“What you post on social media stays on Google.”
So true. Dweet Bar & Restaurant displays a chockfull of these quotes. In an age of social media, these bite-sized pieces of wit can be words to live by.
Dweet, short for drunk tweeting, is a homage to the millennial culture that we both secretly hate and love. Owner Matt Taei, an Iranian who fell in love with the Philippine archipelago, decided to quit his day job and transform himself into a full-time restauranteur. And in the seven months that Dweet has been opened, his first venture into the business is looking bright.
With a menu dedicated to modern Persian, one will find kebabs and shawarma alongside mozzarella sticks and chili fries. All this made better with the abundant presence of beer and spirits at the bar area.
For starters, their Hummus (Php 80) has a consistency and balance that I’ve been craving so long; just enough garlic and spice to a creamy viscous chickpea puree. Another starter, Mirza Chasemi (Php 80) was a surprising mouthful of garlicky eggplant that oddly worked well with a hefty serving of pita bread.
And because we wanted to try their Western-style appetizers, we got a fat order of Mozzarella Sticks (Php 170), which we devoured as soon as it touch downed on our table. The golden brown exterior was delightfully crisp and cutting through, it was very much reminiscent of hacking open a Kinder Egg Surprise back in the day when it was still a shell-like chocolate. When freshly served, the mozzarella oozes unto the fork. The only thing missing is a bowl of salsa which, unfortunately, they don’t have–yet.
Another surprise was their savory Samosas (Php 90). Made of potatoes and green peas, these vegetarian munchies are best dipped in their homemade tamarind chili sauce.
I don’t normally eat ox brain in Persian or Mediterranean restaurants, but this looked enticing enough without the loads of turmeric usually bombed at the viand when cooking this dish. The Ox Brain (Php 100) was first boiled then slightly sautéed which is why it had an unusual texture, in between tender and gummy, much like the white part of penoy. Savory, addicting, and best of all, it goes great with a cold beer.
Did you know shawarma was originally from Turkey? Matt tells us this as we were about to bite into the tempting Beef Shawarma (Php 80) which is filled to the brim with lean sirloin strips and neatly balanced out with a serving of vegetables. You can opt to get the shawarma rice, which I did, with the chicken. The Chicken Shawarma Rice (Php 100) is good enough to fill you up but leave you salivating for more. It’s the addition of the butter melting on top of the hot fluffy rice that gives the mouthwatering factor.
The Beef Keema (Php 140) sports a bitter but addicting quality. We’re surprised to find out that the extra bite in it is because of the Kasoori Methi or dried fenugreek leaves. A word of caution, the dish is quite spicy, so have a glass of water at hand, or better yet, a tall Yoghurt Shake (Php 65). Made from real homemade yoghurt that the owner and his staff prepare themselves on a daily basis, this drink can substitute my indulgent Yakult shake any time.
The main event, in my opinion, are the kebabs. The Special Kebab plate (Php 150 solo/ Php 180 with rice) features each a stick of beef and chicken kebab, and we could not have been happier. I dread ordering kebabs especially with chicken because it is so easy to get it wrong. They are either under marinated or overcooked. These kebabs, however, were wonderfully tender. My knife slid through the chicken breast at one stroke. The flavor only really hits once the forkful has settled on your palette, but you do crave more.
I looked around and saw that the place is full on an early Thursday evening with all types of people; yuppies, college kids, foreigners, couples, and even families with young children. And even with the copious amounts of alcohol readily available at an equally affordable price, I can’t wait to bring my whole family here to experience this. More so, I’d love to introduce this place to my social media-savvy friends, play beer pong, smoke some shisha, get drunk, and tweet about it –because WiFi is readily available.
DWEET GASTROPUB
The Collective 7274 Malugay Street, Brgy. San Antonio, Makati City
www.facebook.com/dweetgastropub.ph
