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The national flower of the Philippines, "Sampaguita"
is flourishing on the Gold Coast.
Not
in garden beds but in the form of a delightful friendly Mermaid Beach restaurant.
It is owned and operated by Ving and
Marilou Zacaries, Ving in the kitchen and Marilou out front.
Ving has had a wealth of international
experience and worked as a chef at the Gold Coast Holiday Inn before establishing
his restaurant six years ago.
There is great variety on the menu and
Marylou is happy to help with advice on the many dishes of her homeland
Lumpia, crisp minced beef spring rolls are tasty
and served with a chilli dipping sauce.
Batchoy soup is almost a complete meal:
clear soup with beef, boiled egg, shredded cabbage, noodles, green shallots and
finally sprinkled with fried garlic and fried onions.
Guinataan
Na Gulay is a delicious mix of snake beans, sweet potato, pumpkin, bitter melon
and okra simmered in coconut cream with ginger, garlic, onion and whole
chillies served with a bowl of sautéed salted shrimps on the side. The
melon has a delicate mild flavour while the ocra is quite gelatinous and the
snake beans add crunch – a dish really worth trying.
Kaldereta is a Philipino style beef casserole
with a rich, dark gravy that goes well with steamed milagrosa rice.
Typical desserts are Biko or sticky rice
cooked in coconut cream and palm sugar and Cassava cake which is cooked with
evaporated milk, condensed milk, coconut cream and castor sugar.
This restaurant offers interesting food and a unique cuisine well worth investigating
Sampaguita
13/2468 Gold Coast Highway
Mermaid Beach
Phone: (07) 5526 1874
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