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'Di Biro: Provenciano Restaurant
Provenciano Restaurant
110 Maginhawa St. Quezon City
We just came from CCA Katipunan to inquire about a culinary class I will be taking next year. Since it was in Quezon City, I thought that it's also the best time to visit Maginhawa for the first time. We left Katipunan a little before 10:30am and arrived Provenciano at 10:40am. The parking area was still empty since the restaurant opens at 11am, so we just parked and waited for the time. As soon as the clock ticked 11, their doors opened and we got off the car.
The ambiance of the place is undeniably astounding. The chandeliers, the paintings, the decors, down to the table arrangement, everything was perfect. There is even mellow Filipino music playing in the background that made the experience even more pleasant.
We ordered a lot, mostly the best-sellers.
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| TADYANG NI ENTENG P475 |
Twice cooked beef ribs in Provenciano marinade, served with garlic sauce and soy vinegar dip. This was good. It is also known as the Crispy Tadyang. It is one of their top ordered and recommended dishes in this restaurant. It was delectably crispy, but not to a hard to chew state.
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| KARE-KARE P495 |
Oxtail and tripe in a rich peanut and toasted ground rice sauce served with shrimp paste. This is also one of their best-sellers, although I found it so-so. It wasn't even close to how I like my kare-kare. I also think it lacked a little flavor, flavor that the shrimp paste should not make up for.
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| ADOBONG PUSIT P295 |
Baby squid sauteed in garlic and soy sauce, vinegar and kinchay. This is also a best-seller. I think they did a good move with using baby squid as the texture wasn't rubbery. It also tasted more like dinuguan than adobo to me, which I found favorable. My mom, on the other hand, thought otherwise. I believe she was expecting it to taste like something she's tried before. The dish also appears to have too much oil, or perhaps it's not oil but has something to do with the vinegar.
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| INIHAW NA BABOY P295 |
Grilled pork belly served with house made atchara. This was okay, although I didn't appreciate that the pork was too thin.
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| PINAPUTOK NA TILAPIA P295 |
Grilled tilapia stuffed with onions, tomatoes and chilies wrapped in banana leaf. I wasn't able to try this, but according to my mom, it was bland. The fish was also small.
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| LAING NI ATENG P215 |
Semi dried taro leaves in rich coconut cream with pork and spiced with chili. Another best-seller. This wasn't spicy, not even a little bit that I was able to gobble it up without rice. Out of everything we ordered, this was my favorite. It wasn't anything special, but I liked it as it is.
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| MCARTHUR'S RICE P240 |
Garlic fried rice with aligue, tinapa and salted egg. It is stated in their menu that you'll return for more of this rice. Sorry, but not for me. The rice they used was like a glutinous rice, but not too sticky. Without any of the toppings, the rice was a bit tasteless.
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| PANCIT HAB-HAB P320 |
I wasn't familiar with this pancit, and still isn't even after having it for lunch. It's pancit.
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| LUMPIANG SARIWA P140 |
Typical lumpiang sariwa good for one.
They have a sawsawan bar where you can make your own sauce. This was a great idea. It makes the dining experience unique for each person. We can refine the dishes according to our own tastes through making our own sauce.
I'm torn on their service. There were times that we had a hard time calling the servers' attention, and there were times that they were quick to respond. Some of the servers were also friendly, while others were not too friendly.
The prices are steep considering the serving size and the taste. We were shocked when our orders started coming since the plates were really small. Taste-wise, I can say that this is your typical lutong bahay. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but it didn't really impress me.
Overall, the ambiance of the place is something everyone should look forward to. It kinda makes you feel so patriotic and proud of being Pinoy. The restaurant did not say anything about inventive Filipino recipes so I guess I shouldn't have expected too much. I think I would've enjoyed it better if the price was lower, and if my expectations weren't too high.
My score:
Pricing – 3/5
Service – 4/5
Ambiance – 4/5
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