My brother Jake’s leaving for Manila already — moving up the corporate ladder — and so the family had a despedida dinner for him last night. I was delighted that Mom decided on Aseya, that Asian fusion restaurant in Humberto’s Hotel. I’d already tried their sumptuous Thai fare when they catered the launching of Suay Thai at BioEssence Spa last week, but I’d never been to their restaurant before yesterday.

It’s just a small place, with only 7 family-sized tables, if I’m not mistaken, but very comfortable, bright and clean. The service was OK, but they should field one more waiter on a Sunday. There was just one lone waiter when we were there — the poor guy was serving non-stop the whole time we were there.

The food was superb! Not perfect, but all of us heartily savored the gastronomic experience. It gave the family an enjoyable time together — food is always a great catalyst, don’t you think?

Good thing my brother took pictures of the food for me. And so here they are…

The free appetizer they serve: raw peanuts immersed in vinegar and bits of atsara.

The appetizer we ordered (twice!). Their roti, however, was a bit oily. And the curry dip was rather weak. But little bro liked it.

The Agedashi Tofu was literally crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. But they had the wrong dip — a thin shoyu that wasn’t even Kikkoman. But Cara and I loved it just the same.

This was, by far, the best dish we had: the Tom Yum Goong, a Thai hot & sour shrimp soup. I’ve had this soup at another Thai restaurant here in Davao, but it wasn’t as good as at Aseya. One order is good for 2 or 3, depending on how hungry you and your friends are.

The Kamameshi (lit. “meal in a pot”) wasn’t so good. It tasted like they’d overcooked it. But it wasn’t a total disaster. One order is actually good for 2 hungry guys.

No complaints here. The Tori Karaage (basically, deep-fried chicken, Japanese style) was worthy of any mid-range Japanese restaurant.

I couldn’t remember the name of this dish, but it was sweet and sour fish fillet. I loved it because the flavors were subtle, and the vegetables were very fresh. The fish too was properly cooked — but it would’ve been so much better if they’d used lapu-lapu instead.

This isn’t on the menu, but they do serve scallops — I guess maybe the supply isn’t steady, so that’s probably why they don’t show it on the menu. We had teppan scallops, and it was awesome! The tender, subtle-tasting scallops were complemented perfectly by the fresh Mung bean sprouts and cabbage. The sauce was just right.

All in all, we had a great meal and a wonderful family get-together! (All of the above for less than P2,000.) Aseya Bistro Orientale is located at Humberto’s Hotel, J. Palma Gil corner Padre Gomez streets. Tel. 222-3831 local 131. And I mustn’t neglect to mention that it’s also a wifi hotspot.

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