When talking about Latin American cuisine, the dish I'm most familiar with is tacos. Imagine my surprise when we went to Empingao, which boasts Latin American wares, and find out that tacos takes a bit of a backseat in this place.
With the walls covered with colorful busy artwork, it never felt lonely even though we were the only ones there during dinner time.
The first item on the menu that jumped at me was the dish called Mofongo (which I first heard from Guy Fieri). I was really excited to try it out but at the same time scared to do so. After much deliberation, we decided to save that dish for next time and chose some safer/ more familiar options.
To start us off, we ordered from their Churrasco (grilled/barbecued meats) section.
We ordered a stick each of their Lamb Chops (Php 95/stick). They serve it on a skull plate which was definitely unique. They top each stick with salsa and sour cream. The brown sauce on the side looks weird but works really well with the game-y taste of lamb; so go ahead and dip.
Food comes out pretty fast; they served our Entree (Lomo Saltado) with our Small Plate (Ham and Cheese Empanadita). No complaints here, we got this nice shot of both dishes in one picture.
Let's start with the Empanaditas.
This is their Ham and Cheese Empanadita (Php 250). Crunchy and filled with ham and cheese, this would've been a nice go-to dish if only it was less oily. It tastes good even without the sauce but dipping it from time to time helps in changing the flavor profile; to avoid the dread "umay" (tasting the same flavors again and again) feeling.
Our Lomo Saltado (Php 485) occupied one whole table. It's definitely a meal for sharing, with the flour tortillas and the fries on the side. The myriad of sauces on the side (salsa, chimichurri, sour cream) is again served on their skull plate. We couldn't wait to dig in.
A closer look of their Lomo Saltado yielded cuts of beef tenderloin swimming in their oily goodness. Usually, I have no cause for complaints when having a lot of juices from flavorful meats but in this case, the oil overpowered everything else. We had to load up on the chimichurri, salsa and cream to at least mask the oil taste.
And to complete our Latin American dinner, we had to have their Cubano (Php 325). My first taste of a Cubano sandwich was not such a good experience. With that still fresh in my mind, I was really rooting for Empingao's version. Alas, it only managed to make me stay away from this sandwich more. The bread was soggy from absorbing all the butter and the yellow mustard was the only thing that I could taste.
Sadly, Empingao's dishes made me dislike Latin American cuisine even more.
Facebook: Empingao
And to complete our Latin American dinner, we had to have their Cubano (Php 325). My first taste of a Cubano sandwich was not such a good experience. With that still fresh in my mind, I was really rooting for Empingao's version. Alas, it only managed to make me stay away from this sandwich more. The bread was soggy from absorbing all the butter and the yellow mustard was the only thing that I could taste.
Sadly, Empingao's dishes made me dislike Latin American cuisine even more.
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Empingao!
5739 San Lucas cor P. Burgos Street,
Poblacion, Makati City, Philippines
(0915) 7257378
Facebook: Empingao
Instagram: @empingaoph
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