It was my mother’s birthday last Sunday and since we were all at the house, it was decided that an eat-out was a must.

The original plan was to eat at the newly opened Viking’s at SM BF Paranaque but since we failed to get reservations, we ended up being number 47 on the queue.  Yeah, eff that shiz, no way we’re waiting that long to eat.  After doing a quick circuit of the restaurants nearby, we decided on Gaspi’s because the menu looked interesting, and more importantly, there were no lines.

The interior was homey; I liked the brick walls and the fact that the huge arc that separated the bar area from the main area was made entirely out of mirror shards.  There were a few quirky paintings of fat people, which I guess was there to highlight the whole Italian vibe.  I just wish that there were more of the paintings of the house crests because those looked more interesting to read while waiting for your food.

For starters we had the Gambas al Ajilo and an order of Cheese Sticks.  The former was sublime, but the latter was just so-so.

When I saw the menu, my eye immediately went to Pollo Manga, or chicken in Mango sauce, because I was intrigued at how that combination would work.  In my head the sweetness of the mangoes would blend well with whatever spices used to cook the chicken.  Unfortunately, the dish I received tasted like it was a little bit confused because it felt like it couldn’t decide what it should be.  On one hand, the chicken was cooked well and had it’s own set of flavors but on the other there were the mango chunks caramelized by the heat.  The two flavors just would just not mesh together, which was a shame.

The ‘rents had the Paella Valenciana and shared an order of Salpicado.  I didn’t get to taste either, but they said it was okay.  My brother and sister-in-law each ordered steak (I didn’t get to note down which ones).

For desert, the two couples I was with (helloooo, fifth wheel hahahaha) ordered a slice of the Frozen Brazo.  I guess it was good because by the time I had the camera ready to snap a photo, half of it was already gone.  I decided on the Churros though, which, in my opinion were surprisingly pale.  The dough was a little bland for my taste by the chocolate dip was legitimately good that I didn’t mind that much.  I just wish that they used a more absorbent type of paper to put these babies in because the oil just sort of settled at the bottom and that was just gross.

Service for the most part was good; I say for the most because there was this one waitress who looked bored out of her mind just standing there.  She wasn’t observant at all because it took me a couple of tries to call her attention.  Food delivery was also a little bit on the slow side and for some weird reason they decided to serve our food all at once.  It wasn’t so much as issue for me, but my sister-in-law said that her steak wasn’t hot when she sliced into it.

All in all it was a nice place to celebrate my mother’s birthday because of the relaxed ambiance and the good service.  I probably won’t be returning to Gaspi’s anytime soon, at least not for their main courses.  They do have an extensive line of cakes and sweets that I want to try when I swing over there again.