A taste of Smokin' Hot BarBQ

A few weeks ago we were treated to a taste of The Bistro Group's newest restaurant, Smokin' Hot BarBQ at Greenbelt 3. Along with the free lunch we played the part of diners as we were shot for an advertorial that was to be published in The Philippine Star. We were also given GCs as token for coming.

I've already been seeing this resto every time I'm headed for the movies but never got to try it until that occasion. I don't know why but maybe it was out of bitterness since it was where my favorite Fish & Co. (also of The Bistro Group) used to stand. Haha!

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Our lunch spread.

Contrary to my perception, it's not all barbecue here but Filipino comfort fare that's meant for sharing. It's meant to also be a place where people can have drinks, hence the "Bar" in Smokin' Hot BarBQ. Here's what we were served:

Bulalo
A Filipino staple, the bulalo (Php 495) had a nice, soft bone marrow to enjoy. Nothing out of the ordinary here but hey, it's familiar Pinoy comfort food.

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Ensalada
We were served two, ensaladang talong (eggplant) and ensaladang mangga (green mango). Simply put, ensalada means salad. Not a fan of green mango but I did try the eggplant. It had just the right amount of acidity to it and which did not overpower the veggies.

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Ensaladang talong (Php 145)

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Ensaladang mangga (Php 115)

Smokin' Faves
This dish (Php 795) is a trio of lechong kawali (deep-fried pork belly), grilled tuna belly, and a quarter of Smokin' BarBQ chicken. I enjoyed the crispiness of the pork and also liked that there was some spicy kick to the tuna. The chicken, however, was underwhelming. Maybe because I like pork better than chicken.

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Binagoongang liempo
Binagoongan dishes basically mean that they're cooked with bagoong (shrimp paste). This one here (Php 325), however, was made in a deconstructed style as the liempo (pork belly) wasn't really cooked with the bagoong. It was actually the eggplant that was cooked with bagoong while the pork was simply laid on top of a bed of cooked eggplant. It was good, though.

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Pork sisig wraps
Another dish that's quite popular in Filipino restaurants is sisig, which is usually made of pork meat, fat, cheeks, etc. cooked sizzling style in an iron pan. At Smokin' Hot BarBQ, the sisig is given a different treatment with the introduction of soft taco. Get, say, a spoonful of sisig and wrap it in soft taco, and now you have pork sisig wraps (Php 225).

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Rice
No Filipino meal is complete without rice, and the restaurant has a couple of options from the usual steamed or garlic rice to the more daring black rice (cooked with squid ink) and the very sinful aligue (crab fat) rice. We were, however, served dulong (very small dried fish) rice and chicharon (pork cracklings or pork rind) rice.

I fell in love with the chicharon rice.

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Chicharon rice (Php 295)

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Dulong rice (Php 195)

Biko and Turon 2.0
For dessert we were given biko, a sweet sticky rice dish, and an updated version of the lowly turon, which is banana in lumpia wrapper and fried in oil and brown sugar.

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Biko (Php 155)

Biko has never been my favorite but the restaurant's take on the turon was fantastic. Their version consisted of five sweetened cones filled with banana compote, ube (purple yam) ice cream, and really yummy banana ice cream, served on a cut of bamboo. Better eat it fast, though, as it can get really messy. This was arguably their standout dish.

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Turon 2.0 (Php 235)

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Gets messy real fast, so better gobble them all up real quick.

In hindsight
Serving typical Filipino food is almost always a surefire hit. Unfortunately, the name Smokin' Hot BarBQ doesn't really scream Filipino cuisine, which may confuse diners and even lose potential customers. However, once you get past the name, it's actually a nice place where people can enjoy familiar fare. Because of the size of their servings, which may be too much for just one person, the place is best enjoyed with a group.

I'm not really a fan of Pinoy dishes but I think Smokin' Hot BarBQ can satisfy one's cravings for such comfort food. Besides, I do crave for some rice-heavy dishes sometimes, especially when I'm really hungry. Sure, some of their dishes can still be improved but I'll have the chicharon rice and Turon 2.0 anytime.

Smokin' Hot BarBQ is located at the 3rd level of Greenbelt 3. It's near Serenitea and Big Chill.
facebook.com/SmokinHotBarBQ

Comments

  1. Hi dear :) how are you??
    Wish I was there tasting all of this great and delicious food :P
    xoxo from Munich

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow !!!!!
    Delicious !!!!


    xx
    http://www.thetrendysurfer.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. This looks amazing! Oh how I wish...wouldn´t be good for my diet lol

    hugs
    Andy
    The Black Label
    http://theblacklabelblog.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love their Pork Sisig Wrap, Dulong Rice and Turon 2.0! Hope they'll open a branch near my office. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow this seems delicious and very tasty! well done, congrats for your blog, ciao andrea

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is week i think i will go for the rice.
    Miss Margaret Cruzemark
    http://margaretcruzemark.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think I will eat lots of Chicharon rice <3

    ReplyDelete
  8. mmmmm que pinta deliciosa tiene todo ;)

    ReplyDelete

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