In Yo is NINYO..

Read about it on Anton’s blog and Jen has been raving about it! Hahaha.. Was able to dine here with my friends last year and we were all very impressed; with the quality of food, the presentation and the ambiance. The ambiance, hmm – it was – well, it was just alright, different but alright. It’s actually a date place (in my books), very conducive for those ‘alone’ dates to impress, to propose or celebrate a special date. Hihi..

My Panget’s brother wanted to try it out, and so we did. I was actually excited for the risotto of the Hanging Steak! When we entered the compound, I noticed changes – the first thing was the addition of an elevated portion(with matching drapings on the side) that that held additional tables. Next was the menu, I don’t exactly remember what it looked like before but I know for a fact that it wasn’t a bunch of parchment papers stapled together. The biggest change? Well, it was actually my BFF KI who noticed it – the name of the restaurant is now NINYO! Hmm… After noticing that – there was something that sorta popped out too!! The price, it wasn’t as expensive as I last remembered – this actually made me think – will the portions and quality be compromised? Let’s see..

Soup of the day: Pumpkin Soup

First up was the Crab cakes – I remember loving this, it was just alright – in my opinion, it sorta lacked the ‘kick’. Next was the Pumpkin Soup – this for me was the ‘miss’ for the night. I tasted more butter compared to pumpkins!! It seemed like (to me) extra butter fell accidentally into the soup! My Vongole pasta was something different, as it had bits and pieces of chorizo – strange noh? But it was good nonetheless. My Panget loved his Wagyu steak – he loved this better than the US Hanging steak (that he had before).

Wagyu Steak with Pumpkin rissoni

Vongole Pasta

Dinner was great, the food was superb – well, most of them. The company – exceptional! It was an almost perfect night. Now, why do I say almost perfect? Well, because of the uberly noisy people on the next table that seated Mr. Asi Taulava and his friends. Mr. Taulava wasn’t the noisy one – let me repeat, it wasn’t Mr. Taulava that was noisy – it was his companions. They were noisy as HELL! They were annoying and very loud! But pissed me off the most? Was their being inconsiderate to the other people inside the restaurant!! They didn’t even have the courtesy to tone down a bit! It seemed as if they were the only people inside the place! Edna, who I assumed was the manager – just looked on and did nothing to ask them to tone their voices down. I mean, hey – they weren’t the only ones in the restaurant right? She should have thought of her other patrons. In my opinion – if the voices get a tad loud, its the duty of the manager to ask the loud guests to tone down a bit – but she just sat there! How about the servers? Well, they were engrossed with listening to the loud jibberish that one even didn’t notice my Panget waving right infront of his face! Tah……. It was heavenly when they left – because of the first time (since we got there) there was silence and we didn’t have a hard time listening to our table’s conversation.

I know that conversations can get loud when it gets exciting – but its common courtesy to tone down a bit – in consideration of the other patrons, right? My friends and I tend to have loud conversations, but we’re considerate and sensitive enough to respect other people’s air space.

Despite that, I’d still consider going back again. I mean the food was fab! It was just unfortunate that we dined the same night Mr. Taulava’s entourage did too! Tsk.. Tsk… Tsk..

NINYO
#66 Esteban Abada Street,
Xavierville, Quezon City
Tel. 426-0301