3:38 PM
Flavors of Manila
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I’m already starting to think that happy and me don’t actually mix. Every time I go to some place that’s supposed to be “happy”, I always end up rather “unhappy”. I don’t actually know why. NomNomNom Happy Food wasn’t an exception to that, and this restaurant has now become one of those supposedly happy places that didn’t really fix a ‘happy’ smile on my face.
Don’t get me wrong. I was definitely excited to go here before I tried this place out. In fact, this was actually one of those restaurants I’ve come to like and had been dreaming to eat at for a long time before this visit. But, I guess, out of sheer bad luck, I was not really that satisfied with my dining experience here.
Anyway, one of the things that really attracted me, when I first saw this restaurant in one of my friends’ Facebook page, was this place’s homey ambiance.
It’s tucked in a small side street and you wouldn't even think that it’s a restaurant. There are plenty of things to see here and you would really feel at home once you’re inside.
It also has a very light and happy ambiance. I felt like lounging on their seats and couches for hours.
Oh, and this one’s my favorite part of the store. I love their tagline. Indeed, something good always happens, until they served the food.
Anyway, the first issue I had with their food was with the cheese. They apparently didn’t have mozzarella cheese when we paid the restaurant a visit. I wanted to order their mozzarella sticks but it wasn’t available at that time. Plus, everything else in the menu which has mozzarella was not available. Sucks, right?
Disappointed, we picked another appetizer, the Fourplay.
Fourplay (P 180.00)
This dish is just composed of nachos, three different dips, and a head of garlic on the side.
The nachos were good - they’re crispy and delicious.
However, the dips tasted a bit weird.
The only dip I liked was the salsa. I just tried the other dips once, and didn’t bother touching them again.
After the appetizer, we had some pasta.There are actually a lot of pasta dishes on the menu and all of them are healthy, but we settled for the Prom Pasta because my friend wanted to eat some sunflower seeds.
Prom Pasta (P 150.00)
This comes with a piece of bread but it was not really good. We didn’t even want to eat the bread - it was almost stale. But, the pasta was okay. It was a very simple and healthy dish composed of fresh tomatoes, basil, and sunflower seeds.
However, the cheese was really a problem. It wasn’t even cheese, in my honest opinion. I believe it’s just some fake cheese food (the cheapest ones). I felt like eating a no-meat spaghetti from home. The choice of cheese literally ruined the dish and gave it a rather cheap feel.
By this time, we were feeling a bit unhappy already, but we still haven’t touched the pizza, so we tried it next.
Pizza Margherita (P 160.00)
This one’s a relatively inexpensive pizza but when I took a bite of it, I instantly understood why it’s so affordable. It had this homemade-pizza flavor similar to the ones we make at home with some toasted white bread slices, pizza toppings, and tomato paste.
The cheese was also a big disappointment. It was another ordinary processed cheese food product in the form of quick-melt cheese! Indeed, the absence of mozzarella in their kitchen was really disastrous. Jeez, I felt like eating a slice of pizza that I could’ve done myself at a cheaper price. I wouldn’t recommend this unless they have mozzarella cheese on stock.
Macarons with Coffee (P 150.00)
Thankfully, the macarons were good. I guess this one’s the ‘happiest’ food we’ve eaten in this place. We wanted more, but it was just a bit expensive.
And, before I forget, there were no people in the store when we came in and it was a very hot afternoon. Hence, we felt so sleepy while dining, but I guess someone’s more sleepy than us. Haha! We had to wake the waiter up to get our bill.
FINAL SCORES
Ambiance - 4/5
Food - 3/5
Service - 3/5
Value - 4/5
TOTAL - 3.5/5
NomNomNom Happy Food
(02) 502 29191 Tomas Morato cor E. Rodriguez
Quezon City, Metro-Manila
