Shawarma Pizza. Click for more photos.

Keeping to their theme of offering dishes from different cuisines around the world, Cafe Mondial at Silver City, Pasig now has Persian dishes on the menu.

The Persian dishes are good alternatives to Cafe Mondial's pizzas, which are most popular with their patrons and may be ordered for a light lunch or as bar chow. The sauce--light, creamy and flavored just right with garlic and spices--make these dishes easy favorites: Borek (P200), a serving of crispy fried wonton wrappers topped with ground beef and drizzled with creamy yet light and savory garlic and mango chutney sauce; and Shawarma Pizza (P280), beef strips, tomatoes, onions and cheese are hugged in pita pockets and served with shawarma garlic sauce. They also serve Persian Wings (P250), fried chicken wings marinated in Cafe Mondial's blend of spices.

A restaurant-bar that transitions itself seamlessly from day to night, Cafe Mondial has become one of the Ortigas-Pasig area's "neighborhood bars" catering mostly to a beer-drinking crowd. They recently added imported brews Stella Artois and Hoegaarden to the beer list, while other standard cocktails and a few wine bottles complete the bar list.

The ambience at Cafe Mondial echoes the vibe at the other Ortigas bars: easy, laid-back and casual. Regulars go for Thursday night rock n' roll nights, where models Mia Ayessa and Sanya Smith have been known to drop in and spin for the night, and DJ Cao Ocampo's mix of house tunes on Friday nights.

Cafe Mondial is at the Ground Floor, Silver City Mall, Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City. Tel. No. 706-0870.