Petra and Pilar – High Style Carinderia Dining in Makati (with Delimondo Store)

39 thoughts on “Petra and Pilar – High Style Carinderia Dining in Makati (with Delimondo Store)”

1. Lori has a post up about the place as well. Hopefully all the positive publicity will keep the managers and cooks on their toes.

2. very interesting concept. at first i thought this was the resurrection of the old pepe n pilar restaurant in malate (owned by marlon rivera et al)…anyway, delimondo corned beef is really the best. i made sure i brought home several cans for pasalubong from my last trip to Manila. Our friends here in Toronto loved them as well…

3. Great concept. Good food at affordable prices. I just hope it remains consistent through time.

4. will try it out… its near the office

5. Anton,
   I just wanted you to know how wrong you are about the consistency of the quality Chef Ed’s creations, food, service and taste. I happen to KNOW that Chef Ed is a perfectionist, the food and service he provides is not just an exceptional experience, but a journey in itself.
   He NEVER COMPROMISES; NEVER SHORT-CUTS; NEVER SETTLES for less than the very best, that includes how he personally trains his staff. These are some of the reasons why the Enriles had chosen him for JAKA. Can you claim the same, Anton?
   I’d like to address the following lines:
   “I have this perception that after a while the quality of the food suffers in a JAKA restaurant.”
   – Look, it is no fault of Chef Ed nor of JAKA or Splendido if your perception is faulty. You have no taste and spew forth pseudo-critiques. You are UNWORTHY of such a dignified task. You gravely misinform your readers and I pity them for trusting your troglodyte palate and tongue.
   “They seem to short-cut the cooking process or they are tempted to commercialize the taste of the food like what happened in La Esquina in Splendido.”
   – SEEM is the key word here. You either commit to the facts and make a definite statement or just keep mum. You don’t know what you are talking about.
   Let me ask you, Anton, do you even know how to cook? I mean, do you have the talent? Have you ever created dishes you can call your very own?
   Cooking isn’t just a skill, it’s a passion, a talent, a GIFT and a calling. You are not an authentic cook and most certainly not a chef. You have to EARN the title. Just like you have to earn the right to claim to be a food critic.
   What countries have you eaten in to for you to claim knowledge about what really tastes good? What do you know of subtlety and delicacy?
   You can never compare to the range of Chef Ed’s pure gastronomic genius. Chef Ed IS a genius. He had started cooking since he was a very young boy. He traveled all over Europe and Asia, even working as an apprentice then to learn all that he can about the wonders his eyes, tongue, nose and mouth can savor. You do not have the kind of HEART that he has for the craft.
   What do you really know about the food and service industry? How unsuitably haughty of you to pass judgment on others, when you have no right to do so! You have to have grown up and have been exposed to haute cuisine as well as dared to eat from a hawkers’ market to make such judgments.
   Before you start “writing” again, remember this: You are NOT a writer. You are NOT WORTHY to claim the title of food critic. You do not possess the palate, nose or tongue sophisticated enough to critique food. You are a POSEUR.
   I have been surreptitiously reading your blog from time to time, and have stopped my nimble fingers from giving you the attention you so desperately crave. But enough is enough, Anton. You have decided to attack one of the most gifted chefs in the world and you have, as always, gone too far. This time, I had to say something.
   I would rather have the people who read your blog read http://www.dessertcomesfirst.com, instead. At the very least, Lori knows what she is talking about and is always fair and has definitely earned the title of Food Critic.

6. Whoah to Aina Luna! Such bitterness.

7. Grabe, sino ba itong Aina Luna na ito? Feel na feel niya ang pagka-kontrabida niya. Walang sinabi si Amor Powers sa katarayan nitong babaeng ito!

8. woah! so angry! if i remember correctly, anton is actually a fan of chef ed’s… check out his blog entry on chef ed’s stint at Paseo Uno, Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
   anyway, the concept really is pretty cool. sosyal na carinderia… galing! thing is, would you go out to eat something that your mom or kusinera can cook at home? maybe not. i suppose their target is really the office people nearby who want an alternative to fast food, so people shouldn’t expect to be blown away. i’m sure chef ed has other venues where he can show off his fine-tuned culinary skills, but definitely not at a high-end carinderia.

9. Anton, you write for free so you can voice your opinion without looking over your shoulder. In the months that I have been reading your blog, I never got the impression that you were trying to pass yourself off as a certified food critic. You never struck me as pompous nor arrogant. My take is that you can afford a nice lifestyle. And you enjoy eating, traveling, shopping, watching events AND THEN SHARING YOUR VIEWS with an audience. Anyway, I didn’t agree with you about your take on Felix. But you and I will agree on some things and vehemently disagree on others. Your readers can take it or leave it. Your blog is not the bible, it is a reference tool and entertainment. Keep on blogging!

10. I usually would prefer to focus on commenting on Anton’s posts rather than on the comments to his post, but, Aina, I think your post is very unfair. This is Anton’s blog and he can freely express his own opinions. Next point — I think that is the wonderful thing about food, each person will always have their own palate preference. We all have to respect that or wars can start just because we like our food and the people who cook our food differently.: ) Next, next point — Anton never claimed to be a writer nor a critic. He has been very open, honest, and generous with sharing his experiences so others can experience these things online or to actually go to the places he shares. Final point — Don’t be so mad, Aina. I’m sure Chef Ed will love you for defending him. Write about him and share with us your wonderful experiences about him. I think everyone will benefit more from that, including Chef Ed. : )

11. I agree with Anton. Chef Ed’s dishes are great at the start – when he is hands-on with the restaurant. But what usually happens I think, is that he is just involved in setting up the restaurant. Eventually he moves on (for some reason or another), and quality suffers tremendously. Examples are Rastro, Fig & Olive, Filo’s — I tried all three restaurants with Rastro probably being the best among the three, and years later you can see how the quality has dropped significantly. Take Filo’s for example, where is it now??
    I don’t doubt that Chef Ed is very talented. I myself want to try the festival at Paseo Uno, but somehow there is no longevity. Maybe that’s why he is involved in so many new restaurants, one after the other. It seems his “babies” fail to live up to Chef Ed’s original vision/standards.

12. this is just a stone’s throw away from where i work but for some reaso, i didn’t notice that it was open na pala! thanks for the info Anton. by the way, it was nice meeting you at the Lipton event the other night. 🙂

13. Hmmm….pretty expensive for a carinderia…..i would still choose having a hearty lunch at a real carinderia….

14. can somebody give Aina Luna a lollipop or cotton candy, so that she lightens up a bit? 😀
    Anton is one of the nicest people around, and he is not forcing his opinions/views on anyone; besides, his point of view as a regular guy (non-chef / non-food-critic) is a good thing.
    i’m keen to try this resto out..

15. I work in one of the offices in Burgundy Corporate Tower which is literally a stone throw away from this restaurant.
    I had my dinner here a while ago around 8:20PM.
    The restaurant is spacious & bright, with enough furniture to give accent to the place.
    Indeed food are served cafeteria style, with lots of options to choose from.
    And so I ordered Porkchop steak with caramelized onions and Adobong Sitaw.
    It waited for about 5 minutes until my order gets punched. Its not because the queue is long, but the lady in the cashier takes a very loooong time to key in orders, and as if she still in her “getting used to” in her POS.
    Not to experience again waiting 10 good minutes before my order was served. What I don’t understand is they have 3-4 staff in the counter, 5 waiters and yet took a looong time to serve my already cooked order.
    The food is good. Nothing to rave about but its quite delectable & I must admit, I like how they provide hefty servings.
    Overall, its a good place to have lunch / dinner. I guess it still depends on what food/menu will they serve in the next coming days.
    Oh, BTW as expected once i got back here in the office, I already smell like food. its as if you ate in an enclosed sizzling plate restaurants “amoy ulam na ako pagbalik” 🙁

16. Chill out, Aina Luna!
    I totally agree with Anton. He never claimed to be a food critic or an expert of sorts. You’ve got the wrong impression on this guy! He is just an ordinary guy, enjoying life and giving his perceptions on places and restos.
    I think he is doing us all a great service by being our advance party head – so much so that we visit those places that he raves about – and not visit those places with thumbs down comments.
    I also agree with Len on some of her observations on Chef Ed’s adventures. Longevity is also key in the resto industry i.e. Le Souffle, Chateau 1771, Antonio’s, etc. Most of the resto he was associated have went kaput!
    Relax Aina Luna! Have some lollipops courtesy of Gus… Bwaahahaha! Pikon talo…

17. Hi,
    I just want to say, I have been anticipating the opening of Petra and Pilar because I see it every day on my way to work and back home since I live in one of the condos around the restaurant. I even got bored waiting for it to open until one day they had a sign saying they’re on trial run. I went in, bought my dinner – embutidong bangus. I did not eat there because I’d rather take my food home and watch tv while eating it. I may not be a food critic but I know if the food I ate is good or not. I must say, the first ever food I bought from Petra and Pilar did not give me the “wow” feeling. It’s nothing special even when you add the cream sauce it comes with. I went there the second time (the day after it’s formal opening)and bought pork adobo and escabeche. I liked the size of the pork pieces but again, it did not give me the wow feeling, same thing with the escabeche. I’m not saying I won’t go there anymore because I will and it’s the convinience I’m after, not the taste. I won’t expect a lot from this restaurant anymore afterall, they’re just a glorified carinderia.

18. i don’t comment often. pero anong problema aina luna??? hahaha. i don’t get it in when people get so pikon with a blog entry (keyword: BLOG); i believe you went to this blog on your own accord, if you don’t want what’s written here… then don’t go here. anton caters to people who are interested on his comments/feedback re: certain establishments. don’t be insulting naman… both to anton and the readers. may sarili naman kaming isip and we will be the judge if Chef Ed or kung anuman is really “the bomb!” it also doesn’t mean that just because you mentioned all his good points here eh bilib na bilib na rin kami sa kanya… just the same what makes you an expert re: chefs and all? i agree with pam… you should just share na lang your good experience w/ chef ed’s food, that will pique my interest more. pero since nagmukha kang defensive… parang “natabangan” tuloy ako diyan kay chef ed na yan. ; ). and yes ang pikon ay laging talo! = )

19. …whooo!….boy oh boy! lol! why is ANTON GET WHIPPED ALL THE TIME lol! this is really sooo funnny lol!
    ….anyway to the pissed filipina lady lol!….not holding such temper can be quite costly publicly lol but i can see where she is coming from….problem here is youre somehow giving us impressions that you have the monopoly and is carrying a ‘perfection’ gauges that proves the world who’s perfect o better o the authority according to your perfection ‘gadgets’ let me remind rethose who forgot that anton anyone adults in particular has the right to ‘choose-taste’ their own preferences food habits or lifestyles….in the philippines ADULTS are allowed to voice out their opinions as they ‘experiences’ life coz theyre capable of knowing what’s good-better-best for them….traveling-dining around the world is not as RARE or as SPECIAL ‘NOW’ as it was back in the 70’s where only a very few can travel that far coz OFW’S or even filipino domestic helpers abroad who makes 400.00 u.s. dollars or more who has ‘free’ living expenses are NOW ‘can afford societies’ who frequent restaurants bars malls pubs experiencing life so traveling-dining around the world is common NOW to filipinos….i believe some food quality failures happened ‘not because’ of chef ed but because of people he left behind who did not follow up o ‘stick’ o ‘possess’ chef ed’s history-talents o finesse in food- cooking expertise-styles…. i have family relatives who are chefs{international making EUROs 5,000,00 or even way more a month salary]no doubt on their ‘excellence’ in culinary arts-skills coz i never heard major world superpowers presidents royalties ambassadors CEO’s ever complain about their food expertise only never ending ‘compliments’ BUT believe it or not a lot of people say I cook way better than them lol i just dont like cooking jobs i travelled around the world experiencing mostly world history’s greatest best finest restaurants-palaces-hotels….so if i make comments about food-culinary arts will that be also a ground to ‘dismiss’ my opinions like anton’s….or grounds to include me as someone to listen to? just wondering where her perfection ‘gauge’ will place me coz maybe i should stop-loose interest in searching-looking for better ones….bad for tourism industry lol!….

20. ainaluna@gmail.com
    I think Anton is entitled to his own opinion, and you should RESPECT that. If you’re not happy with his take on some things – then DON’T come back! Honestly – you’re NOT missed. If you so very much want to air your angst – then please, feel free to put up your own blog.
    Anyways, sorry for that ‘vibe’ with my comment, I really hate people who CAN’T respect opinions of others!

21. Anton, just keep on posting your opinions and experiences. it’s your blog, it’s your own space. we’re all happy to read about them! 🙂

22. Keep blogging Anton, a rotten comment cannot make a good man down!

23. hey anton,
    IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE.
    it’s YOUR blog so you can write whatever you want and if she doesn’t like what she is reading then why they heck is she still reading your blog entries & comments???

24. How’s the parking?

25. Those people bashing Aina Luna for her comments are just committing the same “crime”.
    Aina is entitled to her opinion. The comments section of Anton’s blog is “free press” as well.
    I must say that the comments in this blog lacks substance until Aina came along. What’s “Oooh, Aiken is sooo cute!!!” comments got to do with the blog’s topic?
    To Anton, I will give you an unsolicited advise (same advise given to Jamie Oliver by an Italian chef) – “scrap the good comments, work on the bad ones”
    Simon says “Bash Peter”. Go!

26. To add…
    Comments saying “this is your blog, you can do whatever you want” is just BS.
    Anton’s blog has, fortunately and unfortunately, reached a status where it is getting quite a following. With this, he already has a responsibility with his readers. Every review he posts, there will always be people who will take it as canon. Every review he posts, there will always be an impact to a business.
    Besides, isn’t he earning for each hit his blog gets?
    This blog is no longer a personal blog. Anton is already providing a service which his readers are expecting quality, no less.
    As the famous saying from an old dying man goes: “With great power, comes great responsibility.”

27. ….”with great power,comes great responsibility”
    ….true but depends on what ‘expectations’ base also on anton’s ‘limited capacity’ everyone must remember that anton is ‘not’ GENERAL douglas MCARTHUR who has and use sticks in his hand lol!….anton falls in line with groups of women sometimes elderly when attending businesses lol….”oooh aiken meaning aidan joshua is so cute!!!”….lol!….the connection of that in OAP blog topics is ‘what viewers see’ in the pictures posing in it along with the sceneries table food spreads and info that says aidan or anton’s families are sometimes with him including his friends nephews neighbors old mates old buddies brother father mother etc.so of course viewers will say ooohh aidan is so cute can i kiss him lol! or anton who is that lady in 2 piece outfit….also most viewers talk to each other’s comments not necessarily about what’s in the pictures or anton’s back up comments coz any OAP viewers comments are all ‘inside’ our awesome planet anton’s blog corner….so of course viewers comments ‘expand’ as they expresses their ‘experiences’ since there are nO SET RULES on how what when to say or not to say since our awesome planet is a worldwide family ‘travel’ lifestyles and experiences so any EXPERIENCES that has something to do with families friends travels fashions cultures places fun experiences o dreams of places wanting to come true expertise o food or whatever is OF COURSE PART OF ‘OUR AWESOME PLANET’ as long as the experiences-happenings are all inside PLANET EARTH lol and must be fun if not AWESOME so how hard is that to understand lol!….

28. ….”with great power,comes great responsibility”
    ….true but depends on what ‘expectations’ base also on anton’s ‘limited capacity’ everyone must remember that anton is ‘not’ GENERAL douglas MCARTHUR who has and use sticks in his hand lol!….anton falls in line with groups of women sometimes elderly when attending businesses lol….”oooh aiken meaning aidan joshua is so cute!!!”….lol!….the connection of that in OAP blog topics is ‘what viewers see’ in the pictures posing in it along with the sceneries table food spreads and info that says aidan or anton’s families are sometimes with him including his friends nephews neighbors old mates old buddies brother father mother etc.so of course viewers will say ooohh aidan is so cute can i kiss him lol! or anton who is that lady in 2 piece outfit….also most viewers talk to each other’s comments not necessarily about what’s in the pictures or anton’s back up comments coz any OAP viewers comments are all ‘inside’ our awesome planet anton’s blog corner….so of course viewers comments ‘expand’ as they expresses their ‘experiences’ since there are nO SET RULES on how what when to say or not to say since our awesome planet is a worldwide family ‘travel’ lifestyles and experiences so any EXPERIENCES that has something to do with families friends travels fashions cultures places fun experiences o dreams of places wanting to come true expertise o food or whatever is OF COURSE PART OF ‘OUR AWESOME PLANET’ as long as the experiences-happenings are all inside PLANET EARTH lol and must be fun if not AWESOME so how hard is that to understand lol!….

29. anton,
    this ought to be the most interesting comments section ever in OAP.
    lovin’ every word. hahaha!
    spanx!

30. i personally love reading anton’s blog primarily because i get to learn what are the up and coming restaurants in the metro. although we may not, at all times, share the same view on a certain restaurant, i will always and forever be a fan.
    i agree with everyone here that a blogger has his right to share his views and likewise, the reader as the same privilege to like or dislike what he has just read. remember, the X button is just located at the upper right portion of the screen 🙂
    peace Ü

31. Hahahaha, bro big time ka na talaga may mga haters ka na.
    Dapat pa nga pasalamatan ka nya eh di ba para ma-maintain nila quality of food nila at service.
    Pero ok din yung mga comments na ganun, in a way nakakatulong ka pa rin kay Aina na mailabas ang sama ng loob nya. O di ba therapist ka pa ngayon? hehehehehe
    Basta ako thankful ako sa yo bro, kasi because of your blog dami kong na try na resto sa Manila at na-feature mo pa hometown ko (Lucban, Quezon) at na-idate ko si Riza sa few romantic places earning me the title Don Romantico for her hehehehehe.
    Andyan ulit ako, hopefully August, try ko Arabella di ako isinama ni Riza eh hehehehe.
    Say hi to Rache and Aidan for me, have not met Joshua yet.

32. Anton, I’m glad you write. God bless you & your family always!

33. All’s well that ends well. Lol! Keep on blogging Anton. Seems you really got a good following… I agree with Peter though that “with great power comes great responsibility”. More power! Lets all just enjoy our food and have a great life. 🙂

34. ….to the pissed lady viewer….ANY mistakes in this WORLD intentional or not can be viewed-construed as ‘fraudulent’ depends on anyone’s viewpoints intentions ….sometimes if you or others like me are not aware we sometimes are involved in something we did not know about coz international interests of anykind at anytime could always ‘kicks in’from foreign entities who could benefit by using ignorant innocent bystanders like the filipinos POSSIBLY YOU….you might be thinking you are correcting ‘fraudulent’ activities which is no doubt a VERY GOOD THING TO DO and i encourage filipinos in particular to be aware of fraudulent cases but behind the scenes {by some professional mental games gainers} you could be a sort of a ‘wing’ to CLOSED DOWN this very important historical event that if SAVED can educate more if not all filipinos and put filipinos in the highest possible ‘educational levels’ unseen unnoticed unrealized not observed not explored yet in past centuries-decades but ONLY when just a few filipinos open their STATE OF THE MINDS not long ago maybe just more than a decade ago….some gifted filipinos state of the minds can be RARE if you can honestly absorb-comprehend where the state of the mind is coming from and where it is going but until then filipinos ‘state of the mind’ cannot be ‘totally mentallly’ independent meaning YOU are ‘DEPRIVED’ to SOLVE single handedly philippines or world’s international disastrous chaotic deadly painful divisions of cultural powers economic scientific religious militarily human cultures unfortunate DIVIDES that bring us people into unnecessary conflicts if not preventable tragedies….unless you pissed off viewers can see all human equations only by then YOU can truly say you are RIGHT you are CORRECT in YOUR wisdom you want to pass on us & obligate US meaning the rest of the world so be careful in wanting to close down OAP….FICTIONS should not become a reason to closed down this website lol….

35. any ‘A’ GRADE english speaking university-college-high school students can mean FLUENCY-ELOQUENT SPEAKING-WITINGS in english language….BUT DEFINITELY CERTAINLY DO NOT MEAN THEY HAVE ‘ SUBSTANCE’….THAT DOESNT MEAN THEY WILL ALL WIN ANY NATIONAL ANY GLOBAL ESSAY WRITING CONTESTS JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE FLUENT or ELOQUENT in english….BUT IT IS MORE OF ‘SUBSTANCE’ THAN MERELY correct or deep GRAMMMAR-dictions-SPELLING PERFECTIONS….ANY HIGH SCHOOL-UNIVERSITY VALEDICTORIANS-CUMLAUDES WITH MERELY or just GOOD COMMAND OF ENGLISH FLUENCY GRAMMARS SPELLINGS ELOQUENCE BY THAT ALONE CANNOT CLIMBED MOUNT EVEREST CANNOT FLY AN AIRPLANE CANNOT DIVE THE OCEAN FLOORS CANNOT COOK IN EXCELLENCE CANNOT TRAVEL THE WORLD ALONE ON HER OWN CANNOT SPEAK AT LEAST 6 LANGUAGES cannot be loved by men around the world the kind they can only dream about lol! and all other almost impossible tasks experiences accomplishments activities in the past just because that someone is eloquent fluent or has excellent english grammars or spellings….believe it or not it TAKES MUCH more than a perfect english grammars-dictions- spelling or eloquence to achieve the achivables and those impossibles….this planet earth is AWESOME but definitely not that simple as your ELOQUENCES lol!….

36. pimp….is a harsh word….especially on a father….anywhere around the world you’ll find children’s competitions contest workshops pageants auditions modellings commercials ALL for childrens activities-benefits….why what’s wrong with toddlers with legal parents adult supervisions getting involved in an early entrepreneurships activities and get paid thousands of pesos if not in hundreds of thousands to help ‘secure’ the toddlers future ‘educations’ or even his future economic potentials….would you prefer aidan a lonely corner boy or whining constantly coz of boredome or has attention deficit problems instead….so be happy for them please….

37. Anton, It’s better to just delete Aina Luna’s post and if possible, ban her IP address from this site. As for the other people, ignore the pathetic whiner and get on with your lives. She’s clearly just craving for attention.

38. Put comment moderation, Anton. I did. I didn’t want to. But there are a lot of jerks out there.

39. As a guiding principle for blog comments, let us all respect the opinion of one another. However, I will not tolerate vulgarity, malicious and anonymous comments.
    @BJ — I’ll follow your advice and I removed the last comment from the original Aina and the fake one to close the discussion on this thread.
    Thanks for all the comments and constructive feedback. I learned a lot from this particular post in terms of giving constructive feedback to establishments versus generalized negative comments.

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