I hadn't seen my friend Irene for a while, so I called her to set a lunch date so we could catch up, mostly on office gossip. We decided on Sumo Sam, the newest restaurant in the ABS-CBN compound. It occupies the space that my favorite Cibo used to (I think I'd been secretly hoping Cibo would come back). We both hadn't tried the new place yet, so we went to check it out.
I'd eaten in Sumo Sam before, just not in this particular branch. For this visit, I ordered their Tendon, which is basically one of those "rice toppings" meals. This one was supposed to have tempura shrimp on top of the rice. When it arrived, I was not surprised to see that there were only two pieces of breaded shrimp on it.
Usually, toppings meals scrimp on the meat and go heavy on the rice. This was no exception, although the sprinkling of tempura bits did a pretty good job of covering it. Since there was so much rice, there was not enough taste to go around. It's a good thing that the server gave me tempura sauce when I asked for it. It went a long way toward improving the taste of the dish.
Tendon
Irene and I wanted some dessert after our meal so we ordered the Tempura Banana Split. (It seems we couldn't get enough of fried food.) It was all right, but I was a bit disappointed that there were no nuts.
Tempura Banana Split
All told, I was not all that happy with my visit to Sumo Sam. I think that the toppings meal did not offer good value for money (P308 for two pieces of shrimp, before service charge). I will probably still prefer to eat at its neighbor Grams Diner when I find myself in the area.
I do remember that when I ate at another Sumo Sam branch, my friend ordered a noodle dish that I liked, but unfortunately I don't remember what it was. Maybe I'll give the restaurant another shot when I finally figure out what that dish was.
Sumo Sam
ABS-CBN Compound
Eugenio Lopez Drive
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines 1103
I'd eaten in Sumo Sam before, just not in this particular branch. For this visit, I ordered their Tendon, which is basically one of those "rice toppings" meals. This one was supposed to have tempura shrimp on top of the rice. When it arrived, I was not surprised to see that there were only two pieces of breaded shrimp on it.
Usually, toppings meals scrimp on the meat and go heavy on the rice. This was no exception, although the sprinkling of tempura bits did a pretty good job of covering it. Since there was so much rice, there was not enough taste to go around. It's a good thing that the server gave me tempura sauce when I asked for it. It went a long way toward improving the taste of the dish.
TendonIrene and I wanted some dessert after our meal so we ordered the Tempura Banana Split. (It seems we couldn't get enough of fried food.) It was all right, but I was a bit disappointed that there were no nuts.
Tempura Banana SplitAll told, I was not all that happy with my visit to Sumo Sam. I think that the toppings meal did not offer good value for money (P308 for two pieces of shrimp, before service charge). I will probably still prefer to eat at its neighbor Grams Diner when I find myself in the area.
I do remember that when I ate at another Sumo Sam branch, my friend ordered a noodle dish that I liked, but unfortunately I don't remember what it was. Maybe I'll give the restaurant another shot when I finally figure out what that dish was.
Sumo Sam
ABS-CBN Compound
Eugenio Lopez Drive
Quezon City, Metro Manila
Philippines 1103
Comments