Food Stop: Mang Inasal
Location: Big Ben, Lipa, Batangas
Mang Inasal is a restaurant franchise which originated from Iloilo. Yes you have read it right it is from Iloilo. At first I thought the franchise originated from Bacolod because Inasal (Barbeque) was more famous there but it seems this one came from a neighbouring city. They are famous for serving a meal bundled with unlimited rice. Their menu includes Chicken Inasal, Pork Inasal, Sizzling Sisig and Bangus. Filipino desserts such as halo-halo, minatamis and ice scramble was also served there. Basically their menu includes mostly of Filipino Dishes. This particular branch/franchise is located on the ground floor of Big Ben. It is just beside 7/11 and you could surely not miss their large signage by the road.
We have just finished our pasalubong shopping in Lipa. We were very hungry from walking around different malls in Lipa. I remembered there was a Mang Inasal just a walk away from Robinsons. We saw that when me and my friends went to Lipa last Month. There is a Mang Inasal inside the mall but I prefer the one outside. So from Robinsons we walked to Big Ben. For those who are not familiar, Big Ben is an commercial establishment that has a clock tower (A local copy of the Big Ben in London). When we arrived there the place was only half filled so I was happy because we don't have to wait for a vacant table. Just like in a fast food chain, We lined up at the counter to order our food. I ordered Pork Inasal (99 Php) while Rose (My Girl) ordered Chicken Inasal Paa (99 Php). The Spicy Chicken Inasal was not available that time so she just settled for the regular one. I added an unlimited softdrink (29 Php) to pair with my meal.
I took pictures of the place while waiting for my meal. The food didnt took to long to be served and I appreciate that. The pork barbeque serving was rather small and the waiter also forgot to give us a bowl of soup as an appetizer. The chicken inasal was just right. It was not that large nor it was small. I first tried the pork inasal and it was not juicy. It was just plain dry. I guess it was overcooked or something. Chic-Boy's Pork Barbeque was way better than Mang Inasal's pork inasal. I was really expecting Mang Inasal to have a better barbeque than Chic-Boy given that Mang Inasal is better known than Chic-Boy. So I traded some of my pork inasal for a slice of Chicken Inasal from Rose. It tasted good. There is something unique with their Chicken Inasal. Other barbeque restaurants depended on their sauce to put flavor in the Chicken Barbeque but Mang Inasal's chicken inasal was different. In fact there was no sauce covering the chicken at all. The flavor came from the meat itself. The pork barbeque doesnt have any sauce covering it too but I think the technique applied to the chicken was not good. It didnt copy the effect it did to the chicken so might as well put a sauce on the pork barbeque. I'll still be visiting other branches/franchise around the country when Im craving for a chicken inasal but I hope other branches makes better pork inasal though.
Food/Drinks : 7
The pork barbeque was a bit dry. It doesnt have a taste of its own so you have to rely on soy sauce mixed with a slice of calamansi. The chicken inasal was commendable. The preparation was somehow different from what I am used to but it was delicious nonetheless. I would also like to take notice on the type of rice they used. The rice was delicious because they did not use a cheap kind of rice. Usually other restaraunts offering unlimited rice use cheap rice to nullify the cost. My appreciation for Mang Inasal for not using cheap rice.
Service : 6
The service was good. You don't have to wait for a long time to be served. The only thing that caught my attention was some of the staff was somehow picky with their customers. The cashier for instance offered a 5 percent discount to the people before me but when it came to me the cashier did not offer me any discount at all. I waited for a while if the cashier would offer the discount to the people behind me and alas she offered them discounts. I wonder why I was not given a discount. Where they giving it alternately? Unlucky me. The waiter also forgot to give us the usual free soup as appetizer where most of the people around us got the soup. Im still going to give them a six though.
Price : 6
Our meal costed 227 Php. It was not that expensive considering we are here in Luzon. Although I am quite sure I can have better meal somewhere with this kind of amount so I wont be too generous in giving extra points here.
Ambiance : 7
The spacing of the tables was good. You could freely stand from your table and walk around the place. Usually it would be very crowded. The theme was similar to any Mang Inasal franchise/branch in the country. It was good for Mang Inasal to use a Filipino Inspired theme because it really adds up to the eating experience.
(10 is the highest)
Total Rating: 26/40
You could drop by at their website for more information.
http://manginasal.com