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| - We tried this place on a whim...walking down Queen Street to see what we're in the mood for is our new way of picking restaurants, apparently. We walked into an empty restaurant at about 9:45...the place closes at 10. But the staff (owners? managers?) were happy to accodmodate us and told us we had 10 minutes before the kitchen closed. So we gave it a shot. The atmosphere was really cool. I loved the vintage style of the place with the addition of a few plants to add a tropical vibe. The resto was empty due to the late hour, but I bet this would be a really cool place when closer to capacity.
Our server was a very friendly woman who informed us that there were some house specialities that were not on the menu, and on offer for $5 (so reasonable!). So we opted for beef skewers that were marinated in Sprite and soy sauce. They were delicious and cooked perfectly.
It was a quiet night for us, so we skipped a cocktail and went for juice instead. They had a number of tropical fruit juices available. I picked Guava and the hubs picked mango. Both were tasty, but I was disappointed to see them both come from a can when she was pouring (I love love love fresh juices!).
We both ordered the Chicken Adobo. Neither of us are very familiar with Filipino cooking, but I wasn't expecitng the dish we received. Our dishes arrived with three pieces of (very crispy) fried chicken, with some garlic purree and a small piece of grilled corn. And that was it. Thankfully, we'd ordered a side of rice, but this ended up being a small bowl of bland, sticky rice that seems like it had been sitting around for a while (quite dry). The chicken was good, but the puree wasn't enough to cover the dryness and blandness. I'm a fan of dishes with sauces and heat, and this one had neither, so I struggled a bit (although again, first time with any kind of Filipino dish, so not sure if this is the norm).
I might give this place another shot and try another dish. But wasn't completely impressed by the first impression.
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