Finally, the long awaited banapple review. I was dying to feature this because even with the cozy (tiny) place they were situated in, the ambiance and food had a "must try, must taste, must spend" rating. I originally heard of it from Total Girl and it did have promising potential as a one stop pasta/smoothie/pie/cake shop.
First of all, the cons (Just to somewhat make this article a little discouraging to read. I'm sure the pictures are sufficient enought to interest the typical sweet tooth). Aside from being non-commutable, the Katipunan branch can hardly accomodate more than 20 people. During weekends and fridays, waiting list can reach up to 10 reservations. Imagine waiting outside, because it's too crowded inside. The airconditioning is weak (probably because the kitchen is just behind the counter and the space it occupies is larger than the dining area). Since they don't have back-up generators during black outs, they'd have to open the doors because it'd be warm inside.
Even during such inconvenience, surprisingly they never ran out of customers. Banapple is like a diamond in the rough. Nowadays, it's already a challenge to find good tasting food and a cozy atmosphere in one package. The ambiance is perfect. The space would've been too had they just increased their seating capacity to accomodate more. The food... HEAVENLY. One should try tasting each mouth watering pie and savor the sauces and aroma of a serve of every pasta and rice meal.
By the way, this receipt was for our previous visit. The bill did not stop there. We also took home their best selling chicken pies.
To cut to the chase, allow me to show you some first hand photos of me and my family's visit. This was the third time we had gone their, and this was our second successful attempt on getting a table.
Once again, my sincerest apologies for the weak resolution of my non-DSLR camera. At 2.8 megapixels, I think it's doing a good enough job. Some of the pictures look a little too sunny because I wasn't able to adjust the settings.
This is my niece. She's currently endorsing the fudgymudgy pie (80 php) in my blog. She's the type who becomes extremely happy when she gets a taste of "good food". The pie was scrumptious. Orea flavored pie crust with more chocolate in between and a whip cream layer topped with tiny chocolate chips.
Warm, (super hot coming from the microwave) pecan pie. Had to fight back my tears- not because of joy but due to getting tongue burns all over. It has this cinammony taste with walnuts and a not so sweet pie crust. Definitely a good option to consider when drinking bitter tea. Forgot the cost...
Ah yes, the unbelievably tasty hickory barbeque baby back ribs (155 php). That's my older niece's hand. I actually had a hard time taking decent pictures because nobody could keep their hands off the food just for a second for me to capture its freshly cooked image. The fried rice wasn't bad either. Beside this plate is a dark chocolate smoothie (90 php). It may not be of Starbucks standard but close enough.
Last, hopefully not the least, Banapple's homemade iced tea (50+ php) and ripe mango smoothie (85 php). The delicious looking pasta below is also one of their best sellers, trio of sausages fetuccine (140 php). It's a definite must-eat-again-and-again on my list. The bread on the side has cheese in it too. My little niece was able to eat one serve of this ALONE even when infact it's good for two people. The carbonara wasn't too heavy to overcome the taste or scent of the spices and the sausage toppings. Pasta lovers, this is a highly recommended dish.
One of the best tips I could share from my first hand experience is: never pass out the chance to visit their comfort room. Eyes and noses will have a feast passing through the kitchen before reaching it. Warning: Mouths may possibly water, at worst, drool.
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