Looks Can be Deceiving

Mabuhay!

This post is dedicated to my friend, Nix Alanon. Di ba, sabi ko humanda ka? ;D

Who's seen Benny's at Rustan's grocery, Makati? Doesn't it look like an Italian restaurant? The pasta station outside may seem like a dead giveaway, right? Wrong.

Benny's is located at the lower ground floor of Rustan's, Makati

Benny's is a Filipino restaurant. I avoided eating there for a long time in protest of closing down Yum-Yum Tree, haha! This week, I caved in and had lunch at Benny's.

Disclaimer: The photos below are two days worth of food. I went by myself the first time and brought the fam the following day.

Bicol Express
I massacred this dish. If you want extra kick, ask for more chilis.

Grilled Pork Chop
According to my waiter, this is one of their best sellers. It's pretty good.

Crispy Pla Pla, Mustasa, and Balaw-Balaw.
Impressive plating, great flavors, and texture!

This is one dish that you must try! The fish is super crispy and well-seasoned.

Balaw-Balaw is fermented rice with shrimps

This is how you eat it.

Best in white rice presentation.

Eating Filipino food on a banana leaf is the best!

Tinapa Rice
Aryanna and I loved this dish! The tinapa gives it a smokey flavor and the fresh tomatoes and onions add a refreshing taste to it.

Beef Salpicao
The moment this dish was served, you could already smell the garlic goodness. The beef was tender, but I wish they cooked it with beef chunks than strips. Anyway, it was delish!

Laing
Tom was excited to try this dish as it's his favorite, but unfortunately it fell short of his expectations. According to Tom, it needed a little bit of kick and they should add more shrimps to it.

Binagoongang Baboy
This dish is not for the faint-hearted, haha! The flavor was good but there was way too much oil and fat to this dish. I wish they added more pork meat. Although, I liked that they served it with a stewed calamansi. I sliced the calamansi and the lime flavor helped cut through the oil of the dish.

This is a preview of what my family's reaction was when they had dessert at Benny's...

From left: Capuccino and coffee. Love the foam!

Tom had the NY cheesecake. His verdict: The best! The top was baked to perfection and the cream cheese was mouthwatering!

Aryanna had the Oreo cheesecake. Her verdict: It should have been served colder but the flavor was good.

I had the leche flan. My verdict: The creamiest and richest custard I've had! Best to order for sharing. I only ate a fourth of it and brought the rest home.

I want to go back to Benny's and try their Bistek Tagalog and Sinigang next. They also serve Filipino breakfast and merienda. The prices range from P135-P395.


Shoppingero/shoppingera, what's your favorite Filipino dish?