Maharlika Restaurant, New York City

Maharlika Restaurant
111 First Avenue & 7th St.
646-392-7880
maharlikanyc.com

Maharlika is still young, having started out in January 2011 as a "pop-up" place serving only brunch on weekends at the Resto Leon (East Village), and then at the Alias Restaurant (Lower East Side). Their food earned consistent raves from critics, and now, owners Nicole Ponseca and Enzo Lim together with their Chef, Miguel Trinidad, have now opened their own place, also in the East Village.


I had heard a lot of good things about Maharlika, so I made sure we visited it on our next trip to New York. We came twice, for dinner and brunch, with a group so we could sample a good number of items on their funky and playful menu.

The dining room is long and narrow, and divided into two sections by a large bar in the middle, so it could be a tad crowded and noisy when it's full, which it often is, a testament to its popularity (an al fresco space in the back is scheduled to open soon, which will add more tables). Lots of nice Filipino touches in the decor -- I liked their play on Tagalog words in their "Tagalog Word of the Day" and a hand-made signboard just outside the front door. Even the restroom doors got their Pinoy (slang for Filipino) imprint (more on that later). Let's go to the food now.


Brunch, November 6, 2011


Here's the funky menu (since revised):

EGGS BENiGNO 12 

Lola Mahal's Home-style pandesal, thinly sliced SPAM, calamansi holladaise, kamote fries

EGGS iMELDA 15 

Lola Mahal's Home-style pandesal, laing (taro root leaves, coconut milk, shrimp paste, and chillies), grilled prawn, calamansi hollandaise, kamote fries

ARROZ CALDO 11 

Shredded chicken, omassum w/ ginger, garlic scented rice porridge

ITLOG (egg) BREAKFAST served w/ sunny side up quail egg & rice

Longsilog (longanisa, a garlicky pork sausage), 11

Tocilog (tocino, a 7-up cured pork tenderloin), 11

SIZZLING SISIG W/ EGGS 13  

Grilled pig ears, snout, belly then sautéed w/ onions, garlic, lemon. Served on sizzling plate w/ garlic rice.

AVOCADO TINAPAY 12 (v)  

Open faced avocado sandwich w/ quesong puti. Served w/ singkamas salad w/ bagoong dressing.

MANGO STUFFED FRENCH TOAST 12 

w/ caramelized macapuno and Balthazaar’s Brioche

STUFFED CHICKEN WINGS W/ SCRAMBLED EGGS 12  

w/ adobo sauce

BARRIO BREAKFAST 13  

Corned beef hash, 2 eggs any style, Lola Mahal's Home-style pandesal, kamote home fries, guava paste, coco jam & atchara.

TORTANG TALONG 12 

Grilled asian eggplant & sautéed onions rolled in scrambled eggs. Served kamatis, onions & cilantro w/ patis & Black Swan soy sauce dressing.

SIDES: 

Longanisa 5 homemade tocino 5 "fresh-from-the-can" spam 3 garlic rice 3 white rice 2

INUMIN (drinks):

Coffee 2 OJ 3 Sarsi 5 Mimosa 5 Bloody Mary 5 Bloody Maria 5

We got a very nice surprise when, while waiting for our orders to come, a large plate of crispy and delicious fried chicken skin was delivered to our table (this is a cocktail favorite in the Philippines), together with glasses of a cocktail drink called Pops Fernandez (named after a popular actress back home; I forget now what was in the drink). In the photo above you can see my glass of "Pops" next to my ginger tea (made from fresh ginger!). We learned that the crispy chicken skin (which came with a vinegar dip) was a brunch give-away while supplies lasted for that day (it's not on the menu). Nice touch, I must say.


We didn't get a chance to be bored, because soon the parade of delicious dishes started.

The Eggs Benigno on the left is a play on Eggs Benedict, two poached eggs atop a slice of "fresh-from-the-can" Spam, atop half of a pandesal (a local dinner roll); the whole thing is drizzled with a calamansi-based (the local lime) hollandaise sauce, and served with kamote fries and a small salad. The eggs were perfectly poached and the hollandaise had just the right texture and flavor; the Spam was just a tad over-fried. The salad was a healthful and welcome addition.The Fried Chicken on an Ube (purple yam) waffle was crispy, not greasy, and expertly seasoned; the waffle looked and tasted like it needed a few more minutes in the waffle iron.

Left: Long-si-log, short for Longanisa (sausage), Sinangag (fried rice), and itlog (egg). Served with a tomato-cucumber-onion relish.
Right:  Tap-si-log, short for Tapa (dried/fried beef tenderloin), Sinangag (fried rice), and itlog (egg). Also serve with the same relish. [Note: there was supposed to be a fried egg sitting on top of the fried rice, but our friend did not eat eggs, so it was served on the side, and eagerly consumed by others in the group.] 

Left: Tortang Talong
Right: Arroz Caldo


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