Recipes by Café Metro: Good Filipino Comfort Food

Friday, February 24, 2012
Whenever my date and I would dine out, we'd often veer away from restaurants serving Filipino food. With moms capable of whipping up really good authentic home-cooked Filipino dishes, we usually reason out that if we crave for a Filipino meal, we can always have that at home, for free. However, earlier this week, I thought of giving a popular Filipino restaurant a try. I've heard of good things about Recipes by Café Metro, so why not give it a shot?

Recipes by Café Metro

I was also looking forward to eat a rice meal for dinner, so this restaurant just fits the bill. And since it was our first time to dine at Recipes by Café Metro, both my date and I didn't know what to get. I actually tried my hardest to remember The Pickiest Eater's Recipes Killer Combo. However, I slightly failed as I forgot 1 out of the 3 dishes.

Recipes Trio

What's good though is I managed to create my own trio combo for our Recipes by Café Metro experience. First, we ordered the very famous vegetable dish called Gising-Gising (P135). It's a spicy viand made up of chopped string beans and ground pork cooked in coconut milk.

Gising-Gising P170

Although my date is not a vegetable eater, he quite liked this. I on the other hand, found Recipes by Café Metro's Gising-Gising slightly similar to how my mom cooks her Bicol Express. The former is more interesting though as the chopped string beans give the dish an added crunch.

We also got the all-time Recipes by Café Metro favorite, the General's Chicken (P215) -- a dish made from crispy fried chicken fillet and some eggplant cutlets, coated with a sweet and slightly spicy sauce.

General's Chicken P215

I may have not captured an enticing photo of the General's Chicken, but I can assure you that it tasted so good! The chicken pieces were both crunchy and hard, creating a really nice balance when eaten with the soft eggplant cutlets. The sauce is also to die for. It somehow tasted quite similar to BonChon's soy garlic glaze, but more savory.

Tofu with Garlic Sauce P135

I initially wanted to get Kare-Kare, but since my date loves tofu and was craving for a tofu dish, we decided to get the Tofu with Garlic Sauce (P135). It was no mistake though as this tofu item was so good! The tofu was quite soft but has a slightly crispy and chewy outside. The garlic sauce was also really delicious. It was sweet and really tasted of garlic.

Café Metro Garlic Rice P48

And although I don't usually make a fuss over rice, both my date and I really enjoyed the Café Metro Garlic Rice (P48) -- a slightly sticky rice fried in Knorr seasoning (I didn't make this up. Our server really told us so.) and topped with fried garlic bits.

Brewed Barako P50

Along with our great home-cooked Filipino dinner, my date enjoyed a hot cup of the Brewed Barako (P50) -- a really strong coffee I didn't dare to try. I on the other hand, sipped through a glass of Bottomless Iced Tea (P65) which I sadly find too diluted.

THE VERDICT

I must admit that I didn't have high expectations when we visited Recipes by Café Metro. But after this trip, I can definitely assure you that this will not be the last. The crew from the Greenbelt 3 branch were all very courteous and helpful. The ambiance was sleek, modern and quite cozy. And above all, the food items we got to try were all very good. I might skip the iced tea on our next visit though.

Taste - 4.5/5
Ambiance - 4/5
Service - 4/5
Price - 4/5
Overall Value - 4/5


Recipes by Café Metro, Greenbelt 3
2/F Greenbelt 3, Esperanza St., Ayala Center
Makati City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02) 728-0917

50 comments:

  1. Hi Sumi!

    I want to cook a personalized version of Gising Gising bec. it looks so yummy after realizing a string beans were on it. At first, I thought it's a Bicol Express.

    Tofu-- I don't like eversince I don't know maybe my taste bud can adopt to it, though I eat it sometimes when coupled with other ingredients. And by the way, I'm matakaw sa rice..hahahaha...and it's makes me salivate when I saw the cooked rice in Knorr seasoning.

    Great review, definitely would visit the place once we come back in Pinas.

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  2. And by the way I tagged you in here http://www.jayradarafol.blogspot.com/2012/02/curious-tag-game.html#more. Feel free to do the same or you can opt not to do it if you don't feel like.

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  3. See, I told ya your date would like the Gising Gising!! Too bad you missed out on the Tilapia! but at least you got to try the generals chicken and gising gising!

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  4. The food looks inviting. My choice is the tofu with garlic sauce; I like the combination of the tofu and garlic.

    love,
    http://sweetandspicytown.blogspot.co

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  5. Heard so much about their Gising Gising but I found it so-so. General's Chicken was a nice surprise though. I don't like chicken but it's pretty good. :)

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  6. The best talaga ang Filipino food. I love tofus din. Curious ako sa taste ng garlic rice.=)

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  7. I'm reading this post while waiting for my sis and dad to arrive home so we can eat dinner na. Haha! And this totally made me more hungry. I must say, the rice looks interesting. I'm a rice person kaya rice matters to me. And the tofu... Loooks yummmm... :)

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  8. I like this place! We also ordered Gising Gising and General's Chicken and enjoyed those dishes a lot! I've never tried nor heard of Gising Gising before going to Recipes but after that, I'm a convert. :D

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  9. I am very curious about the gising gising :)
    Seems like a dish that I would enjoy, what with my spicy-loving tongue :)

    Would've loved to see pictures of the place though. Curious on what it looks like. :)

    Much support, Christia
    _______
    Top 7 Commercials that Ate my Brains from Christia's World

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  10. @Christia's World: I would've loved to take photos of the place too, but it was quite packed and I was a bit shy to take photos around since people were staring at me.. hahaha.. XD

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  11. Surely looks good! I've yet to learn about gising-gising :D Intrigued me...the rice could pass off as Yang chow rice, just add ham :) Happy weekend!

