Note: This is the Third part of a Three-part series on the Trinoma Bloggers’ Food Tour. Part 2 is here. Part 1 is here.

Our tummies were filled and we have a lot of restaurants to thank for that. However, the tour didn’t come with only the good stuff, because we experienced certain disappointments and frustrations as well.

Thank God our group wasn’t part of the bunch who went to Cabalen and got a mouthful from the manager. Come to think of it, even if my group insisted on going to Cabalen I think I know better because I’ve had some dining horrors with them before, plus I’ve had enough of Filipino food and would like to try something new for the tour. I love their Crispy Kangkong, though, simply one for the curious taste buds.

I enjoyed the Food Tour experience a lot therefore there weren’t much blunders. Here’re the restos that didn’t quite make an impression on me:

TGIFriday’s
I’m absolutely appalled. We often dine at Friday’s the past several weeks thanks to the free coupon Kuya Luis gets at Petron each time he gases up. I used to think the Friday’s stuff are very cool and very accommodating people. We always get A-grade treatment whenever we dine at Friday’s. But that day, they were simply blah. The crew didn’t even greet us welcome, not even smiling faces to usher us to their sampler table. Veeeerrryyy frustrating, considering I really loved Friday’s. Anyway, they had samples of their famous Chicken Fingers and their Tangy Buffalo Wings. When I tasted the Chicken Fingers, the breading was stale and the chicken tasted like it was cooked the night before. It was anything but Crispy. So is the Tangy Buffalo Wings which tasted anything but Buffalo Wings. If I were to speculate wildly, I’d say these two were leftovers from yesterday’s menu. C’mon, Friday’s, did you really prepare?

In fairness, they served us Iced Tea. Wuh. That’s the main consolation.

Cyma
Yes, they served us a full plate of their best sellers. Yes, some staff were quite accommodating. Yes, their place looks nice. But I didn’t like their food. I’m sort-of a fan of Mediterranean cuisine but Cyma’s pasta, lamb and kebab didn’t really appeal to me. Their pasta was bathing in what seemed like Olive oil, which made the pasta taste bland. I don’t like lamb that much so there. And the chicken kebab was… never mind. I don’t know if that’s really how they serve their food but I didn’t finish my plate because of it. Also, no one was available for questions, so we didn’t get to know their cuisine that much.

Other restaurants we’ve been to:

• Conti’s
  • Conti’s is actually a life-saver because they served cakes and brownies when I was desperately looking for dessert to fill the gap that my sweet tooth was craving for. However, I didn’t taste the main course they served because I was really, really full at that time.
• Bangus
  • They served an assortment of Bangus recipe (Bangus Sisig, Lumpiang Bangus, etc.) but I don’t like Bangus that much so I didn’t get a taste of any. Plus the fact that again, I was really, really full this time.
• La Maison
  • Three words: Really, really FULL. This was our last stop for the day and so… go figure. Bloggers say their ribs and mussels tasted heavenly, though. Restaurant owner was very nice. Staff was very courteous. Ambiance was to die for, it was like dining in an old Spanish house except senti songs were playing in the background. Hehehehe.
• Fish & Co.
  • They served their signature fish & chips (without the chips) and baked mussels. I’m not a big fan of mussels so I didn’t eat any, instead contented myself with the fish which didn’t make quite an impression on me.
• Super Bowl of China
  • I’ve been to this place a number of times already so I wasn’t at all surprised with what they served: Lemon Chicken and Garlic Fish something. Haha, I forgot the name. Anyway, if you’re a first-time Super Bowl customer make sure to order their Lemon Chicken because it’s that good. The fish was quite ordinary but the garlic relish was nice. =) The manager was very nice as well, and they served us Iced Tea! (Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Is there a conspiracy to serve Iced Tea in every establishment so that the bloggers’ tummy will be so full they wouldn’t be able to devour food in the other restos? Hahahaha. Some conspiracy theorist I am. =P)

There you go. I hope you enjoyed reading my Food Tour entries as much as I’ve enjoyed munching on a ton of food! Hehehe. Here are some final notes for the organizers:

• This is the first time an event like this was held and so we understand the number of flops we’ve experienced along the way. The first one being the loot bag. Have you guys attended children’s parties when you were young? When do they usually hand out the loot bags? In the end, not in the beginning of the party. That loot bag was such a burden to carry around, considering we went on all four floors of Trinoma. Imagine dangling a huge paper bag on your elbows while you make your way throughout the whole of Trinoma and you’ll feel what we all felt. No complaints about what’s in the loot bag, though, it’s just that… next time, hand it over at the end of the event, owkie?

• Manage and Plan the time well. The event started a bit late considering I saw a number of bloggers walking around the venue at exactly 2PM. While there are pa-star bloggers who arrive fashionably late (for a number of reasons), there are also those exceptional few excited ones who make it a point to be punctual. Also, how can you cramp 30+ restos in just about three to four hours? That’s a lot of food in such a short amount of time, so it wasn’t surprising that some groups weren’t able to visit some establishments.

• You named this event a Bloggers’ Food Tour. First, the Food part. The event should’ve been named the Bloggers’ Restaurant Tour if we were gonna go around the restos listening to the managers or the chef about the concept and menu of their restaurant. But, just like what I’ve said, this is a Food Tour. We expected food. Yes, most of them prepared food, but some seemed at a lost at what to do. Orient the proper establishments well on what to do during the event, and also orient the bloggers on what to expect during the event. We felt quite embarassed having to go around the restos, seeming to “beg” for food.

• Second, the Tour part. We didn’t quite get the part when we had to go around on our own and fend for ourselves. We thought this was the tour, and so we expected a tour guide, someone to take us around the restaurants and joyfully introduce us to the managers/crew of the restos. Are we asking too much? I don’t think so. We’re merely asserting whatever expectations and assumptions you may have given us. Next time, call an event like this the Blogger’s Restaurant Field Trip. That’d be more politically correct. Hehehe.

There. I hope Trinoma and Yehey appreciates my comments and feedback. They’re for their benefit anyway. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to similar or otherwise events in the future! =)

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 11:43 am and is filed under Blogging, Food, Gimik. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.