Niji (*** of 4) $$

ANGELES CITY, PHILIPPINES  Raw fish in general, and sushi in particular, make a lot of people squeamish.  It’s a shame.  A finely rolled maki or freshly sliced sashimi with wasabi and pickled ginger can tantalize the adventurous palate.

Niji, Angeles City, Philippines

Japanese entrepreneurs build new restaurants every day in the Philippines, it seems.  The most important ingredients to a good Japanese restaurant are fresh fish and good preparation.  Hanami does it right, for the most part.  Fresh fish goes into every one of their sushi rolls or onto their sashimi plates, and they can roll a mean maki.

When you enter, you’ll see a cascading fountain over glass.

Clean & simple style

  A nice touch.  Too bad Hanami, the Japanese restaurant just a bit further down the street, has the same decorative feature.  In fact, minus some structural variations, the two restaurants could be identical twins.  Or at least kissing cousins.  Minimalist wood and faux rice paper environment with simple wood tables are the formula, and, to be honest, it works.  Ok, the TV at the bar blaring the latest Filipino soap opera ruins the mood a bit, but the service staff are extremely attentive.

The sushi bar presentation at Hanami outclasses the Niji, with a longer counter complete with glass display, seating, and usually at least two uniformed sushi chefs.  Niji’s is more modest, nestled in the corner.  Nevertheless, they both prepare sushi and sashimi dishes in open view.  They have a back kitchen that handles the rest of the food prep–teppanyaki, yakatori, rice, and the like.

We’ve tried a number of the maki rolls, and they are better prepared than Hanami.  They’re tighter rolled and more compact, which makes eating them with the obligatory chopsticks easier.  Hanami tends to serve rolls that fall apart before they get to your mouth.

The yakiniku, or grilled meats, also satisfy.  Chicken, pork, and squid skewers run between P130 and P165.  They make great appetizers.  The teppanyaki dishes, designed to feed several people, are more pricey.  They’ll run you between P155 for simple beef and onions to P2000 for genuine Kolbe beef.  Personally, I don’t care for teppanyaki.  It’s an overly sauced rice topping (ok, that’s my opinion only), and you can theoretically feed an army with it, but it lacks finesse.  I never order it.

You can feed two people comfortably for around 600 pesos for a dinner.  My personal approach to Japanese restaurants is to order a couple yakiniku dishes as appetizers, and perhaps miso soup (made from soybean paste), but keep the menu in hand.  After drinking and conversing a bit, I’ll order a couple of maki rolls for me and my date.  That’s a filling meal, and with drinks, it should come in at the price mentioned above.

In all, this is my current favorite Japanese restaurant in Angeles City.  If you find a better place, let me know–I love Japanese food.       -copyright 2008 ACEats.com

CUISINE: Japanese | COST: $$ | RATING: *** (of4)

Shano’s Irish Pub (** of 4) $$

Shano’s reminds this author of Irish pubs in Bangkok:  great decor, acceptable pub grub, and Asian waitresses.  That’s generally a good thing because we like the Irish Pubs in Thailand. 

Shano's, Angeles City

The atmosphere of the place is striking.  You enter and feel the crisp air conditioning and see a long, cavernous bar, with a long Philippine mahogany bar ending at a gaming area that sports two pool tables and a dart board.  Polished wood is everywhere.  So are TV’s, showing satellite-delivered sports events.  It’s a great place to take in a football or rugby match.

Shano’s has revised their menu a number of times, I suppose as they’ve changed cooks.  That accounts for some of our rating, since the menu and quality have see-sawed quite a bit in recent months.  Looking at the current iteration, you’ll find a mixture of European pub grub combined with some good old American favorites.  Generally, we’ve found the food consistent and fresh.  It’s hard to order a bad dish, in fact.  We like the Cheese steak hoagie–it’s better than Sub Delicious’.  The Buffalo wings are also good.  Filipino foods seem to be more mediocre.

