The Pino Bar Experience

Teacher's Village (or to some people, UP Village) at Quezon City can be one big village. So big, it's not spared from the countless hungry people that pass here everyday looking for good food. Why not? Almost every type of food can be found here - Mexican, Filipino, Italian, Pares or tapa for breakfast, resto bars, steaks, sizzlers, fine dining, even carinderia food - you name it. The only difficult part, however, is finding the location of the right food place. Teacher's Village can be so big that memorizing every street there is close to impossible. So, unless it's not your first time or unless you do not know where the exact location of the place is, you'll really have a hard time. We found a place, though, that's very easy to locate, not just because of its physical location, but also because of its popularity.

  

To food fans and other food addicts, Pino Resto Bar at Teacher's Village is a very difficult food place to miss. Because of its wonderful ambiance and its delicious food, Pino Bar has and continues to attract a lot of hungry customers who keep coming back to try their specialties. Why? Because one visit would not be enough. You'll keep coming back and crave for those delicious dishes. Whatever they serve you, you'll surely give a thumbs up.

The place is along Malingap street. They moved from their previous location which is just along Maginhawa street. The new place, however, is not too far from the previous one. So, you won't have a hard time finding it. Besides, the new place can accommodate more customers, which is better. The design of the place is similar from the previous' design. But, there are added touches on the new one, which makes the place spacious. It's simple, yet it's sophisticated. Moreover, it'll also give you that comforting feeling while you wait for your food and while you eat your food. So, it's a good place to chat and relax with people close to you. They also have this doodled wall which is quite interesting to look at. For about one-third of our stay at the place we were actually discussing about the objects in the drawing.

Their food is affordable, especially for those in groups, because they have group platters for sharing. When we tried the place, we spent about 450 php per person, very affordable considering the amount of dishes we ordered. As much as we wanted to try their other dishes, we were really full from all the dishes we tried.

Here's what we tried:

Pino Iced Tea, 35 php (in glass), 80 php (in pitcher)


Glutton Guy: For 80 php, this certainly is an affordable iced tea. I think in one pitcher we had 4 or 5 glasses. So, that would amount to about 20 php per glass. Not bad, considering that one glass is 35 php. Plus, it's a delicious iced tea. It's really concocted, not like the powdered iced tea which is served in other restaurants. It's also cold, which makes it a great thirst quencher. I'd say Pino's iced tea is a must-try drink. : )


Glutton Girl: With regards to its taste, it's really really good. It doesn't taste like the usual iced tea. It's cool and it's refreshing (wait, that sounded like a commercial hahahaha). It's not too sweet because there's an added citrus flavor (probably lemons). If you're with someone, ordering the pitcher is much more practical. You'll get more of the iced tea and less of the price.

Pino's Flavored Beer, 75 php


Glutton Guy: If you'd like to have a different "inuman session", try Pino's flavored beer. It's more expensive than the usual bottled beer. But, it's definitely worth the price. I love the taste of the beer. It really helped the beer a lot, making the drink itself very enjoyable. A glass of this flavored beer really packs a punch - in taste, I mean. : )


Glutton Girl: I actually persuaded Glutton Guy to try this. There were three flavors - Green Apple, Strawberry, and Calamansi, but we chose to try Calamasni because the waiter told us it was their bestseller. The flavor is really distinct. You wouldn't quite taste the beer flavor. You'd actually enjoy tasting it, as a matter of fact. It's a new and nice way to drinking better beer.

Tempura Oysters and Pearls, 185 php


Glutton Guy: I love seafood! So, I would lie if I say that I didn't like this at all. I was also craving for tempura at the same time, which is why it made me like the dish more. It's really good. The oysters were soft and the tempura coating was crunchy. The mayo sauce on top of the oysters and the tempura sauce in the bottom were delicious. Although there were two types of sauces, it really didn't matter. It's a perfect choice for an appetizer. : )

Glutton Girl: I so loved this dish. It was perfectly cooked. I especially liked the crunchiness of the tempura coating. There was also a hint of spiciness in the dish, probably because of the wasabi. I also love the presentation of the dish. Making use of the oyster shells is creative for me. Also, placing some caviar on top makes it nicer and more 'sosyal'.

The Pino-ka Platter! (Platter 1), 365 php


Glutton Guy: Another great appetizer from Pino Bar. This platter has it all, a handful of every appetizer you could try at Pino. What I liked the most were the fries and the calamares. The sauce on the chicken lollipop I didn't actually like. The lemongrass skewers and the nori sticks weren't quite very memorable. Well, I didn't really jump up and down for those two. This platter is actually a good idea because it gives you a sample of all the appetizers, so probably next time you would know which one to order. : )


Glutton Girl: I loved everything on the dish. The chicken lollipop was very good. It's flavor was distinct and different from the chicken lollipops I've tasted before. The nori sticks weren't actually my favorite nor were the fries. At first I though the fries were sweet potato fries, since they were cut in huge slices rather than the usual McDo-like fries. The calamares were also good. It's actually better when you dip it in the sauce that comes with the platter. The skewers were also good.

