It’s Chinese New Year! It’s a special non-working holiday last Friday; nevertheless, we still had to go to work. No worries, I still had after-work hours to celebrate CNY with my family. We had dinner at Burgoo, SM Mall of Asia. This restaurant is not Chinese—and in fact, far from it. We exchanged the traditional Chinese cuisine for CNY with all-American food fare for a difference. And just maybe, we can get to earn US dollars all year round. 😆
You may have passed by and/or dined in at Burgoo too many times, but did you know that Burgoo American Bar and Restaurant is named after “Burgoo,” a 17th century Kentucky stew that consists of goat meat, squirrel and deer mixed with vegetables, herbs and spices? I bet not. 😛 Anyway, Burgoo does not serve that same stew anymore but rather another version of stew officially called Burgoo Stew (PHp 145) that’s made with chicken, beef and pork with carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and herbs. I wanted to try it but as my mom’s eyes were fixated on the food posted by the entrance, we just ordered what supposedly had caught her fancy: Supreme Sampler and Pizza Sampler!
Review of Burgoo American Bar and Restaurant (SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City)
Ambiance: ★★★★☆
Featuring an intimate dining experience with a modern and contemporary environment, Burgoo’s dining room in SM Mall of Asia branch is very spacious. The outside looked just as promising as the inside. Seats gave comfort and the dim lights provided a great, fit-for-occasion yet laid-back atmosphere. Background music was soothing to the ears; without it, the place was a bit too quiet as it was not busy. In any case, reservations are still recommended in order to confirm a spot especially for dinner.
Service: ★★★★★
Upon our entrance, the staff acknowledged the reservation I made, and she escorted us to our table without a problem. Once inside, kind service was rewarded to us. The smiles of waitresses and the quick delivery of food made us feel like we should leave a tip before even eating. Efficient and commendable, Burgoo’s customer service was well worth the 10% charge on the bill.
Food: ★★★☆☆
The Supreme Sampler (PHp 425, Regular) consisted of a combination of spicy buffalo wings (three pieces), cheddar cheese fries, mozzarella sticks and onion rings. All the fried stuff here were golden. They had this magical crunch, one that only a true lover of fried food enveloped with bread crumbs understands. This platter, according to the wait staff, is good for two to three people to share. We were four and still we could not finish everything. (Maybe we’re considered part of the minority.)
Three accompanying dips were provided: tomato basil, ranch and blue cheese. I liked the ranch most and so did my sister. It was made with buttermilk, salt, garlic, onion, herbs (chives, parsley, and dill) and spices. The blue cheese came second to our order of preference. It was warm, slightly salty and downright creamy. Hinting basil and tomato paste combined, the tomato basil sauce tasted just odd.
Burgoo offers stone-baked pizza and allows customers to customize a pizza with these toppings: pepperoni, sausage, tomatoes, anchovy, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, black olives, grilled chicken, mushrooms, onions, extra mozzarella cheese and pineapples. I thought this is very much like that of Project Pie. However, unlike Project Pie, Burgoo charges PHp 75 for every additional topping. Basic ingredients have to be present in all: the pie (of course), sauce and cheese. This personalized pizza costs PHp 325 (Regular) and PHp 375 (Large).
We ended up going with Pizza Sampler (PHp 475 for Regular and PHp 575 for Large) with four existing flavors on the menu, trusting that these would taste better than our own concoction. The pizza (large size) had eight slices with two slices per flavor.
We devoured the visually promising Frutte de Mare made with mild barbecue sauce with shrimps, calamaris and mussels. Loaded with seafood, this pie tasted even better than it looked on picture. The cheese melted imperceptibly into the sauce in a 1:2 ratio and the barbecue sauce imparted a slightly sweet-and-sour tang.
To cater to Dad’s vegetarian palate, Margherita consisting of tomatoes, mozzarella, parmesan and fresh basil leaves and Garden Fresh consisting of spinach, green peas, onions, peppers, tomatoes, black olives and mushrooms were served. The fresh tomatoes in Margherita exploded in my mouth with a bright punch. The fresh spinach in Garden Fresh, on the other hand, acted both as a flavor amplifier that further pushed the fruity notes and as a unifying element that tied everything into a pizza heaven. 🙂 Both pizzas were punctuated by a “burst of herbaceousness” and a well-balanced taste.
Lastly, Taco Mexicano was topped with ground beef, sausages, cheddar, mozzarella and tomatoes. The meaty ingredients used here were most prominent and pronounced. They were combined so well with the other elements, bringing the pie to a higher level of goodness.
Overall, I sensed the presence of high-gluten flour in the dough. While the crust was not perfectly charred and lacked in crisp, the unity of the flavors making the pie was okay. The pizza flavors, when ordered individually, cost PHp 395 (Regular) and PHp 495 (Large), except for the Margherita which costs PHp 20 less respectively.
Price for Value: ★★★☆☆
Burgoo American Bar and Restaurant’s pizzas and supreme sampler are not those that would definitely make me come back, but maybe their known specialties and best-sellers such as seafood jambalaya, fajitas and steaks are enough reason for now for us to check this place out next time and track it for years to come. Considering that this restaurant’s prices range from PHp 395 to PHp 995 for a decent order of large portions of food, it offers quite a reasonable value for money.
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Other Branches:
- 310 Tomas Morato Ext. Q.C Philippines | (02) 927.73.96, (02) 927.73.84, (02)927.74.24
- 3/L Powerplant Mall, Rockwell Center Makati City Philippines | (02) 898.1815 to 17
- 2/L The Podium, ADB Ave. Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City | (02) 687.55.65, (02) 633.67.62, (02) 687.5254
- 2/L Promenade, Greenhills San Juan Metro Manila Philippines | (02) 726.46.63, (02) 726.32.43
- 2/L Gateway Mall Araneta Center, Cubao, Q.C. | (02) 913.61.12, (02) 913.72.34, (02) 912.79.39
- 4/L Robinsons Galleria, Q.C. | (02) 633.62.56, (02) 633.95.65
- 3/L The Block SM City North Edsa Q.C. | (02) 442.01.15, (02) 422.01.04
- Grnd Flr. SM City Marikina, Marikina City | (02) 477.19.34, (02) 477.19.32
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