Pinac - Quezon City

Dinner with Family ❤️ #pinac #filipinofoodis❤️ #family #uptowncenter #katipunan #kaintayo #karekate #sizzlingtofu #squid #chicken #eatlovesleep

Unfortunately, their Zomato rating (3.9) is overstated by at least 2 stars. :( We had the bangus sisig for appetizer and it was canned and not cooked enough. The Beef Kare Kare had 5 small slices of beef and tasted like it had just been mixed with a cup of cheap peanut butter. The Salted Egg paro was so bad. No taste of both shrimp or salted egg. The best thing that was served that night was the Houseblend Iced Tea, and that's because it's store bought. ????

Extremely poor and insulting service. We were not allowed to dine inside since we were only two when in fact there were a couple of tables inside for us to dine. Now, I don't mind eating outside when there are no tables available inside the restaurant but when there are tables inside (not reserved!) and the weather is extremely hot, I can't help feeling insulted. Does the restaurant cater more to people of groups of three and beyond?

Pinac serves heirloom Capampangan dishes. We were there before noon so the lunch crowd had not arrived yet.  I had a refreshing glass of Cucumber Mint Dalandan Shake (P115). It’s citrusy and cooling at the same time. It’s so perfect when the weather is warm or hot. To start our meal, we had Ensaladang Pako with Fried Itik Floss (P165). In English, it’s fern salad with fried duck meat floss. The crispy floss adds a tasty crunch to the julienned green mangoes, fresh ferns, onions, and salted egg. It’s served with vinaigrette on the side. This salad is a great complement to creamy rich foods like Kare-Kare. I must confess, I’ve never eaten catfish (hito) in my entire life so I was iffy about Crisp Hito Balls, Mustasa, and Buro (P235). The recommended way of eating this is to wrap the balls with the leaf, put a bit of buro, and then dip in the vinaigrette. It’s soooo good! OMG. I find the hito scary-looking but I don’t mind having it in this form. We also tried the Fried Kesong Puti Ensalada (P145). It’s a dish of mixed greens, tomatoes, and cucumber with fried balls of kesong puti drizzled with vinaigrette. Nice, light, and refreshing. So many interesting appetizers... we just had to order Lumpiang Ubod Taquitos (P185). It's a modern twist on the classic Lumpiang Ubod. Julienned heart of palm is mixed with shrimp, shitake, and beans then placed on a bed of fried crispy wontons instead of wrapped. It’s drizzled with a light peanut sauce and wow, it’s just perfect as an appetizer! Ready-to-eat, no-frills, and totally delicious!  For the main event, we had Pinac’s Crispy Pata (P645). Tender fall-off-the-bone meat with crunchy pork rind/skin is served with ampalaya atchara. OMG. They cook this for six hours. It was all gone in minutes, lol!  Then it was time for dessert.  I had Halo-Halo (P135). It was okay, nothing out of the ordinary. The Calamansi Panna Cotta was better for me. To be honest I’m not that fond of Filipino food but I was totally wowed by the dishes I tried at Pinac. I will definitely take my mom and stepdad and all my balikbayan friends and relatives to Pinac for traditional Filipino cooking — some with very much welcome modern twists. Prices are reasonable and the menu is very extensive! Kare-kare, sinigang, lechon kawali… they have everything! I had a preview of their kare-kare and wow, the aroma alone is enough to send you to the high heavens. There are no shortcuts (no bottled peanut butter for their kare-kare sauce, they actually grind the peanuts themselves!). Pretty much everything is made the old-fashioned way.

Pinac serves heirloom Capampangan dishes. We were there before noon so the lunch crowd had not arrived yet.  I had a refreshing glass of Cucumber Mint Dalandan Shake (P115). It’s citrusy and cooling at the same time. It’s so perfect when the weather is warm or hot. To start our meal, we had Ensaladang Pako with Fried Itik Floss (P165). In English, it’s fern salad with fried duck meat floss. The crispy floss adds a tasty crunch to the julienned green mangoes, fresh ferns, onions, and salted egg. It’s served with vinaigrette on the side. This salad is a great complement to creamy rich foods like Kare-Kare. I must confess, I’ve never eaten catfish (hito) in my entire life so I was iffy about Crisp Hito Balls, Mustasa, and Buro (P235). The recommended way of eating this is to wrap the balls with the leaf, put a bit of buro, and then dip in the vinaigrette. It’s soooo good! OMG. I find the hito scary-looking but I don’t mind having it in this... read more