Brickfire

If I could describe the food in Brickfire, I would have to quote Fran Lebowitz, "My favorite animal is steak." The past few food stalls that I've reviewed proved to be disastrous but Brickfire proved that there are still places in Katipunan that capture the taste of the majority. 

The place is very spacious but I wasn't able to take more photos of the scenery because I was eating (the food was that good). I usually have this notion that non-students would actually drive to Katipunan moreover a place that is a bit secluded like Brickfire to eat but I was wrong. When I sat down, the customers weren't just students but a mix of different people from all walks of life really. 

The menu presented us with a lot of choices so I had a very hard time narrowing down my options. Personally, I would expect steak houses like this one to limit their food options since it would be a burden for them to ensure that they have sufficient meat stock; but hey, if they can do it why not right?

If fries and nachos came down from heaven, they definitely ended up in Brickfire's menu! At first it seemed too much. P150 for a plate of fries? Really now? But then when they were actually served, I was just stunned. They not only served a plate, but a basket - for customers to share a couple of their friends. The presentation was wonderful and the taste was even better!

The Salisbury steak was a lot like others I've tried, but the gravy made it unique. It was really good and FILLING. The meat is not like any meat from a cheap fastfood joint, but it was actual, lean meat. Well worth it's price.

And how could I forget their Kansas Ribs? The meat was so tender that the meat would break apart with an effortless tap of the spoon. It was served with this BBQ sauce that was so good that should start selling those in bottles.

 What happened that day was reminiscent of the day I decided to try out Chubby Chicken. My mouth is literally watering as I'm typing this right now which is like torture. It goes to show that there are still affordable restaurants without sacrificing the most important thing which is taste. I practically had the same reaction after the first bite and the last.

Qkebab

Seriously, the past restaurants I've reviewed were a complete waste of money and time - Qkebab's no exception. I'm extremely disappointed how a restaurant that looks so promising turned out to be a complete flop.

 

When I got there, the place was so empty which was something I couldn't really understand. The place was very accommodating, well lighted and well decorated but why weren't there any customers? Keep in mind that this was around 11:30 and the other restaurants nearby were near full. I have a couple of guesses why this is so.

First of all, the prices are insane.  Iced tea for P60? Are you kidding me? Qkebab is a fast food chain so to price their dishes that high is unjustified. They weren't even that tasty.

Second, there wasn't really much going on flavor wise. Ok so their rice bowls come with these two sauces (Garlic and Hot sauce) which the Chicken Basmati Bowl was begging for. It did not really however, make the eating experience better because the sauces themselves didn't  really add a new depth of flavor. It just made my rice wet. ABOVE ALL ELSE, IT MADE MY STOMACH HURT!

The Beef and Chicken Basmati wasn’t too good, but it wasn’t too bad either. There is something about this dish that makes it austere, and I just can't figure out. I had a difficulty eating it all up. Maybe it was because it smelled like someone who hasn’t taken a shower all week, which made the dish quite unappetizing. Or perhaps the food was really filling. The sauce fixed the dryness and made the dish tastier. The sauce didn’t quite help with the smell, but it made me like the taste and texture of the meat. Overall, the experience of eating this dish wasn’t that great. Although perhaps it’s just my lack of interest in this kind of food.

Give one word to describe Q-Kebab Basmati Rice Bow? "meh". It was neither good or bad. Beginning with the basmati rice for example, you could say the rice looked fine and tasted like any other rice out there, but I didn't get why they even had to use Basmati rice to start with. The should have sticked with normal rice or better yet, sticky rice; that would have help them both in terms of taste and probably price too.

Don't even let me get to the Kebab. Now, I'm not saying that there was anything wrong with it, but for the price that was that steep, I could've at least gotten a better tasting Kebab compared to what I've got. In fact, it was only their sauces, a spicy one and another that seemed like sour cream, which saved the dish for me. Why, I can't even stress how normal/mediocre the dish would have tasted like without that sauce.


 Anyways those things aside, if you're looking for something new and quite different, maybe this is for you, but then if your just looking for something tasty and affordable at the same time, than your better looking elsewhere. Because honestly, I really went in there with high hopes that the food was going to be really good. But no..

RA MEN OH

I'm very fond of Japanese food but the usual problem is that you really have to get out of your way to find really good Japanese restaurants. Initially, I was very thankful that this restaurant that claims to serve Japanese food was within walking distance.

(Honestly when I hear the word Ramen, this is what comes to mind.)

