Lime88 : Street Food With a Twist

After reading Anton's write up about this small resto/bar hidden right in the middle of Mandaluyong, it wasn't hard to convince Paul to try it with me after I told him that they have a billiard table that may be rented for only P100 an hour.

So after an afternoon of window-shopping around Rockwell, we scheduled to have dinner here as it is also along our way home. It wasn't difficult to find the place because their bright lime colored signage will immediately catch your attention the moment you take a right turn from Boni Ave towards San Rafael street.

Lime88 is actually a residence turned restaurant. There's plenty of parking slots along the street and cheerful waiters will greet as you enter the gate. Since Paul really wanted to play billiards, we chose the lone table for two by the pool table. I prefer this area too because its well-lit and at least I'm guaranteed that i can clearly see what is being served to us.

The food is literally pinoy street fare given a more sophisticated twist. The menu features dishes such as Curried Fish Balls (P120), Balut in Red Wine Sauce (P120), Deep fried California Maki (P150), Street style barbecue platter with chicken feet, ears, tail, intestines with peanut sauce (P160) and a lot more.

It took us a while to decide which ones to choose. Good thing our server was very nice and made a couple of suggestions based on their best-sellers. Finally, we got the Deep fried California Maki, Osso Bucco style Kare kare (Paul's favorite!) and the Chicken Adobo Flakes.

The ambiance has a very homey feel, no it doesn't have any cushioned seats neither does it have candles on every table but since the placed used to be a private residence before, we can just imagine our area being the living room, the air-conditioned area as a small room or maybe a stock room and the outside seating as the garage and garden. Since most part of the restaurant is al fresco, the only thing i didn't like is the presence of house flies. It somehow ruined the experience for me because i had to keep a look-out on our drinks and food at all times.

Let us now go back to the dishes that we ordered. First off was the Deep fried California Maki. I love the way this dish was presented. 8 pieces of regular sized makis were placed one beside the other. There was a tiny bit of wasabi at the edge of the platter, a small saucer filled with soy sauce and a piece of calamansi for a pinoy touch. I love the taste of the maki especially how the mango wasn't too sour nor was it too sweet. Being deep-fried didn't make it oily either. It just left a perfect crisp to every bite. Obviously, I love love love our first dish.

Our second dish was the first of our two main entrees, the Osso Bucco style Kare kare. Kare kare is one of Paul's favorite Filipino dish. Being a true-blue Kapampangan, his taste buds are well trained to distinguish a good genuine type from those trying hard ones. Thus, ordering this dish could truly make it or break it depending on my boyfriend's verdict. Of course, we will give a bit more allowance to Lime88 since we are really expecting their dishes to be pretty unique.

Similar to our first dish, this one also didn't fail to please the eyes. It was served on a white deep dish with two beef shanks covered with yummy peanut sauce and a bit of bagoong (shrimp paste) at the side. Our fork sank into the tender meat which was a good indication that we won't be exerting too much effort to enjoy this dish. The peanut sauce has a good consistency (unlike some that our too thick for our liking) and the veggies were steamed just right.

Our second dish was the Chicken Adobo Flakes. This one was our least favorite among the three. What was expected to be crispy bits of chicken adobo served on garlic rice turned out to be hard bits of meat on cold rice with no sign of garlic bits whatsoever. It was a bit of a disappointment to say the least.

Good thing our two dishes really made our experience pleasant and we will definitely go back, this time with friends, soon!

In general, Lime88 is a perfect place for the barkada to hang out. With its cool surround sounds, inviting pool table and great tasting dishes... i'm giving it 4 twinkling stars!

Lime88 is located at 160 San Rafael st. Mandaluyong City.