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  12. I love gising gising! Mahilig kasi ako sa maanghang. Masarap din ang gising gising sa Tres sa may Sm north edsa. Mukhang kakaiba ang garlic rice kasi sticky rice ba ang ginamit nila?

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  13. *Facepalm* to the Garlic Rice/Knorr seasoning expose. Hahaha! Silly crew member. :)

    http://iifatree.blogspot.com/

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  14. @Vallarfax: Haha.. He should've just told us that they use a secret seasoning.. XD But at least he's honest :D

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  15. I'm craving for Gising-Gising now! I love the super spicy ones. :)

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  16. oh, ah ah ah! I'm craving right now...kakagutom!

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  17. the gising-gising looks very very appetizing! :)

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  18. The General's Chicken! That's it! It looks huge. Such a quality restaurant .

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  19. Yet another Recipes review! I'm jealous, I want to try Recipes soon! Haha, will really try to find time. (And oh, it's my personal frustration too whenever I go out to eat and then I decide to take pictures, a lot of people would eye me so much that it's embarassing :| Haha!)

    It was also nice seeing you Sumi! <3 Till the next eat out!

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  20. One of me and my bestfriend's fave is Gising Gising. Aww with your shot I was kinda starving. . .Filipino dishes are real comfort food!

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  21. at least only the ice tea seemed to have failed :)

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  22. Filipino comfort food makes me happy especially kapag sawa na sa mga take-out foods

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  23. I like the way they established their branding. Very clever! Marketing strategy.

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  24. I had the chance to visit Recipe's branch in TriNoma few months ago. And I looove the General's Chicken!! Surprisingly, the price of the food are generally worth it. Love this place!

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  25. ..i'm not sure if the gising gising you featured here is the one i've tried..but somehow, they're looking similar.. mmmmm...early morning cravings...lol!

    ~gagay~

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  26. There are really many good places to eat here in Makati. Ang sarap ng gising gising na yan for sure!

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  27. what can I say, they all look delicious... and I'm sure they taste good as well...

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  28. mouth-watering photos! I should definitely try Recipes when I'm around the area :)

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  29. i love tofu so that dish gave me a wink!
    your photos are such a food porn, sumi!
    great shots!!!

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  30. second blog post na nabasa ko gising-gising, nacurious tuloy ako.

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  31. oohh.. the General's chicken caught my interest.. especially when you said that the glaze tasted similar to Bonchon yum! :)

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  32. Gising-gising? Hmmm.. interesting name for a dish. I think I need to try that. Basta ba hindi super spicy eh.

    Thanks for dropping by dear. Happy weekend! :)

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  33. Haven't tried gising-gising. But I want to try the coffee. Coffee addict here. :)

    http://www.dekaphobe.com/

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  34. The metro garlic rice looks good. =)

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  35. Ohhh! I missed bumping here! The food and all! :) Gising gising? Haha the food s name are? weird but looks yummy! I think worth it to. Not that expensive :)

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  36. I love tofu cooked that way... soft yet crunchy on the outside! Do they have other branches? :)

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  37. dont know if my comment went through...so im gonna repeat it...

    i'll check Recipes at greenbelt 3 on my vacay this April...want the chicken w/ eggplant and garlic fried rice!

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  38. I share the same sentiments about Filipino dishes - sometimes seeing a particular Filipino dish way too expensive often makes me think I can whip this at home and would cost me maybe half of the restaurant's price.

    The General's Chicken is what captured my interest the most. I am very intrigued with its sauce and how eggplant and chicken go together.

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  39. I too love General's Chicken and their tofu steak. Your photos made me crave.. yay!

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  40. I really admire the way you take food photos Sumi! Hope I could be as good as you some day :) Looks like I need to buy a decent camera before I can become an ultimate foodie. Anyway, mukhang naenjoy mo talaga ang event ah!

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  41. wow Gising-gising sounds interesting. I will try them out myself one of this days.

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  42. chicken skin! i love all types of food involving chicken skin.

    pretty positive review. :-) sometimes, i guess it's better to have low expectation than having high ones.

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  43. Been there but havent tried the Gising Gising..nagutom ako dito sis

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  44. You should try their crispy tilapia. You can even munch on the bones! Hahaha

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  45. I want to taste their gising gising.... a different version of my moms gising gising

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  46. I haven't tried recipes but kurt has been bugging me to try it. Perhaps we will!

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  47. I think your shots of the General's Chicken looks more than enticing. ;)

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  48. the General's chicken got me :) If ever I'll visit this place, General's chicken will be a must!

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  49. The gising gising looks interesting, we will try it if we will have a chance to visit the place :)

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  50. It was in recipes where I tried my first gising gising and until now, I haven't had a gising2 better than theirs. :)

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