Battle of the Persians

There's a new kid in town - well, not sooo new. Although Behrouz has sentimental value to me since it's linked to fond memories of our early dating stage with D.; I undoubtly found a new contender in the battle for best Persian resto in town.

Persian Square is one of the many new hotspots that emerged with the rise of Sykes in Ortigas Home Depot.

Owned by an Irani business man, the resto serves traditional Middle Eastern cuisine with all the favorites you might expect and some new dishes you will enjoy. We've been tried it out soon after its opening and have become regulars ever since.

I'm not an adventurer when it comes to food and I like sticking to the classics. We usually order hummus, but Iast time I wanted to try out the Mirza Ghasemi, which is mashed grilled eggplant sauteed in onions and garlic with Persian spices and home-made tomato sauce. This is without a doubt my new favorite appetizer.

Their perennial classic Chelo Kebab Kobideh comes with a huge serving of buttered long grain basmati rice and two grilled tomatoes. A dish definitely large enough to share, unless you're glutons like we are. I'm still a little disappointed that all restos serve butter in those little plastic single serving cups. Persian Square, unfortunately, is no exception.

The Chelo Morg is also worth a mention. Thin slices of fillet mignon marinated in onions and lime juice. Very delicious. For those who favor chicken, there's always Chelo Joojeh; tender chicken fillets marinated in saffron, lime juice and onions. Very juicy and tasty.

And a friend told me that Persian Square serves the closest thing to a shawarma since she moved back to Manila from Saudi. I have yet to try that out.

The design reminds me more of dungeons&dragons (fortress type architecture) meets Barney (purple is the predominent color scheme). Every you look you can see that the owners are in the tiles business (I heard over 3000 squares are to be found in the restaurant) and your experience will be topped off with the tantalizing sounds the Arab MTV that plays on the plasma - which by the way always gets me head-bopping.

Verdict: if you're looking for minimalist, edited design and style, go elsewhere. But if what you want is authentic persian food, you found your bet here.