Early dinner at Tender Bob’s

We were at the Shangri-La Plaza yesterday to see Spider-Man 3. After buying the tickets, we had an early dinner. Sam wanted to go to Sumo Sam, Alex wanted to go to Mongkok, Speedy couldn’t care less because he wasn’t paying. I settled the matter by choosing Tender Bob’s. No one was going to object to a restaurant that offered steaks, ribs, burgers and all those cholesterol-laden meaty goodies.

We checked the menu and the ribs and steaks looked delectable. But it was our first time at Tender Bob’s and, as a rule, we don’t order expensive items in a restaurant if it’s our first time there. We prefer the “safe” choices so that in case the food doesn’t turn out to be as good as they look on the photos in the menu, we won’t feel so bad about paying so much for bad food. So, we ordered onion rings, a chicken ranch salad and a fully loaded half pound burger that Sam and I would share, a swiss burger and baked ziti that Speedy and Alex would share.

The onion rings (above) were okay. Not as greasy as Don Henrico’s onion rings so that’s a plus. The chicken ranch salad (below) was good too. Adding shoe string strips of corn tortilla was a nice touch. I would have liked it better though if the dressing had more bite.

If there was only enough space for one sentence to describe the burgers at Tender Bob’s, I’d say this: The meat was superb and the patties were properly cooked. I’m not a huge burger fan. But even a not-so-huge-burger-fan knows the difference between a good burger patty and a bad one. And even a not-so-huge-burger-fan knows a properly cooked burger from a poorly cooked burger. Tender Bob’s burgers are nicely charred on the outside but still pink inside. Just perfect for me.

The fully loaded half-pound burger (above) had two patties, two slices of cheese, mushrooms, bacon and greens. The swiss burger had onion rings instead of bacon. You have a choice between fries and onion rings for the siding. We chose fries since we already ordered a separate serving of onion rings. The fries are made from real unpeeled potatoes—not the starchy substitute served in many fast food joints.

The baked ziti (below) was a little bland for me but my daughter Alex enjoyed it nonetheless so I can deduce that the pasta was kid-friendly. At PhP 165.00, it was rather overpriced but it was freshly baked with lots of cheese so the price wasn’t so bad. None of the artificial food coloring that pasta in fast food joints are notorious for.

The bill was PhP 1,210.00, including taxes, rather pricey for fast food fare. But then again, like I said, the food was ten notches above the quality of fast food fare. They weren’t fantastic nor exceptional but the quality of the meat, the proper cooking and the substantial servings won’t make you flinch so much over the prices.

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