Dining At The Peninsula Manila Lobby

Met a couple of Palawan friends at the Peninsula Manila today. Ang soshal, right? We thought about having dinner at Escolta, but they only had the dinner buffet. Since we weren't buffet ready, we decided to dine at the Lobby and just enjoy the good music (and the really serious crowd).

The entrees were obviously on the pricey side, but the portions were good enough for sharing so we opted to just order two dishes. While waiting for the food, we decided to play "name that tune" and tried to guess the songs that the orchestra was playing. We also munched on the complimentary bread. 

The downside of dining at expensive places is that it becomes directly proportionate with the expectations. The higher the price, the higher the expectation that the food is good. In turn, high expectations often end up with disappointing results.
  

First in line is the Kare Kare (P850). The presentation was good and the sauce decent. I really liked the alamang (the "heart" of Kare Kare) and the dish had a good balance of veggies and meat. I was disappointed when I didn't see any ox tripe though - the dish was mainly prepared with ox tail. Overall, I was happy with the dish but thought the price was not justified.

The Chicken Pork Adobo (P620), on the other hand, was nothing special. It tasted okay, but I definitely had better. The meat was tender, but I think it could have used some extra time for the sauce to seep through the meat.

And then there was the Banana Split (around P500). The ice cream was not sweet (I wish I remembered to specify that I didn't want chocolate ice cream) and the banana was just right. I was initially craving for the Pen Pals but I don't remember it being that expensive (P1500 or 1600) when I ordered it last. It's too big for me anyway.

Overall, I think the dinner buffet at Escolta would have given me more value for the money I paid. At least I would have had more choices. A bit on the expensive side (P1900++) but I guess that's the going rate for hotel buffers nowadays.