*This restaurant is now closed*
The first branch of IHOP Philippines opens its doors on February 15, 2013, located at the W Global Center on 30th St and 9th Ave, in the Fort. This will be the 1st store in the Asia Pacific region and they plan to open 20 stores in the Philippines in the next 5 years. This was actually only the 2nd time I’ve eaten at IHOP, the 1st was in Canada about 6 years ago. I was pretty excited to get a chance to try IHOP Philippines ahead of its opening.
Want something heavy or for sharing then this Stuffed French Toast Combo (P365) should do the trick. You get 1 cinnamon and raisin french toast with your choice of strawberry, blueberry or cinnamon apple compote. Another plate contains the 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon or sausage (your choice) and the hash browns. The french toasts were stuffed with sweet cream (condensed milk) and topped with fruits and whipped cream, yum but oh so EVIL.
I got to try two pancake concoctions the New York Cheesecake Pancakes (P285) and the Cinn-A-Stack Pancakes (P235). I liked the cinn-a-stack more with its cinnamon roll filling in between two buttermilk pancakes finished off with cream cheese topping. I found the new york cheesecake pancakes a bit heavier with pieces of cheesecake in between the pancakes. The pancakes were chewy but still remained fluffy.
Kids like Lauren and kids at heart should be ecstatic with the Funny Face Pancake (P165). A chocolate chip pancake with whipped smile topped with cherries and more choco chips. I actually found this really good too despite my not being fond of chocolate.
Aside from the sweets they also have savories like steaks and omelettes. This one was a the Big Steak Omelette (P325). Steak, hash browns and bell peppers inside with mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese on top. Jazz it up with some salsa, served on the side.
Go a bit healthier with the Garden Stuffed Crepes (P325/left) or Spinach and Mushroom Omelettes (P265/right). Both entrees contain the same fresh spinach, mushrooms, onions and Swiss cheese so it will come down to preference of egg or the crepe. I liked the omelette more maybe because of my predilection for eggs. I’d even seriously just go back for the omelette.
I also had some plain pancakes just to try out their 4 syrups, Old Fashioned, Butter Pecan, Blueberry and Strawberry. Notice the order, apparently there is a method to the madness, that’s the way the variants should line up. The only one I did not like was the Strawberry, way too sweet for me. You can’t go wrong with either of the three, the sweetness was just right.
The last thing I tried was the Strawberry Banana Danish Fruit Crepe (P265). 2 crepes stuffed with hot whipped cream cheese and topped with strawberries and bananas. This had a sweet and salty play on the taste buds.
The seating area, most of it on the 2nd floor after quite a flight of steps, is nice and uncomplicated with lots of booths beside the windows. The lower area has a couple of tables especially for those older people who can’t navigate the steps any more.
IHOP Philippines has really good food and I was actually surprised with their reasonable prices. I have no idea how faithful it is with the ones from North America but I’m definitely going back to try more stuff on the menu. If you are going to be dining there as soon as they open, I’d advise a little patience as all new restaurants experience growing pains more so with a high profile one like IHOP. If they maintain the consistency, their competitors should really improve of else……
Great stuff! And glad that IHOP brought with them their famous syrups as well.
Here’s to hoping for more branches around the metro.
– Ray
for
Lynne-Enroute.com
Somewhere near us and soon.
What time does it open?
6am to 12pm from Sunday to Thurs
24 hrs for Fri and Sat.
i passed by today, around 8am. wait list already!