Sabao

Karen Carreon

2.0

The soups, which is the restaurant's specialty tastes like ordinary soups that you could order in any restaurant in the Philippines but pricier.

Ayr Sia

4.0

They have other types of sinigang such as Soy Ginger Braised Beef Brisket and Salmon/Poached Shrimp but we opted for this: Sampaloc Glazed Pork Belly. There are a multitude of sinigang dishes out there but nothing beats the sampaloc type. And theirs was just really good. I liked the tangy taste of the soup that melded well with the tender pork belly. I liked the roasted tomatoes on this one too. Gives it this roasty tasteMost would think that this place just serve soup just by the name of the resto (sabaw is the Tagalog word for soup). But my friend pointed out that it’s actually a play on the phrase “sa bao” meaning “in a bowl”. Rightly so, all of their dishes are served in bowls. Clever! So for our first non-soup dish, their Crispy Mochiko really piqued me. It said on their menu that it’s a rice flour battered chicken with spiced honey, sampaloc glaze, toasted sesame, toge, green cabbage and cilantro. It can be served either with brown rice or canton. We chose the former and the whole combination was good. If I would go here alone, I’ll definitely have this all to myself. The chicken wasn’t oily and very flavorful. The mesh of honey and sampaloc gave a sweet and tangy taste to it.At first, it didn’t dawn on me that this had coconut milk. I only realized it when I came home. Haha. :D I kept wondering why the shrimp paste wasn’t as strong as I expected it to be. It was probably due to the coconut milk that leveled the taste of the shrimp paste. It was still very flavorful and good to pair with brown rice.

@mrs.suciptoadi

2.0

Been looking for a place for a long-long time to try Bicol Express and found some portion which seemed just right for one. Ordered Bicol Express, Corn Aligue and Ginger Iced tea. While I enjoyed the unique taste of black rice with the saltiness of the meat (only pinoy recipe that isn't sweet like pinoys themselves), what really put me off was being made to sit while someone's crockery washing sent soapy foam my way (sitting was something I agreed to but I never agreed to soapy foam in my iced tea and as a matter of fact don't know how much of it made its way into my iced tea). As if this wasn't enough, I waited humbly for that corn aligue for like eons before I decided to remind them and then had to point it out again (and I thought that the point of taking orders on paper was not missing stuff, maybe I am mistaken or illinformed). So while the food was decent and my first try at black rice was amazing, the poor service will remind me of avoiding this throughout my stay.

Nisrina29

3.0

The crowded Valero Eat Street Food Market made us discover a new resto just in Valero Makati. This new resto will make you playful with your favorite Pinoy soups by letting you customize your own "sabao" (soup in Tagalog). Too bad, I wasn't able to get "artsy fartsy" with my order. Sabao is from Erwan's culinary group Mothership F&B Enterprise which is behind the Bait's, Red Light, etc. This resto is somewhat a version of Japan's ramen and Vietnam's pho. Now it's about time we have something different!The Ambiance (3/5)Sabao has high ceilings with it's chic blonde wood which comes off like a nipa hut. The Food (3/5)Since I was venturing on a food trip and I don't want to stuff myself with a big amount of food from a single serving, I ordered their "Bao" (siopao) which luckily was on a discounted price for P98 you get two just as long you dine in from 2-5pm. I've tried their turon, which is saging na saba with langka, cinnamon, ube halaya topped with vanilla ice cream. It's like a turon ala mode and so far the best tasting I've had!The ExperienceThe next time I visit I will try that "sabao experience", wherein you get to customize your soup.

Guntur D. Putra

3.0

My friend and I had a casual dinner here last Tuesday.We've tried beside restaurant (bait's) before (which i know has the same owner) and I think we were more satisfied with the food in bait's (see: my review on bait's).We ordered rice bowls (mine's what's in the picture, shrimp) and my friend's was pork.As filipinos and as the not-laway-conscious friends that we are, we both tried each other's food.We both thought that the shrimp was a better choice.Staff was great. We felt that it was a little too pricey tho.Not the best but not the worst.

