Goodbye Tandoor King, Hello Juan’s Bistro

Filipinos are truly missing a lot in their apparent dread of foreign cuisine, especially that which comes from their fellow Asians. However, there are still a few brave countrymen who would invest a lot of money and effort to provide Filipinos the opportunity of tasting the exotic fare coming from other countries, doing their best to lower prices in their attempt to lure the common public. Very, very, very few succeed in such ventures. They either close shop, or succumb to a “sell-out” by changing their menu into the sanctuary of common Filipino fodder.

Such is the case of the former Tandoor King. This restaurant offered good Indian cuisine at relatively affordable prices. Whenever I passed by their Mall of Asia branch I noticed that they rarely had more than 2 tables of customers. I used to bring my family there and it was only us and sometimes one other table of patrons being served.

I couldn’t blame the Tandoor King’s owners if they were constrained to overhaul their resto into an outfit that specializes in Filipino lutong bahay (home-cooked) cuisine at affordable prices, renaming it Juan’s Bistro. But frankly, I find it absurd how people get out of their homes only to eat food that tastes like it was cooked in their homes, particularly Filipino homes, and spend at least 4 times more than if they actually cooked the food in their own kitchens.

Attracted by their good-for-one-family combo at PhP650++ ($15) while curious as to whether the retirement of Tandoor King was worth it, I decided to have dinner there with my family and mother-in-law but ironically decided not to have the said combo. We first thought of having their hito (catfish) for PhP155 ($3.50) which we assumed to be grilled since it was under the Grill Section of the menu, ergo less grease, ergo good for mum-in-law. Alas, we were mistaken as the waiter explained that it was actually deep fried! So what is its business being in the Grill Section? I believe we have laws regarding such practices...

Cancelling the grilled-but-actually-fried hito we opted for the Tanigue Steak with (definitely-not-Filipino) Teriyaki Sauce at PhP165 ($4.00) inclusive of rice and iced tea for my mum-in-law (with the tacit understanding that this will still be shared by all) and the very Filipino dish of Kare-kare which is usually done with ox tripe and tail with vegetables in a kind of peanut sauce, something I honestly cannot cook at home, priced at PhP250 (US$6.00). I had beer which costs PhP45 per bottle, which was actually quite expensive for my standards, but there are times, especially during summer, when you just need to have that cold beer while waiting for dinner to be served. I pleaded for the waiter to bring us some free soup, something which was graciously granted and exceedingly appreciated by the kids.

Tanigue in Teriyaki Sauce PhP165

Kare-kare PhP250

After the tanigue and the kare-kare were served, lo and behold, thence came the cancelled grilled-but-actually-fried hito arriving at our table! We reminded our waiter that we cancelled this entrée, causing some small chaos amongst the staff in the counter. (It should be a service industry standard to repeat the orders to the customers; normal people wouldn’t mind that.) Anyway, we chose to recall the cancelled order to-go in recognition of the amiability of our waiter and the management’s generosity in serving us free soup.

The tanigue was perfect, even if the tastiness of the teriyaki sauce overwhelmed the natural flavor of the fish. The kare-kare was great, too. We did not need the accompanying bagoong (shrimp paste) to add flavor to it, which is my personal gauge on judging a good kare-kare. My only disappointment with this item was that they used pig knuckles instead of ox tripe and tail, something that is lately happening more often. Of course, nothing beats Barrio Fiesta’s and Aristocrat’s take on this dish, but it would be unfair to compare these institutions with the humble Juan’s Bistro. Regarding the merits of the grilled-but-actually-fried hito, I have yet to ask my mum-in-law, who took the dish home to probably gorge on the grease-soaked fish away from our disapproving eyes.

Peculiarly, they still had as a holdover from Tandoor King days a couple of lassi concoctions, which are sort of Indian yogurt shakes. My wife ordered the strawberry flavored lassi, which was shared (and eventually fought over) by the kids. The manager later on revealed to us that former regulars still order their Tandoor favorites, which they still prepare on a case-to-case basis.

We were charged PhP720 (US$13.50) for the entire meal, inclusive of Senior Citizens’ discount and service charge (4.46%) – not exactly that affordable - which nourished my party of 3 adults and 2 kids. The still unconsumed grilled-but-actually-fried hito could easily satiate 2 more adults. Despite the service charge, I felt obliged to give 20 pesos tip just to show that I had no hard feelings about the poor hito, something that the manager was still willing to cancel up to the last minute.

I suspect that the owners of Tandoor King / Juan’s Bistro, in their struggle for their restaurant to survive, are groping for an identity to attract a larger market. On the downside, these machinations could confuse customers. Despite their lutong-bahay claims, they still offer fusion cuisine, which is not entirely bad. I wish that they could go beyond marketing concepts and come up with something more honest to their cuisine, which remains excellent. Only after then could I hope for their prospective patrons to give them a sincere chance.