Raaz Mahal & infinitea - Aug 2012

It's another Sunday church with nothing much except dad invited us again for lunch. No one got an idea where to eat till the mass ended and a last minute suggestion is to try a Middle Eastern themed restaurant called Raaz Mahal.

Raaz Mahal is easily found along the the intersection of Aguirre Avenue and Elizalde Street.

Like many establishments in BF Parañaque, it was created from a residential building with some slight renovations. I think theirr restaurant needs a little repainting of the facade to stand out.

I'm expecting it to be a bit better in terms of presentation and quality than the Shawarma Snack Center found at President's Avenue, the one with moderate prices and simple interiors.

Their service crew on a Sunday is little, probably just enough to service a small group of customers on a Sunday.  With my observation, many restaurants in BF have few customers on weekends.
While we wait for a crew to send us a menu, I went around and found these furnishings.  I also found a lot of cigarette butts on the floor. I can conclude that the restaurant is primarily serving customers at night.

Though the interiors are simple, it is good enough to give an impression of a  Middle Eastern themed restaurant.

Prices are slightly high in my opinion especially after I saw the servings of some orders.  I recall having a conversation with someone regarding importation of spices from these regions which indeed are pricey.

Onion and Potato Pakoras with Tamarind Sauce. This appetizer has an interesting sauce which I liked.
It is also light on the tummy.

I'm not sure whether it's the appetizer itself or just us really hungry. :)

There's a long wait for orders to be served and there are only two tables/customers while we are there.  I think, we waited around 20 to 30 minutes for the first order to arrive.

Naan Bread.  The burn marks appears authentic and as expected  but I prefer Cafe Mediterranean's pita bread where burns are little.

I could not recall what they call this but it is nothing remarkable, a simple curry with a bit of spice.

Fries for the kid with us.

This simple presented dish I believe is one of their chicken kebabs which is not bad, yet, there's something missing in it like quality or freshness.  It tastes like ground beef but with a slight spice and herbs.

We also ordered one of their pricey rice bowls which appeared nice with colors but tastes plain and again with little spice in it.

It's about all we ordered and we're six in the group.  I guess everyone was not happy.  I wanted to like the restaurant as I liked such cuisine but the price, service, and the quality doesn't come out well.

I reckon, we're just had a bad luck of having lunch on a Sunday of this establishment.  I believe this restaurant performs better during night for people to hangout, drink, smoke, and get small bites of their dishes.

After Raaz Mahal, we went out and search for coffee or desserts.
My dad and sisters have this liking for milk teas and this new store, infinitea, along Aguirre near Sinagtala got them interested.

I liked the interiors with modern and colorful theme to it.  The crew will ask how much sugar you would like on your particular drink.  I liked this aspect because milk teas are known for their sugar or calorie content and have usually huge servings.
I chose half the sugar content and my drink came out alright.

These are posts from customers as the store recently opened.

Their tea came out alright with just the right amount of milk and sugar. One thing I noticed though is the quality of the pearls which is not on par with the those from ChaTime or GongCha.

I could be mistaken but the pearls are quite hard and rough at its center when I chewed on them.

To me, the pearls is what milk tea is all about.  The milk and tea just facilitates consuming the pearls.

Due to this, I would place infinitea below Chatime and GongCha, but above Bon Appetea which is one of those I have tried.

Don't take my word for it, try it yourself.