Checked out Hyphy's in Ortigas last night to see for myself what the buzz was all about. Besides, who wouldn't be intrigued when this restaurant is said to be the creation of Chef Bruce Lim himself, yes THE Bruce Lim you watch on the Asian Food Network. I guess I want to see for myself whether the food and ambience is really worth trying, and worth returning to. I guess when you're faced with so many restaurant choices in Metro Manila every weekend, it really pays to be discriminating.
First off the AMBIENCE. I would say the ambience was not too welcoming. It doesn't say immediately to you, please come in and be comfortable. Except for the cushioned seats on the side, the chairs are wooden and something I find too utilitarian. I guess the message of that kind of set-up is, just do your business and get out. Believe it or not, that's what we just did. If not for the free wi-fi access, we just couldn't bother staying for a bit longer.
Airconditioning was not too cold nor too hot, so it was really not an issue. Lighting also was not a problem either. Overall, the ambience wants to give the look of a warehouse--bright, airy, spacious, minimalist, industrial, not sure if patterned after the ones in San Francisco, but surely a warehouse--with the unadorned cement wall, partially covered metal scaffolding ceiling, brick wall facade, and utilitarian chairs and floor tiles--one that reminds me of the interiors of Yellow Cab Pizza. Would have preferred if the interiors were made to give the feel of San Francisco, with cable cars, San Francisco bridge, and photos of Fisherman's Wharf, streets of Lombardi, Victorian houses, or something that reminds you of that famous and beautiful city.
Second, the MENU. The menu folder looks ok. But that's superficial. The food selection is what's more important. Being the excited eaters that we were, went thru the entire list and couldn't pick the ones that seemed great to eat based on the photos. So we asked the waiter what the best seller is and he recommended the calamansi tuyo pasta. Since my daughter has allergies to really fishy food, we declined. So my daughter and I just opted for clam chowder on sourdough bread and the SF steak sandwich, after all, we were expecting to get into that San Francisco reminiscing mode. My son, who's not very adventurous, got chicken fingers, while Kiko got molo soup and fish burger sandwich.
Funny but with the varied (almost too many) choices from pancit molo, to spam masubi, to mom's meatloaf, we felt like we were in Via Mare + Reyes Barbecue + TGIFriday's + some fusion resto rolled into one. It was quite confusing.
Third and most importantly, the FOOD itself. Forget the ambience and menu, at the end of the eating experience, it's really the taste of the food that will give the lasting impression and will make us decide to come back. The chicken fingers were just okay, per my teenaged son, but he said it's a little bit salty. I did try it out for myself and it was, and worse, lacking in flavor. I'm very sensitive about the use and re-using of oil in frying and I must say, the chicken fingers and french fries were fried with re-used oil. It didn't taste fresh, sorry to say.
Was so excited to taste the clam chowder on sourdough but was disappointed it didn't measure up to my expectation. The clam chowder was just too thick, nearly pasty, salty, and lacking in flavor and probably used cheap cream fillers. I was looking for that garlicky, buttery, bacon-y taste you find in clam chowders in SF, plus, I'm just not used to carrots in my chowder, celery perhaps but not carrots. The sourdough bread isn't what I expected because not only was it not that fresh, it was not sourdough bread the way I know sourdough bread is supposed to be.
Okay, quite sad about the chowder but the redemption came with the SF Steak Sandwhich. Now this was quite nice and my daughter and I really enjoyed the special mustard sauce, tender beef and fresh greens--altho I guess it won't hurt if the beef was super tender and juicy :)
Drinks were just okay, altho I really liked the house blend iced tea--really one of a kind and quite refreshing. The warm calamansi juice I requested was just right.
SF Steak Sandwich:
Pancit Molo Soup:
Chicken Fingers:
Clam Chowder on Sourdough:
Fish Burger:
Drinks:
Overall, my verdict is, the ambience could improve a bit to make it more comfy and make people want to hang out with friends and family and not just to eat. I guess the longer people hang-out, the more they tend to get more food? The menu is definitely confusing. The food is so-so because for people like us who've been to San Francisco and tasted the real deal, we can't help but compare and the Hyphy SF experience just really fell short of that. I suggest they use really fresh stuff from the oil they use to fry food to the bread they use as shell for the chowder. It's really freshness and quality that create that value customers come back for.
Would be great if they expand the salads menu, put in more seafood fare (like crabs and shrimp dishes) and make it at least nearly representing SF Fisherman's Wharf fare. At the end of the day, the marketing hype + resto concept + food experience must all sort of converge for a unique and pleasant experience. Any incongruence in expectations just won't cut it.
I guess if I score this place, I would rate it at 2 stars out of 5, but then again, it's just our opinion. Believe it or not, me and my family are probably more picky and more discriminating than most people anyway, being well-traveled and more exposed to international cuisine and situations.
