My Sunday routine is play badminton at 9-10:45 a.m. and then go to Christ Commission Fellowship (CCF) by 11, an hour before the 12 noon service.
CCF’s cafeteria area has a row of food stalls I always look forward to visiting. I love the kani pasta with peanut or sesame dressing at a stall operated by Nancy Reyes; the chicken sandwich on grilled flat bread from the sandwich shop right beside it; the crunchy chicken taco in the Mexican place right next to the sandwich place. For dessert, my two kids and I have frozen pinipig yogurt bar at Frozen Yoh.
These are Sunday’s simple joys.
Last week, my son Franco was raving about a new place he discovered with a friend. So I skipped lunch at CCF to go with Franco to Century City Mall, a new dining destination in Makati.
Inside is Hole in the Wall, a cluster of high-end looking restaurants. Vietnamese Bahn Mi was what Franco recommended and ordered. My daughter Danielle liked the fried chicken and waffles, Arturo wanted the pork shawarma, and my brother Bong had the fried spring rolls from the Vietnamese place.
Always the takaw mata, I ordered fresh spring roll from the Vietnamese outlet and pork shawarma from the Middle Eastern place.
Not content, I walked around and was attracted to another place that was offering pastrami and Reuben sandwiches, which I thought would be too much if I ordered them. So, I made a mental note to try them next time.
And then I saw a table whose occupants had ordered an appetizing but simple-looking burger neatly wrapped in paper, with half the temptation sticking out. I stood up and just had to get one.
The place is called Beef, is the only one in Hole in the Wall that serves burgers. A sign right beside the cashier said, if I remember correctly, that if you didn’t like the “perfect” burger, you could get a refund. That made it even more intriguing. (My own restaurant Wooden Spoon also does the same—anything you don’t like, we will change for free, kung hindi pa ubos.)
So I ordered a basic cheese burger at Beef. At first bite, I knew there wasn’t going to be any refund. Yuuum! The bread was perfectly toasted and soft, much like a brioche; the beef was juicy with a bold, rich, beefy taste; and the basic lettuce and tomato.
I have a feeling this is now the best burger in town.
I couldn’t stop talking about it to the point that my kids and my brother found me makulit.
The very next day I was back in Hole in the Wall having Vietnamese fresh lumpia and a cheeseburger, which tasted the same—super sarap!
Whenever I get “burger pangs,” The Beef at Hole in the Wall in Century City Mall is the place I’ll be going to.
Happy eating!
The Beef, 4/F, Century City Mall, Kalayaan Ave., Makati.
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