It was at the Sun Mall in Welcome Rotonda, Quezon City that I discovered Chef Lau's Pugon Roasters April last year. I was drawn to the menu, seeing some pretty interesting "things" - dishes that are old and ordinary but made new and exciting. Consider this: Kaldereta Mac - baked macaroni with kaldereta sauce; Crispy Bangus Paksiw - the usual paksiw na bangus made well..crispy from deep frying; and Carabao's Milk Ice Cream. Hmmm..those things made me wonder...Soon, I was actually there to end my curiosity and from the first time till now, I've eaten at Chef Lau's Pugon Roasters three times and seen some hits and a few misses.
First, the misses:
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| Sizzling Liempo Sisig |
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Pugon Roast Chicken
My daughter is fond of eating sisig and had high expectations of this Pinoy favorite dish at Chef Lau's. She was disappointed, however. Chef Lau's version was lacking in zing - it fell short of the expected smoky, salty and spicy flavors. The Pugon Roast Chicken was my order and neither was I happy.
It was bland for my taste and even too dry.
When I came back months later with my little son, we were there for afternoon merienda after
some Christmas gift-shopping at the nearby Dapitan Arcade.
We had: |
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| Kaldereta Mac |
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| Creamy Meaty Spaghetti |
Now these were the hits that erased the misses from my mind. My son loved his spaghetti and me, my Kaldereta Mac. The latter, I highly recommend that you try. It's an Italian-Filipino food fusion that for me was worth the try. If you love our very own kaldereta and are fond of pasta, too - this one's for you. The kaldereta flavors from beef, liver, tomatoes and pickles plus cheese and other spices were a perfect blanket to macaroni pasta. Quite a unique and savory dish! It was perfect with the pandesal toast that came with my son's spaghetti so I placed
an extra order of the bread.
Then just this afternoon, my daughter and I were back at Chef Lau's, this time just for dessert and coffee as we've had lunch at the new Greenwich branch beside Burger King also at Welcome Rotonda. Pugon Roasters offers different kinds of cake. I chose the Queso de Bola Cheesebake. And it was a wise choice.. It was delish! I love queso de bola, you see..but I know there are people who don't, my daughter including. But the queso de bola taste wasn't overpowering in this cheesecake and its sweetness was just right. The caramelized nuts (pili or cashew, I wasn't sure) on top added a nice, sweet crunch that made this dessert all the more interesting. It was a
perfect accompaniment to my cup of brewed coffee.
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| Queso de Bola Cheesecake |
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Brewed coffee
Menu |
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Interiors |
Chef Lau is actually Rolando Laudico and he's one of the popular and successful chefs now in the country. He owns the restaurants Bistro Filipino, Patisserie Filipino and Chef Laudico Guevarra's. I'm happy he decided to open a fast food chain that's not only more affordable, it also offers a diverse menu that you won't find in any other similar restaurants. At present, Pugon Roasters has branches at SM San Lazaro, Taguig, Mandaluyong and Ayala Triangle Gardens
aside from the one at Sun Mall. Try it one of these days, folks.
Happy eating!
*NOTE: The Sun Mall branch has permanently closed.
