I drove by so many times, and maybe because it was a lunch rush each time, but boy! This place is extremely popular! One of my cousins did mention this place really is good, and if I got the chance, I should give them a try.
Oh, fine, why not!
Running errands really does build a serious appetite, and I was planning on waiting until a little after the rush, but none of my party of 5 could wait. Hangerism had taken over all of us.
So, we bit it and just came through. Parking lot was packed, restaurant was packed, and all the while I was thinking, "this better have really good food!"
And it was. (I'll get to that in a bit.)
So, we got in line to order our food. The issue I had is they didn't have a menu posted anywhere - it would have been efficient to decide what to get before we got to the cashier, so needless to say there was a bit of a wait: everyone ahead of me took their time looking at the menus they had posted on the walls behind the cashier (and they were scattered - like all over the place kinda thing) and choosing dishes from their turo-turo buffet setting. As with those ahead of us, we took long, too, having to decide what to get only when we got up front.
The other cause of delay: people interrupting the staff behind the counters because food delivered to their tables were incomplete. So, it was a bit of a mess there.
But once we put our food in, it was all good from there.
So a couple of cool things: whatever condiments and dips you want is self serve, so it's left up to you to get your own. There's also included self-serve unlimited side of soup (which was DELISH!) if you so feel like a starter.
We sat down and waited for our food (after getting our condiments and soup). The wait felt so much longer than it really was (dang hAngery!), so I was thankful for that soup. I think it helped calm my hunger pangs down.
Food came through what felt like forever later, and I will admit: the locals are correct. Everything was yum-azing!
GRILLED LIEMPO: A bit on the sweet side, but good marinade and good level of char. It was cooked perfect, and dipping it in calamansi juice + bagoong... wow.
GRILLED TILAPIA: It's kinda cool that other than salt, there was nothing else that seasoned this. Like the liempo, they figured this out right as well. There was nothing but the natural flavor of this fish. It was flaky and almost buttery. How in the world did they do this? Delish.
PINAKBET: I've had my share of this aplenty, and I understand that everyone has their own version. This, in comparison to the many I've had, is good, but can be better. Being in the Ilocos region, I expected it to be out of bounds. Sadly, it wasn't. It was kinda just above the "meh" level.
DINAKDAKAN: I only had a taste, but what I got was WOW. This one was impressive, and I regret eating all that other stuff before this. If i wasn't too full, I would have had more!
The rest of my party got halo-halo (I skipped it, not really my thing) and they all said they liked it. It went well with the hot, humid day.
FOOD: 4.
SERVICE: 3. They really need to get more organized at the front to minimize (or avoid altogether) any unnecessary delays.
VALUE: 3.5. Above average.
PARKING: Private lot and street parking available. It can get crowded but someone is always available to guide you in and out if need be.
OVERALL: 3.5.
The overall ambiance was very nice, I'll give them that. Eating made to order food while breathing that outdoor fresh air is an experience. (How they manage to do that while located on the main highway with cars zooming through...? Who am I to question.)
I'm not anywhere around here often, but will definitely keep them in my radar for the next visit! read more