Sweet Riyadh

How was your week? Well, it started out busy for the tarhas and it's ending pretty much busy too. We are all sure you're dying for the workweek to end so you can start your day off. Whew Wednesday!

Well, we have a nice sweet idea to jump start your weekend. We're spreading the calories by sharing photos of the some of the desserts you'll find in Riyadh. Yes, we're eating Riyadh today.

We start with a simple slice of chocolate cake. 

Sinful much?

Pardon Cafe and Restaurant in Olaya has one of the best in town. It has wafer-like layers that add crunch to the moist base. It also has this glazed cereal accent that glistens like a jewel. Yum-oh!

And some ice cream, please.

A pairing of sweetness

Gate of Jazeera Palace in Suleimania has small scoops of vanilla ice cream in cute glasses drizzled with some lovely chocolate syrup. You can order it with bananas or lychees.

Add the chocolate cake and ice cream and we have the infamous chocolate fondant, which you might have encountered in the Philippines as "lava cake."

Best when shared.

A chocolate volcano can be found in Steak House. The cake is soft and the fudge is warm. We cannot resist!

Starry-eyed.

Nino in Olaya has a simpler version... with a star. It's a little bit dry but it's satisfyingly sweet nonetheless.

The volcano erupted!

A favorite is Cafe Ceramique's in Sahara Mall. This is the chocolate cake that tastes like our cakes in the Philippines. Not too sweet, not too exquisite to be expensive. The milk chocolate oozes out effortlessly. (For the record, this did not come out in the kitchen looking like this. We had to digest the main meal first before we can attack this dessert that's why it was left alone for a while. Our bad!)

An order will leave you longing for more. It's small. Really.

There's the cutie-patootie version of Wayne's Coffee, minus the ice cream. This is the cheapest in this bunch.

Dessert became the main dish?

And then there's the version of Ketchup (at the back) but what caught our taste buds off guard was the banana pudding. It was lovely. E can't get enough of it.

Are you done with the chocolate cake and ice cream pairing? Hey, the ice cream has always been a free agent so it can be paired with anything! Try these:

The yummiest bunch.

Outback Steakhouse in Tahlia has an ice cream+brownie combination. (Get their sampler of three desserts!)

Hot and cold is a winning combo.

While Ketchup has an ice cream+cookie offering. The cookies are warm and crisp.

Who has the heart to destroy this tower?

Le Relais de L'Entrecote has a sosyal French dessert that has meringue+ice cream. This Vacherin tower is exquisite.

And Dairy Queen has their famous wafer+ice cream aka the ice cream sandwich. It gave us a teeth freeze (pangingilo=dentin hypersensitivity). We have a photo in my phone somewhere.

The Sumatra with pancakes filled with pistachio and cream.

More chocolate goodness comes in The Noodle House's chocolate Sumatra. This is wicked. If you haven't tasted chocolate with a punch, this is it.

And if you're tired of chocolate, then there's always...

Walnuts love!

The carrot cake of Tony Roma's. It's crumbly, fruity, nutty... almost like a fruit cake. The syrup was too sweet though. (Try Outback's carrot cake too.)

The anatomy of a carrot cake.

Or this one from Cakelicious, which is well, a cake so delicious!

Sultry and sexy dessert. ;P

Or the oreo cheesecake of Ketchup, which we devoured in a matter of minutes. Or was that seconds? It's too fast my memory failed me.

Well, that's quite a long list huh? We hope your sugar levels did not go up and reach new heights upon seeing the photos. All we want really is to wish you a very merry weekend. It is not our intention to make you salivate and be hungry. Nope, not at all. :P

Enjoy! ;)

That's More Like It, Ketchup!

"They say that love is sweeter the second time around.

I say that Ketchup was better my second time around." - ec

Ketchup's glaring red logo as seen in the streets.

I know that we've given Ketchup a beating for their services the first time we ate there. I really thought it was the last we'd see of the place. But if there is one thing you should know about me, it's that red is my favorite color and ketchup is my all-time favorite condiment. Suffice to say, I was lured back to give this restaurant a chance to redeem itself. And surprisingly, it did. Big time.

This time around, we called in our reservation: Sunday night, 7pm for a party of two. My good friend "A" (who was also with us during our first bout at Ketchup) was my dinner date. We arrived just in time after the Maghrib prayers and was welcomed by a tall and gracious Indian man who I could only assume to be the restaurant's maitre d'. The other guy who used to welcome the patrons before was not there when we arrived. Yeah, remember him? The one who rudely greeted us during our first visit there? Perhaps we weren't the only ones who complained about that dude's behavior.

