Smokin' Hot BarBQ: A Review

I've seen Smokin' Hot BarBQ for quite sometime in Greenbelt 3 but it was only this weekend that my boyfriend and I tried it. With its name, it seems like an American restaurant so I expect it to be a bit pricey.  Besides it is located in a posh Greenbelt mall.  What's more, its part of The Bistro Group where their restaurants are known to be great tasting at the same time can be quite expensive.  But I was wrong.  I was surprised that Smokin' Hot BarBQ is a Filipino restaurant. And the prices? Very reasonable!

Their menu is complete from starters or appetizers, soup to desserts and even bar list.  A lot of famous Filipino dishes are listed on their menu like Sisig, Crispy Pata, Sinigang, Inihaw na Liempo and many others.  For appetizer, we got a hard time choosing from Kuhol sa Gata (Snail cooked in Coconut Milk), Nilasing na Hipon (Shrimp with Beer or marinated in beer) and Crispy Bacon Belly.  We opted for Kuhol sa Gata since we've been craving for it for the longgest time!

We found this Kuhol sa Gata very flavorful!  The spice from gata or coconut milk was just right.  The flesh from kuhol were quite big and almost all shells are not empty with it.  Serving size is good for 2-3 persons and price is only Php 215.  Now that's really value for money!

For the main dish, of course their specialty is barbeque!  I like how they have some kind of value meal but only to their chicken leg and tigh barbeque.  Good thing, my boyfriend loves chicken and as for me, leg and tigh are my favorite chicken part.  This value meal includes your choice of side dish (up to 3 choices) and your choice of number of chicken pieces.  We ordered for 2 pieces chicken with 1 side dish each.  But unfortunately, our server thought we ordered for 2 pieces chicken with 2 side dishes. 

Our choice of side dishes are Pancit Canton and Ensaladang Mangga with Bagoong (Green Mango salad with shrimp paste)

This combination was perfect.  We no longer needed to order for rice as the pancit canton replaces it.  We love the pancit canton, it was tasty.  It got even more flavorful upon putting some calamansi to it.  Serving size can be good for 2.  As for the ensaladang mangga, serving size was quite small but it really compliments the chicken barbeque.  The mangoes used were not so sour and the bagoong were not so salty.

And now for their specialty, the barbeque.  The chicken leg and tigh barbeque was cooked into perfection.  Normally, most grilled meats will leave you some portion burnt.  But not with their dish.  Meat was just right and quite juicy.  As for the taste, well of course it tasted like barbeque, nothing so spectacular.  I enjoyed my chicken when I put condiment on it.  I think that was barbeque sauce or some special soy sauce.  The serving size for this chicken leg and tigh combination is only good for 1 but my boyfriend and I managed to share this 2-piece chicken which already satisfies our hunger together with the other viands we ordered.  The price of this 2-piece chicken with 2 side dishes combination is only Php 385.  Not bad and can be good for sharing.

For the drinks, we just ordered for iced tea at Php 75.

Our total bill amounted to only Php 675.  And since I am a Premier card holder of The Bistro Group, I get further 20% discount on our total bill.  We only paid Php 588!  For me, that's already cheap considering its in Greenbelt!

I like how Smokin' Hot BarBQ has a value meal although its only for chicken leg and tigh barbeque. I thought it can already be a complete meal together with the side dishes.  Besides, it can be shared! I found that to be a very plus point for budget concious people like me. 

I will definitely go back and dine here at Smokin' Hot BarBQ to try on their other Filipino dishes.  I will also recommend this to friends and family, most especially to my brother who will be coming home to the Philippines soon.

Until next time, Smokin' Hot BarBQ!

You can check out their Facebook page for menu and other details

Recipes by Cafe Metro: A Review

I had planned to celebrate my birthday at the Recipes by Cafe Metro in Greenbelt 3 last January with my family. But due to budget constraints, I didn't push through with it. Don't get me wrong. Food here isn't too expensive, about Php 200 per viand. It's just that upon reading some reviews, I found out that their serving size isn't that much, about 2 pax serving per viand. Considering the number in my family and based from calculations, there's a possibility that I might go over budget.

Anyway, last Tuesday, my boyfriend and I decided to celebrate our monthsary at Recipes. Since its just the two of us, we ordered only 2 viands, their best sellers: General's Chicken and Lechon Kawali with Kangkong. I read in blogs that Gising Gising and Crispy Tilapia are also the favorites. But unfortunately, we can't order a lot since it's only the two of us who will consume it.

General's Chicken

My boyfriend loves chicken. And so the General's Chicken captured his taste buds. The chicken fillet has breading and mixed with small slices of eggplant. The sauce was a bit of sweet and spicy. It seems like a simple dish but it was delicious. Serving size was just enough for 2.

Lechon Kawali with Kangkong

I was surprised with the Lechon Kawali with Kangkong. When it arrived, i thought, where's the sauce? I was looking for at least Mang Tomas sauce partnered with it. But when I spooned to get the meat, it has sauce already underneath with the Kangkong. The sauce was about quarter of the bowl but the meat didn't become soggy. The sauce seems like a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar but when I tasted it, it doesn't taste like it. Maybe a bit of soy sauce but less salty. Nevertheless, it compliments the Lechon Kawali. And with the Kangkong, this is already a complete meal! Serving size is also good for 2.

In my assessment, these 2 viands can be shared by at most 3 people. Well, maybe because both my boyfriend and I are thrifty viand eaters. We ordered another rice (a total of 3 cups of rice) just to consume these viands. Well i guess we just enjoyed the taste of the food. The only downside on these was the cost of rice. It's Php 38 and it's not even a standard size of cup for rice. And their softdrinks in can cost Php 50 each!

The Recipes at Greenbelt 3 is quite small. Although they have an al fresco area but one cannot smoke there. It was kinda humid inside the resturant that's why we prefer to be seated outside. Even though we're located outside., we're not neglected by the waiters and service was fast.

Recipes also offers set meal complete with rice and drinks for only Php 170. This is ideal for quick lunches of working people around the area. Their menu also have some cocktails and beer for those after office booze.

In my opinion, this restaurant is ideal if you are couple or in a small group. For big groups, this may already be expensive since I don't see a set menu from their list offered for large groups. Ordering a number of each viand (average of Php 200) might already be expensive in total.

Overall, I enjoyed eating at Recipes and I would want to go back to taste their other dishes. By the way, apologies for the pictures as I was only using a camera phone :)