Mooon Cafe-SM Fairview

I'm a burritos guy so when this Mexican inspired cafe opened at SM Fairview a couple of weeks back I had this itching feeling to try on their menu.  The opportunity finally came last May 23.  

The place is located at the lower ground floor of the annex side.  The front door is manned by a senorita dressed up like she's ready to do the rumba.  The joint was predominantly in tangerine and yellow which complemented the  blue colored table tops.    

According to the lovely senorita who took our order, Mooon Cafe is a Cebu-based restaurant and is in the process of expansion here in Metro Manila.  Further Google inquiry told me that most of their outlets are in the Visayas area and SM Fairview is their 2nd store in Metro Manila.

I was with my wife and daughter that time and we ordered chimichanga, bacon flavored pizza, and to drain them down---a large Suncooler.  Personally I did not like their version of the chimichanga and burrito mainly because of the thin toasted wrap they used which reminds me of "pritong lumpia".  I prefer my burrito in thick pita.  However, the Suncooler was something special.  It's an orange juice mixed with freshly sliced oranges, calamansi and watermelon.   Perfect drink in the heat of summer!

Chimichanga

Beef Burrito 

Well, I may not have liked their burrito but Mooon Cafe still has a lot on their menu that I need to try and I just heard from a friend that they have good steaks here so I guess I'll be back for more.

Pizzas: What is SULIT?

I feel like Kris Aquino's son Bimby asking this question.  Let me assure you though that this entry is not all about milk. 

I was in a discussion with a collegue yesterday about the new pizza dough of Greenwich.  I am a pizza lover and I have come to taste most, if not all, of the leading pizza brands in the Philippines:  Greenwich, Pizza Hut, Yellow Cab, Shakey's, Sbarro, and Papa John's.  Taste-wise they have their own unique delectable taste.  Price is more or less the same also.  But are they filling to eat?  That's where the debate arose.  For me, it has got to be both delicious and filling to make it spending money on.  You should come out of the joint with a smile on your face and a full stomach.  That's SULIT!

My position in this discussion is that the Greenich thick crust pizza does not have heft to tank me up like the other pizza brands previously mentioned.  I once attended a meeting with Greenwich as the food sponsor.  We were served four 18" pizzas and honestly, if decorum did not get the better of me, I could have devoured a whole box in a wink!  Oh, it's delicious alright!  But if I were the one paying, I would have ordered from another and paid for three instead of four.  Now why is that?

Value for money is something that I always look for.  If you're the one toiling for the money, you'd always want to get your money's worth in everything you spend on.  You'd always look for durability, after sales services, long warranty, and other add ons that will provide you something extra.  Well, I can splurge on something (specially if it's a new eatery) just for taste but I won't do that on a regular basis. 

Greenich's dough is like pandesal in terms of texture and brawn.  In other words---it looks good but there ain't that much to eat.  I suggest you pick on their chicken instead.

Negating Good Food with Bad Service: A Yellow Cab Experience

I've been a patron of Yellow Cab since I first got a taste of their Hot Wings and Charlie Chan Chicken Pasta way back in 2003.  Naturally, being a staple entity at SM Fairview, this is where I take my family for a Yellow Cab treat. 

Needless to say, the food is good to come back for more.  Service, unfortunately, is another matter.

One thing that a service person should master is the art of LISTENING.  I have been in the service oriented business myself and being attentive to your customer's needs is a key factor in making them feel at home.  Sad to say, I did not feel this way at the hands of the Yellow Cab branch at SM Fairview. 

Paper napkin is an operating cost that would be hard to put a number to so it is just but natural to have an initial number to give away upon order and then give more upon request.  Based on my dining experience at Yellow Cab they give around 4 paper napkins for an order of 4pc Hot Wings, 10" pizza, and pasta.  My wife brings along Wet Ones in her person every time she goes out and that's what we use when the 4 pieces of paper nakpins cannot compensate for all the wiping done during meal time.  However, four visits ago, she ran out of Wet Ones and I needed to ask the rounding service crew for more.  He acknowledged my request politely.  The problem was---he never came back.  At first I thought it was just a matter of forgetfullness but for the same scenario to happen three times is somewhat unsettling.  The kicker came this evening when my wife and I went to dinner at the same branch.  This time I asked for two glasses with ice.  Actually, the attending service crew offered to give us glasses since she saw that we have something to drink but no glasses to drink it with.  Initially I thought that this would be different since it was the service crew who offered---I was wrong.  She did not come back with the glasses so my wife and I just chugged our drink off the bottle. 

It's really unfortunate to have such good food complemented with bad service.  Tsk, tsk, tsk.