Friendly Shano's Waitresses

Prices have steadily climbed since their opening, unfortunately.  You’ll pay a surprising P255 for a three piece chicken basket, and a whopping P175 for clam chowder.  A bowl of chili, despite it’s humble ingredients of ground beef and beans, will set you back P185, though it’s pretty good.  Salad lovers will be disappointed at the P235 chef salad price.

The current winner on the menu is the Philly-style cheese-steak.  In my opinion, it’s their only standout item at the moment.  For P150 you can get crusty roll with chopped steak and gooey cheese.  However, you might want to avoid adding the optional french fries and coleslaw, because that will add an extra P100 to your bill.  Again, wacky, somewhat dyslexic pricing, in my opinion.

Given its location on the corner of A. Santos and Real Streets, its prices may be justified.  We wished there was more of a people watching area in the restaurant/bar, however.  In all, Shano’s is a great place to have good lunch, shoot some pool, and watch the latest sporting events.

Finally, Shano’s plays an active role in the local billiard leagues, sponsoring a number of teams.  During non-league days, you can enjoy a friendly game or three with your friends or with one of the waitresses.  They have some of the nicest tables in town.       -copyright 2008, ACEats.com

CUISINE:  American & Pub Grub | COST: $$ | RATING: ** (of 4)

 

MacDonalds in the Philippines

ANGELES CITY, Philippines     I don’t think reviewing MacDonalds would serve much of a purpose, so I won’t try.  There are a few noteworthy differences between the MacDonald’s you might be used to in the rest of the world to and those you’ll find in the Philippines.  So here’s a quick list, most of which amuse me:

1.  MacDonald’s is referred to as “MacDo” here.  I guess it’s a bit too much work to say the whole word, or perhaps it’s a tad bit friendlier.

2.  The Ronald MacDonald plastic statues look decidedly Asian.  When I first moved here, it cracked me up a bit.  I think it would take an extraordinary act of genetic engineering to produce an Asian-looking, flaming orange-haired child with a pasty-white clown face.  If I saw such a beast walking down the street, I’d secure my wallet and then run.  Maybe that’s why Jollibee is more popular here.

Ronald is half Asian!

3.  The burgers taste the same, but the prices are cheaper.  Burgers and Cheeseburgers are less than P50, and large fries are around P30, depending on the outlet.  That’s about 30% off of the cost of similar items in the States.

4.  The food tastes nearly identical to stateside.  Unlike Wendy’s and Domino’s, for example, MacDo seems to strive to deliver a consistent product globally, meaning they seem to use the same meats, condiments, and buns.  I’m sure they source their ingredients locally, but they must have a hell of a quality control department to make it taste virtually identical.

5.  They do make some concessions to local preferences, offering fried chicken and spaghetti at many of their outlets.  For some reason, unknown to me, Filipinos LOVE fried chicken and spaghetti.  That’s not a derogatory statement, by any means, it’s just a simple observation.  Kenny Rogers Roaster, a chicken rotissery chain, went out of business long ago in the U.S.A.  It’s still going strong here, even opening up more outlets.  Go figure.

As I said, I won’t even attempt to review MacDo here.  It would be pointless and you probably know whether you like the food or no already.  I must confess, once in a while I enjoy wolfing down a Quarter Pounder with cheese and a large fries.  Which brings me to my final point:

6.  Don’t expect a 1 minute turnaround on the “high priced” items on the menu.  I know, I know, the prices are all cheap, but higher priced is relative.  If you order a Quarter Pounter at a whopping P80, you will surely have to wait while they make one.  Unless you’re in a hurry, this is no big deal.  Spend 5 minutes sitting at a table and people watching, the nice lady or gentleman at the counter will bring your food to you when it’s done. 