Anyway, I came to know the maitre d's name as Asif and I must say, his presence and accommodating manner really made a difference. As you know, first impressions count, especially in a place where people come to spend money and he was conversational, without being over-intrusive. The same goes for our server of the evening, Jeremy. If our server before was aloof and inattentive, Jeremy was all smiles and had an impeccable attention to detail. I say "impeccable" because during the course of my meal, my red table napkin kept sliding off the lap of my silk abaya, and despite having couches that will seemingly block Jeremy's view of the floor, he would always notice it when I was picking my napkin up and was ready to offer me a new one. And take note, my napkin slid off more than five times (to the point where I told him, I don't think I need napkins anymore...a bib would be more like it! lol!)

Oh and remember those couches and window seats that we were deprived of during our first visit? Well, this time around, we were offered the choice of seating between the big, homey white couches or the seats nearing the view of the streets of Suleimaniyah. Perhaps having the reservation did grant us some more A-list treatment.

Where we sat.

Now that's more like it! Very lounge-y.

We've never had a bad thing to say about the food in Ketchup. Every bite is worth the penny spent. This is after all a fine-dining restaurant and their main commodity shouldn't compromise its quality any less. And it doesn't. My friend A ordered the same Calamari for appetizer like we did the first time along with their cream of corn soup. For our main course, I ordered the Shrimp Scampi Pasta and A got the Chicken BBQ. For drinks, A had her staple soda drink while I tried out the healthiest drink in the beverages list: The Herbal Wave (apparently the healthiest of all their concoctions!)

Have a see:

Ketchup's Calamari is crunchy and juicy (with a tad elasticity left in those squids)

For the Alicia Silverstone in you, have the Herbal Wave.

A healthy mix of fresh orange juice, basil and fennel.

Yes. You read that right. I said FENNEL. And BASIL (which I love :D).

Tickle your gourmet tastebuds, why don't you?

This Shrimp Scampi pasta is very, very different from the pasta of the same name served at Tony Roma's. Indulge me as I caption the hell out of this: The shrimp really tasted like it perspired inside the cloth of thin batter (my way of saying it was juicy :P). The angel-hair pasta added a smooth texture to each bite and the fried capers provided the crunch and flavor to the entirety of the dish. It may appear to be a small amount of food, but when I finished it I felt like I ate steak or something. This had me kissing the tips of my fingers like Italians do.

We capped the evening off with a generous offering of New York Cheesecake served with Oreos and whipped cream (Remember, the one we really wanted to have last time but didn't get?). Though we were already stuffed with our main course, but this was too much of a delight to resist.

Look at that beauty and tell me you don't want one.

As we prepared to leave, we couldn't help but compare our first experience with that of the night. It was the complete and total opposite of what we went through before in terms of service. I suppose improvements and further training was given to the staff in attending to their customers and see? It does pay off. Like I told Mr. Asif, most of the time, people come back to restaurants because they enjoyed the atmosphere -- having a place to relax and unwind with their friends or family after a hard day at work is important, especially to young professionals like us. And having an outstanding service is a major factor in having an enjoyable atmosphere.

Back then, Ketchup already caught our interest with its interiors and the gourmet-ish quality of their food got a big thumbs up for us. Now, I'm happy to report they are on their A-game with regards to service. I hope they really keep it up!

Having said that, I'll let this last photo say it all:

Cheers!

-ec-

It's a Dip in Ketchup

I've never been to a restaurant in this city that gave me a feeling that I'll never return to it again. Most of the time, even if the food is not that great, I still give it a chance because a. the staff is nice and b. the ambiance is good for long conversations, which I really, really like having when I'm out with my family and friends (esp. the co-Pink Tarha ladies). Newly-opened Ketchup in Tahalia Street is a different story.

When I first saw Ketchup, I was smitten. The red ambiance inside, glowing into the night and into the street where I was standing waiting for my father to pick me up was like a beckoning lighthouse. I was so intrigued I suggested the other ladies to try it out as soon as possible. I guess that suggestion was the biggest mistake I ever made as a PT lady. Blah.

Entering the restaurant was like entering a posh bar in Los Angeles. After all, Ketchup originated there and it's one of the hippest places after being seen in the series, The Hills. Imagine, celebrity sighting, woot! But that is in Los Angeles. This is Riyadh.


Anyway, when we got upstairs (family section), the receptionist asked if we have a reservation. We told him none (sorry, we didn't know it was a must). He asked us, quite rudely, to go downstairs again. Er, excuse me? Why go downstairs again when we're already upstairs? It's not as if we'll gonna be kicked out because the place that time was quiet and empty. Then he probably realized what a waste of time it'll be and he asked us instead to sit in the "bar" area. He went down, not before he gave us a haughty look. Ooohkay... When he returned, he beckoned us to this small table for four near the stairs in the middle of the area. We were disappointed because the sofa and chairs (ergo, the more beautiful setup) near the glass walls overlooking the street are all empty. We wanted to sit there! But of course, we understood because those seats were already reserved. We didn't reserve after all. What we didn't understand was that almost all those tables and chairs remained empty the entire time we were there! More on this later.

