In Dracula's Lair

I saw a link about a new resaturant in Mall of Asia while I was busy surfing the net instead of being driven nuts by work. The restaurant was called Bucharest and I was intrigued what Romanian food taste like after all the classes I used to complete for Romania and the really nice chats I had with my former counterpart.

So the main concept of the restaurant itself seems to have won me over and I really wanted to try it. One sunday night, I watched a movie with my sisters and desperately looked for a dress for my friend's wedding, we decided to eat at Bucharest after we saw their add in the escalator and ignored our Chinese food craving.

When we got there, it seemed a bit quiet since it was sunday and the dinner rush seems to be over. The waitress was kind enough to show us to our seats right away. We did not know that a band was about to perform. I am not really a fan of live bands performing while I eat (except at weddings). Or I was not in the mood for a live band that night and prefer talking since it was bonding night.

When I saw the menu, I did not know which were Romanian food or if they have any difference with the food in the other European countries as I saw hummus, Ceasar salad and pasta.

We ordered their hummus since we were big fans of hummus and we were trying to determine where in Manila can we find the best tasting hummus. I could say that it was definitely not at Bucharest. They did a better job with the presentation and I like the fact that there are olives but I've had better. The bread that comes with the hummus though tastes good but it wouldn't really make top much sense if you have a just fine hummus.

We also ordered their Insalata Cezare. The romaine lettuce was fresh and crunchy but the serving seems pretty small for its price and there doesn't seem to be enough dressing. It would have been better if the have already tossed the dressing into the salad.

We also had their seafood pesto pasta. The noodles was not really al dente and the dish itself was nothing extraordinary. The pasta was served with bread, the very same bread that came with the hummus.

Lastly we had the whole roasted chicken. This is the only dish that I would recommend. The blending flavors of citrus and rosemary can really make you get second and third servings for this dish. The chicken was also very tender and the sidings of mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables perfectly complimented this dish.

I was not able to try the drinks there but the bar list seems promising. The prices of beer and cocktails were reasonable and they serve Mojitos! The interior was quite weird because the restaurant seems to have a whole lot of space but very few tables. It reminds you of a dance studio. One thing I liked though was the Dracula and Romania trivia that they have on their placemats.

If I come back to Bucharest, I would probably for the drinks but I would rather have dinner somewhere else.