You’ll find 2 MacDonald’s in the immediate Balibago area.  The nearest is at the SM Megamall.  There’s another on base near Pure Gold Duty Free.  There are rumors that yet another will be springing up at the corner of Field’s and MacArthur, so stay tuned, MacDo fans.      -copyright 2008, ACEats.com

VFW Canteen (**1/2 of 4) $$1/2

ANGELES CITY, PHILIPPINES  If you think of the VFW, you probably picture a smoke-filled little clubhouse where ex-military types gather to swap war stories and compare shrapnel scars.  To borrow a phrase, the Angeles City VFW ain’t your daddy’s VFW.  Likewise, calling the VFW canteen a canteen is doing it a disservice.  It’s a full-fledged restaurant with a large, varied menu.

VFW Post 2485is actually the largest overseas VFW post in terms of membership.  On any given day, it’s a beehive of activity, with members gathering for a drink and watching sports in the barroom, playing pool, or picking up mail.  But you’ll also find some unexpected sights:  groups and families of Filipinos enjoying a meal in the dining room.  The VFW’s canteen is not only open to all, it’s prices make it darned popular with expats and Filipinos alike.

As might be expected, the cuisine is American, with a heavy focus on rib-sticking favorites like meatloaf, burgers, lasagna, etc.  Daily specials are particularly good values at 10% or more off, and they usually have two entrees, a soup, and another dish on the specials list, every day.

Try the pork schnitzel or the chicken Cordon Bleu–we recommend them.  For breakfast, the Eggs Benedict dish is tasty.  Avoid the “prime ribs” and any other rib dish.  They’re fatty, bony short ribs that are misnamed on the menu.  Service is prompt and attentive.  The waitresses have, arguably, the best command of English of any restaurant in Angeles.

One of our few beefs with the place is that the pricing can sometimes be odd.  Last we check, a small bowl of chili was P165 ($3.70).  That seems rather excessive for a simple bowl of chili.  Most of the soups tend to fall into this odd pricing scheme, as do the salads.

Expect to pay between P200-300 for an entree with a side of rice or potatos and corn or mixed vegetables.  For the most part, portions are generous, but not overly large.

The VFW Canteen is located in the Clarkview subdivision.  It’s about a block in from Perimeter Road at 381 Santol Street, on the corner of Santol and Pinatubo Streets.  Hours are 7 am to 9 pm, daily. (c) ACEats.com.

CUISINE: American  |  COST:  $$1/2 | RATING: **1/2 (of 4)

Zapata’s **1/2 (of 4) $1/2

ANGELES CITY, PHILIPPINES  If you walk into Zapata’s any given night, chances are, you’ll find full tables.  On a busy night, you might have to sit at the bar.  The place is popular–and not just with expats, well-heeled Filipinos dig the place, as well.

Sub Delicious **1/2 (of 4) $$1/2

ANGELES CITY, PHILIPPINES  You can’t beat the location, right in the heart of the Fields Avenue entertainment district.  The grub’s not bad, either.  Sub Delicious offers a nearly overwhelming selection of food, mostly dominated by the subs, pizza, and wings–the Holy Trinity of American foods. 

Cottage Kitchen *** (of 4) $$$

ANGELES CITY, PHILIPPINES  Despite it’s reputation as the culinary capitalof the Philippines, views actually doesn’t offer that much variety food-wise–unless you count the food courts at the local malls, which offer a whole variety of unpalatable, reheated selections from around the world.  Good food, therefore, is appreciated.  Consistency, even more so.

Cottage Kitchen wouldn’t win any barbeque awards in the States:  most of the food

Bretto’s slipping…

ANGELES CITY, PHILIPPINES  Over the years, I’ve been a big fan of Bretto’s, located on mid-Perimeter Rd past the Petron Station as you head away from MacArthur.  Bretto, now-deceased, built a nice deli.  Later he added an attached sandwich shop.  Sliced meats and sausages that you can’t find easily elsewhere are the main attraction, though the joint certainly has a pretty good meat selection and an eclectic, mostly European