Ilyn and I love to eat out, if we can afford it. We're not spendy on a lot of things. We don't have gadgets, we don't have a car and we spend very little on clothes (I think you can notice that if you know us). But we're prepared to spend quite a bit on food and travel.
We like to experiment and try out restaurants at places we've never been. Once in a while we'll try something a bit expensive just to see what the fuss is about.
And because we love to experiment there are times when we come away very disappointed. And sometimes patterns emerge. For instance, in the many times we tried eating at Serendra, we're almost always disappointed. YES. Serendra. First we tried DUO (It's closed now.). The food was just OK. Barely OK. No wonder they're closed. Next time we tried CENTRO and their famous Corned Beef Sinigang. I also tried their caldereta. We didn't like both. Both were fatty. Masebo. That slimy sticky feeling you get on your lips? UGH. They may have invented Corned Beef Sinigang, but Cafe Juanita does it far better. Next we tried MAMOU. I mean, hey, how can you go wrong with MAMOU? Well, I didn't like it. I had the rib eye and there was just something about it that didn't give me the OMG this is some awesome steak feeling as I chew on it and swallow it. Their side dishes and sauces were just too tasty that it felt like they were competing which could overwhelm my taste buds more. A little subtlety please!!
The last time we ate at Serendra we ate at BALDUCCI and for once I can say we enjoyed ourselves. Good job, Balducci!
If you're in the area, I suggest you just cross the road to Market! Market! and eat at their huge open air food court. Make sure you go and try one of the places that offer "paluto". You'll enjoy yourself far FAR more and you'll spend a quarter of how much you spent just across the road.
Now, Glorietta. Glorietta is 50/50 for us. There are places were we enjoyed like Modern Shanghai, Tony Roma's, and Spaghetti Factory. In the old days we would go as a family to eat at Kenny Rogers and Superbowl of China. BUT OMG there are places we tried that just disappointed us. MU Noodle at the newly furbished wing of Glorietta post explosion. We didn't even get to try the food. We went in. Sat for 5 minutes trying to get the attention of waiters. Feeling unwanted and ignored, we left. MU Noodle Glorietta YOU SUCK. So we went to SOI. OMG what an experience. Read more about that horror story here.
You know which mall we've yet to be disappointed? CENTRIS, at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Avenue. Now, I actually don't like this mall. I don't like how it looks, I don't like how I feel when I'm there. Parts of it look like a ghost town, specially that area with the bumper cars. But I do have reason to be there because KOMIKET is held at CENTRIS ELEMENTS, just a few steps away. But when it comes to the restaurants, we've never been disappointed yet!
First we tried ASYA. Now the food here was just OK. It wasn't mind blowing. But for some crazy reason, we ordered things like ginataang kuhol, caldereta, some fish and some vegetable dish. That's a lot for just Ilyn and me. AND WE FINISHED ALL OF IT. We were so stuffed. OMG. That's one of the most awesome meals we had. Like I said, the taste wasn't mind blowing, but we just can't stop eating it.
The other day we tried Uncle Cheffy. Wow. I love Uncle Cheffy. I like how they cook their chicken, how they cook their steak and I love their panizza. It's not a unique item to them, but it was at Uncle Cheffy where I first tried it and it was great.
I really REALLY hope we no longer get disappointed in the future because you know, we just want to eat nice food. But I have a feeling that I'm just wishful thinking.