Dani Radit

4.0

I waited to try this twice & ordered 2 different bowls to see what Sabao is really about before I made this reveiew. But on my first try, I was already happy I chose to dine in Sabao. The veggie molo soup with misua was light but filling. The 2nd time, I went straight for the bestseller that made me crave for rice but held back. The concept of having Filipino soup dishes served a la Japanese Ramen complete with choice of putting noodles in it is such a brave new concept but it actually works. I have to say my soup-craving self was satisfied on both times I visited and I now have that comforting idea that whenever I feel the need to have a soup dish, it doesn't have to be a ramen place anymore.

Peter Goldsworthy

4.0

At this Filipino soup bar, ramen is so yesterday and Filipino soup is forever.Sabao Soup Bar, another restaurant opened by Mothership F&B group (Erwan Heusaff's team) believes that the best way to present Filipino food to the world is through our mouthwatering traditional soups. The restaurant name speaks straightforward what the specialties are. It's rare to hear Filipino restaurants concentrate on one category of food but Sabao is brave enough to shout out and be proud of their soup creations. Sabao breaks the code of our favorite traditional soups by using techniques that will make us fall on our knees. Think about combining creativity and novelty. All soup broth in the kitchen are made from scratch, simmered for 16 hours. The concentration is in the broth. So, whichever toppings you add to your soup, it's assured that the soup is already complete with desired flavors. The Food:Bulalo (Php 280) - By just looking at the toasted bone marrow, I'm already impressed. In fact, speechless. Bulalo, pronounced as boo-la-loh, is a soup party of soy-ginger braised shank, toasted bone marrow of course, red and green cabbage, corn, potatoes, bokchoy, toge, black peppercorns and celery leaves. With its rich beef broth, simmered in 16 hours, you could change your infatuation for ramen to our local soup. Sinigang (Php 250) - Sabao's Sinigang with Sampaloc Glazed Pork Belly charmed me in so many ways. Starting from its captivating sour soup, that I didn't want to let go of. Sipping and slurping became my game when I drew near this Sinigang to my lips. A combination of sampaloc sambal, roasted tomatoes, red radish, gabi, pickled sibuyas tagalog, kangkong, eggplant and siling haba in divine tamarind broth. Taste it with the luscious sampaloc glazed pork belly, you would want your sinigang to taste this good everyday, aside from your mom's original recipe of course. Sabao aced their Siningang! Beef Noodles (Php 280) - Giving you more options, other than getting Filipino soup, Sabao awakened our Asian side in their Beef Noodles. Braised beef shortrib on top of sweet soya, pickled vegetables and toge, then garnished with sesame seeds, sili labuyo and cilantro. This goes well with either white garlic rice or sotanghon.For more details and photos, visit my food blog! :)Pray, Eat and Love.Cheers,The Food Scout

Lean Gomez

3.0

This cozy restaurant was the perfect place to have dinner on a rainy Friday night that we visited it. I love their Sabao Arroz Caldo because I am such a fan of brown rice. I just wish the soup was hotter when it was served. But the flavor was really good and there are several ingredients in it. We also ordered their Tapsilog with Aligue Rice and Crispy Egg. The Tapa was delicious. Perfect marinate and cooked just right. However, the serving was quite small. Parking space is very limited so better to come here on foot.

Sergen Demir

3.0

Enjoying a nice bowl of soup is a rainy day staple. My officemates and I had a brilliant idea to return to Sabao for a good bowl of Sinigang! Unfortunately, their sinigang was sold out. We had no choice but to order other dishes. I ordered the Tinola again. Here are a couple of things that changed since the last time I ordered Tinola at Sabao:- they had more chicken- the flavor of the soup changed. I'm not sure what happened but it tasted quite differently from the first time we ordered it (I think it was during the soft opening). Maybe we were disappointed because we had our minds set on eating Sinigang and so any other food would have failed? We had, after all, the sinigang state of mind.Maybe next time they won't run out of sinigang! ;

Yanyan Saluria Abay

3.0

Wanted to try their Sinigang but when we went (around 8pm), it was already out of stock. Ordered their Binakol instead. The soup was too sweet for my taste. Good thing the grilled chicken on top of the soup was cooked just right. It was wonderfully tender and flavorful, however, I was still pretty underwhelmed with the Sabao experience, maybe because I wasn't able to order what I really wanted. Ambience-wise, the place is pretty nice. It's modern with a few hints of Filipino. The staff's ok too.