Green Plaza @ Centro Square: Iconic Chinese Restaurant Made Accessible

Green Plaza @ Centro Square 
Iconic Chinese Restaurant Made Accessible 

Green Plaza is probably one of the oldest Chinese restaurants
 in the city, it had grown  rapidly for the last ten years. Unfortunately, 
their olded branches seemed to be located in the wrong places
 that discouraged us from dining in this restaurant regularly.

 

It is difficult to find a parking space both in

their Centro and Panganiban Drive branches,

the latter is also too small, so it is always full.

So when we learned that they opened
 a new branch in Centro Square, 

...we decided to dine there and unlike their other branches, 
the parking was plentiful and it wasn’t crowded at all.



 

We started our dinner with Eight Treasure Soup.

It is a thick and tasty soup with eight kinds of finely

chopped fresh vegetables, and are the ones being

metaphorically referred as treasures in the menu.

The Sweet and Sour Fish, our favorite Chinese

dish was delicious, but we found the breaded fish

fillets macerated, soggy and a little bit overcooked. 

 

We loved the Beef with Ampalaya as the bitter gourd

was fresh and crunchy and the beef was tender and tasty.

The Chicken Curry also tasted very good.

It was cooked with just the right amount of

curry that it didn’t have horrible smell and

tasted with just the right degree of spiciness.

 

They served the Pork Sisig sizzling in a hot

plate, which we found to be very delicious .

 

One thing I noticed though, that the Green Plaza in Panganiban

had bigger servings as the food were overflowing on the plate,

   
^^^Bigger Servings in Panganiban branch

…Green Plaza Centro Square had relatively smaller

portions per serving compared to the other two branches.

Read on the link below fore related posts:

Green Plaza Panganiban:
 Inexpensive Authentic Chinese Cuisine

1st Colonial Grill: Classic Homegrown Cuisine

1^st Colonial Grill 
Classic Homegrown Cuisine

Being an Albayano, dining at 1^st Colonial Grill,

 

...is a nostalgic culinary experience as I could enjoy

delicious home- grown dishes, cooked exactly the

way I remember, during my childhood in Polangui.

 

I never fail to order Kandingga as this is exactly how my Mother cooks it at home. 
Made from stir fried chopped pig’s lungs, flavored with garlic, onions, peppercorn 
and laced  with just the right amount of vinegar. Unlike the saucy  CamSur version 
this one was cooked ‘adobado’ style. Dry, delightfully chewy and very addicting.

 

Colonial Grill’s Sopas Halaan is also very tasty.

It had a generous amount of fresh halaan shells,

and the broth had a pleasant gingery aftertaste. 

 

Pinakbet may not be of Bicol origin but ironically, this  Bicolano restaurant
 serves the best version of this dish that I have ever tasted anywhere else. 
One would just have the scoop out the repulsive mound of bagoong on
top as it could make this otherwise delicious pinakbet salty and smelly.

 

The Crispy Pata was okay, the skin was crunchy,

the flesh was moist and tender. It was tasty and

there’s  not need to dip it on the soy sauce anymore.

 

1^st Colonial Grill originated in Albay and it was a good 
thing that they opened two branches in Naga City 

 

....as it is easier for me to experience crave 
worthy home cooking, away from home.

Read  the links below for related posts:

1st Colonial Grill SM City Naga: Authentic Bicolano Cuisine
1st Colonial Grill, Centro: Showcase of Indigenous Bicolano Dishes 
 1st Colonial Grill: ‘Gata’ and ‘Sili’ Overflow

1st Colonial Grill’s ‘Bahay Kubo Salad’ Innovative, Healthy and Delicious

Que Pasa and Bigg’s Barlin: Que Buscan Buenos Gemelos

Que Pasa and Bigg’s Barlin 
Que Buscan Buenos Gemelos 

It took us a while to dine once more at Que Pasa

as it had undergone renovation for several months,

…when they added Bigg’s Barlin

at the rear part of the restaurant.

