The Aristocrat: An Affair To Remember

Last September 8, I joined a food tour organized by the Aristocrat Group and Openrice.Ph Team. We all met up early in the morning at The Aristocrat in Malate which is the main branch. This food tour excites me as I literally grew up eating at Aristocrat with every possible occasion that my family can think of. Sometimes during birthdays, Valentine's Day, Graduation Day (almost every year since my mother was a school teacher), after watching a show in CCP or MET, Sundays, or simply any day that my family had the urge to dine there.

Not-So-Chic

Pork Sisig


Balamban Liempo

Turon with caramel syrup

Chic-Boy

I've been meaning to eat in this resto for the longest time but most branches are out of the way. Then one day, we noticed a sign that says "Opening Soon!" We ended up dining at the resto one Sunday evening after our mall-stroll. I was thinking of ordering chicken but decided against it since I wanted to taste the balamban liempo which a lot of people seem to rave about. So what's the big deal? Is it as yummy as my homemade balamban liempo? Of course not. Really. I find Chic-Boy's very oily and not as flavorful. Also, the portion that was given to us was a bit burnt. Not crispy, but burnt. After the initial disappointment, my heart literally leapt for joy when I tasted the vinegar served with the liempo. Two thumbs up! The sisig was okay, though. But not that memorable. And the turon. Hmmmm ... I was expecting to be blown away but it turned out that I was driven away. It looked okay when it was served to us but when I tasted it, it was a reheated version of turon. Nuked!

So our Chic-Boy experience didn't turn out great. Maybe the stars were not in a lucky position when we ate there. However, you'd have to literally drag me back to eat there again.