Empanada Nation

I’m now back to restaurant blogging after a long hiatus. Since I’ve been dining in a lot of fancy restaurants recently, I think I’ve spent a huge portion of my savings without me knowing. Hence, for this gastronomic adventure, I called up my usual food buddy and asked her to suggest some cheap restaurants around the city. 

        
Empanada Nation popped into her mind right away and, without any hesitation, I readily decided to give it a go (I really am a sucker for good food for a cheap cost). Anyway, for this food trip, we had to take the taxi as the shop just relocated recently to Sgt. Esguerra, which is a rather inaccessible place from where I live. 

AMBIANCE AND ENVIRONMENT

It was a silly experience, really. Clad in what I would consider as my most luxuriant outfit and taking a cab to get here, I looked pretty awkward, if not totally out of place, in this restaurant. This place had this carinderia-like feel inside. The floor looked sticky, the place is not airconditioned and, since there were only a few of us visiting the place that day, the ceiling fans weren’t even working!

Orange and blue isn’t really the most flattering color combination for a restaurant but I guess the owners of the store had a different vision.

After taking some photos, I went in and looked for a menu (I’m such a social climber) and, of course, there wasn’t any. I only saw these posted illustration boards inside with the menu written on them in colored chalk.

Overall, i think this is not a very inviting place for people who’d like to dine out. It was very uncomfortable to stay here and we literally had to shoo away some flies inside the establishment. Nevertheless, no place is unfit for a hungry stomach, so we still went in and ordered.

FOOD AND DRINKS

Obviously, Empanada is their specialty here and the problem is I don’t actually eat Empanada. I just hate the flavor of the pastry and the filling. It’s icky to me. The challenge therefore for Ate (who prepared our Empanadas) is to convert me to an Empanada lover after this experience.

Peering through the foggy glass wall (as it was raining that day), we were able to observe how Ate prepared our Empanadas. Above, you can see her pound the ingredients needed for my Double Special Empanada.

This is the Empanada dough which was very orange. 

Ate now flattens the dough with an improvised rolling pin.

She then cooks the veggies. It doesn’t look appetizing to me.

Here, Ate places the filling on top of the dough.

On to the frying pan!

Finally, it’s all done and ready to serve!

Double Special Empanada (P 70.00)

Now, for the real challenge, I had to consume this entire serving of Empanada, which was really huge (probably the biggest one I’ve seen in my life). It has two servings of Longaniza and an egg.

I sliced the Empanada in half for photography purposes and I guess it looked yummy. I tried munching on this and, surprisingly, it tasted good. The pastry of the Empanada was thin and crispy. The filling was very good as well. the flavor of the Vigan Longaniza was actually the most distinctive one I can taste here. Thank God, I didn’t get to taste the veggies much as they looked pretty unappetizing. I never thought I’d ever appreciate Empanada, but this changed me.

Special Empanada (P 55.00)

My friend only had the Special Empanada. it just comes with one Longaniza and an egg but it has more vegetables on it. I’m glad I didn’t have this one as I thought that the veggies inside the wrap are not really delicious. I hope there’s a version with no veggies at all!

Crispy Bagis (P 80.00)

I think this one’s comprised of pork intestine seasoned with some salt and was deep fried to make it very crispy. This is not really good for people who are not drinking. It tasted okay with the vinegar and all but it was a bit too salty for my sweet palate. I think this will go well with beer.

SERVICE AND OVERALL SATISFACTION

The service was really bad. Apart from you ordering everything, the staff was simply unfriendly and unaccommodating. The waiters didn’t even greet us when we came inside and we had to find our own seats as they did not lead us to a table. 

When our order was served to us, they provided no table napkins. And there was only one table with a napkin holder from the dozens of tables in the restaurant. I guess good service comes with a price and, for the cost of the food, I think I shouldn’t be expecting anything from the personnel.

VALUE FOR MONEY

The food here is not at all expensive. The Empanada alone is filling. It’s already like a complete meal. I wouldn’t say that the price of the food is dirt cheap but it was very affordable. I'd still want to come back here some other time, just for the Empanada, but, if ever I do, I'd probably have my order wrapped and taken out.

