Category: Lifestyle

Wrong Ramen … what an interesting name!  Why would someone name their restaurant so negatively?  Still, my curiosity got the best of me!  My churchmates and I tried Wrong Ramen a few weeks ago.  I guess reverse psychology works!  No matter how wrong the ramen are in the restaurant, we still opted to pay it a visit.

Opened January 31, Wrong Ramen surely got a lot of attention from foodies.  Apart from the catchy name, the ramen actually tasted great!  Where can you find a place that sells ramen with bacon, spam and sunny side up egg?  Only in Wrong Ramen, baby!

Wrong Ramen prides itself for being locally-developed.  They do not pay any royalties to Japanese companies and they can experiment all they want.  Plus, all their ingredients are sourced locally.  This, of course, hits closer to home.

You know what I appreciate in Wrong Ramen?  They are honest that their food is not healthy!  Their food is sinful and we are definitely warned that it won’t help a bit in improving our health.  But hey, sinful food are the yummiest ones!  I would cheat myself every now and then just to eat wrong unhealthy things (like what Wrong Ramen serves!).

Even their chopsticks were positioned as ‘X’!  I’m sure you know what that meant 😉

The restaurant is really small.  I think it can only fit around 30 diners.  However, Wrong Ramen made good use of its space.  The bar tables facing the window have removable dividers so even if non-acquainted diners sit together, they can still have their privacy.

The artwork on the walls characterised what Wrong Ramen is all about.  This particular display caught my attention the most.  With the ‘Good Fatty Ramen‘ in mind, all of us ordered ramen!

We were all ecstatic how the ramen would look and taste like!

Small Plates

There were a couple of appetizers available like Bacon Katsu (Php 260) and Enoki mushroom fries (Php 150).  I couldn’t figure out why my friends ordered three Chashu Rice Rolls!  THREE!

• Chashu Rice Rolls (Php 180)

shredded chashu rolled in Vietnamese rice wrappers.  Served with ponzu sauce.

I found it unusual that Wrong Ramen went with the fresh roll.  If they want to project an image that all the food they serve are wrong, then they should have fried the chashu rice rolls.  I would assume that they went the fresh route because of the pork inside, they don’t wanna overdo it, I guess.

Tsukumen

Are you the type who enjoy eating your noodles separate from the broth?  Then Wrong Ramen’s tsukumen is the way to go.

• Buffalo Chicken Tsukumen (Php 445)

they said it was a bad idea.  stir-fried noodles topped with chicken karaage and bleu cheese mayonnaise served with a spicy and tangy buffalo dipping sauce.

Wrong Ramen mentioned in their menu that the combination of ingredients were a bad idea.  You know what?  It wasn’t a bad idea at all!  Our friend Lawrence, who actually is very critical of ramen, liked it a lot and gave it a 8.5/10 rating.

Buffalo broth, fried noodles, chicken karaage and bleu cheese mayonnaise?  Very successful, Wrong Ramen!

Classic Ramen

In Japanese restaurants, they serve four kinds of ramen (Shio, Miso, Shoyu & Tonkotsu).   Wrong Ramen serves only one and that is tonkotsu.  Why?  Pretty obvious – Tonkotsu is the wrongest ramen of all considering it is made of fatty pork bone that is boiled overnight to create the milky white color and creamy texture of the both.  In short, tonkotsu is the most unhealthy among the four types.

If you want your ramen to be more sinful yet more delicious, get extra toppings like crispy fried egg (Php 55), classic runny egg (Php 65), chashu slices (Php 75) and bacon strips (Php 95).

• Wrong Ramen Tonkotsu Light (Php 295)

if you’re sensitive to pork fat: a lighter version of our classic milky-white pork bone and chicken broth. served with shredded chashu

Apart from F.U. ramen, tonkotsu light was the most ordered in our table.  If you’re concerned about eating too much fatty food, then this lighter broth version can make you feel less guilty 😛

• Wrong Ramen Tonkotsu Rich (Php 380)

if you only eat here once, a deep tasting and filling milky-white, lip-smacking pork bone and chicken broth.  served with sliced chashu.

There was something in the broth that I didn’t like.  Maybe it was just me but I felt it was a bit sour and has a fishy taste.  The pork though was heavenly and it really melts in the mouth.

