T.G.I. Friday's

I have been comparing my least favorite restaurant, Burgoo, with T.G.I. Friday's for some time now, so I thought I'd make a review of Friday's as well just to be fair and transparent. I've dined in T.G.I. Friday's MOA a couple of times already and in both occasions, I loved their pork chops, so I wanted to try them out again just to confirm whether they're really better than Burgoo's.

T.G.I. Friday's is a really popular food establishment, so I and my food buddy decided to go here at lunchtime on a weekday, so the place wouldn't be so packed.

However, while the place was so private then, I just didn't like the fact that it was so dark inside when we stepped in.

They only had a few lights on, so I requested that we be seated near the window. That was a mistake, I realized, as the waiter sat us in the smoking area where a couple of dine-in  customers were smoking. What a way to ruin my appetite!

Lemonade (P 105.00)

Strawberry Surprise (P 165.00)

      

Anyway, we ordered some drinks first, and they were okay. They're cool and refreshing, but I just thought that they're a bit overpriced. Next time, I'd probably just have a glass of water.

Friday's Ballpark Nachos (P 375.00)

Up next is the Ballpark Nachos. The "small" size had a pretty sufficient portion. I loved how crispy the nachos were. The salsa was also pretty good. It was, overall, a good value. Unfortunately, because I took some time taking photos of this dish, it got a bit cold and the nachos became quite soggy after a while. Lesson learned: eat the nachos right away and keep the camera in the bag!

Pacific Grilled Pork Chop (P 395)

Friday's Pacific Grilled Pork Chop is my favorite food stuff in T.G.I. Friday's as it's consistently tender and flavorful each time. I also love the corn on the cob and pineapple wedge that come with it so, generally, this one's a must-order whenever I dine in this restaurant. However, the pork chops this time were a bit chewy. The fat layer's still very nice and sinful, but the meat wasn't as tender as I expected. Maybe I was expecting too much from it, but I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed.

Bacon Cheeseburger (P 415.00)

The cheeseburger, on the other hand, was pretty good. My friend ordered this one, but I had to taste a portion of it as I was dissatisfied with my chops.I loved how the patty's thick, juicy, and tasty. I also had a couple of fries here and there, and they're hot and delicious. My only comment about this dish is that the bacon strips were not that crisp. It's not really the best burger I have tasted, but it's very satisfactory. 

We didn't have dessert anymore as we had to jump to Starbucks for some coffee after, plus I thought that the experience was not really that satisfactory. I would still put T.G.I. Friday's on top of Burgoo because of its excellent track record, but I guess they need to be consistent with their food. Otherwise, they might end up losing some loyal customers.

FINAL SCORES

Ambiance - 4/5

Food - 3/5

Service - 4/5

Value - 3/5

TOTAL - 3.5/5

T.G.I. Friday's (TGIF)

(02) 556-4456
SM Mall of Asia, North Wing Entertainment Mall

Seaside Drive, Manila Bay Reclamation Area, Pasay

Read more »

Big Better Burgers

I do not know much about this shop apart from the fact that I’ve heard that it’s a local burger shop. I was piqued by the decor of the restaurant as it looks very red inside so I invited my sister to try out the food they’re serving here.

    
AMBIANCE AND ENVIRONMENT

For a restaurant, I felt that the space was too small but the cleanliness of the store made up for this shortcoming. The interior, I should say, is quite modern with a lot of areas painted in red and though it’s far from fancy, it was at least decent and cozy.

The lights flooding through the walls give the place a bar-like appearance and I guess this kind of lighting would look good at night. Too bad, we went there on a very hot afternoon. 

There were pictures of their menu items posted on the wall and at the time we went there, they were playing Guy Sebastian’s live performance of “Angels Brought Me Here”. I felt the need to say that as I think the choice of music they are playing in the restaurant was very good (at least for me).

FOOD AND DRINKS

Overall, the food was fairly satisfactory. At first, I ordered a BBB 1/3 pounder and my sister had the Mushroom Loco which, at that time, comes with free iced tea and chips as they have this “Freebie Storm” promo for some premium burgers. Then, because we were still hungry, we ordered some fries and dips and a plate of pesto.

