Abe's Binukadkad na Pla Pla and More

I'm catching up on my backlogs and while organizing my entries I was thinking of skipping this one altogether since I already wrote about Abe before.  But then again my photos are of better quality now and we just really really love their Binukadkad na Pla Pla.  

We had dinner at Abe in Trinoma a few months ago to celebrate hubby's birthday.  The first thing we decided on was the fish.  A trip to Abe isn't complete if this is not on the table.  As usual I ate my fish with some of the buro and rice.  I also wrapped some of the fish in the mustasa leaves together with the buro.  Hubby liked the burong hipon so much that he suggested a trip to Pampanga (which later turned into an impromptu overnighter in Baguio-more on that later).  We asked the servers if we could buy some from them but they don't sell them.  Prepare to use your hands to devour the fish as it is hard to debone with utensils.

Binukadkad na Pla Pla P395
a Bistro Remedios original, overgrown tilapia butterflied and fried to delightful crispiness, served w/ balo-balo relish and mustasa leaves

We were expecting golden brown ultra crispy squid when we ordered the Squid Tactics.  This wasn't the case but the squid was very soft.  It wasn't rubbery at all.  The sweet chili sauce was just ok.

Squid Tactics P245
lightly fried squid in peppery batter and spices

I thought the Crispy Pork Adobo ni Lola Ising was adobo flakes.  Note to self - read the menu very well next time.  The first few bites were fine but after a while I got tired of chewing and we took home what we couldn't finish.  

Crispy Pork Adobo ni Lola Ising P395
choice pork belly slices stewed and then dried in garlic and spice, as served in Cafe Adriatico Premiere

A new discovery and now our 2nd favorite dish at Abe is the Mungo Bean Soup.  I shy away from monggo but I learned to appreciate it when I tasted my mother in law's version.  Abe's is a close contender and we just couldn't stop gulping down spoonful after spoonful.  The tinapa flakes added a distinct flavor to the soup.

Mungo Bean Soup P95
hearty green bean bisque w/ fish tinapa flakes and chicharon

We now have at least two reasons to go back to Abe - the Binukadkad na Pla Pla and the Mungo Bean Soup.  We're really happy that they have maintained the same quality for the Pla Pla through the years.  

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Abe Level M3 Trinoma, EDSA cor. North Ave., Quezon City