Sisig Carbonara, 165 php


Glutton Guy: This is actually one of their bestsellers. I wouldn't doubt it, because it's really really good. If you love pasta dishes, it's definitely a must-try for you. The pasta's soft, and you can definitely taste the sisig in the dish. The only problem with me though is the serving size. For me it's not enough. Nevertheless, the taste of the dish makes up for its serving size. So, I would say that it's not that bad having this for your order. : )


Glutton Girl: I love how the carbonara sauce is mixed with the sisig flavor. The flavors compliment each other. The pasta also worked for me together with the sauce. The slice of bread that goes with the dish is also good. Overall, it's a perfectly executed dish for me.

Rice, available in plain, bagoong, and longganisa


Glutton Guy: Among the three, I liked the bagoong rice the most. It's a perfect tandem to most of the dishes we ordered. I liked the taste, not too salty, but you taste the real bagoong in the rice. The longganisa rice was also good, so, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it out. : )


Glutton Girl: We were curious about the taste of their rice, so we ordered all three to taste which is the best. Of course, although we knew how the plain rice would taste, we still ordered one. I have to agree with Glutton Guy with this. For me the bagoong rice was also the best. If I were to order again, I would actually just order bagoong rice. We forgot the price of the rice, though. Nevertheless, it's the taste that matters, right? So, I guess it's safe to say that every rice is still a must-try.

Kare-Kareng Bagnet, 245 php (single serving), 550 php (for sharing)


Glutton Guy: One of the best dishes I've tasted at Pino. It's probably one of the reasons why I'll come back. It's a different kind of Kare-Kare. The bagnet was very crispy. The sauce was very delicious, better than the best Kare-Kare sauce I've tasted. It's best partnered with the bagoong rice. You just have to try this one. Missing it would make the whole Pino Bar experience incomplete. : )


Glutton Girl: For 550 php, this dish is absolutely worth it. It was a whole plate of bagnet with Kare-Kare sauce. We couldn't even finish it all up. The bagnet was crispy and wasn't difficult to eat. The sauce was also good. I don't know if peanut butter was used or real peanuts. Who can tell, anyway? Regardless, it was really delicious. It was also presented well, so that's an added plus for me. Well, I do think that no dish was presented badly, anyway.

Red Wine Adobong Tadyang, 210 php (single serving), 395 php (for sharing)


Glutton Guy: For me, there wasn't anything special about this dish. It just tasted like simple, ordinary adobo. In fact, my taste buds couldn't even recognize the red wine in the dish. The pork was tender, though. And the sauce was good, despite it being common. The waiter did say that it was also a bestseller of the place. If you're curious enough, go ahead and try it out. : )


Glutton Girl: It's not my favorite dish. I didn't get the distinction from the usual Pinoy adobo. Like what Glutton Guy said, there wasn't anything special about it. I do give Pino an 'A' for effort, and another 'A' for the name, since they made it quite sophisticated (imagine having RED WINE adobo at your house hahahaha). However, among the adobo's I've tasted, it's probably at the top.

Kalderetang Lengua, 195 php (single serving), 395 php (for sharing)


Glutton Guy: I didn't quite like it, since just like the adobong tadyang, it was also common. There wasn't anything special in the dish. The lengua, though, was soft, and the cheese on top made it better. However, since it was kaldereta, I was kind of looking for that spiciness. However, it wasn't spicy at all. So it was more of like asado than kaldereta. : )


Glutton Girl: I liked how Pino experimented on this one. Placing cheese and some olives on top made it different. Aside from making it more delicious, it also made it kind of unique. It kind of distinguishes Pino's kaldereta from the rest. I was also expecting it to be spicy, though. Nevertheless, it still worked for me.

Crispy Hito With Ensaladang Talong, 175 php (single serving), 365 php (for sharing)


Glutton Guy: It's hito with a twist! Despite it being normal fried hito, I actually liked this dish. The hito was very crispy (just like the name implies). The sauce on top of the hito was very good. I think it was the sauce that made the trick. The eggplant salsa was also delicious. It really was a satisfying dish for me. : )


Glutton Girl: This also worked for me. I'm actually a fan of hito, but I never knew that experimenting on it would result in a very delicious dish such as this one. Everything was delicious - the fish, the sauce, the salsa - everything. Every component of the dish complimented each other. It's another must-try for you Glutton Guide fans out there.

So, if you happen to be near the area, giving this place a shot might not be such a bad idea. Pino Bar can actually offer you a lot of good and delicious dishes that you'll surely like. It transforms Filipino dishes that you commonly eat at home and make it unique and more satisfying. It may, at some point, be the typical hito, or the typical kaldereta, or the typical adobo. But, counting the dining experience, delicious Filipino food that comes with a twist can only be given by one food place - Pino Bar. This is the Pino experience.

Rating: Buddhalicious!
(Pino Resto Bar is located at 39 Malingap Street, Teachers Village, Quezon City. It's just near the Bayantel building and the SWS office.)