Days nearing the holidays are supposed to be not-the-usual-busy-days, but the 23rd of December 2015 was different. The legal minds at the Justice Hall of Baguio City were awashed and deluged with legal errands and so after being mentally exhausted, we just decided to “volt-in” for lunch. Joining me as the main cast for today’s food adventure are Judge Glenda T. Ortiz-Soriano, Prosecutor Nimia Peralta, Atty. Louella Navarro and Atty. Bernard Allan Angeles. My relatively new clunker was supposed to drive us for this luncheon escapade but upon seeing Prosecutor Nimia’s new ride, we decided for her to play the role of a driver. She played the role very well in just one take and I commend her for that.
We braved the traffic laden Session Road not knowing where to go and since Prosecutor Nimia was growing impatient, which is not supposedly part of her role as a driver, we feared that she will just drive us through Mc Donald’s and order fries since she earlier threatened that she was not hungry anyway. That would be the worst food adventure ever and so we all released a sigh of relief when Atty. Bernard quickly suggested that we try, tada….
KEBAB KONNER along Session Road, Baguio City.
I have seen this restaurant before but I never dared to try. Now, let me see what this bhojanalay (restaurant in Hindi) has to offer, forgive me if I did not use the word correctly. 🙂
Most of the time that I pass through Kebab Konner, I see it like this…
I usually see this empty so that was probably the reason that Kebab Konner never appealed to me. I have this notion that if a restaurant is mostly empty, they are probably offering something that is not worth trying. When I entered this hall, I was surprised that they actually have a second level for – calm dining. I was not able to take a photo of a sign outside which says: “First Floor for Casual Dining, Second Floor for Calm Dining”. Since I really don’t know what they meant by calm dining, I took a deep breath, checked my heartbeat and made sure that I was calm before I went to the second floor.
Before we placed our orders, the paparazzis asked if they could take our photos and so we obliged just to avoid commotion…
The paparazzis were not satisfied with the first photo and so…
Still not satisfied, a paparazzi took the inconvenience of taking an aerial view of us:
The management was about to kick us out so we hurriedly browsed at their menu and asked for their best sellers. They have a wide range of entrees to choose from and you can easily navigate your way through this…
Let’s get to work and see what KEBAB KONNER has to offer:
For our appetizer, we had HUMMUS. According to our menu navigator, this is a MUST TRY to complete your KEBAB KONNER experience.
To me, whether it was with tahini or not and since I could not distinguish the difference, the HUMMUS appetizer was a winner. 🙂 I loved it and it stimulated my appetite for the main course, just like an appetizer would really do.
I did not know how to eat the HUMMUS but some of us devoured it by dipping the PITA BREAD into the HUMMUS or by spreading the HUMMUS to the PITA BREAD. Here is what I did:
Anyway, we had the following main entrees:
LAMB BIRYANI
Tender lamb combined with Biryani rice mixed with special spices. I love how another website described this to be a “festive dish”. Accordingly, this is good for 2 to 3 persons if this is the only dish that you will order. But considering that we had other orders, 5 of us experienced the tenderness of the lamb and the generous taste of the Biryani rice. Indeed, this is a MUST TRY!
TANDOORI CHICKEN
According to the menu navigator, this one is a SPECIALTY OF THE HOUSE. I made my research on how they make this dish and learned that it was prepared with yogurt and spices. It didn’t actually taste like yogurt and how weird would that be but had I known earlier, I would have tried my best to capture that “yogurty” taste. Tandoori chicken is a dish originating in the Indian subcontinent. It is widely popular in South Asia,Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Middle East and the Western world. The name comes from the type of cylindrical clay oven, a tandoor, in which the dish is traditionally prepared. Did I like tandoori chicken? It did not win my heart but it was the dish that Prosecutor Nimia enjoyed because according to Judge Glenda – it was the most normal recipe from among those we ordered fitting for a non-adventurous-normal-palate like Prosecutor Nemia’s, our chauffeur. (wink wink)
LAMB KORMA
In the menu, this is described as boneless mutton mildly spiced cooked in Chef’s Special Gravy. Why is it called LAMB KORMA? According to wikipedia – Korma (from Turkish kavurma), also spelled kormaa, qorma, khorma, or kurma, is a dish originating in South Asia consisting of meat or vegetables braised in a spiced sauce made with yogurt, cream, nut or seed paste.
With how Korma was defined, you can actually use other meat for this dish. You can make chicken korma, turkey korma, pork korma or Kambing Korma? Up to you. 🙂
The menu did not indicate whether this is a must try or a specialty of the house but I liked it. Try it with chapati bread, but I gobbled mine with rice of course.
We also had – CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA, I was not able to take a pic of the actual dish that we had but this is the closest I got that looked like the CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA at KEBAB KONNER…
This is tandoori chicken tikka cooked in red tomato and onion gravy. Judge Glenda loved it so much! Accordingly, she liked the mix of flavors and the fact that the sauce is not over powering. To put it simply, the meat and the sauce complement each other. Perfect with chapati bread!
Your Kebab Konner experience will not also be complete if you won’t try their LASSI. You can have their lassi iced, sweet, or salted. The staff recommended that we try it sweet and so we did. Here is how it looks like…
Here is what I think about my KEBAB KONNER experience:
PRICE: Not bad!! I loved the lassi experience and I am glad that it was affordable! You can just drop by their resto and be refreshed @ P100.00 per glass of lassi. I dare you to skip your one day dose of starbucks or milk tea and try this healthier option for a drink.
The LAMB BIRYANI experience is priced at P325.00 and I highly recommend that you try this! That is very reasonable for some premium lamb chops. Most of their delightful specialties start at an average price of P250.00. The HUMMUS appetizer is only P120.00 and can change the lives of 3 to 4 people.
LOCATION: Along Session Road, Baguio City or more specifically at the ground level of Porta Vaga Mall, Session Road, Baguio City. For tourists, you will not have a hard time looking for KEBAB KONNER, just look for Porta Vaga Mall along Session Road and you are good to go!
PARKING SPACE: No problem during off-peak seasons because the parking at the Cathedral Church can accommodate you. But don’t take my word for holidays.
AMBIANCE: The calm dining area will give you that mediterranean feel. The smell of curry and spices are all over and is already appetizing so you can immediately order your main course. Haha. But again, try their HUMMUS for a complete experience.
CUSTOMER SERVICE: Very attentive staff. I hope they will do the same even if they are full. The manager is also friendly and approachable and gave me the go when I asked for a copy of their menu.
RECOMMENDATION: I give it my two thumbs up with standing ovation! Loved the experience and I would love for you to try it too! The resto was already half-full when we left so I guess people do come back for more. 🙂
For tourists who are looking for a Must-Try resto here in Baguio City, this is one place that you should visit. The food and the culture may not be Cordillera but the food will blend well with your Baguio City experience!
Until the next spoonful folks!
P.S.
Suppliers for meat products like Chicken and Beef are Muslims with Halal meat supply. Lamb served are imported from New Zealand and are also Halal certified.
What is Halal?
Still curious about halal? Here’s a great article about it – WHAT IS HALAL MEAT, AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?