When in Manila and looking for the perfect place to take your “Balik Bayan“ friends/relatives on a gastronomic adventure or wanting to introduce Filipino food to your foreign friend, once again, I got the perfect spot for you! I’m really excited to tell you all about this experience!
brace yourself for another food trip!
I know it seems I’ve been taking you on a trip around the world these past weeks with the various cuisines I’ve been featuring. But this time, allow me along with my ever dependable partner Frank and our guests Julius and Shai to treat you onto some Fine Filipino Food! Yes! I now declare this week as Pinoy Food appreciation week! Of course, as promised, here in When In Manila, we will only recommend the best of the best!
with our guests Julius and Shai!
the dynamic duo strikes again!
Allow us to share with you one of the very few restaurants which serve FINE WORLD CLASS PINOY FOOD!
The name to remember: PINO Resto Bar!
PINO Resto Bar I believe is one of the few establishments which has successfully kicked Pinoy food a notch higher with its impressive menu selection due to their very unique Pinoy Fusion dishes! It’s not just your typical Pinoy dish fused with another culture’s flavor… imagine your Pinoy favorite “ulam” plus another Pinoy classic combined together creating a masterpiece!!
Pinoy meets Pinoy! Wiw!
an exhibit of edible artworks!
Let me tell you more about the fine food and experience….
As we entered the resto, I was impressed with its now bigger place as compared 2-3yrs ago during my 1st visit when they were still located along Maginhawa St. The interiors definitely looked more chic with its traditional-meets-modern design, artsy walls and fancy chandeliers! Their staff greeted us so warmly and treated us as honored guests! I would have to say how personally impressed I was with Sir PJ Lanot (one of the owners) for being very confident with his menu. I actually asked him to recommend their specialties but he told us to just ask whatever we fancy! Hmmm
Without further adieu once again, here are our drool worthy photos……
We started the feast with their SISIG Tacos:
– 10 pcs of meaty Sisig filled crunchy mini tacos with loads of vegies topped with lots of cheese!! The mango cubes made it taste even more special I believe! An ideal starter to tickle your taste buds!!
Time for the pastas!
Since Shai is a self confessed pasta lover, she ordered 2 pasta dishes that time ..
Spicy Tuyo Pesto (165php) – fresh pesto, seafood and a whole piece of spicy tuyo on the side! Honestly, it’s the best pesto dish I’ve tasted! Deliriously good!
Namatay ako sa sarap!
now you see it…
now you don’t!
Sisig Carbonara (165php) – Ideal for all you Sisig and white sauce lovers out there! Pinoy meets Italiano! Whoever thought about this is a genius! It was a hit with the boys! I liked it as well but not as much as the pesto dish!
Frank busy twirling his pasta!
Porkchop Tonkatsu with Longanisa Rice (175php) – Breaded pork cutlets served with sweet Teriyaki Sauce and Vigan Longanisa fried rice! I’m not really a big fan of Tonkatsu because they’re usually very tough and dry however, I was really surprised by this particular one since it was really thick yet remained very tender! This is what I call deep fried to perfection! Thumbs up!
garnished with crispy kangkong
open wide!!! aaaaahhh
Ham and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts – Their very own version of Cordon Bleu! Since I’m a big big fan of Cordon Bleu, I was soooo happy when Frank ordered this! It was very tasty of course! Honestly, I wanted to snatch it from him and eat it all up! (I’ll do it next time!) ahihihi
woaaaah!!
I love the gravy as well as the mustard sauce!
I love this dish a lot!
Bagnet and Tofu Stack-O with Mushroom Rice (225php) – Sliced blocks of tofu with chunks of crispy pork belly cooked in soy sauce and vinegar served with shitake mushroom rice and aoili. This was the one I ordered for aside from being a tofu fanatic, I was very impressed with its presentation!
standing tall and proud!
caught Frank sneaking on my plate a couple of times! gotcha!
Kare-Kareng Bagnet – Crispy slabs of Ilocos Bagnet on a bed our all-time favorite thick Kare-Kare sauce and vegies! I’m completely lost for words! A culinary masterpiece indeed!
OMG!
can’t go wrong with bagoong!
never hesitate to ask for more Kare-Kare sauce!
Thank You for this unforgettable experience! Burp!
For our sweet endings we ordered 2 of their most popular desserts….
Chunky Choco Tempura – deep fried tempura batter coated choco wafer bar with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream! I loved the union of these entirely different desserts! The warm crispy choco tempura complimented well with the cold creamy ice cream! It was well balanced! Bravo!
Tablea Cheesecake – Frank and I found a new favorite indeed! Being big fans or our local tablea, we just love everything about it! It wasn’t very sweet at all! It had the right amount of bitter sweet taste! From the temperature down to the texture of the crust…. we’re totally blown away!
a new member on my top cheesecake list!
PINO is indeed FINE FILIPINO FOOD!
From the interiors, the fine service, the world class quality menu and the artistic plating………. I really am lost for words!
PINO is a restaurant which all Pinoys should experience and be proud of! No doubt about it!
Truly one of the BEST dining experiences I ever had for it made me feel more proud of my roots! I remember seeing genuine smiles and sparkles on our eyes as we went home that night. This was indeed the highlight of our weekend!
So when in Manila, be sure to bring your friends and family over at PINO and reward yourselves with FINE FILIPINO FOOD!
celebrating a great life with great food and great people!!
39 Malingap St., Teacher’s Village, Quezon City
Contact # 44-11-773
Open DAILY for Lunch & Dinner!
Facebook page : PinoResto Bar
Photos by: Frank Ruaya, Watcher Concepcion and yours truly
To view more photos and “behind the scenes,” kindly visit EATS A DATE!
