Sam L.
Yelp
Classy Filipino place provides a great energy and good meal for a high price point.
WHAT WE GOT: Kamayan! Set #1
Beef Soup, Chicken Chicharon, 7-Up Garlic Prawns, Grilled Beef Ribs, Crispy Pork Belly, Chicken Skewers, Ginger Vegetables, White Rice
Expect $43 - $45 per person (mandatory 20% tip).
WHAT WE LIKED: Beef ribs were good, skewers were solid; crispy pork belly was SO GOOD BUT SO FAT. (I should rephrase: So good BECAUSE so fat!). The service deserves a shout out; they are so accommodating. Our group had a person with a seafood allergy AND a vegetarian, and they prepared separate Kamayan orders for them. Score!
WHAT WE DIDN'T: the vegetarian Kamayan was fairly mediocre. There are probably better options for Vegetarians, but it's tough in a Kamayan setting (everyone pays the same). It's definitely not worth the $40+ for vegetarian.
Even for the meat eaters, the quantity to price ratio is actually pretty small: you're paying for the experience. Lastly, the parking can be pretty rough.
WHAT I'D GET NEXT: Sisig I heard is decent here!
PARKING/ENTRANCE/DECOR/SEATING
We came here on a Friday night in a group of 12 ish. The plaza they're in is SMALL... and there are cars everywhere. Once in the plaza, go straight towards the back and turn right - there's about 10 underground parking spots that most people miss. Otherwise, you could try parking at Galleria next door.
Once you're in, it's pretty brightly lit and welcoming. Very nice to see on a cold winter's day. The restaurant was mostly full when we got there - glad we made reservations. They have an interesting table system for Kamayan where they will reserve TWO sets of tables for you (so, in our case, we had 12... so we had 24 spots). The second table is for dessert. I suppose they could still serve people at that second table as long as they left on time... but that didn't happen that day.
SERVICE and WASHROOMS
Service is amazing. It's loud, proud, and smiles all around. As noted, they're great about accommodating food restrictions. They make a pretty big deal out of the Kamayan experience and it's a sight to see. Water refills are on-point.
Washrooms are beside the entrance when you walk in and are pretty clean. If you're like my friend and completely didn't see the urinal in the Men's... it's RIGHT THERE, Jerry!
FOOD
Beef soup: decent but unspectacular
Chicken Chicharon: hmm, definitely unhealthy but quite crunchy. I'd say the taste to unhealthy ratio is NOT worth it... but I ate most of the ones served on my side anyway since nobody else would LOL!
Garlic Prawns: good size, tasty.
Grilled beef ribs: they're good! Not too stringy like some places. 3 small pieces per serving.
Crispy pork belly: any version of Chinese style roast pork is SUPER SKINNY AND LEAN compared to this. This is like LARD ON LARD, dripping fat juices fat. 3 to 4-ish per serving.
Chicken skewers: tender and tasty! 2 per serving
Vegetables: typical veggies. Mostly green beans is what I remember, but I'm sure there was more to it.
ALL IN ALL, worth trying once, and maybe that's it. I heard there are a lot of Kamayan options in the city, so I'd venture to say I'll try it elsewhere before coming back. In terms of regular Filipino food, I suspect there are more budget-friendly places that might not have the same WOW factor and service, but have equally tasty food in bigger portions?