Pipino Vegetarian Food by Pino

Jumat, 17 Agustus 2012

I've been longing to visit this restaurant not just because of rave reviews but in the hopes of seeing one of the most creative bloggers I follow, Alessandra Lanot of Life After Breakfast who is the owner of the restaurant. Sadly, it was a rainy Sunday and she wasn't there. So that and having not tasted the Red Velvet cupcakes are enough reasons for me to come back.

Initially, we were seated downstairs at Pino and thought to myself that all the pastel colors and calligraphy's (?) were missing. So I asked the waiter if it was indeed Pipino and he said that it was upstairs. He added that they also serve food from Pipino's food but I insisted that we go upstairs haha!

The aroma of freshly baked cupcakes filled my nostrils as we made our way to our table. The place was almost full even if it was off peak hours. It was appropriately lit, blackboards served as menus for their Soup of the Day, beverages and ice cream flavors. We immediately placed our orders and actually took a bit of time before deciding since this is the first time the Boss and I are gonna try gourmet vegan food (and I wanted to try them all!).

Average price of the food ranges from P125-P275 which is surprisingly cheap. We ordered two types of salads, a starter and 4 entrées. Our food started to arrive one after the other and it almost didn't fit our table.

Mango Tango w/ Mango Vinaigrette - P165

Wicked Walnut w/ Dalandan Balsamic dressing - P165

Veggie Tempura with Soy Mirin - P80

Portobello Inasal - P260

Vegetable Curry - P195

Vegetable Kare Kare - P165

Lemongrass Ginger Cucumber Cooler - P80

Everything was perfect. The salads were fresh, cold and their dressings were just right. I never expected a mushroom to taste that good. Don't get me wrong, I love and eat vegetables but I never get to buy and cook them this way. The Lemon Ginger Cucumber Cooler (woah, that's a mouthful) has the right kick of ginger and reminded me of Salabat juice my mom used to make me drink before joining singing contests. The couscous of my curry was so filling that I needed to bring it home and eat the next day. So happy that their take out packaging is earth-friendly as well. I felt good and healthy even after devouring their muffins (sorry, it disappeared in a bite right away so no pictures).