Crunchybelly By Carlos Kitchen - Pasig

Their salpicao is not a salpicao. It was salty and they just covered it with gravy. It should've been a hint that somebody returned his order of baby back ribs... read more Their salpicao is not a salpicao. It was salty and they just covered it with gravy. It should've been a hint that somebody returned his order of baby back ribs and said its not what he expected it to be. They did give me a free taste of crunchy belly more of a beer snack.

Cruchybelly by Carlo’s Kitchen serves damn good Crunchybelly or crunchy pork belly/liempo be exact. I remember years ago when it I first tried it out at the Mer... read more Cruchybelly by Carlo’s Kitchen serves damn good Crunchybelly or crunchy pork belly/liempo be exact. I remember years ago when it I first tried it out at the Mercato Centrale food market one night. It was really yummy, and my love for pork belly is undying, but I might die from it. Lol. It was pork belly chicharon, the first of its kind, which brought pork belly and chicharon up to a whole foodgasm level. Since then, whenever I went back to Mercato, I would first grab an order of Crunchybelly and eat it while I walked around looking at the other food stalls. I couldn’t get enough of it as an appetizer, that I would sometimes order it as a dessert. When I discovered that they actually opened a restaurant in Tindesitas, very close to my work, I was over the moon. I immediately ran over and ordered myself some of the Crunchybelly goodness with rice. I did notice that they had other things to offer, and at that time I couldn’t be bothered with anything else. Eventually I did come back several times and try a few things out. First the ribs and then T-bone steak. After those two dishes, I didn’t dare try anything else on the menu. Both of them were bad. The ribs were not tender enough, and the sauce tasted off. The steak was tough, not even on a sizzling plate, and the gravy was sour. I had high expectations for this place because of the Crunchybelly, but my expectations fell hard. Now imagine how I felt when I saw an entire slab of Crunchybellychon or lechon belly, in its shiny, crispy skin goodness under the hot light. I was very skeptical with ordering it, knowing the only thing I liked was the Cruchybelly. The question running around in my head was, ‘Is this going to suck really bad or will they have perfected?’ Let me admit to you, I was scared and worried. I hate, and I mean HATE a bad pork belly dish. Still nothing stopped me from ordering. A part of me had to try it. It was really good, but not the best. I do order it though, and notice that it isn’t consistent with flavoring. The stuffing to flavor the belly isn’t the same. Sometimes its got chilies, sometimes no, sometimes there’s too much lemongrass, sometimes it’s spot on. But I love it when it has loads of chilies and of course garlic. Spicy is always good in my book! In my opinion, Carlo Reantazo may not be perfect with everything in the kitchen. But he does have a golden finger when it comes to pork belly. Or is it a golden porky finger. Lol. If there was a new pork belly dish on the menu, I would no doubt try it. Now how does a spicy version of Crunchybelly sound?

I ordered the Crunchybellychon solo with rice. It was NOT crunchy. Sobrang kunat! Even the meat was a chewing challenge. Makunat lahat. The serving size doesn't... read more I ordered the Crunchybellychon solo with rice. It was NOT crunchy. Sobrang kunat! Even the meat was a chewing challenge. Makunat lahat. The serving size doesn't seem worth the Php 160 either. : Too bad.