HUNGRY HOUND: On Duck Fat Fries, Mr. Delicious’ Bacon, and First Impressions… @HungryHoundPH

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HUNGRY HOUND is the latest Gastro Pub Concept by Chef Rob Pengson and Erwan Heussaff, located in the new Globe Headquarters in Bonifacio Global City. 

It’s definitely howling but got mixed reviews when we visited during the soft opening. The concept is really cool but the execution is not quite there yet, and we felt it was premature to open before the ghost month. 

Here are the things we liked and got disappointed with at Hungry Hound…


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We love the modern wooden interiors with quality leather seats, high ceiling, and natural lighting.

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MENUHungry Hound Soft Opening Menu | Starters, Entree, Cold Beverages, Hot BeveragesImported Beers, Domestic Beers, Scotch/Whisky, Vodka, Tequila, Gin, Rum, Cognac Imported Draft Beer | Cocktails, Red Wine, White Wine, Sparkling Wine, Liqueur 

The menu is promising, especially with Chef Gilbert Gomez (who worked for Daniel Boulud’s DB Bistro Moderne in New York) and Chef Jerome Opriano (of The Goose Station) in the kitchen.

STARTERS

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★ Angel Sliders (P275 +10% service charge). Crumbed Imported Oyster, Remoulade, Cheddar, Bacon, Pickled Onion

It’s like a mini fried oyster burger – this is one of the must-try items on the menu. Due to its popularity, they came up with a bigger version called The ArchAngel.

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Sedarious, my Italian-American foodie friend liked the taste and concept but felt that they cooked with over-used oil which ruined the execution.

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CHILI (P248 +10% service charge). Cuban Style Beef & Tomato Chili with Corn

This is a good order to have on a rainy day. However, the serving size is small and the value you get is not commensurate with its price.

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★ DUCK FAT FRIES (P325 +10% service charge). Duck Fat Fried Fries & Garlic Confit with Parmesan

Imagine fries cooked in duck fat with parmesan and garlic flavoring. It’s malinamnam, which is why this is now the iconic bar chow of Hungry Hound.

It’s so good that it gives you a headache if you eat too much. Eat in moderation.

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CAESAR SALAD (P295 +10% service charge). Romaine, Caesar Dressing, and Bacon

The salad is good and you can order dressing on the side to not ruin the taste of the vegetables.

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SCHUBLIG POGOS (P295 +10% service charge). Cornmeal-coated Sausages with Cheese and Ketchup

Good high-end corn dog concept but poorly executed. Even my boys did not want to eat it.

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★ PAULANER HEFE WEISSBIER (P200 – 330ml +10% service charge). Wheat Beer, Germany

We love to go to Gastro pubs for the yummy selection of food and draft beer! Manila’s beer scene has never been the same with the introduction of high-quality draft beers. 🙂

 

MAINS

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★ SMOKED BACON SILOG (P385 +10% service charge) on Garlic Confit Brown Rice with 2 Eggs

The Smoked Bacon by Chef Jeremy is really good (known as Mr. Delicious, Chef Jeremy is a French-trained American expat chef and sommelier). It has a good smoked flavor, and a chewy mix of fat and meat.

You can order the bacon in silog style, or you can add it to any other order. A must try!

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CHICKEN BREAST (P395 +10% service charge) with Chorizo Mushroom Gravy and Smoked Sweet Potato

This provided good value with 2 big slices of chicken breast good for sharing. The inside was a bit dry though, and you have to dip it in the deep flavored chorizo mushroom gravy to appreciate.

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SALMON & MUSSELS (P525 +10% service charge) in Tomato Vegetable Broth with Beamaise

The Salmon was a good, healthy choice but we felt that the combination was poorly executed.

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DIRTY CHORIZO BOLOGNESE (P395 +10% service charge). Chorizo & Meat Sauce with Black Pudding and Meatballs

This was disappointing. Both the meat balls and the sauce tasted bland. I guess we ordered on an off day for the kitchen. 

DESSERT

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RHUBARB CREME BRULEE (P265 +10% service charge) with Cardammom Custard & Butter Cookies

The dessert selection is just OK. It’s quite hard to find a gastro pub with good desserts anyway.

