Hooters

October 20, 2012. Saturday.

After a long day of going around Mall of Asia, we just had to get a heavy dinner. But we also wanted to eat at somewhere new (again!), so we walked around San Miguel by the Bay from one end to the other. Finally, we came upon Hooters, which was just right because I also had a burger craving going on.

Entering Hooters, you'll instantly feel being transported into the USA. I couldn't tell the difference with the wooden interiors between the local Hooters and the ones from the States. There were memorabilia, old signs, bumper stickers spread around the place. And of course it wouldn't be complete without the Hooters Owl and Hooters Girls. An owl "hoots" and girls have, uhm, "hooters". One thing I noticed that was different with the local version of this American favorite, was that there was no white cotton/ spandex shirt and orange shorts on the girls, but no worries they were still scantily clad in black.

Kim got us Fish and Chips to share.

Fish and Chip. 395php.

This has got to be the weirdest Fish and Chips. The tartar sauce it comes with was just too sour.. lemony sour! It tasted and smelled like lemon squares, so it was really weird dipping the fish in it. Good thing that the fish was good on its own even without the sauce. Lightly battered and fried, and not too oily.

She also ordered Boneless Wings for herself.

Boneless Wings. 395php.

One would think that not having any bones in your chicken wings is the greatest idea ever, since you can just concentrate on the meat itself. But it just isn't eating wings without the bones, and the effort you put into painstakingly trying to remove the meat off of it. The taste of the sauce itself was just so- so, but I think it would be enough to satisfy any wings craving.

And I got myself a Mushroom-Swiss Burger.

Mushroom-Swiss Burger. 495php.

I've had better burgers than this for the price. Wendy's Bacon Mushroom Melt would totally kill this. I had the patty well done, and it was so well done that there was no juice left in it. It was that dry!

For drinks we got an Iced Tea and Coke, both bottomless. At 90php each, we sure are glad that both were bottomless!

The prevalent theme of this dinner was that everything was just mediocre. But since there really are no other places like this in the Philippines, you have to try it at least once. In my opinion, the oddity of a restaurant using sex appeal in a mainstream market in an annoyingly self righteous Catholic country is enough to justify the jacked up prices.

Hooters
https://www.facebook.com/HootersPhilippines
Cluster D, San Miguel by the Bay,
Mall of Asia, Pasay City,
Philippines
(02) 556 4946
info@hooterspacificasia.com

Ebun

October 20, 2012. Saturday.

We really aren't familiar with the ins and outs of Mall of Asia. We literally had to go around the whole mall at least once to look at all the restaurants. The bad thing was after one go round at it, we still couldn't decide where to eat lunch. So we walked again, and we decided that the first restaurant we agreed on would be the choice, not buts and ifs. That restaurant was Ebun.

Ebun what?

Located just in front of The Music Hall of the Entertainment Mall section of MOA, (You probably didn't know that MOA had different names for their different mall sections, neither did we. Here's a map of it.) The maize colored interiors of Ebun will definitely catch your eye. Ebun is under Mangan, which is in the bigger scheme of things is under the Cabalen brand. Knowing the background of those two place, then you are sure to get good food at good prices. It is mainly a Kapampangan themed restaurant with local favorites dotting the menu.

By the time we entered the restaurant, it was already quite late for lunch. Only a few other tables were occupied which meant the service was really quick and courteous. The place looked stylish and refined, but not so much that it is intimidating.

We took the time to review their menu and frustratingly failed to order any of their specialties (which I read up on yesterday). On the good side, that gives us reason to come back and dine here again when in the area. But I digress, on to our orders :)

I got a Buko Shake and Kim ordered  Iced Tea.

Both were a little too sweet for our taste.

For appetizer, we got the Chicharon Bulaklak.

Red Horse at Empi na lang kulang, game na!

We got Bicol Express to share.

Bicol Express is one of our favorite local dishes so we just had to order this one. We were surprised at how meaty the pieces of pork were. Usually, the cuts would've been smaller and thinner. Good thing that the pork was really tender and has absorbed the flavor of the coconut milk and chilies. The serving was also big, even if shared by two people with big appetites.

And we ordered Bisteg Bangus Belly, also for sharing.

It seems weird now that we ordered two dishes that had sarsa, but we were so hungry at that time that we really didn't care, let alone notice. I'm not sure of this, but bisteg is probably the Kapampangan version of bistek. Save for the light color of the sauce, this has got to be one of the best Bistek Bangus Belly I've had. The sarsa had the right mix of salty and sour which really flavored the bangus well. Plus, the slight sweetness of the onion gave a nice contrast to the sarsa. I only wish that it had more bangus belly in it, much like the bistek in Serye.

As mentioned above, we are definitely coming back here. There's a whole lot more of the menu we want to try, like the Balut ala Pobre and the Morcon! We didn't get to take down the prices of the items we ordered, but I would've remembered if I felt ripped off afterwards. And I didn't! So when you find yourself in Mall of Asia and want to dine at somewhere that isn't in every mall, head on over to Ebun!

Ebun
Ground Level Entertainment Mall,
Mall of Asia Complex,
Pasay City, 1300
(02) 659- 8853