Cheap Fingers

I have been busy with my sideline in Binondo starting last week. I have to go to that office everyday, after my day job and work for an hour a day, Monday to Friday. Yesterday, instead of heading to Binondo, I went to Robinson's Place instead for a very important purpose. It has been more than a week already since I first saw the promotional ad of TGIF on its website. The ad says TGIF's chicken fingers will be priced at Php99 only on May 27. I haven't tried their chicken fingers and after the whole burger scenario, I guess TGIF has redeemed itself from my first bad impression about them. So, as the ad starts to sink in to me, I thought, it would be such a waste if I will not grab that opportunity. Knowing for a fact that the offer of Php99 is such a steal, because TGIF chicken fingers is priced at Php290 per serving, I simply will not forgive myself if I let this opportunity pass by me. Also, I have done my assignment and researched on the internet and found out that TGIF do not lessen, may it be the quantity nor the quality of their promotionally-priced good, compared to the regularly-priced ones. Meaning, I will be a complete fool if I don't go and benefit myself from TGIF's irresistible offer.

I have second thoughts yesterday if I will go or not because of my sideline but craving for this offer is much stronger than the sideline so I went ahead to Robinson's Place and started to tame my grumbling stomach. When comfortably seated, I ordered their chicken fingers and fried mozzarella. While waiting for my orders, I sit and watch the place be jampacked with diners as though it was a weekend. And I thought the food here is on the expensive side! Almost every table was occupied yesterday. I am not sure if it is because of the chicken fingers, but I have a feeling it is not just that because each table is bursting with food and not only with chicken fingers.

First served was the Fried Mozzarella. On their menu, they are offering it in six pieces per order but I saw on their website before that they have it in four's so I tried my luck and asked if indeed they are offering it also in four pieces per order and they confirmed. The Fried Mozzarellas were sliced perfectly. They were neither too thin nor too thick. Each slice was lightly breaded and fried and served with Marinara sauce on the side. They were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It is quite bland for my taste if eaten alone. Maybe they should put a little more spices on the breading before they coat the mozzarella slices with it. When paired with the Marinara sauce, it tastes okay, but I cannot find anything special about this dish.

When my share of the chicken fingers has turned up on my table, I felt relieved. Relieved, maybe because even though I know that discounted good is just the same as the regularly priced one (and I even ask the attendant again, just to be sure), I half-hoped that it will be less or will be in smaller pieces. But no, it was just the same, just like how it was described on the internet and by the waitress. I know it is just the same because of what they look like on their menu. I know that pictures on menus are always exaggerated in a good way but they will not try to "degrade" their establishment by putting some gross looking food on their menus. So anyway, excitedly, I tried their fries first. I have already tried their fries the last time that I had my burger experience but I was eager to know if they will have the same quality since the last time I was there the place is very well far from being jampacked. Luckily, the fries still are of the same quality as before, and even the flavor, is still intact. They obviously season their fries well as they really are flavorful. After indulging on their fries, I then moved on to the subject matter of the night. The chicken fingers.

Using my knife and fork, I cut a strip of chicken finger and found out that it was not crispy. I was expecting it to be crispy but anyhow, it does not matter that much. What I cannot understand is that the chicken tastes bland as well. I don't know if the chef that night is just light-handed when it comes to seasoning the food but if not for the mustard-mayo sauce, I will be forced to sprinkle salt on it. Honestly, I was real tempted already to reach for the table salt but dipped the chicken instead to the sauce. The meat is tender but a little bit dry. It did not reach my expectation but I will not hold another "grudge" against TGIF this time. I am very much welcome for any redeeming act from them. What I really appreciate is that the promo price still applies even for take-outs, unlike in some other restaurants that promo price is applicable only for dining customers.

Anyway, I appreciate the fast service and especially for the very kind waitress that served me last night. I did not get the name of the waitress but next time, I will make sure that I will ask for her name. She was really good and friendly, and warm. She made my solo dining a pleasure.

Friday's on a Sunday

I was pretty hyped up this weekend. I have been waiting for this opportunity and when it finally turned up, I just can't contain my excitement. I have been nursing a craving for burgers last week. In fact I have been surfing the net in my effort to look for a gourmet burger that I can indulge and experience here in Manila. I remember an office-mate who recommended before TGIF's burger. I was hesitant about TGIF because I have already tried eating there before with my friends at their MOA branch and it did not turned out well. I ordered their Tortilla Crusted Fish on Rice Pilaf then and my friends ordered their pasta. As for what kind of pasta, I cannot remember anymore. Actually, while reading the menu, I kind of cannot pick a dish because of the price tags. That time, I was trying to keep my expenses to a minimum because I can sense a shopping spree coming on. Anyway, I was also looking for something with rice, since I am already famished that time. It did not occur to me that TGIF's servings are big enough for sharing or for those who are very hungry already.

The fish, to be honest enough, did not impress me. I mean, with the price tags that they have, I expect something special with their dishes. But I find it just so-so. No special flavor for the fish, nothing special either with the rice pilaf. My friends and I agreed that there's nothing special with the dishes, and we felt that the lunch was not worthy of the hefty price tag at all. So after that experience, I vowed not to eat there anymore since I cannot see the point of paying expensively for something that does not taste good. Their desserts are extraordinary though. But since the office-mate kept on raving about TGIF's burger, I decided to break my own vow and went to try it myself.

