Fireside by Kettle in SM Megamall

To continue with my ninja-mode visit a couple of months ago where only a handle of friends knew that I was in town and they totally understood that I couldn't do meet-ups as all my time was solely dedicated to family. That's why I love them and that's why they're my truest and bestest friends.

So, after my lunch date with Mommy dear at Oedo, the following day was spent with Pan. We had to do a couple of errands in the morning and since we were driving a coding car, we decided to just head to SM Megamall where we can stay for the time being. It's really amazing to see how the mall has quickly expanded within a year's time. Together with its expansion, there was also a boom in the number of restaurants that have opened and these are all on my list, waiting for me to try. One of those was Fireside. It was really silly of me to think that Fireside belonged to another restaurant group and it was only when I was reading the menu that I realized that it's actually Kettle's sister-restaurant.



Well, if you remember my previous visit to Kettle, the only thing that I loved was the Checkered Cake. Everything else were either too oily, a bit bland or just so-so for me. It might not be Kettle's fault as I know of a lot of friends and food bloggers who loved it. Perhaps my taste has changed drastically and I have grown adverse towards overly oily and salty food. Truth is, I've stopped eating ramen and bacon since the start of the year and I've turned myself into a rabbit happily munching into her bowl of greens. Hehehe..

Anyway, I pushed my biases aside and tried a couple of dishes that called out to me and Pan as we were going through the menu. First was the Hot Crab & Artichoke Dip (Php. 279). We both love chips with dip so this starter immediately got our unanimous vote. The dip had a very strong talangka (crab fat) flavor which I was hoping could still be toned down with more cream. Despite the sharp taste, it was quite good when paired with the chopped artichokes and the melted cheese on top. The chips were yummy too.

For mains, we shared a huge platter of Apricot-Chipotle Glazed Ribs (Php. 889). Initially, I thought that it was quite a friendly price of a full rack of ribs but when I saw the actual platter, I somehow doubted that this was indeed a full rack. Nonetheless, I love how the meat simply glides off the bone and the coating was really yummy. I also enjoyed the creamy potato salad that came with it. This alone was a good dish that we both wished we didn't ordered an extra side anymore.

This was our additional side -- Coleslaw (Php. 119) which came in this humongous bowl. This just got to be the biggest coleslaw serving that we've ever seen in our lives. Sadly though, the salad was too dry for us to enjoy. We just decided to pack it up and gave it to a maintenance guy after.

I'd say, Pan and I have grown up. Gone are the days when we would order like there's no tomorrow, inevitably filling up our table. For this lunch alone, our table was still quite empty as we simply just had one starter plate and one main dish. Either we've grown up or it's because Pan's wedding is just a few months away and we got our gowns to fit into. Haha! Let's see how we fare post-wedding.

Check out Fireside by Kettle at the 3/F Fashion Hall in SM Megamall, J. Vargas Avenue, Mandaluyong City. Call them at 532-1807.