But it was a huge disappointment.

Aside from their so-called "Ramen" they offer other famous and affordable Japanese "food."

It's been a long time since I had tempura so I told myself why not take a chance and order their Ebi Tempura Buddy.

 I had no idea that it was going to make me HATE tempura.

I'm just gonna say it now before I go on.
Ra Men Oh,

The tempura/whatever that is, had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. This picture does not do justice as to how awfully bland it tasted. The sauce couldn't even save it from its lack of basic flavor. Oh, did I mention that IT DOESN'T COME WITH RICE. It's P130 for the love of god. For you guys to serve it without rice isn't affordable at all.

For those who aren't familiar with what a Katsudon is, it basically means "pork cutlet rice bowl."
(katsu-pork cutlet don-rice bowl)

Definitions aside, Ramen Oh's iteration, in my opinion, could be summed up in one word as satisfactory. Satisfactory because, it was in many ways, like any other typical Katsudon out there. For one, it could have benefitted from maybe getting some sort of special sauce, something that tasted different from the usual egg with some soy sauce combination and on the other, some sort of new kind of breading for the pork's skin yet still staying true to the original.  For all it's caveats however, there was still something good that I have found about it; that's there rice. For all it's worth, their rice hit all points just right, especially when it came to it's stickiness. It was so sticky that I was able to clean the whole dish in my bowl clean right off. Having said all that, I think it would do you better if you just passed on this dish.

The Master’s Mix was one of their bestsellers. It was okay. The mix was interesting but to me there was something missing. Perhaps a pinch of adventure? Ramen Oh seems to be one of the few areas along Katipunan to get ramen. But the ramen was like any other. It was a safe dish. There was nothing that made their ramen distinctly “RAMEN OOOOHHH!!”. It was more like “Ramen? Oh...”

Perhaps their other options would satisfy me more. 

I cannot imagine the things you would do to/with that cup....

 If I could find it in me to share something praise worthy, I guess I could say that the orange chairs are kinda nice..

customers/ mga uto-uto

So in short... Eat someplace else!
Because RA MEN OH IS

RA MEN-

Chubby Chicken

Have you ever experienced those times when the food was just too good, you swore under pain of death that you could eat it for a week without complaining? This exactly happened when I decided to try Chubby Chicken out.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly mundane outside appearance. The inside is much more spacious and decorated than the facade puts out.

Their menu is pretty straightforward; not a lot to choose from but everything's worth ordering. If you guys are probably wondering why all of their dishes start with "chubby," I guess it's probably because the servings are pretty generous, and by generous I mean BIG.

 So I present to you the dish that I would be eating for the rest of the week.The Chubby Chicken.

*iced tea not included

The lady asked me if I would want the regular or the spicy. I chose to go with the spicy and I recommend you to choose that option as well. It comes with this sweet, spicy and salty sauce - almost reminiscent of Bon Chon's but for me, much tastier. I kinda wondered why they would add this white dip because the chicken with the initial sauce (I suppose) is already a statement on its own.

It's coated with this breading that absorbs the sauce making the already delicious skin easier to devour.

If Krabby Patties were real, then they would probably taste like their Sloppy Joe.

The waiting time was a bit long since chili takes a while to cook but the taste will totally make you forget the wait. You would be able to feel the burn of the chili as it passes through the mouth and throat. The egg and cheese neutralized the potency of the sauce with exquisite harmony. 

I'm sure we all remember that episode.

Finally to top this fateful day. Chubby Oreos.

 I think whatever you coat deep fried oreos with as long as you serve it with ice cream, it would satisfy anyone. If I'm allowed to point out one small flaw though, it would be that they could make the oreo batter thicker. Other than that, the experience was great!

Also, I just wanna point something out that I think that people in Katipunan are either deprived of their freedom or flaunt it a lot. Every single food establishment I reviewed, all had those freedom walls. Chubby Chicken is no exception.

Ok so they have this section where they display the top 100 or 200 loyal customers which is kinda creepy if you think about it. Do customers just give out random 1x1 id pictures of themselves? And how does Chubby Chicken know if you're a frequent customer in the first place? It's rather a disturbing thought that they memorize the faces of all their customers BUT I have a hunch that they use it for something else. Because Chubby Chicken is so good, people would really put on weight because they would eat here a lot. I guess the people who appeared on this wall got....corpulent and Chubby Chicken just wanted to show the "afters" their "befores."

Lucky for you guys, I don't have the luxury of time to fat booth your pictures one by one.