Since the restaurant is located in a street corner,

Bigg's faces Barlin St., while Que Pasa is on Paz St.,

…right in front or Porta Mariae.

While most Bigg’s restaurants are 
designed like gaudy American diners,

 ...the Barlin branch has an ancient  Hispanic- colonial appearance to keep 
up with the theme of being located in Naga City’s old historical district.

There are two air- conditioned  dining areas, in the
 new Bigg’s Barlin. The first one near the entrance,

…and another one encroaching the Que Pasa

area but separated by a clear glass enclosure.

The Que Pasa is an eye-catching

Spanish themed al- fresco restaurant,

…the walls are painted by talented local artists,

...it is very photogenic,

…that even the toilets and the

washrooms are photographable.

I personally believe that Que Pasa is probably

the most instagrammable restaurant in Bicol.

Que Pasa specializes in barbecue,

I ordered a Half Rack Ribs, served

with two side dishes of your choice



I would recommend eating the BBQ Ribs without

the barbecue sauce as the marinade already tastes

naturally delicious, devoid of any artificial flavoring.

It was served with a generous mound of Spanish Rice.

 

I chose the tasty Baked Mac and Cheese,

topped with a strip of bacon as a side dish,

 

…and Bicol Express for the second side dish.

This would however, make you order more rice

to neutralize the inertly salty dish and to dampen

the spicy sting of the fiery hot ‘siling labuyo’.

 

My family however chose all time Bigg’s favorites,

where my son ordered a Crispy Chicken Meal,

…my daughter had the delicious and

saucy sizzling Tenderloin Tips,

…while my wife had a hale

and  hearty Tuna Sanwhich.

The best thing that ever happened to Que Pasa 
is having   Bigg’s Diner, the biggest and an iconic
 Bicolano fast- food  chain right beside it, as it

widened the choices and the variety of the menu.

The twinning of Que Pasa and Biggs in the historic

Barlin area created a perfect and beautiful partnership,

…and they definitely look good together.

Truly, ‘Que Buscan Buenos Gemelos’

Read the links below fpor realted posts:

Que Pasa: Ay Que Bonita y Deliciosa
Que Pasa Naga City; Bicol’s Must Visit, Must Dine Restaurant.
Bigg’s Tower Burger at Biggs BMC 
Biggs Diner’s Extreme Supreme Burger: Falls Apart on the First Bite 
 Bigg's Diner's Dessert Storm  Choco Perfection, Pili Frustration
  Biggs' Extreme Burgers; Binge Eating Series 3   
Bigg's Best Sellers @ SM City Naga   
Bigg's Diner, Naga Centro 
Biggs Extreme Burgers; Bigg's Diner, Pili

Argentina’s Bacon Norte: Saucy and Extremely Salty Bacon

Argentina’s Bacon Norte
Saucy and Extremely Salty Bacon

The very first time I saw the TV commercial

of Argentina’s  Bacon Norte, featuring the

popular TV Host and newscaster Pia Guanio,

 

...being a bacon lover, I have been craving to try this what seem to 
be an awesome new bacon product. Prepared  like corned beef 
(called Carne Norte in the country), hence the name Bacon Norte 
was coined, and I finally had a chance to buy one last weekend.

 

Just like the popular classic corned beef and regular bacon strips, 
 Bacon Norte also does not go well with rice, so making a bacon
sandwich would be the most logical thing to do to make it edible.

 

I initially only intended to use only whole

wheat bread and a can of corned bacon,

…but when I found out that the bacon was extremely

salty, I decided to add sunny side up egg to neutralize it.

 

 

Having a ready to eat saucy bacon in

an easy to open can was a brilliant idea-

 

 

…but the awfully briny concoction where it was bathed-
turned the bits and pieces of bacon rubbery to bite,

…and was too salty, not enough to 
be neutralized  by adding an egg.

 

Nothing still beats the good old crunchy bacon strips, 





....served with eggs and generous amount of 
mayo for a tasty bacon sandwich for breakfast,

Read on the link below for related post:

Breakfast, Glorious Pinoy Breakfast!