• The Communist’s Ramen (Php 370)

inspired by Chinese hotspots. seven Asian spices and flavourings in a fiery red pork broth topped with sliced chashu and burnt garlic oil.

I would order communist’s ramen when I go back to Wrong Ramen.  The red broth says it all.  As soon as the bowl was served to my seat mate, I was already filled with envy!  However, I couldn’t eat 2 bowls of ramen in one sitting.  I said to myself, I would order this Chinese inspired ramen dish in the future!  If you love spicy food, then communist ramen is the way to go!

• Wrong Ramen Tantanmen (Php 395)

because someone will ask for this anyway. a bold slightly sweet and nutty sesame broth with a mild spicy kick served with ground pork and shredded chashu

If I have to compare between tantanmen and tonkotsu ramen, I would choose tantanmen without a doubt.  The broth was done perfectly considering it wasn’t too heavy yet still super flavorful.  Plus, it has a right spiciness to it.  It would have been better though if the chashu was served sliced rather than grounded.  I do understand why they opted it shredded since they combined it with the ground pork.  This was a successful ramen dish!  My friend who ordered was actually raving about how good it was!

• F.U. Ramen (Php 425)

Your breakfast in liquid form. black pepper spam, three strips of crispy bacon, melted cheese, and a crispy fried egg in a black pepper and garlic broth

I had to order the wrongest of the wrong ramen the restaurant can offer –> F.U. Ramen.  The combination of Spam, bacon, cheese and egg is something I couldn’t resist!  I just couldn’t!  I must admit that the broth was oily.  I guess considering we have all those oily food immersed in the soup, it isn’t a bit surprising at all.    Did I feel guilty after eating all that sinful food?  No!  😉

To End The Meal

• Homemade Yoghurt (free)

The surprise of the night was the free homemade yoghurt.  It tasted like flavored yakult and I loved it!  I was actually hoping some of my friends wouldn’t drink it so I could have more of the yoghurt haha!  It was a nice way to end a very sinful meal.

The group definitely enjoyed the meal at Wrong Ramen!  Be warned though that you will need to spend at least Php 500 per person for a meal at the restaurant.  Honestly, the serving was big so if you don’t eat a lot, you might wanna share a bowl of ramen with a friend.

Wrong Ramen — how ironic.  Why did I feel that we had our ramen right? 🙂

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Wrong Ramen
Forbes Town Center, Forbestown Rd, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Philippines
+63-2-8238249

Chuck’s Deli is not owned by a person named Chuck.  Chuck’s Deli was a name that was thought out randomly by owners Marco Alcantara & Chef Katrina Kuhn-Alcantara during an out of town trip.  The restaurant is a wish came true for Marco and Chef Katrina.  They wanted to bring tasty American sandwiches into the Philippines.  That was when Chuck’s Deli started.  In November 2010, at Serendra, they opened their first branch.  It was quickly followed on May 2011 in Eastwood.

Sometime last month, I tried out Chuck’s Deli, for the first time.  I actually felt a little guilty because I haven’t heard of Chuck’s Deli then.  Maybe I really do not go out much or I do not notice restaurants that specialise in sandwiches.  I’m glad that because of this hobby, I get to discover places like Chuck’s Deli or else, I would have missed a lot.

The menu was actually very interesting to read.  I love how witty the names of their food items are.  What some restaurants don’t realise is that even if the taste and quality of food are important, all other aspects should not be ignored.  It’s really all about the whole experience.  You see, it’s not just the menu, the food choices, the beautiful interior and the service but Chuck’s Deli also went as far as baking their own bread and whipping up their own sauces.

I appreciated that I got an invite to try out Chuck’s Deli specialties.  However, other invited guests are close friends so I ended up being out of place.  I couldn’t stay long.  I decided to get a quick bite of each dish and take a mental note so that I would order the dishes that I like when I go back at my convenient time.

• Fresh Honey Lemonade (Php 95)

There are two types of lemonade at Chuck’s Deli: Normal lemonade priced (Php 85) and honey lemonade (Php 95).  I’ve chosen honey lemonade because I prefer the drink sweetened.  I guess, health-conscious people would choose the normal variant.  No matter what we choose, the important thing is the lemonade was made fresh.