The interiors and lighting, which attracted me to the restaurant proved to be more beautiful, almost dramatic, inside. I particularly love the Heinz bottles lights dangling from the ceiling.


The white furniture are modern and elegant. The vibe is sophisticated and cool. The red lighting is amazing at first because it is indeed unique in this setting but it got boring and tiring to the eyes after a while. I couldn't even see the true color of my food. I can seriously feel a migraine coming (even if I haven't suffered from one, ever).

The restrooms hidden in large tomato structures are cool though, even the bar which is the first to greet us upstairs is inviting. Of course, no liquor available (how many times do I have to tell you that in our resto reviews?! Lol!) On to the food...

Free bread sticks

Fries tossed in parmesan and white truffle oil and Calamari

We started our meal with some fries and squid rings which were both tasty. They were served with some Ketchup on the side. We had high expectations of the glorified condiment. After all, the restaurant is named after it. Hmn, we didn't find anything extraordinary with the ketchup variants served. That, or maybe our taste buds aren't so gourmet.

I ordered a chicken dish. Two girl friends followed suit.

Shake N' Bake, one of their bestsellers
Pistachio-crusted chicken breast, mushroom gravy, garlic mash, sauteed baby vegetables
BBQ Chicken
Ketchup's original BBQ sauced chicken breast, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, grilled corn
Hawaiian Chicken
With fancy rice, pineapple bits, and baby veggies
Chicken dishes are SR50-SR65 each.

I personally enjoyed my Hawaiian chicken. The white meat was soft and the flavor of the pineapple bits sweetened the viand nicely. It complemented the rice too. Our friends enjoyed their dishes too. The Shake n' Bake was really unusual. It's crisp on the outside but the chicken meat inside was very delectable. Eyecandy ordered this:

The Burger, SR52

Eyecandy loved her burger that she's been cutting the tender Angus beef patty delicately. She still remembers the savory taste up to now.

We also had some refreshing fruity shakes and mocktails.

Strawberry Shake
Mango Orange Shake
Peach Soda
Shakes and special drinks are at SR20+

We were soon liking the place because of our main courses. Ketchup really took the American cuisine (even plain comfort food) to a whole new level. Hmn, except that we're eating in tables which is way too small for four. Not too comfortable. Our immaculate square plates (very one-of-a-kind I must say) didn't fit.

Now, time for dessert... the sweetest part of the meal... not in Ketchup! We ordered the banana bread pudding and New York cheesecake. We were so excited to try them when our waiter informed us that he canceled our orders because the chef is giving us a complimentary chocolate cake. We didn't know what to feel; happy because there's free dessert or irritated because our waiter suddenly canceled our orders without even asking us. Don't you think it's more polite to inform us about the free cake and then first ask us if we want to continue with our order of other desserts than canceling them right away?! Granted that we cannot finish everything in our table, what if we're doing a review like this and wanted to try other items? And our friend who hosted this dinner (thank you!) wanted to taste the cheesecake badly. We're so disappointed that even the free fudgy chocolate cake could not salvage this experience.

Add that to the fact that the elegant, beautiful sofa and chair setups remained vacant until we finished our meal. That's roughly more than two hours, and no one arrived to take their 'reserved' seats. We asked for the bill hurriedly and left the place without looking back. We decided to go to Sahara Mall to liven up our spirits.

Don't get me wrong, Ketchup's food is delicious but if we only want good food, then we could have gone to other restaurants that offer them at more affordable prices. Sure, this is one posh American franchise but the uptight and sort of discriminatory ambiance ruined the experience for us. Their soft opening stage should not be a reason for this kind of service. It's all the more reason to put their best foot forward!

The Pink Tarha ladies are simple ladies who just enjoy good food and hearty laughter. We're not some social climbers who are maarte (different from being kikay ;) and high-maintenance, and we rarely complain of the restos we've featured. After all, we look at the brighter, lighter side of things. If Ketchup is for the higher class, it sure did rub it in (ouch!). Ketchup did re-create the LA social scene vibe, congratulations! Thank you for making us realize that we are not comfortable with that vibe, nor with that kind of crowd. Sigh, I do apologize to my friends for even suggesting we dine in Ketchup. (It's very important to have friends who are very much fun to be with so you can just ignore the bad experience and still enjoy dinner and the moments in between.)

§undrenched

PS. This dining experience happened a month ago. We hope the resto improved (a lot) since then. Give us your feedback if you've eaten here. For those who want to eat in Ketchup, reserve! Maybe they'll be nicer.