The Great Pepper Lunch Taste Test

I've heard and read a lot of good things about Pepper Lunch. So when Nalyn invited me to come try it out, I did. Actually, she didn't plan it too. It was that traffic was so bad that time, and the very car-less Estrella detour to Rockwell was just too inviting.

And so we went straight to Pepper Lunch upon descending at Powerplant. Because I know nothing about dining beyond P100.00, I let Nalyn do all the orientation. Haha. The food are expensive - not really recommended as daily (or even weekly) fares. Looking at the menu, the Salmon Pepper Rice was the one screaming my name the loudest. But in the end, the simple, affordable and boring/safe choice triumphed. I got the very predictable Chicken Pepper Rice. LOL.

For the sake of all the newbies like me, they serve their food in very special hot plates, hot enough for you to cook/toast/grill your food some more for about 30 more minutes. The instructions said you gotta mix everything up really quick to spread the flavor (and probably to tease your senses so you'll get hungry). This was my plate before the mixing:


As you can see, the chicken is still a little too white, so you really have to mix them all around and press it against your plate with your chopsticks. According to the instructions, there's a special mixture at the core of your rice mound, so you really have to break the nicely prepared dome of rice, corn and carrot goodness. After mixing, here's what your plate will look like:


At this point, you may now eat the food, you yourself helped prepare. Aww. But the plate won't just stop being hot. So you're gonna have to eat it little by little. Waiting for your food to cool down is the perfect time to tell stories, share a good laugh and observe the attractive people coming in and out of the restaurant. Haha. Here's what your plate might look like after telling three anecdotes:

But really, the food really is pricey for me, and it's not something I'd crave for and daydream about while clockwatching in the office. Either that, or I just chose a very boring food for my first taste test. Haha. Forgive me, I have a very special bond with chicken.

And also, in every Japanese food place I step in to, I make sure I get a taste of the miso soup. And with this soup, I end my (non)adventures with food I've only known from Nintendo DS's Cooking Mama. TELLIFIC!