Nuvali. We've heard that it's a nice place. Last Septmber 4 (Sunday), we trooped to the place, ready to explore.
We were in awe with the hundreds of
kois in the pond! Fish food pellets are available for P15/small pack and the fish just gorge them - literally. They would swim (looks more like swarming, though) to the food as soon as the pellet touches water. You can really prove that Darwin's law is true - it is really the survival of the fittest! Seeing how the fish eat, we got hungry ourselves, so off we go to "Pig Out" to have lunch - the place was recommended by friends (and also by a famous food blogger). We were really excited to go to Pig Out! As a matter of fact we had a plan a week before to eat here but the plan did not push through because of the typhoon. Before entering the resto, we had a photo infront of the place expecting an enjoyable dining experience.
However, our Pig Out! experience was not pleasant. First thing we noticed was the food was a bit pricey - barbeque at P110 a piece, 2 pieces fried chicken at P220, mongo bean soup at P85 per (small) bowl, eggplant dip at P145, rice for sharing (good for 3) P105, coke in can P65, and a glass of iced-tea at P75. But hey, if the taste is good, who'll complain?
But then, there were a lot to complain about. First was the service. The table next to us, who just finished ordering when we were seated, have already finished their meals before our food arrived. Among us, Geof is actually the most gracious and patient when it comes to restaurant eating (he always gives the restaurant the benefit of the doubt every time we complain about something), so in my world, when Geof complains re restaurant service, you have to take notice. And he complained twice! ("is the food not yet here?" "what's taking them too long to cook?") When it finally arrived, I asked for table napkins. The attendant, using his wet hands (with motorcycle gloves), handed us a bundle of tissues --- Eeeeewwww!!! Talk about cleanliness, manners, and sanitation! I had to rummage the middle part of the tissue bundle since the outside parts have all the wet finger imprints on them!!!!
The barbeque sticks were small (I think it's just twice the size of the sticks we get at UP stalls whose price range is only between P15 to 20 per stick). It doesn't look anything like the huge picture in the menu. The mongo soup has alukbati leaves on it - but the leaves were uncooked!! The soup they served us was lukewarm, and obviously the alukbati leaves were dropped when the soup is no longer boiling hot - they were as fresh as the morning sun!
But the fried chicken really blew our top. When I cut the chicken, fresh blood ooze from inside both pieces! (How hard is it to cook fried chicken? The Mcdo chicken is way much better in terms of taste and preparation! What kind of chef would serve something without checking if it's cooked?) We complained, obviously, so the attendant took the chicken, and returned after about 15 minutes, with the same two pieces chicken, re-fried!!! The color is no longer golden brown, it's deep brown. The outside and the inside are not juicy anymore, they were tough and dry. I wanted to complain again, but my kids just went ahead and ate - they were realllllly hungry after all the waiting. And personally, I just want to get out of the place ( I was mad and I don't want to give the manager a dressing down and spoil the mood of everyone - after all, it was supposed to be a happy family outing).
We got out of the place (still hungry), and robbed of P1,100 for food that is way, way, way (WAY) below our expectations - and I hope whoever owns "Pig out" reads this! (And never give us the excuse "bad timing" - cleanliness and food quality are non-negotiables in the food business! We were pigged-out! Na-"baboy" kami.Obviously this will be our first and last visit at Pig Out!).
But enough of that. There were other things we did that redeemed our stay at Nuvali - the boat ride was a joy, especially for Julia, and Geof's 1st attempt at
planking allowed us to forget our horrible lunch experience. The ice cream at "Crisostomo" was a delight - it's thickness
and creaminess remind me of the ice cream I enjoy growing up in Malabon. In all, it was a good trip and refreshing because of the wide and green environment (save for the torture we had during lunch). There are other restaurants at Nuvali which I believe can give good service and food - Conti's, Crisosotomo, Nature's Trail, Domo Tomo, Brothers Burger, Yellow Cab . According to the Nuvali website, there is a wildlife and bird sanctuary - but we never attempted to go there because of the heat. Nuvali should offer more attractions - like a butterfly park/ zoo, go-cart rides, kite flying areas, museum and other things that a family can enjoy doing together.
PS: Because we were still hungry after our Nuvali trip, we stopped by at the Paseo de Sta. Rosa and ate at Kanin Club. Wow, we feasted on pancit canton, toron and banana con yelo. Our Sta. Rosa trip was redeemed! We went home satisfied. LOL!
