Friday, February 11, 2011

Bonchon

It seems that a lot of international franchises are now in Manila. Among the new favorites is Bonchon wings which is a Korean franchise that became a hit in the US.
I liked the cozy interiors of the place and the unique mural on the wall.
Since it's always packed, we decided to have it to go. I ordered the small box of Wings (PHP 185). You have two flavors to choose from, Soy Garlic or Hot and Spicy. I got the latter one since we had a tolerance for spicy food.
This was where my tolerance got tested. The wings were really spicy--not Filipino palate spicy but much more than that. What we liked about it though, is that even though it was really hot, you can still taste the flavors of the chicken. Double frying the chicken seems to have preserved the "chickeny" flavor. I also liked the crispness of the skin.

Next time though I will opt for the Soy Garlic. The hot and spicy seems perfect though with bottles of beer.

Bonchon chicken is located at Ayala Triangle.

Banapple

My Bannaple entry is something I should not forget. The pictures are with me for months but this seems to be the only time that I can find time and the access to blog.

So I had this "monthsary" date with Marlon sometime back in November and my sister Celine tagged along because she was scared of the movie we were watching on tv. Talk about a spoiler. We wanted to go first to Wee Nam Kee but it was packed and they said they said they don;t have any more chicken. Fine.
 We ended up at Bannaple, we were fortunate to get seats. The lights show at Ayala Triangle has started at that time and everyone seems to be there--well not just for the lights but for the restaurants that opened too.
We decided to order their Penne with tomato cream sauce to share. The sourness of the tomato sauce was a bit mild with the thickness of the cream. The pasta was al dente. Every bite of it makes you keep going for another bite.
Celine got the St. Gallerberger (I think this is the name but there was only one burger in the menu). It seems to be a little small but the price is not bad. Each burger comes with potato chips.
Marlon got the ribs. It was both tender and flavorful and worth every centavo spent. The butter rice is a flavorful companion to it though in my opinion but who doesn't like butter with rice? So I don't really mind that. The barbeque sauce had a nice tang to it too. It comes with corn on the side.
I had the Chicken Pie that day. Weird thing though, it was supposed to have potato salad with it but there was none. I didn't mind it since the pie was too big I can only finish half of it. The crust was flaky and buttery and crumbles with the filling when I bite into it. The chicken had a really nice creamy blend.
Of course bannaple will not be comeplte without desserts. We ordered 2 but can only manage to eat 1. Of course we chose to eat the Banoffee Pie. The toffee was not too sweet. The bananas were just right--firm and sweet. I loved the thick and buttery graham crust.
The oreo cheesecake (I forgot the exact name) was wrapped and I had it at home. It was love at every bite.
I would keep coming back for bannaple. The first time I had it in Katipunan, I know I would keep coming back for more. Glad they now have a branch in Ayala Triangle, which is much closer to home and I'm looking forward to the day that I can have bannapple again.

Banapple has branches at Ayala Triangle, Katipunan and Tomas Morato.