EG's Birthday @ Balducci

Once in a while, I like to pretend that I'm classy/cultured/European/all of the above and try out things that I don't normally do. Like drink wine served in room temperature ("chilled? But that destroys it!"), order things that I don't fully comprehend ("Macche what now?") or eat cold cuts served over greens ("where's the American bread?"). Thanks to "sosy friends" I do get to indulge. Ok fine, I try to sound more jologs than I really am but let me try to poke some fun here.

 

Thanks to EG's birthday, this group had another reason to meet up. The invite was sent to a larger number, but only 3 of us were able to make it. All good - we got a chance to talk about more people behind heir backs. We talked about a lot of things, including the "taboo" topic of politics. We just couldn't help it I guess. No matter how much I try to steer the conversation to more interesting topics (like Rose's lovelife and EG's ulterior motives), we somehow find ourselves talking about extrajudicial killings and Twitter trolls. Go figure.

 

We were hungry but the first thing we ordered was the wine. Now I seriously have never learned how to choose what wine to order (they all look and taste the same to me), so I left the choosing to the expert - Miss "we don't have water, we serve wine" herself. She swirled, she sniffed and she gave her nod of approval. I can totally do that, I told myself. I'll just pretend that I know what I'm sniffing at and swirling for next time. 

 

For our appetizer, we ordered the Affettati Assortiti Con Cocole E Salsa Al Gorgonzola E Mascarpone. Colds cuts for short. At P410, you'd expect a large platter but it was served on this tiny dish. I guess that's how the elitistas roll haha. It tasted, well, like cold cuts. Only better. It went well with the wine. Wish we ordered some cheese. 

 

The next dish served was the Maccheroni Alla Calabrese (P390). We requested the pasta to be changed to spaghetti, so I guess the name should be changed as well. But it's made of Italian tomato sauce with fresh ricotta and pine nuts. "It doesn't look like much but it's actually delicious," quipped the birthday girl. I'll leave it at that.

 

Finally, there's the Pizza - Margherita-Pomodoro, Mozarella, Basilico (P390). Basically pizza with mozarella, basil and cheese. Not a personal favorite (where's the meat? Haha) but I ended up devouring several slices. I made the mistake of adding too much chili flakes on my first slice, so my mouth was somewhat on fire. 

 

Balducci Ristorante (Serendra) was a great place for food and good conversation. The place was formal enough for people to avoid boisterous laughter, but casual enough to just be ourselves. We would have ordered more if not for the bread baskets that kept on coming. I wanted to get oysters and the grilled mozarella but there was hardly any space left after all the carbo loading. 

 

It was a fun night, though we had to cut it short because Rose's driver has a curfew. We made plans for Rhea's wedding day and other things. I ended up buying EG a pair of gold shoes, but that's a story for another day.