So, the final question is, would we go back? Well, given so many restaurant choices in Metro Manila nowadays and because we always want value for our weekend eating-out budget, probably not :(
Hyphy's is located at the G/F of Robinson's Galleria, Ortigas Center. Price range for this restaurant is from PHP150-450 per order.
First off the AMBIENCE. I would say the ambience was not too welcoming. It doesn't say immediately to you, please come in and be comfortable. Except for the cushioned seats on the side, the chairs are wooden and something I find too utilitarian. I guess the message of that kind of set-up is, just do your business and get out. Believe it or not, that's what we just did. If not for the free wi-fi access, we just couldn't bother staying for a bit longer.
Airconditioning was not too cold nor too hot, so it was really not an issue. Lighting also was not a problem either. Overall, the ambience wants to give the look of a warehouse--bright, airy, spacious, minimalist, industrial, not sure if patterned after the ones in San Francisco, but surely a warehouse--with the unadorned cement wall, partially covered metal scaffolding ceiling, brick wall facade, and utilitarian chairs and floor tiles--one that reminds me of the interiors of Yellow Cab Pizza. Would have preferred if the interiors were made to give the feel of San Francisco, with cable cars, San Francisco bridge, and photos of Fisherman's Wharf, streets of Lombardi, Victorian houses, or something that reminds you of that famous and beautiful city.
Second, the MENU. The menu folder looks ok. But that's superficial. The food selection is what's more important. Being the excited eaters that we were, went thru the entire list and couldn't pick the ones that seemed great to eat based on the photos. So we asked the waiter what the best seller is and he recommended the calamansi tuyo pasta. Since my daughter has allergies to really fishy food, we declined. So my daughter and I just opted for clam chowder on sourdough bread and the SF steak sandwich, after all, we were expecting to get into that San Francisco reminiscing mode. My son, who's not very adventurous, got chicken fingers, while Kiko got molo soup and fish burger sandwich.
Funny but with the varied (almost too many) choices from pancit molo, to spam masubi, to mom's meatloaf, we felt like we were in Via Mare + Reyes Barbecue + TGIFriday's + some fusion resto rolled into one. It was quite confusing.
Third and most importantly, the FOOD itself. Forget the ambience and menu, at the end of the eating experience, it's really the taste of the food that will give the lasting impression and will make us decide to come back. The chicken fingers were just okay, per my teenaged son, but he said it's a little bit salty. I did try it out for myself and it was, and worse, lacking in flavor. I'm very sensitive about the use and re-using of oil in frying and I must say, the chicken fingers and french fries were fried with re-used oil. It didn't taste fresh, sorry to say.
Was so excited to taste the clam chowder on sourdough but was disappointed it didn't measure up to my expectation. The clam chowder was just too thick, nearly pasty, salty, and lacking in flavor and probably used cheap cream fillers. I was looking for that garlicky, buttery, bacon-y taste you find in clam chowders in SF, plus, I'm just not used to carrots in my chowder, celery perhaps but not carrots. The sourdough bread isn't what I expected because not only was it not that fresh, it was not sourdough bread the way I know sourdough bread is supposed to be.
Okay, quite sad about the chowder but the redemption came with the SF Steak Sandwhich. Now this was quite nice and my daughter and I really enjoyed the special mustard sauce, tender beef and fresh greens--altho I guess it won't hurt if the beef was super tender and juicy :)
Drinks were just okay, altho I really liked the house blend iced tea--really one of a kind and quite refreshing. The warm calamansi juice I requested was just right.
SF Steak Sandwich:
Pancit Molo Soup:
Chicken Fingers:
Clam Chowder on Sourdough:
Fish Burger:
Drinks:
Overall, my verdict is, the ambience could improve a bit to make it more comfy and make people want to hang out with friends and family and not just to eat. I guess the longer people hang-out, the more they tend to get more food? The menu is definitely confusing. The food is so-so because for people like us who've been to San Francisco and tasted the real deal, we can't help but compare and the Hyphy SF experience just really fell short of that. I suggest they use really fresh stuff from the oil they use to fry food to the bread they use as shell for the chowder. It's really freshness and quality that create that value customers come back for.
Would be great if they expand the salads menu, put in more seafood fare (like crabs and shrimp dishes) and make it at least nearly representing SF Fisherman's Wharf fare. At the end of the day, the marketing hype + resto concept + food experience must all sort of converge for a unique and pleasant experience. Any incongruence in expectations just won't cut it.
I guess if I score this place, I would rate it at 2 stars out of 5, but then again, it's just our opinion. Believe it or not, me and my family are probably more picky and more discriminating than most people anyway, being well-traveled and more exposed to international cuisine and situations.
So, the final question is, would we go back? Well, given so many restaurant choices in Metro Manila nowadays and because we always want value for our weekend eating-out budget, probably not :(
Hyphy's is located at the G/F of Robinson's Galleria, Ortigas Center. Price range for this restaurant is from PHP150-450 per order.
