PINO

If you’re looking for a cozy and home-y place that nevertheless exudes elegance, visit Pino. For weeks, my best friends Trina Garcia and Jang Moreno tried their very best in persuading me to squeeze Pino visit into my busy schedule. As I know very well the expertise that these two have when it comes to food and dining, I finally agreed to come and visit the restaurant with them last Saturday, 23 February 2008. As was stated, Pino proved to be a very cozy place. Black and white walls, adorned with different paintings, enveloped the dining area. “It’s a nice place ha” was the first thing that I told Gar and Jang. When Nina and Wahoo arrived, we shared a couple of laughs first before Wahoo finally informed us of the yummiest on the menu. Note, entrée comes with Iced Tea and either salad or soup so good deal there (and I haven’t even told you yet how delicious our picks were!).

For starters, all three of us (Jang, Gar and I) opted for pumpkin soup. Jang and I had the Vietnamese Beef with Mushroom Risotto Cake ; Gar ordered Gindara ( I promise I’ll let you know what it’s really called in Pino); Wahoo and Nina who were not so hungry that night, simply ordered Asian Fish and Chips and Beer Sausage in Tugarashi Sauce (bar chows).

Vietnamese Beef with Mushroom Risotto Cake

This is it!! The watchamacallit Gindara!

The Vietnamese Beef was so heavenly I was not able to speak right away when asked how it was. I am not exaggerating, but the meat was so juicy that at that very moment I couldn’t bring myself to believe that I was only gonna spend Php 300 plus for this! Of course Gar made me try her Gindara. I really loved it. Haha! You can blame it on the fact that it is somewhat Japanese-ish, and I love Japanese food.

For desserts, we ordered Pandan Panna cotta and Pino’s own brand of turon (ube center, how yummy) with green tea ice cream. Well, I personally liked the panna cotta because it’s super tasty without having to be super dooper eewy sweet.

Yummy Desserts (Jang and Wahoo not included)

Trinagar and Panna cotta

Wow, we were super full after the meal that we all noticed how silent we were after eating. Hihi. Anyways, after a couple of minutes’ worth of rest, I had to order MY Bigaloo Guavo (normally good for 3-4 persons)….

and the laughing continued. I can’t really tell you most of the stories that were shared that night coz I was so busy with my Bigaloo. Hihi. Anyways, more Pino reviews to come because Gar and I promised we’ll have to get a taste of every single chow on the menu!

Visit Pino at 122 suites Maginhawa Street, Teachers Village, Quezon City. See you there!