Yesterday, Sunday, was the day I was looking forward to. I went against my fear and sarcasm, and left my negative first impression at home so as to be able to make unbiased judgment. I have been checking their menu via their website so I pretty much already have an idea on what to order. I settled for their Soup and Half House Caesar Salad for starters and I get to choose what kind of soup to be served. I chose Broccoli Cheese Soup over French Onion Soup simply because I love cheese dishes. Of course, I cannot leave out the "star" and the cause of this another gamble to eat at TGIF, which is the burger. I chose their Jack Daniel's Burger although I originally want a Cheesy Bacon Cheeseburger which I cannot find on their menu but saw it on their website. While waiting for the food, I put out a novel which I am already about to finish and read. After just a few minutes, the food was already served. I estimated it to be about 10-15 minutes waiting time. Which is not bad at all. I was shocked by the size of their serving. It really was big even the half order of Caesar Salad. The Caesar Salad was good and tasty even though it has nothing on it except for Romaine lettuce a little amount of grated Parmesan cheese. It was tossed with Caesar dressing and croutons. The Romaine lettuce is fresh and crispy and tossed with creamy Caesar dressing that for me is a little bit salty. It was then contrasted by the crunchy croutons which tasted real good.

The Broccoli Cheese Soup on the other hand is my favorite. Honestly, I did not taste any Broccoli on it, which I do not know if is a good news to some people, but a couple of Broccoli florets are used as garnish on top of the soup, along with a few grated cheese. The soup was very very cheesy, but not without the "umay" factor. You can only taste "unadulterated" cheese, I mean it has a clean cheese taste. Yeah, I know it sounds weird but you can go try it yourself and stop imagining instead. I love that it's a little bit salty but did not go overboard in spite of the cheese base. When we are already done with the soup and the salad, the burger was served.

I am not aware of the Jack Daniel's, and so do not have any idea what it tastes like. But since I have been lurking at TGIF's website, I kind of imagined the Jack Daniel as a barbecue sauce of some sort. When the plate was put on our table, I simply cannot believe it. It is big. I was shocked, and stared at it in awe. The burger was served open faced, which at first I did not understand why but later on, I thought, maybe it was served face-up because the cheese on top of the patty will stick on the bun. Let me tell you this, the burger was made up of the following, starting from the bottom: the bottom part of the burger bun, the fixing, which includes shredded cabbage, rings of onions, a couple slices of pickles, and tomato slices. Then sitting on top of these veggies is the beef patty which I chose to be cooked well done. The beef patty as I measured it, was more or less an inch thick. Covering its top part is the cheddar cheese that is starting to melt and clamp on the beef patty. On top of the Cheddar cheese slice are two strips of bacon formed in an "x" shape. The top part of the bun is then served beside the burger barely covering it. On the other side of the plate is a hefty serving of fries which is just casually placed beside the burger. Then of course, a little cup beside the burger and the fries is the Jack Daniel's sauce.I first tried the fries since I was still recovering from the overwhelming feeling when I saw how big the burger is. The fries are crispy and not soggy at all. It was cut a little thicker than the usual fast food-served fries. What I really like about it is that when you sink your teeth into it, your teeth immediately hit the potato unlike in some fastfood chains wherein your teeth hits air first before it chomps on the potato. It is flavorful too and not bland at all. In short, my grandmother and I just love their fries. Even if it has already turned cold, it was not soggy nor did it turned bland and tough. It retained its moisture which enhanced its flavor in spite of the change in its temperature.

I then moved on to the burger itself. While cutting the burger, to give my grandmother her share, I thought it was a little tough but it was not really. Its just that the patty is really thick and the fact that it was well done so I thought it was tough. I put on some of the Jack Daniel's sauce on the top portion of the bun then put it on top of the burger. The burger is just very delicious! The Jack Daniel's sauce, as it turned out, is sweet. It is like a sweet barbecue sauce so you might want to moderate on putting this on your burger. The bacon is not crispy anymore, but nevertheless still contributed to the yumminess of the burger. The pickle is not that sour also, just the perfect tangy taste that will complete the flavor of the fixings. The beef patty, is simply incredible. I did not taste any fat on it, which means they only used lean meat on their patties. Despite of being cooked well done, the patty was not tough at all. It was in fact still juicy and has the right spring of chewiness in it. The burger was just very amazing. I can eat this on a weekly basis and not get tired of it. What really touched me the most, and earned my admiration, is that the bun is buttered first before heating it, I think on a grill. Tell me, who on earth would think of doing that when you are in this business, and when your burger already has many flavors on it anyway? I mean, without buttering the bun won't be noticed, nor would anyone complain. But they did it their way, and I admire them for doing so. For me, it only means that they care truly for their customer's satisfaction.

So I think I can say that at least for the soup, salad, and burger, I would recommend TGIF to friends and family. Definitely good food. Perfect for celebrations or for a perfect casual dining experience. Honestly, I just forget the amount of money that I paid for and did not felt like I wasted my money in TGIF. Definitely worthy!