• Chuckatsu Balls (Php 245)

Balled chicken cutlets with yummy chuckatsu sauce.

People can fall in love with a person from the opposite sex at first sight.  The ‘Love at First Sight’ doesn’t only apply to people but also to food.  Upon first bite of Chuckatsu balls, I was totally immersed on its yumminess.   I couldn’t even describe its taste but one thing is for sure, it stuck in my mind and in my stomach 😉

• The Buffy (1/2 slab – Php 295, 1 slab – Php 590)

Slay some vampires with this Buffalo (a.k.a. buffy) chicken and garlic sauce.

I remembered a friend when I saw the Buffy served at our table.  I was pretty sure my friend would love this!  He would order buffalo wings wherever restaurant he went to (if it’s available).  While this is not the traditional buffalo wings, Chuck’s Deli made a good twist to it.  They removed the bones and made it into a fillet then put it in their homemade ciabatta 10-inch bread!

One whole slab weighs about 1.25 pounds.  Mind you, Chuck’s Deli was pretty generous with the buffalo chicken.  I couldn’t even imagine anyone would order the half slab as this was just too delicious that people would prefer to eat a whole order of it.

If you’re up to the challenge, you can take Chuck’s Deli’s ‘The Buffy Challenge‘.  Get your name on the Wall of Fame (also posted on Chuck’s Deli’s restaurants & social media accounts) if you finish the Buffy in less than five minutes.  Apart from that, you get the Buffy for free and a T-shirt so you can brag to your friends!  Right now, the best record is at 2 minutes 58 seconds.  Boy, I don’t eat fast but I’m sure some of you can do it!

• Mother Chucker (Php 295)

Created to celebrate their anniversary, Chuck’s Deli offered the Mother Chucker.  Oh yeah, it’s truly motherly!  You see, it includes a lot of ingredients like cucumber, tomato, onion rings, arugula, emmental cheese, bacon, chicken salad, runny fried egg, mustard mayo and smoked ham.  Paired with the yummy potato chips, it’s certainly a good product to describe how successful Chuck’s Deli is.

• Potato Chips (Php 75)

home-made potato chips perfect with garlic sauce.

The potato chips are included with every order of Chuck’s Deli’s slabwiches.  However, it just wasn’t enough for me.  I had to get a full order of it.

Thin, crispy and cooked right – that’s their potato chips and I loved it!

• Fish and Chips (Php 245)

Beer-battered fish fillets with home-made fries (chips to the brits), malt vinegar & fried pickles.

Most of the people are on diet right now.  I guess I’m influenced by that, so I tend to choose to order fish if it’s available.  Considering how I loved the other Chuck’s Deli’s items, I requested for an oder of their fish and chips.

I wasn’t disappointed!  Every bite was delicious!  The good thing there was that the batter didn’t overpower the main ingredients which is pretty important for breaded food.  While the malt vinegar can give a lil kick to the taste, I enjoyed the fish even without dipping it into the sauce.  Yum!

Before I bid goodbye to everyone in the table, I quickly went inside the restaurant and observed the interiors.  Boy, was I pleasantly surprised!

There was a huge counter right in front of the entrance, everyone can see how the chefs prepare our food orders.

As you know, red is my favourite colour.  Chuck’s deli made good use of the red with the combination of wood and white accent.

There were white boards, red boards and chalk boards all over the restaurant.  Certain trivia about Chuck’s deli, menu items, promos, Slay the Buffy Challenge winners and other information are posted there.

Many people know me as a rice person.  I would order rice over sandwiches any time.  However, I can’t dismiss the fact that I loved every dish that I tasted from Chuck’s Deli that day.  If I would suggest to the owners, I would wish they offer rice dishes with the same main ingredients.  It doesn’t matter though.  I already have my mind set to go back to Chuck’s Deli.  This time around, I would be with friends and I already know what I would order (i.e., Fish & Chips, chukatsu balls, buffy balls).

Chuck’s Deli is targeting Filipinos who crave for American sandwiches.  I do agree with that.  So if you are the type and you haven’t tried Chuck’s Deli, then make some time to try it.  You’ll definitely have a new restaurant to add to your favourites.

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Chuck’s Deli
G/F Eastwood Mall, Orchard Rd, Bagumbayan, Quezon City, Philippines
+63-2-9000503