After a lackluster first visit at Angels’ Kitchen in January 2008, it took six months before I returned. While I instantly fell for the chicken pistachio paté that was served in the sampler together with tuna with olives and spinach pestro spread (P268) and loved the supposedly “low cholesterol” ostrich salpicao (P388) down to its glimmering oil and fragrant garlic bits, the softshell crab with mango poppy seed dressing (P278) left me quite distressed. It tasted like it was fried in re-used oil and left a lasting, strangely “raw onion-y” memory in my mouth. I also realized that a Friday night was the wrong time for girl bonding here. The place was packed; we had to yell to cut through the guest chatter and be heard across the table.

In July of that same year, my friends from the magazine wanted a place for a nice dinner with wine. Since we all lived in the area I thought this was the best time to return. This time I called to make sure we had the best table. I was greeted by a female staff. On the phone she was cheerful, accommodating and knowledgeable. We got an assortment of things, notably, a garlicky, eggless “Caesar” salad with bacon bits and rosemary croutons (P258). I remember how the girls enjoyed the same ostrich dish and how I loved the Riesling our server recommended. The place was quieter on a mid-week, too, and so my friends went home happy with takeaways of “atomic” tuyo (spicy sardines) and chicken liver paté. I savored the creamy dip straight from the bottle in the following days.

I returned a couple of months later for a late lunch with my gourmet sister, the type who wined and dined in Michelin starred restaurants in Tokyo and thought that the original Le Souffle in Greenbelt “sucked” She giggled at the hunky, eye-popping lechon kawali and its bed of pinakbet “risotto” (P398) served with a chocolate bagoong (which she does not eat). Her only complaint was that the lechon kawali was “fattening.” She ate some, while I savored my umami-filled Japanese pasta with shiitake mushroom, unagi (eel) and seaweed (P338).

I was back in late 2008 with more visiting girlfriends, having basically the same, ordering the lechon kawali and not really eating it. It’s always an attractive dish but while I enjoyed looking at it, in truth, I didn’t like the shrimp paste pairing and did not feel completely satisfied without the good old sarsa (sauce, made of rich liver for lechon), like I always have it elsewhere alternated with a “neutralizing” soy-vinegar dip.

I walked into a packed, loud, pre-Christmas weeknight at Angel’s Kitchen with a famous gay chef who said he had never been there. Our work interview had moved into a more personal chitchat when we realized that no one had approached us to take our order. Although we had to call the server’s attention to be noticed, overall, he liked the homey cafe ambiance and agreed that the Caesar salad was excellent.

Last October, the restaurant became a sounding board for a friend’s love woes. Three of us talked about life and relationships over her favorite “orange” (mandarin) chicken (P368), baked salmon in aioli potato crust (P488) the usual round of Caesar salad and pinakbet with lechong kawali paired with chai rooibos (a South African red tea, P158), and upon her suggestion, the softshell crab salad. This time, the crustacean meat had no more of that over-fried, recycled oil taste — just a salty seafood richness that was nicely balanced by the light mango and poppy seed dressing.

On my last late lunch visit in February, I asked for my by-now-favorite Caesar salad to be split between me and my guest who was under the weather. I did not like the way they separated the lettuce leaves by color — with me getting a plateful of all the pale vegetables while trying not to look longingly over at my companion’s infinitely darker heaps of greens. Thankfully, my latest soup discovery made up for my salad’s lack of (what I imagined as) “nutrients”. The comforting dish combined the flavors and ingredients of soupy monggo (green mung beans) redolent of ginisang bagoong (sauteed shrimp paste) on which floats classic pinakbet vegetables such as okra, eggplant, string beans and kalabasa (squash) topped with what tasted like smoked fish flakes. This particular execution was a lot like Capampangan home cooking.

Just like all of my visits, when we arrived, there was no greeting of welcome nor goodbye, but a year ago I spotted kimchi rice with beef bulgogi and bibimbap sauce in the menu. I hope it’s still there because I might go back again just for that.

Angels’ Kitchen
57 Connecticut St., North East Greenhills
San Juan, Metro Manila
+632 744-1018; 721-8822