Alab

Wahyu Yulianti Sarumaha

4.0

Alab has certainly awaken the sleeping website in me.Finding a place that serves something that will excite the sleeping website in me will rightly deserve a good review. This place intrigued me with all the unusual/different/never before offered dishes that they serve.A must try drink on their menu is the Tubo, which is fresh sugar cane juice. It is a good alternative to ice tea that we are used to having.I don't think you can go wrong with the different main dishes that you can choose from. But if you want to be sure, here are the ones that I've tried that I will vouch for are the Palabok Negra, Pianggang, Penuneng, and Alab's Fried Rice.To end the meal, the New York, Cubao Bibingka Cheesecake is worth trying and the selection of Alab Signature Ice Cream will end dinner on a high note. Kamote is for the not so daring, but you can try Laing or the Pakwan Lambanog for a little thrill. Alab, I'll be back. Cause I Alab you. Hopefully you've replaced those tarps on your windows with more decent and more inviting window stickers or some other visual to attract more guests.

Lusi

4.0

We had merienda and dinner here on the same day cause we really enjoyed our merienda. We ordered the Palabok Negra, Bibingka and Mango shake for merienda. I love the palabok Negra. The taste is different but it was really good. Loved the shrimp and quail eggs! The bibingka was good too. For dinner what I really enjoyed was the rice (Alab's rice) the other dishes was so -so :) The staff were fast and accommodating too. Keep it up!

Pungky Yushan

4.0

Coming from a very long Mindanao-Visayas-Luzon road trip, we couldn't seem to get enough of some more fresh Regional Filipino delicacies. Gladly, we found Alab at U.P Town Center in Diliman, Quezon City, that serves "Classic Filipino Dishes and various new dishes, re-imagined and from the Regions". We ordered the Tinumok, Alab's version of Bicol's Pinangat. We were pleasantly surprised of their Alab version (Coconut noodles or shredded coconut meat and chopped shrimp wrapped in taro leaves stewed in rich coconut cream and flavored with bagoong alamang). It was tastier and way better than the Pinangat we had at Bob Marlin in Naga. It was really delicious. Good to know that Alab offers the Philippines famous regional food classics with some interesting twists and smart re-inventions.The restaurant is clean, nicely decorated, well-lit and has a homey feel. (Only downside is its lack of restroom inside the restaurant). Rence (Dining Supervisor), Mitch and Diana exude the familiar Filipino hospitality. The price is reasonable and well worth it. We've been told that one of the owners of Alab is Ms. Cherry Pie Picache who is a known multi-awarded actress. Can't wait to go back and try their other dishes like the Pianggang (Grilled chicken cooked in coconut milk flavored with a special Tausug spice paste made from ground fresh aromatics and burnt coconut. A Tausug classic!) and Penuneng or Dinuguang longganisa. (Blood sausage, made the Ilocano way. Served with their vinegar dip).

Euel

4.0

✔✔✔ Kare kareFor the love of filipino food ❤Food 8/10Serving 8/10 not that bigService 8/10 quite slow but accomodatingAmbience 10 /10Cleanliness 8/10Price 7/10 quite expensive for the quantityFood variety 9/10

Roy Wijaya

3.0

Prices and are lower than I expected, which affects their portioning but is lighter on the wallet.I appreciate the effort to keep Alab's modern Philippine menu more accessible. The restaurant no longer carries Chef Tatung Sarthou's name, but his influence remains. We were interested in trying out his adapted version of the Tausug specialty, Chicken Pianggang, and we were not disappointed. The smoky coconut, shallot and chili flavoring coats a chicken fillet which is then topped with dark toasted coconut, wth chili, raw mango, sigarilyas, and eggplant caviar on the side. I would have liked more coconut flavor in the pianggang, which in some ways is the Philippines "lost" curry dish. The portion, however, is underwhelming. Please don't be afraid to make it spicier, either. This is a dish that hasn't turned talk-of-the-town and should've. This, together with their Penunang, an interpretation of Ilocos dinuguan transformed into longganisa, was the other interesting item that we ordered. While my dad was looking for classic dinuguan sauce, I enjoyed the longganisa and dinuguan flavor inside a beautifully made sausage. The chili vinegar dip and papaya achara enhanced it. We had molo (okay) and a poqui-poqui turned flan. Too much egg, not enough eggplant; it was also overbaked. Half hits, half sort of misses. The staff did a heroic job of handling heavy Sunday traffic, but be truly prepared to wait.

Emilia Fauziah

4.0

We got to try alab for the first time. We had the pianggang, crispy pata, okay, molo soup and bibingka cheesecake. We ordered another set for the okay since my wife liked it so much. The crispy pata tasted really good with that heby pandan taste. The pianggang, their bestseller according to our waiter, tasted quite different but good. It was chicken cooked in coconut milk flavored with a special Tausog spice. The bibingka cheescake was quite different too, in a good way. The wait staff were attentive and fast. Wasn't able to take pictures as we were all hungry. Definitely will be back. Specially for the suman sa lihiya.

Muimuibar

1.0

It has the worst service of all time. We ordered Inihaw platter at 12:30pm and the crew said it will only take 15-20mins. It's already pass an hour and guess what, we're still waiting for it. Ha, shout out to the owner, manager and whoever is responsible, fix your kitchen logistics and crew.

Lorraine Gotong

4.0

Here lies the best coconut milk based dish I've tasted. And it's Filipino in origin. Filipino cuisine is synonymous to diversity and versatility Had late lunch at Alab. I got intrigued with recent reviews about Piagang.  Ordered that and he picked sisig. Service is fast and the wait staff is courteous and friendly. Food was served after a couple of minutes. I specifically liked the wooden cups they use for rice. It reminded me of the clay pots i used to play with when i was a kid. I know it's not related but i somehow associated the memory when i saw the cups.The sisig is mediocre, Gerry's grill still has the best sisig in my book. It is not as crispy as the others I've tasted. Too much cartilage but i guess that's what you get with pork jowls and ears. The piagang is phenomenal, chicken cooked with coconut milk with some steamed veggies on the side, sliced tomatoes and green mango. At first glance, you wouldn't think that the dish is cooked with coconut milk. It looks like chicken barbecue sans the sticks. The presentation is has the deconstructed-ish vibe. The chicken is cooked perfectly. The flavor is savory, slightly sweet, rich (because of the coconut milk) and a lil bit smokey and peppery. I would love to learn how this baby is cooked.Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Alab. Service is efficient and food is good. And oh, wifi is fast too.Naglalagablab ang aming damdamin dahil sa Alab!

Arthur Echaluce

4.0

Ate lunch here awhile ago since we were craving for Filipino food. The ambiance is nice and simple and the servers were attentive and kind. We ordered for liempo and it was good and cheap at the same time. We also ordered their sisig but I didn't like it that much because it tasted weird. Overall the restaurant and good was okay 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

Kate T

1.0

There's so much promotion happening for their precious Pianggang - who wouldn't want to try it? The flavour is fine. Meat is tiny and embarrassingly overcooked