For me, no trip to Manila is complete without a dinner at Abé, the Capampangan style restaurant from the LJC group at Serendra at Fort Bonifacio.  I get to eat some of my favorite food in the Philippines and then follow with a visit to Manila’s largest bookstore (Fully Booked) and a walk along Bonifacio High Street.

Exterior of the restaurant – clearly this is the most popular restaurant in Serendra, with the most outdoor seating and the only restaurant tonight where one had to wait for a table.

The theme of the restaurant is a tribute to local Filipino writers and artists.  They are shown throughout the restaurant and many of the dishes on the menu are presented as favorites of specific writers, complete with quotes from them about the food.

And now, our food, starting with green mango and bagoong salad.

Bagoong is a variety of shrimp paste and the salty, slightly sweet taste contrasted amazingly well with the very sour mango.

This is the dish I always return for, crispy tadyang.

Deep fried beef ribs, crispy exterior and tender interior, seasoned I think with just salt and pepper, good quality beef, I could live on this.

Gambas al ajillo, prawns with garlic and virgin olive oil.

I get this one almost every time I visit here.  Like most of the dishes, simple presentation but excellent ingredients well prepared equals satisfying food.

And finally, the piece de resistance for the night, lechon cubano.

Actually, after we ordered this, we were told they were already sold out for the night.  My gf called over the manager to check and he told the waitress to “find one more” – perhaps they reserve some portions of this each night for “special guests?”

Regardless, my gf pronounced this the best lechon she’s ever had in her life.  I’m no expert on this dish but I found it fabulous, just simple food perfectly prepared.  The manager gave me his card and mobile number and said next time we come, be sure to call him and he’d reserve both a table and the dish for us.

All of the above, plus two fresh mango shakes, came out to P1750, roughly HK$300.  And the simple fact is that to the best of my knowledge, there is no restaurant in Hong Kong serving this kind of food that even begins to approach the quality that you get here.

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