Foodie Manila

Check it out.

Admittedly, it was my first time to actually try this resto. I’ve been seeing it around especially in GH and I was kind of hesitant to try it out. I was hesitant because I really didn’t know what it was all about nor have I actually seen ads telling me what it was. So when Alvin called me to a trial run of a new Pepper Steak Branch at the Annex of SM North I didn’t hesitate to say NO.

I quickly invited Judd to tug along to blog about the food as well. It was both our first time to try Pepper Steak and since it comes from the same company that brought us Teriyaki Boy we knew it would be good. (We both are Teriyaki Boy fanbois.)

And GOOD it was! They had the same concept of Zensho where you are given an order slip and you are tasked to write down all your orders along with the sauce and everything else. And when you are ready to order you flip this sign and that is when the waiter/waitress comes over to take the slip. (This solves the problem of taking to long to order as well the awkwardness I feel when they tend to hover or look impatient at me ordering! Props for thinking up this idea!)

Service was awesome. Especially at this particular branch. Everyone was easy to talk to and quick to respond to our queries. (especially for us noobs who didn’t know what we were ordering!) If I’m going to have Sizzling Pepper Steak again, it would definitely be at this branch. The team leader was quick to assist his fellow servers especially in refilling the iced tea (bottomless!) and clearing the plates off our table.

The price is pretty decent. It would run about the same as dining at Teriyaki Boy. It wasn’t fastfood per se, but the food indeed came out fast! It was a nice sit down meal.

Now unto the best part the food:

For starters, Judd ordered the Egg Drop Soup with Caesar’s Salad.

I on the other hand started with a basket of Calamares:

The Caesar’s salad was good. The only bad thing I can say about it was that there was TOO MUCH! Now that isn’t such a bad thing is it? (too much croutons, the chicken, so good!)

The Calamares were one of the best I’ve ever tasted. They were still warm when they came out. The squid was perfectly tender. (Meaning they were not overcooked or undercooked because they didn’t come out tough!)

We quickly gobbled up the appetizers so we could actually move on to the main course!

We quickly took note of our main course orders. I remained safe while Judd decided to take a stroll done the wild side.

Here were our orders:

ME:
Beef Pepper Steak Rice
Teppanyaki Steak

Judd:
Beef Pepper Steak Curry Rice w/ Diablo Sauce
Kebab with Diablo Sauce

And when we mean Diablo sauce you know it is already implied that its going to be HOT!

We barely finished our conversation about the entree, when the main course came out. I really like how they put these paper thing around the sizzling plate. It keeps from having bits and pieces splattering all over the table (which makes the table greasy!) as well as your clothes!

Judd was more adventurous. He went for it. He decided to train up for our Singapore trip. He ordered the Diablo sauce. Suffice to say it was hot. He kept saying how hot it was and how his mouth was on fire. But despite that, he kept putting it on his rice and kebab just because it was soo good. (According to him!) The beef was soft and well cooked. It was well seasoned as well. The taste was good. I enjoyed every bite of that meal. Given that the taste was already good coupled with awesome, awesome service I was one happy foodie.

It was a good meal! I really enjoyed. I’m happy to say I will be coming back soon! I am now a certified convert! I guess this whole experience just reminded me that trying out new things will lead to new experiences. Some may not be as big as going camping or on a road trip, but trying new restos certainly broadens one’s horizons.

We ate at Sizzling Pepper Steak at the 3rd floor SM North Annex.

Visiting Cafe Jeepney for the first I was taken a back with the beautiful and quiet surroundings. I really love dining at Hotels. I feel so classy and as such I feel the need to dress up. A hearty spread of popular dishes from Iloilo was on the menu today. Chef Pauline Goriceta-Banusing was preparing the dishes to be served today. She will be at Cafe Jeepney from September 16 till September 30 2009. These specialites are available daily for lunch and dinner from Monday to saturday.

Just a quick backgrounder on our Chef, Chef Pauline comes from the well-known Sarabia clan in the food, hotel and jewelry business. Now she’s out to tackle the food industry on her own. She currently owns and manages, Al Dente, Maki, and 101 Luna Steakhouse restaurants. She also is co-owner of Freska Ilonggo Seafood restaurants.

Now onto the food.

We started with appetizers of Lumpiang Ubod.(Heart of palm spring roll) She actually flew in the ingredients from Iloilo so as to keep them fresh. The lumpia was both sweet and crunchy. It didn’t need sauce anymore. Ilonggos usually eat these for merienda as is and with the wrappper so they can munch on it on the go.

We were served with fresh mango and kalamansi juice. The tangy-ness of the kalamansi though overpowered the mango and although there was still a hint of mango it was mostly kalamansi I tasted.

Along with the appetizers was the Lato Salad. Lato salad is a fresh seaweed served with tomatoes and a soysauce and vinegar dressing.

The soups came out next. They served the traditional Chicken Binakol in a coconut husk. It tasted like tinola only sweeter. I love this version of chicken binakol. (Maybe its my inert love for coconuts) It had coconut meat and you could clearly define the different flavors mixing and jiving.

They brought out the native shellfish of Iloilo called Diwal. It was prepared 2 different ways. One had some siling labuyo or Red Eye Chili and another was baked with garlic and cheese. I preferred the baked one with garlic and cheese as it resembled more what I was accustomed to.

It tasted similar to tahong but strangely looked like oyster mushrooms. They were good. They are also called Angel Wings because the shells when turned over resemble angel wings.

If Ilocanos have KBL in Ilocos which is ( Kamatis, Bagoong, Lasonan or Shallots), Ilonggos have their own version of KBL. Kadios, Baboy, and Langka is a kind of soup which is uniquely Ilonggo.

For the starch component of the meal we were served Aligue Rice. This is rice made with crab fat. This was really good.

The following fish dishes came out. Adobadong Alimusan as well as Managat. Adobadong Alimusan is mudfish cooked in coconut milk and annatto seeds. One has to be very careful in eating this fish because its bones are very large indeed.

Managat or Mangrove Jack on the other hand was split along its back and fried in garlic similar to our Bangus or Milkfish.

The Ilonggo Lechon was something different. The pig was stuffed with Milk, Tanglad (Lemongrass) and Sambal leaves. The milk made the already succulent meat even more succulent and the tanglad and sambal leaves left a hint of variety in terms of taste to the traditional lechon.

Of course, the well known La Paz Batchoy was present. It was served with a special puto. It was called Puto Manapla. It was more light and sticky as compared to the normal puto that you can buy at goldilocks.

For my favorite part of the meal, DESSERT!

Yema Cake by Chef Pauline. I was expecting that the cake would be too sweet because of all the yema. But it was just perfect. Not too sweet without losing the yema taste! It tasted like a sansrival cake only yema! This is a definite winner.

and lastly Butterscotch Gelato with Kalamay Hecti. This was simply both delicious to look at and delicious to eat.

Cafe Jeepney’s buffet is open for lunch from 12 noon to 2:30 PM, Monday to Sunday as well as dinner from 7PM to 10:30PM Monday to Saturday.

For every group of 4-buffet paying adults, a 5th person gets a FREE buffet meal. For reservations, please call 793-7000

Cheers & Happy Eating