GOIN’ PLACES

WADY, that friendly neighborhood Middle Eastern-inspired food server is back and this time, it's his very own -- Wady's.

Wady created a name for himself when he first presented the layered coffee in a tiny bar along Rizal Street called Zabadani. Zabadani grew bigger and transferred just around the corner at Ponciano Reyes Street, then moved on to the rooftop of Gaisano Mall before finding its space at Jacinto Extension corner Circumferential Road. But the rise came to a halt and Wady had to rebuild, this time along Quezon Boulevard with a different set of partners. It was short-lived.

Now he's back with his own venture offering the same low to no-salt Middle Eastern food and non-alcoholic cocktails or mocktails.

Wady's Bistro is at Plaza de Bole along F. Torres Street, which Dabawenyos would prefer to describe as that place where Buffet 52 is. If you still don't know where that is, it's the row of establishments near the Bajada end of F. Torres that has two driveways -- in and out.

Wady's Muslim and thus strictly follows the ways of the devout, where alcohol is haram.

All food being offered is halal, so you can drag along all your Muslim friends.

I was only able to drag Rhoda that night.

I was starving and so over-ate, having ordered the beef stew set meal that comes with vegetables and herbed rice, the cucumber and yogurt salad, and the four-cheese turnovers. Rhoda got the beef shawarma, and it's a big shawarma so I got a slice of it as well. And you're right, we no longer had space for dessert. Wady treated us to a blue curacao mocktail instead, to cleanse the palate.

Overall, it's a pleasant experience, the same experience we have enjoyed since Zabadani first opened its doors in that tiny mezzanine floor space up a narrow flight of stairs along Rizal.