A Supersizing and Surprising Family Dinner

For my family, every moment is a bonding moment. But, what makes each bonding time extra-special is FOOD! When there is food in between conversations, I always have this feeling that we become closer.

This afternoon, my family went to Walter Mart (my favorite mall!) to eat out. The decision was very abrupt. We were all lying in bed (actually, I just woke up) when out of the blue, we decided to go out to eat. I, as an eager eater, needed no stretching or warming up and stood up at once. I just put on powder over my oily face, and I was all set.

When we arrive at Walter Mart, we still did not have an agreement on where to eat. It was just 6:30 when we got there, and the mall closes at 9:00. I was worried (I always worry, FYI) that we might not be able to choose a place at once, but luckily, after buying a shirt at the mini-tiangge there and purchasing two cake pans at Baker's Depot, we came up with a decision. And the chosen one was.......Max's Restaurant!

The place was not crowded. Actually, the mall itself was not packed, and this one of the reasons I like Walter Mart. We occupied the table near the rest room, and that gave me a feeling of relief ^ ^. We ordered two viands, a pancit bihon dish, and three garlic rice.

I was not able to get pictures of our food while they were still untouched; I instantly grabbed my spoon and fork and started gulping down. Like what I wrote in my first post, I am like that, so the photos below are not yummy as they look, but as they say, looks can be deceiving.

First off, I present the half-eaten Spicy Shrimp Gambas:

This dish is comprised of well, spicy shrimp. Actually, it was not that spicy. It was more of a garlic shrimp dish to me. It is not very saucy; it was oily, but the oil in the dish was just a perfect addition to the dish as it makes it moist and shiny. Honestly, when we ordered that dish, we were expecting the original gambas dish, which was saucy. We were surprised and disappointed that they do not serve that dish anymore. But upon tasting the dish, we were satisfied. By the way, this shrimp gambas comes with three slices of bread that you can dip in the oil in the dish, making them an instant appetizer. Although we did not get the original recipe that we fell in love with before, I would say that this new recipe fulfilled our craving.

My mother did not want to eat rice so she ordered Pancit Bihon. We chose the regular size, which is good for two to three persons. And here is the half-eaten Pancit Bihon:

This dish was surprisingly good! I am not a fan of pancit dishes, but this one is an exception. Actually, what made me appreciate this dish is the fact that it tastes the same as the pancit dish that my mother cooks. This dish was not packed with vegetables - just enough to add flavor and give crunch to the pancit. It had bits of chicken liver (yum!) in it and slices of squid balls! The dish was exactly the same as my mother's, so I really enjoyed it. You can try combining it with garlic rice also. They say that pancit makes you live longer. I say that this pancit gave me more reasons to live longer! I will surely go back to Max's to order this dish again!

It took a relatively long time before our last dish arrived. But it was worth the wait because it came with a bang! I give you the half-eaten Pinaputukang Tiyan ng Bangus:

This dish was superb! It looked good, but I did not expect that it would taste great! It really exceeded our expectations. Max's was a genius for having just the bangus belly instead of the whole fish. The belly itself was delectable, but it was made even yummier by the stuffing, which was composed of mixed chopped tomatoes, garlic, onion, and other spices. The presentation of the dish was just simple, but if this is how simple dishes taste like, then, I will never settle for the best-looking dishes. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but this dish was really great! Shrimp Gambas is something; Pancit Bihon is something; but Pinaputukang Tiyan ng Bangus is something else.:)

We finished at around 8:00. For our dessert, we bought ice cream at Snowpy (fave!), and that wrapped up our dinner. This dinner was full of surprises, and that makes it more memorable. It was an eat-out that we enjoyed to the Max!:)




Side Dish: The garlic rice was not that garlicky; it was just like plain rice. Nevertheless, it did not ruin my meal because the overwhelming (in a positive way) taste of the food we ordered, especially the Pinaputukang Tiyan ng Bangus, compensated the flaw of the garlic rice.:)