […]
A lot can happen in 5 years. Since I started this blog in 2014, several restaurants I’ve featured have already closed shop. Mister Kabab in the Araneta Center isn’t one of them. In fact, even with more restaurants now open in the area, it still continues to thrive. I think it’s about time for a revisit.
OG readers will know how much I used to mention that I work out of two offices: Alabang and Cubao. I still do. Why I say that is because, of course, I’ve eaten at Mister Kabab in the Araneta Center several times the past five years. OG readers will also probably not be reading this because I stopped posting from 2016 to mid-2019.
Also read: Mister Kabab in the Araneta Center: Never skip dessert!
In a way, this is still a revisited thing. This week was my first time to eat in Mister Kabab in the Araneta Center for 2019. It’s still in its location in the ground floor of Manhattan Parkview (a condo in Cubao), it’s still open to fairly late in the evening, and it stills sells cakes. In my original post, I hailed their chocolate lava cake as being the best ever, but it seems they don’t sell that anymore. Or it just hasn’t been available every time I ate here. But anyway, it’s not fair for a full restaurant to just be judged for its dessert.
I didn’t like my first try of their Beef Special Chelo Kabab, I thought they were dry and lacked flavor, and I absolutely gushed over the Abgousht. Well I’m pleased to tell you that I’ve been enamored by the Beef Special Chelo Kabab ever since. It’s basically become my go to order whenever I eat here.
Where I once thought their beef was dry, I now praise it for being tender and juicy. They also taste great everytime, especially the minced meat/kefta. Dousing them with the white and red sauce is still a great idea, and Mister Kabab has been known for these sauces as much as their, well, kababs/kebabs.
The plain rice still comes with some margarine/butter on top that just melts. I would actually like to melt that over the meat most of the time. I also would swap out the plain rice with Biryani rice, something I did this particular visit. I’ve praised this spicy rice before, and it continues to fulfill me up to this day. They’ve also perfected it. You’re not eating raw chilies anymore, the heat is now a pleasant burn rather than an assault on your tongue.
Sadly, I haven’t been able to order the Abgousht since 2014. It was just too much for one person. Not just from a serving standpoint, but also from it being so decadent. The Abgousht from Mister Kabab in the Araneta Center of 2014 was bright, spicy, oily, and filled with tender pieces of beef. The Abgousht of today, it was darker, the meat was tender but not as before, and it was a tad salty.
The darkness of the dish seems like what happens when you put soy sauce on a kaldereta. The dish was not as oily as before, but it also tasted basic now. It was still good, but there wasn’t a depth to the flavor as I once remembered. I tasted turmeric before, I just taste tomato this time around. I still paired it with Biryani rice, so still shipping those two together, but the Abgousht is certainly different from the one I loved 5 years ago.
Ruminations
Like I said, a lot can happen in 5 years. Also, waiting for five years to retry a dish is never a good idea. Expectations may have become exaggerated during all that time. I’ll still have to try the Abgousht another time, I went in there so full of expectation that may have mutated so much for the past 5 years.
The Beef Special Chelo Kabab, I now understand why it’s their best seller. I implore you to try it with Biryani Rice. If it gets too hot for you, there’s always the yogurt shake to help you. The meat’s been tender, juicy, and delicious everytime I’ve ate here.
This isn’t a sponsored post, I’m just writing about a place I actually like eating in. Staff has always been good, food always solid, far enough from the office for me to forget work for a few minutes but close enough that I’m not away for long.
Have you tried the Mister Kabab in the Araneta Center?
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