BBB One-Third Pounder with Cheese (P 125.00)

This burger is slightly bigger than McDonald’s Quarter Pounder (Duh! That’s why it’s called one-third pounder, silly). What’s really good is that it comes in a fairly affordable price but it definitely is more delicious than any of the fast-food burgers I’ve tasted.

The meat was definitely the best part of the burger. It was juicy and it has a distinct flavor that is quite close to Burger King’s burgers but is a lot better by miles. The vegetables were also fresh and the dressing they used was just right for the burger. Plus, the bread was so soft, I wanted to buy a whole pack of buns!

Mushroom Loco (P 152.00)

Because of the “Freebie Storm” promo, some premium burgers such as the Mushroom Loco come with a serving of chips and a small glass of iced tea.

What I’ve noticed is that there was no slice of cheese in the burger and it was instead substituted by what they call “quezoloco”, which, to me, is like a processed cheese spread. Nevertheless, it was so good, I wanted to come back to the store again the next day just to grab another one of these. It was so delicious.

The chips tasted like potato ridges but it’s a hotter and fresher version of it. I didn’t expect much from it anyway as it comes for free. I just felt though that the chips tasted a little too salty for me.

Iced Tea (P 35.00)

I’ve always thought that the affordability of the food in a certain restaurant is always directly proportional to the price of their iced tea. Hence, I think the price range of the food here in Big Better Burgers is probably average since the Iced Tea costs P 35.00 as opposed to other restaurants, which are charging P 60.00 for a glass. The iced tea though was very ordinary.

Skin On Fries (P 50.00)

These fries weren’t cheap. Although this side dish looked much like the potato wedges from Burgoo with the skin on and everything, this one’s more expensive by a peso. For the price, I think Burgoo’s wedges are a lot better than this one. What’s good though is that it was served so fresh and hot, it burned my tongue.

Dips (P 20.00)

You can buy dips for your fries for P 20 each and I and my sister chose to have their salsa and the quezoloco (obviously because we enjoyed the quezoloco on the Mushroom Loco burger).

However, the salsa was a disappointment. It was so bland and generic and if it gets combined with the quezoloco, I think it would taste much like cheese pimiento. I have tasted better salsa from other restaurants like Bigby’s in Megamall. I almost didn’t touch this one.

I guess the quezoloco is better when it’s mixed with the burger and not served as a dip for the fries. This one’s too salty for me and cheez whiz was a lot better imho. I didn’t enjoy this much but it tasted better than the salsa.

BBB Meatballs in Pesto Sauce Pasta (P 99.00)

This is a very affordable pesto dish with two meatballs (same as the ones they use in their burgers). It was good and all but I felt as if the pasta was too dry. They could’ve added some more sauce or olive oil to make the dish more appetizing. Nonetheless, the meatballs saved this entire dish.

SERVICE AND OVERALL SATISFACTION

I was pretty satisfied with the service we received from Big Better Burgers. I didn’t have to line up to order as they took the order ala carte (which is far from my expectations). However, I thought that the food got served a little slower than expected.

What’s really funny is that one of the waiters was so clumsy, he accidentally spilled the chips onto the table. I had to take a photo of that! Anyway, after that event, he cleaned the table up quickly and replaced the chips with new ones so I did not really complain about it. Overall, I was still pretty happy with the service.

VALUE FOR MONEY

I guess the price of the food was really reasonable. The only expensive food here is the fries but other than that, I guess it’s even cheaper to eat here than in Wendy’s considering the size and flavor of the burgers here. 

My sister and I had to only shell out around P 500 for everything we ordered, which is a lot cheaper than eating in Burgoo’s.

FINAL SCORES

Ambiance - 3/5

Food - 4/5

Service - 3/5

Value - 5/5

TOTAL - 3.75/5


Big Better Burgers 
(02) 709-3021
SM Cubao, Araneta Center, Cubao
Quezon City, Metro Manila


UPDATE: This branch is already closed. =(

Read more »