Pinac

S Awaliah Maulani

4.0

I love special days because they often come with celebrations, and often, with celebrations comes food. It’s nice to have these days in between Christmas and New Year. While they’re not the best days in the calendar, they still provide us excellent excuses to indulge ourselves.We did exactly this last Father’s Day in Pinac, a Kapampangan restaurant in UP Town Center. My family got there before I did so I told them to check the restaurants I wanted to try. It was a choice between Crisostomo and Pinac, both serving Filipino food. Since it was my father’s special day, I thought it would be best to dine in a restaurant that serves his favorite dishes. Truthfully, the only reason Pinac won was the other restaurant was too crowded at the time, but overall, I was happy with the choice we made.Pinac scored high in my chart because of the food. I decide whether food is good based on three things: taste, serving size, and price. Pinac nailed these all. (I wasn’t satisfied with the desserts but I’ll go to that later.) Every dish was served in large servings. They mean it when they say an order is good for 2-3 people and everything was brimming with flavor, too.I am absolutely obsessed with their beef kare-kare. The meat was cooked perfectly and the dish can stand alone without the bagoong. The crispy pata was so tender and was served nicely on a wooden board. Our appetizer, baked oysters was to die for. I would’ve liked it better if they served it earlier, it being an appetizer, but the taste more than made up for the delay.The beef bulalo and liempo were also good but didn’t stand out as much as the rest of what we ordered. The liempo had laing with it, though, and I wish they had it on the menu without the meat because I can totally dig that.I originally wanted to order their roast chicken because chicken is my most favorite thing in the world but my family would much rather have crispy pata. When I come back, though, and I definitely will, that’s the first thing I would get for sure.Now, as promised, I’ll talk about the desserts.I have a thing for sweets. No matter how full I am, I will always have room for dessert. We got halo-halo and buko pandan. The reason I ordered buko pandan was when I was in Seafood Island with my teammates, I had a ton of fun eating their buko pandan. It was served in a coconut shell and had all the flavors in the world. Pinac’s buko pandan was served in a plain sort of cup with very little coconut, and it tasted like it had no milk at all. It was mostly green nata de coco and water. Definitely a no. The halo-halo fared slightly better because it had ube ice cream in it but I thought I could get something more flavorful from the streets. Something positive: my father got free turon! Yay.The place looked pretty. The interiors matched the vibe the restaurant was going for and at first they seemed like they had a lot of space. It got a little crowded in the middle of our meal but it was a Sunday and Father’s Day so that was understandable. What disappointed me was the place did not have sufficient air-conditioning. It got really warm when people started piling in. They made up for it by installing multiple fans in the area but those took up space and fans are super noisy. Maybe fix your air-conditioners next time?Overall, this was a great dining experience. We haven’t even finished eating yet and I was already thinking about what I was going to order when I come back. .5 points each deduction for the ventilation issue and the desserts. Everything else was a-ok. Good job, Pinac!Also seen on: meladayaday.wordpress.com

