Banapple Pies and Cheesecakes

Holidays that fall on a weekday is great. If it fell on a Friday, it would have made me ecstatic. But Thursday is good enough for me.

It was Independence Day in the Philippines last week and it gave us a chance to be.. (for the lack of a better term) free. Free from the work schedules, the call of a computer, the stress of having to do what's asked of you. Free to be just relaxed and happy. I know it's not what Independence Day was all about but it's my own, personal take on it.

Fie and I had our holiday lunch over at Banapple. The weather's getting better now since it's almost rainy season already. I love the cold breeze, it makes dressing up better as I can layer my clothes now. Back to the food, I was initally in a good mood but the servers in Banapple really ticked me off. To keep the negativity short, it has something to do with the reservation of seats and the rude tone from a server. It's not as annoying now that I'm writing about it. Fie laughed at me and called me an old lady for ranting about it. :)

The interior really picked up the homey vibe Banapple is famous for. The SM North EDSA branch never runs out of people. We pass by that branch every week and never did I see it have a down time. We think that it can preserve its vibe if it has a bigger area so the place won't be so crowded. I see people usually stay a bit to talk, read or what not, not just to eat and go.

I was served a good lasagna dish, the Banapple lasagna roll-ups (Php195.00). I actually prefer having them rolled like this since the cheese and flavor are distributed more evenly. I'm not OCD when it comes to eating good food so I slicing down the lasagna roll really was a happy moment. It was a subtle kind of cheesy. The soft pasta breaks down easily and the herbed cream and parmesan filling just bursts out for your mouth to devour.

Fie had the pan-fried porkloin with herb mushroom gravy (Php195.00). The gravy was a bit salty for our taste so it's he slowly pushed the sauce away on one side of the plate. The porkloin was yummy though. And the serving size of the rice is A-OK with any guy, I could imagine. It's around 1 3/4 cup so it can really fill you up.

I always love home made iced teas (Php65.00). Banapple's didn't fail me. You can taste the tea in the drink, unlike other commercialized teas where it's all sugar and no herbs whatsoever. I'm a huge drinker since I tend to get thirsty a lot (I'm a huge talker as well, so there). I always try to drink less than I use to so I won't finish the glass quickly.

Wow, it was such a big meal that didn't empty our pockets too much. No wonder people come all the time, the place is cute, the food is good, and the price you pay for it is even better. This Independence Day lunch left us satisfied and happy! :)

This can honestly be one of my comfort food faves. What's yours? :)