Hee-ya! to Ranch 88

A small, humble restaurant has recently opened along Dasmariñas Street in Binondo - Ranch 88, it was called. It is just a small place that houses approximately, 12-15 two-person tables. Small but quite cozy,indeed. I got the chance to try it last Saturday with my office mate and the experience was.. well... Good! The food are very affordable, really suits the office employees' budget. Well, I think that is their reason why they opened it in that area, mainly because commercial buildings are everywhere in Dasmariñas Street.

The place is clean, no sticky tables and got really comfortable not too stiff neither too soft sofa chairs. No sticky nor slippery floor also. The comfort room is also clean and as my office mate described it, it was beautiful (only she has gone to the restroom). Only, there is only one restroom for both genders.

As for the food, I ordered their Porterhouse Steak while my office mate ordered their Breaded Pork Chop. Entrees are served with java rice and some mixed vegetables. The Breaded Pork Chop is served also with gravy on the side, while the Porterhouse has its gravy pour on top of it, served on a hotplate. The Porterhouse Steak was a little thin but cut big. It was tender enough but came a little chewy on its meatiest part. The gravy was OK, nothing different from the usual gravy that you will get from sizzling food restaurants. The mixed veggies on the other hand, can do a little more color. I mean, the color was a little pale, maybe they could add a little carrots and green beans. The Java rice is quite good, and not too sour.

And, according to my office mate, her Breaded Pork Chop was delicious too. It was creamy and although it was breaded, was still tender. It was quite a thick cut so the tenderizing process, I guess was really good since it did not become tough to chew. It was, according to her, a real treat. In fact , she ordered another java rice which she does not normally do. They also gave each one of us one Polvoron, which I am guessing, was homemade. I don't know if they gave it to us as complementary because they just opened, since they are also selling these Polvorons. But it is sooo good. The pinipig is crunchy and it is not too sweet. You can just taste its freshness.

But what I am really really amazed for was their Chocolate Cake. For just Php36.00, a real generous serving of heavenly Chocolate Cake will be served. The Chocolate Cake was decadent. I have not tasted such good Chocolate Cake for that price. It was chocolate chiffon cake with caramel filling in between two layers of thick chocolate chiffon cake. The chocolate icing was very smooth, no tiny unmelted chocolate in it. Perfectly smooth. The cream on the side was smooth too and a little sweet, but not too sweet. The Chocolate Cake was so heavenly, as a whole, and per ingredient. Everything goes well with each other perfectly. Chocolatey goodness but not tooth-aching sweet. I just can't stop singing praises to this Chocolate Cake. Oh, did I mentioned it was homemade? Yummy!