All in a Day's Work: SxP Steak and Paella

After a really exhausting day compiling term papers for our labor class, one of my law school friends said she wanted some buffalo wings for dinner.  I gladly obliged since I was also feeling very hungry at the time (imagine carrying around 25 bound term papers around the mall hahaha).  When we got to Frankie's Buffalo Wings, I was surprised to find that it was located in the food court area of the new Fashion Hall of SM Megamall.  The other food choices quickly caught my attention and I forgot about the buffalo wings and started checking out the new food stalls.

After seeing some interesting food finds, I decided to try SxP Steak and Paella because of their jambalaya rice.  I think I've mentioned this a couple of times already but I've been looking for restaurants that served some great jambalaya ever since Popeye's closed shop in the Philippines.  SxP offers steak, paella, steak and paella combos, and paella toppings.  I wanted to savor the jambalaya rice so I decided to go for the simplest topping they had: tuna steak.  I knew that if I got steak, I would enjoy the steak too much and it might overpower the jambalaya.

Tuna Steak Jambalaya

P220.00

The Tuna Steak with Jambalaya topping came with some Garlic Aioli and a wedge of lemon.  The sauce complemented the tuna steak but we did find the fish a bit fishy in taste.  I had to ask my friend if it was just me or if the tuna tasted a bit different.  Thankfully, the aioli sauce somehow covered this taste.

Now the jambalaya.  The jambalaya was THE bomb.  It's been a while since I last tasted this kind of jambalaya.  The sausage dices were the right kind and flavor of sausage – the spice flavor was perfect, the rice was mixed well and not mushy, and the spiciness of the dish as a whole was excellent!  It was not too overpowering and it went well with all the other flavors of the dish.  It was THE jambalaya flavor I've been looking for for over a decade now.  I finally found it!

My first jambalaya was from Popeye's Chicken and I've been a fan ever since.  I looked for other restaurants that served the dish when Popeye's closed but to no avail.  I found maybe one or two but the flavor wasn't really it.  I resorted to experimenting and making my own version just to satisfy my craving of that flavor, that mix, whatever you call that.  And now I've finally found a place that tastes just like my first time.  

However, even if they got the jambalaya taste right for me, I have a few comments about the other aspects of the dish.  I say, get rid of the peas, mix the bell peppers in the rice and don't just put it as a topping, and add some celery bits.  Now that would make this dish perfect for me!  As for the price, I honestly did not mind paying over P200 for this dish since I've been looking for it for a while now.  However, I cannot say the same for the other dishes they have since I haven't seen or tasted them yet.

Price Range: P150 to 300 per person

3.75 out of 5 for SxP Steak and Paella's Tuna Steak Jambalaya

SxP Steak and Paella

SM Megamall 

Mega Fashion Hall Food Court

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