Pooventher RK

4.0

When we arrived in Pinac, we were greeted by nice and attentive staff. Love how they cater to your needs and that they don't say no immediately (After asking if I could charge my phone). The place itself is spacious, with a lot of tables that can accommodate big or small groups of people. Comfy chairs, a lot of space to move around, and gives off a peaceful and homey ambiance that's still fancy and comfortable. The restroom was the most amusing of the place, as it's hidden (It's by the right side and is the same design as a wall). I was pushing the walls until I found the opening (Though someone was inside, so I looked like an idiot pushing walls at first!).Started with the sisig pizza, basically pork sisig with bell peppers drizzled with mayonnaise on a thin crust. So yummy, I love how they mad the crust thin to not overpower the whole pizza, and that the sisig was soft and tender. I'm no fan of mayonnaise, but it complemented the sisig!Next up was first hito with fermented fish. It was served with vinegar (If you're not a fan of the fermented fish) and mustard leaves. A bit confusing at first, but you roll the fried hito balls with the leaves and add the fermented fish or vinegar as sauce. I love the tangy and sour taste of the mustard leaf with the hito, but I prefer it alone with the vinegar! The fermented fish tasted nice, but I would rather not match it with the already salted hito. My favorite, chicken skin with potato chips! I didn't get to taste the sauce, but the chicken skin didn't need any, as it's already salted and good on its own. I bet it would be great on vinegar, though. Love how it isn't so salty and still crispy. Some were tender yet with a crunch, which made me come back for more. It's their bestseller, and I can see why!For the baked oysters with cheese and crispy kang kong, this is the least of my favorites, yet not bad! I'm not a huge fan of oysters, and it was a bit cold when I tasted it. I'm sure it would be good, but again, I don't like the sourness of oysters, and while the cheese would have helped, it didn't have as much flavor as I expected it to have. Plus, the kang kong had more oil than it's supposed to, making it more drenched and soggy than crispy.On to the main courses, which was B E A U T I F U L! Started off with the kare-kare, which was definitely the most memorable ones I've tasted. And I've tasted a LOT of kare-kare, LOL. Soup was so thick, beef was tender, and vegetables were perfectly cooked. It had the authentic peanut taste that you know is made of real and fresh ingredients, not just some pre-mixed powder.Crispy pata. I have no idea what to say about it, but YUM. Definitely a guilty pleasure. I love how they cut it to make it easier to serve, and it makes it look all the more appealing and delicious to eat. Pork was tender, skin was crunchy, fats were… PERFECT! Hahaha. Interestingly, they served it with fermented ampalaya and eggplant (Like atsara, but not papaya!) Sourness removed the bitterness of the ampalaya, which made it taste better than what I expected it to be. I love it.Seafood paella was next, and instead of the usual Spanish dish, it comes Filipino style with a sweeter tomato base, chorizo, and bagnet topped with it! They had the usual shrimp, boiled egg, and other vegetables included. It wasn't the best of all I've tasted in Pinac, but it is good. I just don't like how the rice is a bit… wet? I expect paella to have rice clinging on to each other but a bit squishy (If this makes sense), but I felt like I was eating cooked rice that was washed or drenched in tomato sauce. I like the chorizo and seafood, it's just the rice that made it less yummy for me.Last, the fried shrimp! This isn't your usual tempura style fried shrimp, but it's coated in salted egg mixture and a secret ingredient I'd rather not say (All respects to the owner, your secret's safe with us!). All I'll comment on is that it's delicious and the blend of the ingredients makes it so interestingly good. Squeeze a bit of lemon on it and all the flavors are bursting!Last but definitely not the least, DESSERT! Aaaaah, this is definitely what made me stuffed to the rim. I'll start off with the puto bumbong, which is made of real ube. Alone, it wouldn't be super flavorful. But when you top it with coconut shavings and sugar, YUM. Gives me that Christmas vibe already!Next up, turn with mango panna cotta. The turn itself is well sliced and crunchy, sweet and delicious (I'm a huge fan of anything with bananas). Add a bit of the mango syrup, and it becomes better. The panna cotta itself is very yummy, and glad to say that this was the best one I've tasted, since most panna cottas would be too liquify and not gelled enough, if you know what I mean.Last but the most beautiful of all, the one I was really waiting for.. .The s'mores! It's made out of flat tops and comes with graham crackers. Just… urgh. It's better than sex (But what do I know?). Or think of the best thing in your life. 10 times better. I wish my phone didn't run out of battery so I could have taken a photo or video of the chocolate gooeyness that is my s'more. Once you dip into the marshmallow, you'll find a pool of chocolate underneath, and the mixture of both marsh and choco makes it thick and clings onto your graham cracker, making it perfect to sandwich and eat. The chocolate stains on my mouth and teeth after signifies my satisfaction and ultimate happiness.

Amico Rivera

4.0

This place can get very busy on Sunday Lunch. So, its best you get reservations. The Crispy Pata is the winner! It made me braved the traffic just to have this! We also tried the Beef Kare Kare. It came us a surprised to us that there were only two small pieces of meat and when we asked about it, they said it was supposed to be liked that. Now I am traumatized to order Kare Kare elsewhere thinking it will be like that again. Anyway, overall the food was good. I saw some squid on the other table which looks very appetizing. I'll come back to try that!