FINAL SCORES

Ambiance - 2/5

Food - 3/5

Service - 2/5

Value - 5/5

TOTAL - 3/5

   
  

Empanada Nation

09209215385, 09178938665, 09235564567
26 Sgt. Esguerra St., Brgy. South Triangle

Quezon City, M.M.

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Abe: Where Good Friends dine

Abe is a part of the LJC chain of restaurants and, according to the company website of LJC, this place primarily serves traditional Filipino food, which is mainly Kapampangan in origin (I’m not too sure though).

 

AMBIANCE AND ENVIRONMENT

I did like Abe’s interiors, except for some minor things, which I think are not really going to drag down the overall appeal of the place.



What’s noticeable is that the design of the restaurant is very modern although it still has some details that are uniquely Filipino. From how I saw it, the tables are made of hardwood (probably Narra or Yakal) and the chairs had backrests made of woven Banig.



I adore the chandeliers too! They’re really unique and they give the whole place an elegant air. Also, the windows and sliding doors are made of tinted Capiz framed in varnished wood, giving the place a uniquely Filipino look.



Anyway, one of the things I didn’t like about the restaurant is that it can get too crowded inside, especially during the peak hours. I went to Abe with a friend. The place was almost empty when we got there. However, as soon as the clock ticked 6:00 PM, people started flocking inside the restaurant and I thought that, since then, the place had become extremely noisy.

FOOD AND DRINKS

The food in Abe restaurant is probably one of its stronger points. They serve various Filipino dishes, which I find appetizing, and the food is served hot and fresh.



Calamares in su Tinta (P 210.00)

For the appetizer, we opted to try out the Calameres in su Tinta. It was supposed to be like the Adobong Pusit with the dark (almost black) sauce from the ink bags of the squid but we preferred to have them deep-fried instead with a crispy coating like how it’s done in the streets of Morayta, Manila (aka Hepa Lane).

This was a really delicious treat, which was served hot, but I think there’s nothing special about it. The sweet and sour sauce was nice too but definitely pales in comparison with the vinegar-based sauce the sidewalk vendors usually pour over the Calamares sold on the streets.



Pastel de Lengua (P 330.00)

Lengua (ox tongue) is a popular dish in the Philippines but I have never really tasted Pastel de Lengua before. I have only tried several other variants of Lengua, which do not have the baked crust on top, so I really was excited to try this out.

 

I should say that this dish was quite satisfactory and was well put together.The Lengua was so tender and well-cooked and there wasn’t even a tinge of offensive flavor in the meat.

Overall, it was a satisfactory dish but I think the serving was too small to be shared by two or three people. If I were to dine in Abe and order just this and a cup of rice, I’d probably end up still hungry after the meal. .



Lechon Cubano (P 420.00)

This one’s the star of the night. The meat of the pork was very juicy and so tender it slips right off the bone. The skin was perfectly roasted and had that distinct crispiness I always look for whenever I eat Lechon. The sauce though was too ordinary for such a wonderful dish but the flavor of the Lechon made up for the blandness of the sauce.

A piece of advice though: finish it as soon as it is served as, after a few minutes, the skin can become too rubbery and the meat cold and chewy.

SERVICE AND OVERALL SATISFACTION

I would say that the service in Abe was not really that satisfactory. When we ate here, there were plenty of people dining and there were only a few waiters, who were mostly preoccupied with other customers. We often felt ignored, especially during those times when we asked for water or a refill of our rice (plain rice is refillable, by the way).



On a lighter note, the food was served on time. The waiters were also very polite and attentive to our orders. In fact, one of the waiters even suggested that our Calamares be converted to the fried version, which made us really happy as we didn’t want to try out the one with the squid’s ink on it.

VALUE FOR MONEY

I think the food in Abe is just a bit too expensive considering the serving size. Most of the food here are also ordinary and are somewhat not commensurate with the price they charge for them. There are plenty of other Filipino restaurants out there that serve more delicious food for a cheaper cost.

FINAL SCORES


Ambiance - 4/5 

Food - 4/5

Service - 3/5 

Value - 3/5

TOTAL - 3.5/5






Abe Restaurant
(02) 901-5692
3/F Trinoma Mall, EDSA cor. North Ave.
Quezon City, Metro Manila

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