Jack of all Jacks

from Unlimited Grub Grabs

September 5: Yesterday (September 4, 2011), my wife and I went to the highlands of Baguio City to settle an important matter. When we arrived to the city, first thing we did is to find a good resto to eat our hearts out. I asked my wife where she wanted to eat..she gladly said..Jacks! and we headed there..Jack's Restaurant, owned by Igorot businessman Jack Dulnuan started a sari-sari store in La Trinidad, Benguet which expanded into a bakery, and then into a restaurant which the locals love. There are many branches around the city...we chose the one in Session Road, the place was quite small not like the other branches which are spacious. There is no problem with the ventilation since Baguio weather is cold. A crew approached us and handed there menu but we are not going to choose from the wide variety of highland recipes. We are here for the signature dish..The Jack's Rice. We ordered for it and  a torte cake for dessert. Priced less than a hundred per order and 35.00 pesos for the torte cake, you can now have a complete meal for two with a budget of 250 pesos.

After 10 minutes our order was served. The famous "Jack's Rice" really gets my mouth watering! The plate consists of  Cordilleran lechon, lightly fried pork bursting with fat and topped with a thin, crispy layer of skin. This is not quite like lechon kawali (pan-fried lechon slices), it's juicier and not as oily. Add to this the roasted chicken, the fried egg, and the freshly cooked chopsuey and you have a complete, filling meal. The taste?..It was Delish! and satisfying. The only not so good thing was the dessert. The torte was dry and spongee but the filling was good. Anyway I was satisfied by the signature dish and we will make Jack's Restaurant one of the "must" or "to-go" places in our future Baguio trips.

RATING:
4/5 ★★★★

Dining at Eat and Go

picture from pinoypalaboy

August 28:  Last night (August 27, 2011) I had an ordinary dinner in one of the restaurants in SM Megamall. The setting was at "Eat and Go". They have this vegas style place located at the third level of Mega Atrium. Easy to locate since they are situated near the escalator. So here's what i think...I'm gonna start with the server; she was polite and accomodating. I hate loud-mouth servers, good thing she's not. They have a wide variety of menu from pasta , sandwiches, salad, etc. and reasonable prices so I didn't exactly know what to order. After a little what-to-eat-talk with my wifey and a recommendation from the server we had our orders.

For our main entree we had:

Chicken Saltimbocca
Oven-baked chicken fillet stuffed with ham and cheese. With Saltimbocca sauce, roasted pepper rice,and red sauce pasta.
Price: 175.00

Pork Tenderloin
Pan-seared pork tenderloin slices with brown gravy, roasted pepper rice, and spagehtti marinara.
Price: 175.00

We went for simple dishes because we were so hungry that time we want good food fast!=P. We also have to taste one of there best sellers which is the London pies recommended by the crew. So we ordered:

Just Steak
Tender steak and potatoes, with gravy.
Price: 75.00

Chicken and Ham
Slices of chicken, ham and potatoes, with gravy
Price: 75.00

Just Steak

It didn't take long, 15 to 30 minutes and our food was ready, right temperature and all. First taste of our entrees was shocking..mine was Chicken Saltimbocca, the rice was bland! pasta was not that good and chicken was HARD and bland. Disappointing...I could use salt and pepper with my food "what the heck is this??". Then I asked my wife if her order was okay. We have the same comment for the rice, her marinara was horrific! surprisingly the tenderloin slices were good. Lucky she got something that would ease her taste buds. The pan-seared pork tenderloin slices cooked well with brown gravy were easy to chew and melts in your mouth. The tasty juice of the meat filled my mouth as I chew it. Indeed! it was delicious. Next are the London pies that we ordered, I didnt want to get back to my terrible order of chicken, I went straight to the pie. As we sliced the pie with our fork a thick sauce run down through the soft bread and hot vapor rises from the inside, first taste..we both smiled..alas! it was good..it was very good! We should have ordered four pies and forget the main entrees..the natural flavor of the tender steak as well as the chicken and ham were brought out with just the right consistency and taste..Now we know what to order if ever we return to this restaurant. I didn't have a good experience on the main entree though =( What I can only say now is ...the pie was good!;)

RATING:

3/5 ★★★