After a year of being on blog hiatus, please let the prodigal child return with an entry about the most talked about pancake restaurant in town - the International House of Pancakes (IHOP). I'm actually way too late in trying this one out since they already have a number of branches in the country already (I've been planning to try this out when the first branch opened in BGC more than a year ago). But like what we usually say, "It's better late than never."
Ever since IHOP opened in BGC last Feb 2013, I've been reading a lot of status updates and check -ins in social media, most specifically Facebook, from friends and friends of friends. And I never stopped being curious ever since. The only reason that keeps on stopping me to go is that I'm not a sucker for long queues and hours of waiting. I don't think they're closing anytime soon anyway :) So after more or less 5 branches opened around the metro within just a year, I finally decided to pay a visit.
I don't think I already mentioned here in this blog that I'm more of a morning person. Yes, I am. I don't mind waking up so early in the morning for work, or for anything else for that matter. I almost always arrive the office 2 hours early, gives me enough time to do the things that I want to do to get in the mood for work -- which includes checking and answering personal and work emails, checking social networking sites (sssshhhh..), reading news on the net and other stuff. One weekday morning, on my way to work, I decided that I'm in the mood for a different before-work-ritual that includes my favorite past time aside from sleeping -- eating. That's when IHOP came to mind. I mean, it's breakfast, the most important meal of the day, right? So why not make it special (and hefty, hihi) once in a while :)
Being the morning person that I am, it's good to know that IHOP in BGC opens as early as 6:00 in the morning. That way I'll have enough time to savor and enjoy everything that I'll order. When I arrived IHOP, I was welcomed by a smiling female staff by the entrance. She asked me if I'm with someone already, when I told her that I'll eat alone she led me to the second floor where I was able to freely choose the area where I want to sit for breakfast. Of course I chose the area on the side with comfortable couches and a nice view of the uncrowded BGC on a nice early morning:
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| Uncorwded BGC on a nice early morning |
One
of the many perks of eating at a famous and talked about restaurant in the
morning is this:
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| IHOP all to myself :) |
Though I already know what food to
order in mind, I still took my time to look at their menu. It's because I
definitely know that I'll change my mind right after I see the variety of foods
that they offer. Yes, that's my fickle minded self talking.
So after 10 years, I was able to finally decide to stick with the order that I have in mind:
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I decided to order one of the famous omelettes under IHOP's hearty omelettes which is the Big Steak Omelette (P495.00). Based from their menu, their hearty omelettes are:
"Made with a splash of famous buttermilk and wheat pancake batter for extra fluffiness and served with two buttermilk pancakes or seasonal mixed fruit (except for SIMPLE and FIT omelette which is served as described). Substitute other famous pancakes for 75.00 more. Add hashbrowns 75.00"
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| Big Steak Omelette (P495.00) Tender strips of steak, hash browns, fresh green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and cheddar cheese. Served with salsa. |
The omelette was served hot but because I prefer eating sweets/desserts first before the savory ones, it is cold already during the time that I was going to eat it. The ingridients mentioned above are all present in the omelette. However, being the cheese lover that I am, I find the grated cheese not enough. I'm not really familiar with the type of steak that they use but it is chewy for me and shall I say tasteless? I'm not really sure. Anyhow I think the salsa made up for what is lacking when it comes to being savory/tasty.
It's a good thing that I decided to upgrade my pancake to Cinn-a-stack pancake for an additional 75.00, because that's the only thing that I enjoyed devouring aside from their refreshing Splashberry:
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| CINN-A-STACK (P235.00) Two buttermilk pancake layered with cinnamon roll filling and topped with cream cheese icing and whipped topping. |
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| Splashberry (P175.00) a blend of IHOP's juicy red strawberries, lemon-lime soda and premium orange juice. |
The Cinn-a-stack pancake originally costs P235.00. But since a buttermilk pancake is already included with an order of any hearty omelette, I just opted to upgrade my pancake to cinn-a-stack for an additional P75.00. The pancake is the usual fluffy ones but surprisingly I didn't find it too sweet that's why I was able to finish all of it at once.
If you opt not to upgrade your pancakes, they have available pancake syrups to choose from as well
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| Available pancake syrups: Old Fashioned, Blueberry, Butter Pecan and Strawberry |
Aside from the Cinn-a-stack pancake, I found the Splashberry worth the price that I paid for. It's refillable too. But since I was too full with what I ordered, I only managed to enjoy 2 full glasses of it.
THE VERDICT
Every staff in the restaurant is attentive and is always ready to give what their guests want. Though pricey, I can say that I consider going back to IHOP to try other dishes in their menu.
International house of Pancakes (IHOP)
Ground Level, W Global Center,
30th St. corner 9th Ave.,
Bonifacio Global City,
Taguig City, Philippines
Operating hours: 6:00am to 12:00MN Sundays to Thursdays; 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays