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Congrats to Chef Rob and Erwan Heussaff for the cool Hungry Hound concept!

(TRIVIA: This is officially the second restaurant of Chef Rob after The Goose Station, and the first one by Erwan Heussaff :))

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Overall, we liked the Angel Sliders, Duck Fat Fries, Smoked Bacon and the Draft Beers :). It’s a good after-office hangout and is sure to be filled with Globe Employees once they move into the building.

We were disappointed with the main dishes. We felt that the kitchen was not prepared and the restaurant prematurely opened just before the ghost month. This situation is a double-edged sword in that we’ve seen restaurants improve their execution after a few months, but we’ve also seen some that don’t recover from the soft opening impressions.

Budget P800 per head for food and drinks. Best to try it after a few months.

The Hungry Hound Pub & Kitchen
Ground Floor, Globe Telecom Tower, 32nd Street corner 7th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City
(beside F1 across MC Home Depot)
Mobile: +63 916 696-4385 
Twitter: @HungryHoundPH
E-mailreservations@hungry-hound.com

Operating Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 11:00am-11:00pm 
Friday – Saturday: 11:00am-12:00mn 
Sunday: 11:00am-9:00pm

Related Posts:

What’s New in BGC Restaurants in 2013?

Live an Awesome Life,

Anton
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com 

P.S. I’m actually excited for niner-ichi-nana (cocktail bar 917) beside Hungry Hound. It promises craft cocktails and artisan bartending.

9 thoughts on “HUNGRY HOUND: On Duck Fat Fries, Mr. Delicious’ Bacon, and First Impressions… @HungryHoundPH

  1. Tried it last night for an early dinner with colleagues. It was 6 pm but they did not want to give us a table because the whole place was reserved for 730. We told them we would leave when people arrived. We left at 730, there was no one there yet.
    Food was not so good. I didn’t even like the bacon silog, I’d prefer it with thicker slices of bacon. The carbonara was bland. The chicken tenders was probably the best one for me.
    Service was also pretty bad, we were the only ones there yet had to call several times for assistance.
    Maybe its soft opening jitters. Nice interiors though

  2. Great Post Anton. I feel that it was both honest and fair. Just for the record, i didn’t feel the oil was over-used but rather it was a low quality oil which impacted the delicate flavor of the oyster.
    I absolutely Love Chef Rob’s Goose Station(in my humble opinion top 3 restaurant in Manila) and congratulate him on expanding his culinary imprint. If they just put “the love” that Goose Station got into Hungry Hound i’m sure it will be Fantastic in a couple of months. Wishing them all the luck and will be back before the holidays.
    – Sedarius

  3. Called ahead on a Friday to see if we could get reservations for a 730 seating. Girl on the phone said that they don’t do reservations for 730 onwards so best to come early to secure a table.
    Took a chance and dropped by at around 730, place was full except for a couple of tables with RESERVED signs on them. We were told that no tables were available so we could either wait or come back after a couple of hours.
    So, are reservations really accepted or not? What gives? Looks like a nice place to grab a bite but pre seating service like this kind just turns me off.

  4. you’re not really a food critic, just trying hard to be one. Sometimes, you dont know what you’re talking about,so annoying and irritating.

  5. we ate there on a Sunday night and was not impressed. the angel sliders which i was expecting to be, as your description had said, a fried mini oyster burger with crumbled oysters, remoulade, cheddar and bacon, but what they served us are two small buns with cheddar and double bacon! for 275++ and no oysters that is way overpriced!!! the spring pea soup was too salty, the fish and chips too oily. the only redeeming item was the caesar salad which was fresh and had a nice ratio of greens to dressing. either its an off night or the resto is overrated.

  6. Overrated. my friend ordered the bacon cheeseburger and there was no bacon in it. (Head waiter gave him the bacon when we pointed that out). I ordered steak, but when I requested for a steak knife, there was none available. Our orders came later than the table beside us (we came before them). Saving grace? Staff were nice (Gave us complimentary dessert). But come on, at their price range, we expected something better. Knowing it was Chef Rob as one of the owners, we expected the best.

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