BY JEREMY C. MALCAMPO
I have always regarded Pizza Hut’s marketing move of serving traditional "Ameritalian" cuisine bistro-style as one of the greatest commercial moves for the Filipino consumer, not just because of the extended menu line that allows samplers to experience fast-food type degustacion, but also good pricing.
When I tried the Blue Wave Mall branch along Macapagal Avenue recently, I was pretty impressed by how the company maintained good "demi-gourmet" food variety with low prices.
One can always get a platter of crisped chicken wings as antipasti for only P 130. Its peppery rosemary crust in "tomato basting sauce" is garlicky and perfect with a siding of mustard-mayonnaise or the house dip of white yogurt garlic sauce if one prefers it to be a little bit Mediterranean. Of course, if you want your meal to be heavy, you should order potato wedges or potato fries.
 |
PIZZA HUT BISTRO’S CAESAR
SALAD: AFFORDABLY CLASSIC | | Since, I was out for a late dinner on a Thursday night, I ordered two soups in "mouse-ear" bowls: one was a Pizza Hut table soup of button mushroom in cream with floating toasted focaccia and cheese, and a Minestrone that was pretty good, especially if I were to eat a heavy, tomato-based pizza or pasta. To my surprise, the Cream of Mushroom Soup was still priced at P35 after more than 10 years of Pizza Hut operations in the country. Though it wasn’t really how the French would want it—it was too buttery and a little bit upfront with the salt—it was totally a comfort dish.
The Minestrone Soup had a hearty tomato puree base with some pre-boiled Penne Pasta and a pre-cooked bundle of carrots and other vegetables, complemented by a pinch of chopped parsley for texture.
After my soups, and before I decided on a main course, I ordered a plate of Pizza Hut Caesar Salad for P 55. Mine was pretty good, but the Romaine Lettuce wasn’t really tossed well (meaning over-tossed), and the leaves were watery with the emulsion sauce of standard commercialized Caesar. But because I knew how to deal with eating a lettuce-based salad with too much water, I asked the dining attendant for extra dressing and Parmesan cheese. Since the place was already geared towards bistro service, the attendant quickly brought what I asked for, and even offered to mill some fresh whole black pepper over my salad. "No, thank you po," I replied, but he insisted, so I said okay. It went over well, complete with perfectly crisped fried bacon bits and herbed croutons.
After my salad, I ordered another chicken dish, Roast Chicken al Frits with Spaghetti Bologñese for only P149. It had a big serving of chicken leg with thigh. I also ordered the Garlic Gamberoni with Mushroom Pasta for P99.
The chicken was heavenly crisped, aromatic with pepper, oregano, and rosemary, with golden skin browned to perfection. It was good, especially when I drove the fork through the skin. The juice seeped out with clarity and fresh steam, which meant that the inside was cooked well. The meat was commercially silky—soft and savory, yet not overcooked—and when eaten with the skin, the combination of textures was like poetry in the mouth. However, since I know that almost all of Pizza Hut’s pastas are passably okay, I didn’t get the chance to eat the Bologñese, which was served as a side dish to the Roast Chicken plate, because I still needed to taste the Garlic Gamberoni and Mushroom Pasta.
Since I could still remember the taste of my first sampling of this dish a year before—at the Gateway Mall in Cubao—I had the impression that standards had not changed much.
At the Blue Wave branch, the pasta was still weak on vin-blanc, yet very rich in "umami" because of high glutamine from the shrimps’ natural juice. The buttered pasta with garlic sauté base was redolent with "inocine," which was contributed by the combination of toasted mushroom with shrimps and pasta. In short, the pasta dish was very "malinamnam," like pancit canton (without the vin-blanc). It’s good, and as a personal recommendation for this dish, I think it would go well with a slightly chilled glass of Sauvignon or Chenin Blanc, or even Chardonnay, all available at the bar.
For dessert, I had a sampler for P149, a full heap of Mango Panna Cotta on a bed of Mango Reduction Sauce topped with fresh mango slices. I was also served Choco Bavarian Puffs with Vanilla-Choco Fudge and Almond, and a demi-tasse of Crème Brulee with a smooth Crème Egg Flan topped with a delicately torched golden glaze of caramelized sugar.
|
