My friends Jericho, Kath, and I took a trip to Ortigas to visit another friend of ours, CPA and financial adviser, J-Em Ang, for well, financial advice. We also passed by for our other friend, Ruffy, who lived in the area. She was giving me a whole load of books that she thought I would appreciate. I’ve been purging my bookshelves, trying to keep it as minimal as possible and slowly shifting to a Kindle. I used to have three full bookcases and two big plastic containers filled with all the books I collected over the years, and it’s just taken up way too much space in my studio and has been getting harder to keep clean with all the dog hair that’s flying about from Iggsey and Ligaya. I’ve managed to donate almost half of my old books to a school library, and I still want to get rid of at least 50% more, which is hard to do when people keep giving you more books! Although I do appreciate the gesture – I haven’t had to lose my head at a Big Bad Wolf Books sale in two years now.
We wound up going to The Podium, one of the least congested malls in the area, and made our way to Corner Market Café on the third floor so we could all get whatever we wanted. I like that even before the pandemic, the food hall isn’t filled with people. After making the rounds to see what was open, we all ended up at the same stall – Easy Tiger!
And really, what’s not to love? It’s one of the cheapest places to buy Thai, and yet it still manages to deliver on flavor. Jericho went with the Beef with Basil & Fried Egg (₱210), which looked and smelled a little like tapa, served with bagoong rice, a side salad of papaya, and a crispy fried egg.
I went a little overboard on the orders, with a plate of their Thai Fresh Spring Rolls (₱140), a nice vegetarian starter topped with crispy shallots and peanut sauce, a salad, and their Pad Thai Shrimp Noodles (₱145), which quickly disappeared. While I could probably get a better plate of pad thai elsewhere, this wasn’t too bad. It was a good balance of sweet and savory, but I was missing the spicy and sour elements that make for a noodle-slurping bowl. Still, for a little under ₱150, you get a really good deal.
If there’s one thing I’d definitely order again and again, it’s Easy Tiger’s Thai Milk Tea (₱90). Refreshing, earthy, and sweet, this brings me right back to the streets of Bangkok in a sticky, summer. I wish they offered mango sticky rice, too. I also find myself looking for their Green Papaya with Catfish Flakes (₱160) a lot. Funnily enough, it was the plate I kept picking at and eventually polished off. The refreshing tang of the papaya, the crispy fried and shredded hito, and the smattering of peanuts makes for a simple, healthy, and filling combination.
Conclusion
I’m definitely coming back here or heading to their branch in SM Mall of Asia if I find myself in that area. The Thai restaurants I’m familiar with usually have plush, six page menus with an assortment of curries, at least eight kinds of salads, a plethora of appetizers that are hard to pronounce, and they’re usually good for four people. This is the place I look for when I just want a taste of Thailand, not a smorgasbord. A green papaya salad and a big, cold glass of Thai milk tea is all I want half the time, and now I know where to satisfy my cravings.
