Great Pork Chop Meals at the Garden Cafe, Mansion Garden Hotel (Subic Bay, Zambales)

We try to avoid repeat dining in hotel restaurants so we can experience a variety of gastronomy in the places we visit. But I was hungry and was feeling lazy to roam just yet. I needed to fuel up before I can do that. After all, the hotel's surroundings has duty-free shops, walk-worthy streets, the comely and tree-filled Malawaan Park, a charming boardwalk and beach promenade, and a lighthouse nearby. I need energy before I could roam... so I opted to have my mid-afternoon lunch at the Garden Cafe.

Garden Cafe's grilled pork chop marinated in age-old "secret" sauce

The interiors sparkle with elegant design, mirrors, and adequate use of natural light. I liked that. There was no scrimping of space as well. Much of the place feels breezy and laidback, with very attentive waiters.

Meals at Mansion Garden Hotel's Garden Cafe don't exactly come cheap. Some of their least expensive entrees are their pasta dishes (Spaghetti at PhP140, Penne Pasta at PhP140, Garlic Prawn Fettuccine at PhP220). Their main dishes: their house specialty Pork Chop and Home Style Fried Chicken at PhP200 each; Oriental Beef Steak at PhP240; Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet at PhP260 and Pan Fried Salmon at PhP380. Canned drinks (Coke) costs PhP50 and Iced Tea (glass) costs PhP30. 

Are they any good? Yes, they are. Their pork chop is one of the best we've ever tasted, and that isn't saying lightly.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Sweet and sour fish fillet

#mansiongardenhotel   #gardencafe  #porkchop   #foodporn

Meat-Plus Cafe's Most Mouth-Watering Steaks (Subic Bay, Zambales)

People keep saying that a Subic visit isn't complete without visiting Meat Plus Cafe. That didn't seem very appropriate, to be honest. But I wanted to try Meat-Plus anyway.

While walking around, I was eyeing the cafe all day. The place was eternally packed. It looked like a fastfood chain. You place your orders and pay at the counter. Then they bring your food to your table. Simple. Each order, mostly costs between PhP250 and 300. A party of 6 cost me PhP2100 so you have to realize that it isn't the cheapest. But great food doesn't exactly come cheap. Most orders come as set meals, with rice and a vegetable salad (coleslaw). We didn't even have to wait very long - just 15-minutes.

In this post, we're featuring Baby Back Ribs with its very special gravy (because there's nothing else like it), tenderloin steak and pork chop that's so delicious, it tastes even better than nearby Mansion Garden Hotel's Garden Cafe's pork chop (which is the hotel's house special - at it really tastes good). The meat was so tender, you don't require brute force to slice through it. 

If you haven't tried Subic's Meat Plus, drop in and give it a try. It will definitely enrich your Subic experience. Now that's the more appropriate statement.

Meat-Plus Cafe is located at 65 Sampson Road in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales (047-252-7091). It's in the vicinity of a couple of duty-free shops, the beach promenade and Mansion Garden Hotel.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Baby back ribs (above and below)

Pork chop

Tenderloin steak (above and below)

Order counter

#meatplus   #steaks   #foodporn   #subic