With Jericho's old friend Eriko visiting Man-illa - with a box of green tea Meiji chocolate in hand - I felt obligated to take her out to someplace she hadn't been to before as well as to get a bite to eat. Naturally. She had never been to Bonifacio Global City before, so we took her out to go souvenir shopping at the Kultura and Team Manila stores at SM Aura Premier. But before an afternoon of shopping - lunch!
I had visited chef Cecille Chang's Silk Road Thai Bistro last year and fell in love with the place! With the modern ambiance, spectacular food, and fantastic wine selection, and afternoon lunch can turn into hours and hours of catching up, funny stories, and just plain old getting sloshed.
Located behind the Deutsche Bank building - right next to the sculpture - and across from Kuppa Roastery & Cafe, Silk Road is hidden away from the busy main road, but not so hidden that it becomes almost impossible to find. I'm looking at you, URBN!
The place was pretty full up with families in for Sunday lunch, but we got a nice seat by the window where we could enjoy ogling at the passersby while playing catch up with Eriko on what's been happening with her and her family in Japan and Stateside. Something about shipping fish, buying a ranch out in the middle of nowhere, and how they bought an ATV just to get to the gate to have it opened. Why not just ditch the ATV and pay for an automated gate is what we all wanted to know.
Starting off with an appetizer that was almost too pretty to eat, the Salmon Cones (P295) were teeny tiny salmon cubes infused with lemongrass, lime and herbs. The cones may be small, but they more than make up for it with the amount of flavor you get with each bite.
A quirky appetizer that does the job of filling you up is Silk Road's Son-In-Law Eggs (P195). Wrap the egg up in the mustard leaf, close your eyes, take a bite, and let all the surprising textures and flavors fill your senses. I don't know exactly what I was putting in my mouth, but I loved everything about it!
Another favorite of wine is chef Cecille's Thai Ravioli (P330). The freshly made steamed rice paper protects delicate strips of sesame beef, shiitake mushrooms and glass noodles. I had to share this with Jericho and Eriko and felt that one roll wasn't enough, so I ordered another round of her fresh ravioli for take out!
Speaking of favorites, I cannot go to Silk Road without ordering the Crispy Tilapia with Tamarind Puree (P75/100g). This, for me, is a must when dining at the modern Thai restaurant. Imagine fillets of crisped tilapia covered in a sweet tamarind sauce. I can eat this all on it's own or with a side of blanched string beans. Needless to say, it was gone in a jiffy, and I was left to pinching the sides of the decimated fish in search of white meat.
Eriko grew up in Man-illa, so of course she had to have her fish with rice! We got an order of Pineapple Rice (P320) that had shrimps, cashews, and raisins mixed in, all topped off with crispy pork flakes.
I was curious about the Thonglor Beef (P388), a Thai take on the Malaysian Beef Rendang, and was surprised that it wasn't as sauce-y as I had hoped it would be. Yes what it lacked in sauce, it made up for in big chunks of tender beef, with the curry marinade seeping right into the soft meat.
We were quite full towards the end of what turned out to be a two-hour lunch, and between catching up, taking pictures of the food, and eavesdropping on the Sex and the City-esque ladies by the next table, we needed something to cleanse our palette. We tried the Silk Road Dessert Sampler (P295), to get small bites of everything to figure out our favorites. I liked the homemade mango ice cream and Thako Thai, but I'm afraid this left Jericho and Eriko quite confused. Haha!
If you have plans of mucking around BGC with the ladies or your date, bring them to Silk Road Thai Bistro to partake of chef Cecille Chang's latest creations! Enjoy our lunch or dinner with their Thai Iced Tea, Green Thai Tea, or choose your favorite vino from their extensive wine list.
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Silk Road Thai Bistro
+63 2 824 1678
+63 923 421 8294
4th Avenue Corner 31st Street,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Open Daily: 10am - 11pm
