Serendra and Portico

Monday night, we hied off to Serendra to check the place out in the evening. Last December, we had lunch in Gaudi's but as most establishments were closed then, it being Christmas Day, it was a bit difficult to appreciate what Serendra had to offer.

Two weeks ago, as we were driving home from a wake in Santuario de San Antonio, I noticed how at close to midnight, the Nike outlet was still brightly lit. Being a sucker for places that close late in the evening, I hoped we would be able to check it out soon.

Well, Serendra at night is a lot more inviting than Serendra in the daytime. Think Eastwood and Greenbelt and their unenclosed spaces. True, there's fresh air there but I prefer the airconditioning of Power Plant, Podium and Shangrila during the daytime.

At any rate, we bumped into my nephew and his girlfriend and as we were neophytes in Serendra, we asked them for suggestions on where to eat. My nephew said, "Try out Duo." And much as we wanted to, the inner restaurant would accommodate only those with reservations. My husband wanted to eat in an airconditioned resto, so that meant Duo and its steaks were out. Saw Conti's and it was overflowing with people. Just as its Greenhills outlet often is.

As we went in search of a place to eat, we decided on Portico as it said it was "related" to Chateau. Following then is an account of our Portico experience.

Shortly after we placed our orders, we were served what looked like thin pita slices (shorter than an Orion ruler but almost as wide) and butter. When we finished one serving, we were given another, I guess so we'd not complain that our food was taking too long. My husband ordered poached gindara, my son fish and chips, while I ordered Oriental chicken. The gindara looked very clean and healthy, the fish fillet was ok and had two sauces/dips to choose from: tartar sauce and salsa. The Oriental chicken was good if a tad oily. We ordered garlic rice after we saw our food though earlier we thought of just eating them without rice. The garlic rice cost P70 per. The garlic was barely noticeable but it was ok. I don't know why but the spices of the chicken were so strong that somehow, I could still taste them hours after. But it wasn't a bad taste so Portico will see us yet again.

we got three cupcakes in Sonja's for dessert: creme brulee, flourless chocolate cake and berry cheesecake. My son and husband liked the creme brulee, I preferred the two others.

Re Serendra, it's very disabled friendly. Very considerate of the developers to put ramps everywhere. And as I mentioned earlier, the stores close rather later (yippee!). A Different Bookstore was, as always, hospitable. They encourage customers to just tear off the plastic wrap of the books and to browse. One lady even told my husband he could (should) sit on the sofa and browse comfortably. They have a few tables for coffee and pastries.

Serendra is a nice place to be in with its fountains, lights, benches, stores. We have yet to go up the second floor but that can wait. Not too many stores are open up there yet anyway...