Dulcinea

A college friend was raving about cream puffs that I wasn't surprised that she suddenly called to have dinner at Dulcinea. Honestly, it was my first time to try Dulcinea and its cream puffs.

Dulcinea is a restaurant specializing in Spanish cuisine. The interiors look like a home kitchen, just a bit crowded because the tables are a bit too close.

Here are the dishes we ordered:

My friends got Espaqueti ("pasta"): Espaqueti Ala Lasagna (Php 150), Baked Macaroni (Php 160), and Puttanesca (Php 215).

Espaqueti ala Lasagna

Baked Macaroni

Puttanesca

Espaqueti ala Lasagna and Baked Macaroni have bechamel sauce, ground meat, and tomato sauce with cheese on top. My friend thought it was a bit bland for his taste, but then he prefers everything a bit salty like I do. Puttanesca has anchovies, capers, chili, and olives.

Some of us (including myself) got the Especialidad de la Casa ("Specialty of the House") and Pollo ("Chicken"). Most dishes are served with rice and soup.

My friends got Roast Porkloin (Php 310) and Pollo Al Ajillo (Php 350). I ordered Lengua Estofada (Php 370), which is a Dulcinea specialty. I was supposed to order Gypsy Steak but it was not available at that time.

Roast Porkloin

Pollo Al Ajillo

Lengua Estofada

Pollo Al Ajillo is chicken sauteed in olive oil and garlic; Roast Porkloin is topped with sausage and gravy sauce; Lengua Estofada is ox tongue in herbed butter with mushrooms and gravy. These dishes are served with mashed potatoes, buttered vegetables, rice, and soup.

I'm always partial to ox tongue, that though I was disappointed that the Gypsy Steak was not available, it gave me another reason to get ox tongue (haha). The meat is so tender, that I had to excuse myself and be the first one to eat my meal. My friend found the Pollo Al Ajillo overwhelming that she shared with me some of the chicken, which I found flavorful.

For Postres ("Desserts"), we had Churros Con Chocolate (Php 98) and Cream Puffs (Php 32 for the big ones, Php 61 for 8 pieces for the small ones). I was supposed to get Cheesecake but again, it wasn't available, so I opted to have House Blend instead (Php 55).

Churros Con Chocolate

Churros Con Chocolate, a popular Spanish dessert, is deep-fried dough dipped in piping hot chocolate. It is such a hit that almost every table ordered churros. I think I'm going back just to have churros.

Cream puffs

The cream puff is a pastry filled with cream or custard, with caramelized sugar on top. I liked the cream puffs, the custard inside was not too sweet, however, the caramelized sugar made it a tad too sweet. However, my friend is addicted to this. This is why we went to Dulcinea in the first place.

Overall, I liked the Dulcinea experience. I just found the prices of the main dishes a little expensive. I was a bit disappointed that my orders weren't available. Am I just unlucky or they have a supply problem? I'm not sure.

But I think I'm going back for the churros and the paella.

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Dulcinea
4th Floor
Mega Atrium
SM Megamall
Mandaluyong City

Other branches include Robinsons Galleria, Greenbelt 1 and many more