… at least yesterday. Very hungry at close to 2 pm and wishing to have lunch after the 12 noon mass in our parish, we proceeded to Shang to have lunch at Cyma. But as usual, all the tables were taken and we were told we were fourth in line. This time around, our hungry stomachs told us not to wait until only heaven knew when. So we gave in to my husband’s earlier craving for fries and went to the resto just beside: Tender Bob’s.
Years back, I tried Tender Bob’s at Greenbelt (food court) and I was unimpressed, notwithstanding the swoons of my son who’d tried eating in its Libis branch. So I was never inclined to go back to Tender Bob’s regardless of location. But yesterday was different. I was hungry and there was a table available.
We initially ordered the cheesy garlic fries and I almost wanted to whisper, “please hurry”. We were famished. AFter placing the said order, son ordered chicken tenders, husband ordered the salmon with tomato salsa and I ordered the most sinful of all: three cheese burger, the three cheeses being cheddar, Swiss, and mozzarella. As expected the fries came first. Not bad with bacon bits but not as good as Bubba Gump’s. Then my son’s chicken tenders came. It had fries. He asked if the fries could be replaced with rice. The server asked the manager who smilingly agreed. then my burger came. It had fries. I had asked earlier that it be replaced with onion rings. Apparently the girl forgot. She returned to the kitchen with it. Meanwhile, my husband’s salmon came. It was very good. I didn’t try my son’s chicken tenders but he said the sour cream was very good. The chicken he said wasn’t very tender. How ironic given its name. Finally my burger came. The girl had said she’d recommend it cooked medium well. I took her advice and indeed it was very good. Brown outside, red inside but no blood was flowing. And the cheeses: yummy. The burger bun was served with the top askance. I didn’t eat the top bun, therefore, or at least not all of it. The onion rings were all right.
So do we go back to Tender Bob’s
? Certainly even if the lady server didn’t have a winning smile. At least the manager did. Some pictures:
Yesterday we bought a box of the baton (cookies coated in chocolate) because we tasted it and liked it, but somehow when I ate an entire portion, I found the chocolate too bitter. With cookies, it’s still Yoku Moku
that’s tops for me. Will YM ever open a branch in the Philippines? I wish… but not to purchase from on a regular basis. Only for occasional treats.
(to be continued. off to lunch with my sisters)
. Son was finishing his soup when we arrived and eating bread. Okay, that should tell you how long we took to park. Because service at Florabel’s is slow. Very disappointing. When we were about to enter, there were these two ladies outside the resto, menus in hand. But one of them was watering some potted plants. Husband had to call out to her “miss” to hold the door open because I’m in a wheelchair and my husband has two hands only. She didn’t move quickly enough or maybe the sensitive waiter inside was quicker, so it was he who held the door open. Great. We joined our son. He was into the last teaspoonful of soup. After we were in place, no one came although only one other table had guests and there were maybe 3 or more waiters around. Then I called out, “waiter.” He looked at me. I said “menu please.” Kulang sa adrenaline? Di pa nag almusal ang mga waiter? It was 12:30. So he handed me a menu. As we went over it, he laid a round dish with something in it
. I asked “ano yan?” Because we hadn’t ordered yet. Nothing. And he said “ay special sauce yan para sa bread.” The special sauce had no name. And no bread with it. I said “ano ang ingredients?” He said “mga herbs at spices.” No product knowledge? Kulang sa training (by now you know we aren’t going back there. baka magalit sila after this post comes out). Then after some time, we were each given one dinner roll. Gusto niyo butter? we said yes, we were each given a rosette of butter
. Great. we ordered: son had ordered panini with chicken, husband ordered pasta with chorizo and prawns, i asked if I could order from the kiddie menu and he said ok, so I asked which was good, he recommended the burger steak. Okay, so we placed our orders. I also asked what soup was good (nainggit sa anak – he had ordered mushroom soup). The waiter said the pumpkin soup
with glazed chestnuts was good, so being rather docile or maybe hungry, I said yes to that. I like chestnuts and could consume a kilo in a day. But for the constipation problem afterwards, I would do that but so far, I’ve only gone up to a fourth of a kilo. Anyway, mark the order at which we placed our orders ha: son’s panini maybe 20 minutes before the rest. Okay, the orders came in trickles. First my pumpkin soup. It had croutons, so where oh where were my beloved chestnuts? Nowhere? Oops there was one – maybe 1/4 of an entire chestnut, floating woefully around. I decided I’d eat it last – save the best for last. The pumpkin soup was good. really good. except that I’d have been happier if there were more chestnuts. SIge lang, ti-is. Then my husband’s pasta came. Wow, impressive. The meats were everywhere, one didn’t have to search or scrounge around for chorizo and prawns
. Very evident. And wow, bacon too. Very good. Then my burger steak came
. Texture was very good. No apparent extenders. Nicely arranged. With brocolli, cauliflower and two asparagus spears on the side with some butter sauce. But here’s when the sad parts started to set in some more. The gravy was very inadequate in terms of quantity. The steak could have stood more of it because the steak didn’t have much flavor. Son started getting impatient. No panini yet. He asked the waiter who said it was coming. Then it did, with a small container of fries. ANd veggies inside and outside the sandwich
. At first son gave it the thumbs up. But later in the evening he said “sabi sa menu, spicy ang chicken pero walang ka pepper pepper.” I guess son was being kind by not complaining during lunch. Oh well, that’s Florabel’s for the family. That’s it na. No second visit. Or rather, no third visit from us. Sad. Should we try Felix? It also has Florabel as part owner aside from Richard and Lucy. But it’s in faraway Greenbelt.
. Heat’s buffet rivals that of Makati Shangrila’s Circle’s buffet. Or maybe it mattered that while we had the lunch buffet in Circles, it was dinner at Heat, so it was cooler and less stressful for us.
exudes a certain scent everywhere. It assails the senses, bordering on overpowering. Perhaps they should diminish it a little. But the food in Heat and the service make one forget the annoying scent. Choices are seemingly limitless. The quality of the cheeses, breads and cold cuts – excellent. My son liked the soup one determines the ingredients to: he chose laksa, noodles, chicken and beef and it was spicy but not too, he said. Opens the nostrils so any clogged ones get relief, he said. Almost like tom yum, he declared, in terms of taste. It was his clear favorite last night. Me I liked the cheeses and cold cuts and the bread. Oh yes, my son liked the Elle Vive butter. Unsalted but great, he said. Husband was quietly enjoying whatever he got. Maybe it’s a case of diminishing marginal utility to consume because the swooning dwindled somehow.
at Power Plant. before deciding on which mall, I offered the following choices: Shang, Podium or Power Plant and of course son chose PP because of PL. He’s addicted. And he also wanted to get bread from Bread Talk.
and ordered his beef curry, I tried the Angus rib eye, husband had beef pepper lunch. We also ordered the kani salad. So good. IN the table next to ours, saw two old ladies each with a salad aside from their beef dishes. I teased my husband “look, they have bigger appetites than us.” but they were thinner: sigh. ANd I noticed in a poster on the wall that they now have an unagi-salmon combination. Husband said he’d get that next time. Angus beef was okay, but so is shimofuri. Couldn’t decide which I prefer more.
