Lime 88 by Chef Arch

 

 

 

My husband and I always pass along Boni Avenue every time we go to work, but we haven’t seen/noticed/heard about this Lime 88 restaurant. If not for Groupon, I wouldn’t even know about it. The first thing that caught my attention was the location. Since it was in Mandaluyong, I thought it was a good place to have a date with my hubby after work, so I availed their promotion. Besides, it was quite intriguing to see the description on Groupon about the place saying “Street food na pina-sosyal.” Hmmm…that is an exciting place to visit.

Lime 88 is situated along San Rafael Street, just a few steps from Boni Avenue. When we arrived, we noticed that it was just an old residential house converted into a casual restaurant – nothing fancy. So we felt comfortable right away. It was still 6:30PM, so there were only a few tables occupied. They open at 6:00PM.

 

We decided to occupy a table outside, but we saw that there were also available tables inside the house. There was also a small airconditioned room for guest who would like to have some privacy with family and friends. After giving our Groupon voucher, the waiter gave us the menu. We had a hard time choosing what dish to try, and finally decided to order the following:

Quail Egg Tempura with Soy Mirin Glaze and Sinamak
 

Crispy Corned Beef, Paris Mash, Sauteed Onions
 

Tinapa and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
 

The downside I think with Lime 88 is their slow service especially in serving of the food. The quail egg tempera came earlier, but it took 30 minutes – and two inquiries with the staff about our food – before the rest of our order arrived. I just think that maybe the cook really put a lot of effort on the food or that they only cook the food when ordered. I guess, next time when I would be back, I would make sure that I would not too hungry.

The food tasted great! We love the "pinasosyal" na tempura which was perfect with the sinamak. The tinapa pasta was also great. It was our first time eating a different kind of pasta, and we liked it. We couldn't believe that tinapa could be good with pasta. The crispy corned beef was perfect with the mashed potato which had a nice aftertaste to it. I would have love to try their tarragon tea but since it was unavailable at that time we settled with some pineapple juice.

Here is a copy of their menu.

By the time we left, around 8:00PM, the place was starting to get filled with people mostly coming from their offices. It was your typical Friday night crowd. Next time, I would definitely be coming back. Perhaps to have some 'inuman' with friends and try their 'pulutan' of 'pinasosyal' street foods.

How to get there:

From MRT Boni-Edsa, ride a Boni jeepney along Boni Avenue with signboards either Gabby's or Stop-and-Shop. You will pass by Mandaluyong City Hall in Maysilo Circle. You will then see Chinabank on the right, three blocks away from the city hall. Chinabank is in the corner of Boni Avenue and San Rafael St. You will get off here from the jeepney. Lime 88 is just a few walks away from Chinabank.