Stella Wood Fired Bistro: Nothing Less Than Stellar

Stella is a restaurant that opened last year in the new Bonifacio High Street extension called High Street Central, or as I like to call it, Low Street. This area is nice, with a cool fountain that lights up at night and kids can play in (or adults, I secretly want to someday). What isn't very nice about this place is the price range of the restaurants here. I used to have the budget to eat in any place in the Fort at any time I please, except for a few. That isn't the case anymore with all the new expensive restaurants around, not for me at least. Haha.

It's been too long.

Stella is no exception. It does not have the price range of your everyday restaurant, but the food is good. We ate there during its soft opening last year and I loved it (Alvie didn't). We tend to forget about visiting this place again and as circumstance would have it, we only got to eat there again last Friday night. I had a long day at work and Alvie suggested that we eat here to uplift my spirit.

Complimentary Bread and Salsa

After you order, they start you off with some good complimentary bread and a delicious salsa dip. They didn't really ask us what kind we wanted but they have several. Oatmeal, Sundried and Pumpkin were available that night. I remember enjoying the rye and ciabatta bread that was given to us the last time, so it was a pity they didn't have any that night. They used to be my favourite in terms of complimentary appetizers.

Spanish Morcilla Sausage & Pumpkin Hummus, P375.00

with Pimientos de Padrón, Quinoa "Tabbouleh". I saw Morcilla on the menu and just had to order it. Morcilla is a Spanish "blood sausage". Yes, it's made of blood. It's usually served in Callos and that's how I first got introduced to it. It's also one of the specialties of Uruguay, and I worked there for a month in 2011. I've been missing this ever since.

When this arrived, I did not immediately recognize it because I was expecting at least one whole sausage from this dish. Apparently it's just three small slices, but okay, it does look authentic so at least I was in for something good. I should have noticed this was under the "Snacks" part of the menu, but the price misled me. Haha. 

I may not have loved the size of the portion, but I loved the taste of this dish. The Morcilla was a tad too salty, but it went perfectly with the Pumpkin Hummus, which was more pumpkin than hummus, actually. I did not really notice the tabbouleh, but everything was great. I enjoyed every little bite of this snack, including the single Pimiento de Padron (they should probably update the menu entry) that was on it. It's good to know that there is actually a place nearby that serves delicious authentic blood sausage that reminds me of the great food I had in Uruguay (Oh, I wish I had already been blogging then *sigh*).

Spicy Garlic Prawns, Octopus, & Calamari "Aglio Olio", P395.00

Topped with Fresh Cilantro, Mint, Basil & Fresh Lime. Ahh, a slightly more filling dish! Now, I'm not sensitive, attentive, nor fancy enough to have noticed the cilantro or mint, but I really loved this dish, too. The seafood gave a great, addictive, delicate taste that had intertwined with the pasta so well that you didn't even actually need any more than just the noodles and the oil. I've said before that Amici did it right for aglio olio spaghetti. As for aglio olio fettucine, this is how it's done! The noodles were perfectly cooked and had an amazing texture. Last year, we had truffle oil cream-based pasta here and it was also great. Stella knows its noodles!

Verdict:

Complimentary Bread and Salsa: Good

Spanish Morcilla Sausage & Pumpkin Hummus: Great (I hope they come up with a dish that serves a whole sausage, too)

Spicy Garlic Prawns, Octopus, & Calamari "Aglio Olio": Great

I've tried four dishes at Stella now, and all four have been great! Even Alvie, who didn't enjoy our first visit very much, now appreciates the place much more after our last visit. I look forward to trying many of their other interesting dishes in the future. 

Love Stella Wood Fired Bistro? Hate it? Let me know by commenting below, or just tweet me!

STELLA
G/F Bonifacio High Street Central, East Superblock,
7th Ave cor 29th St.
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
(02) 621-3222 / (02) 621-3111 / (0917) 891-7053
Operating Hours: 11:30 am - 2:00 am
Facebook: Stella & Rocket Room

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