I was reading great reviews online and thought of trying this place out on our next trip to toronto. Filipino food is not expensive, cooked from the heart like how mom always does it and very tasty. This restaurant did not deliver though :(
It was a tuesday and we had 2 choices - get the tuesday 5 course prefixe for $30 per head or get the tasting menu for $80. It was our first time so we opted to get the prefixe set.
1st course - pandesal with cheese/butter/sugar - good but small portions. was ok..
2nd course - sisig with egg and rice - sisig tasted like canned tuna/chicken chunks with no flavor at all. egg was overcooked, not runny and did not blend with sisig well. rice was in a seperate container - nothing special about it. I was dying to get some knorr or Maggi seasoning but i only got patis from the server.
2nd course (alt) - pancit - my wife did not get her 2nd course till after 15mins - we were done with our sisig. it was really bland and not good. worst pancit i have tasted - it wont even compare to carinderia pancit. i think lucky me instant pancit canton was better.
3rd course - sarsi pork ribs - small portion and did not really taste the sarsi. so so dish and not worht remembering. grilled liempo marinated with soy sauce is way better and tastier. ribs were served on a wooden chopping board and we had to eat on it - i really hope they wash that board well since wood sips in juices/bacteria that won't be removed by regular cleaning. we all had to eat on it (no plates)
3rd course (alt) - fried chicken adobo - omg this is bad. 3 pcs of chicken and like bonchon style of cooking - it tasted sour and we really did not get the adobod flavor. we were all hungry but couldnt finish this all since it really did not taste well.
3rd course (ala carte) - boneless smoked daing bangus - this was the only meal that i enjoyed but we were all dismayed with the earlier meals already so it did not help much. 2 small daing na bangus for $18.
4th course - watermelon juice and mini sago in a shot glass - takes 3 sips to finish and there was nothing special about it. i have to say it did no even taste refreshing.
5th course - halo halo - all ingredients came from a bottle or ice cream container. no fresh ingredients and no banana/langka! served in a plastic container - i had better halo halo elsewhere - we can make better halo halo at home.
5th course (alt) - ice cream sundae - this was the the best i think from the set - ube ice cream with corn puffs, cream and polvoron. really yummy and delicious.
total bill - $249.
we all left the place scratching our heads on why filipino food did not make us feel at home. only dish worth remembering was the sundae and the rest was probably the worst filipino meal we have ordered outside home.
also, only 2 servers and we did not get our food in time nor did we get sufficient service/attention.
i hope they get better :( i am very dissapointed.