stir-fry: Artina Gallery Cafe

We found ourselves at A.Venue (for the first time!) last weekend. Scouring among the quite-limited restaurant choices, we settled on ARTINA GALLERY CAFE to grab our late dinner fix. The restaurant itself had interesting interiors, a bright feel to it, as their white walls were filled with artwork, featuring a different artist every month. Some of the paintings were for sale too. A Spanish artist was featured for the month of April, and his works were pretty good too; some of his artworks were actually already sold.

The clear glass walls gave customers outside a view of what the restaurant has to offer. At first, we were quite adamant to try out Artina at first since we were the only customers, but we were happy with how dinner turned out.

We ordered Squash Soup, Aglio Olio Pasta, and Chicken Veggie Sandwich, topped with Food for the gods ala mode for dessert :) They had this interesting drink called Calamansili, which was spiced iced Calamansi juice. Indeed, the drink was hot! But it proved to be a good anti-pasti, toning down the olive oil taste of the Aglio Olio pasta.

Calamansili Drink (P70)

Squash Soup (P120)

The squash soup was OK, and I prefer its thick texture as compared to other squash soup I've tried (Cibo still has one of the best though). Both the Chix Veggie Sandwich and Aglio Olio, on the other hand, were superb.. more than we expected in taste and in serving quantity. The Chicken Sandwich was an instant favorite since I've got the best of both worlds (chicken and potatoes), plus the cheese gave a dreamy taste to the sandwich. The Aglio Olio, although a little olive oil-y, was also a fine choice, as its al dente pasta and salty ham mixed into a flavorful treat. :)

Despite our being full, we were abel to make space for dessert! Although we ordered the slightly lighter meal-ender Food for the gods ala mode, which was