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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Pino Resto Bar


When you drove for 2 hours a 25 km stretch, ok I might be exaggerating, it might be 30 km, you just wanna lie in and sleep off the stress the following day.  But the family hasn't been going out lately, so we decided to have a Sunday lunch out.  It was choice between Romulo Cafe somewhere near Timog or Pino Resto Bar in UP Village, both we haven't tried and both within the vicinity.  We chose Pino since it was nearer and it was already 12 by the time we got out. 


Pino is one of the new restos that has opened within the UP Village that I've read a lot of good things about.  But since everyone has his own preferences and food tastes, I'd rather try it then form my own impressions about the resto and food.  

Pino is kinda unique as it has a vegetarian sister resto, Pipino just above it plus the place turns into a cooking school in other days.  Dining at the ground floor, you can enjoy the best of both restos since you can order from both the Pipino and Pino menus but this doesn't apply to Pipino. Since I'm not so ready to go vegetarian (how can I let go of lechon??), it has to be Pino.

The menu was a mix of fusion and traditional.  To get a taste of their starters, we ordered their Pino-ka Platter 1 made up of their Pork and Shrimp Lemongrass, Skewers, Nori Cheese Sticks, Pino Fries, Crispy Calamares, Chicken Lollipop.  Good presentation, loved the pork and shrimp lemongrass.  




I would have preferred to have it as a Vietnamese wrap though, and was looking at the lettuce leaves from our Fried Kesong Puti Salad with Mango Vinaigrette but the leaves were  vinaigrette coated.  Too messy and too sweet to use.  Maybe next time.

Fried Kesong Puti Salad with Mango Vinaigrette

Tatay (my Dad) wanted the Pininyahang baby-back ribs but they were out that day so we decided to just try the Kalderetang Lengua and the Bagnet and Tofu Stack-O with Mushroom Rice.  From Pipino, we tried the Soba noodles with soy mirin sauce and the Vegetable curry with couscous.
Cold Soba Buckwheat Noodles with Mango Salsa, Crispy Tofu and Soy-Mirin
the Bagnet and Tofu Stack-O with Mushroom Rice, my fave

The Lengua was perfectly tenderized but I'm not too sure if I like their Kaldereta sauce but the Bagnet was spot-on.  It was perfectly seasoned and cooked till crisp.  I was honestly thinking why it was paired with tofu (could it be to lessen the guilt??) but presentation-wise, it was perfect.  The Cold Soba Buckwheat Noodles with Mango Salsa, Crispy Tofu and Soy-Mirin was your usual Japanese buckwheat noodle dish with a mango salsa twist. I wasn't too keen on the Vegetable curry with couscous, though.  The curry tasted of Japanese kare which I'm not too fond of. Price wise, it was reasonable.  Just for the Bagnet, I'm definitely coming back:)




Vegetable Curry with couscous


Pino Resto Bar
39 Malingap St., Teachers Village
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02) 441-1773

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