The area is now home to a lot of food establishments, which means, there are new places for us to try out.
With a little help from Foursquare, we found this little gem of a cafe, called Chef Robert.
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| Don't be fooled by this unassuming place |
There's only a few parking slots, so you need a little bit of luck if you're bringing a car.
Outside, I saw a poster saying there's a 30% discount for all items (25% if you're using a credit card) between 2pm-5pm. We were in luck, as it was just a little past 3pm.
The place is quaint. There's a lot of glass and mirrors. Most of everything are wood (or made to look like wood) and bricks. So it gives you a homey feel.
It was empty when we got seated, save for one of the staff who made it look like the place was just opening up.
A few moments later, other patrons started to come in.
We were given a menu, and i was grateful to find out that they served pasta. I was in the mood for some pasta, but while going around Banawe, all I could see were chinese restos or fast food with their instant spaghetti.
What made it even better was the price. Now, I'm one who thinks that an inexpensive meal is if it's priced at less than 200 pesos and it's not fast food. Any resto that can give me a carefully prepared meal that tastes great and doesn't break the 200 peso barrier, I would praise to high heavens. So you know where the rest of this blog post is heading to.
I ordered the Chicken Pesto pasta for only 175 pesos (Really!). This is the first recipe that I have ever tasted based on pesto sauce. So this brings back memories. The best I ever tasted I think was with Italianni's. They don't have it in the menu (when we ate at their branch in Greenhills, I think), but they will make it for you if you order it.
I asked them to hold the nuts since I don't agree with it. Unfortunately, they can't do it since I think the sauce was already made beforehand, and it already had the nuts.
Cedric ordered the Chicken Parmesan spaghetti (195 pesos). Tita Fe ordered the pork cutlets in mushroom gravy (145). Chea wasn't too hungry so she decided she'll pick off of our plates. She however ordered pumpkin soup (65 pesos) for Thirdy.
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| That is one big single serving. |
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| Thirdy was up for the challenge. |
The soup was first to arrive. And it was huge. It was in a 6 inch bowl that was about 3 inch deep that was practically full. And it was the single serving. Thirdy enjoyed it. I gave it a taste and it wasn't unpleasant. The only reason i didn't say it was great, because i'd want mine with some salt in it. If Thirdy wasn't eating it, i'd probably put some salt and pepper in it (and a little bit of spice), and it would have been perfect.
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| Serving is good for one person. Unless you're hungry like me. It's about 3 fork twirls short. |
Then came the chicken pesto pasta. The strips of chicken were ok. The noodles were firm. The pesto sauce was near perfect. It was a bit dry as it didn't have too much olive oil. But I prefer that over noodles swimming in it. Some restos would just hand you this menu item with olive oil, basil, a litle bit of garlic, and nuts. But Chef Robert does it better with capers and olives!
The parmesan marinara spaghetti arrived next and I had to taste it as well. And it was great. You could really taste the fresh tomatoes in there.
When the pork cutlets came, I was again surprised. The serving was big. Two people could actually share it. Chea and I (and I think Cedric too), pulled a few strips with our forks and Tita Fe had gotten full herself, and yet, we had some leftovers that we brought home later.
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| Pork was ok. Mushroom gravy is exactly how it should taste like. |
After that, I asked for the bill. And guess what? All of that only cost us 700 pesos. And with the 30% discount, our final bill was around 500 pesos. What more can I say? Great food, great ambience and amazingly low prices.
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| Yes, I did! |
Looks like there's one more reason to drop by Banawe than spending for your car.
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