CIRCHIO

Was recently browsing thru one of the more popular local food blogs and I chanced upon a posting in which the restaurant is located in a very familiar spot in Quezon City, so I thought about going there to try out the place. Finding it should be relatively easy .......

• Coming from the timog-tomas morato circle, take Tomas Morato going into the direction of E. Rodriguez.
• When you reach the 2nd intersectaion (a Congo Grille serves as landmark) turn right and a little further down, you should see the resto to your left.

It was already many weeks back when I dined there, and during that time they had no signboard but just a tarpaulin banner indicating the name of their resto (hopefully by now, they have a sign up up) .......anyway, food there is basically a mix of fusion local and international cuisine. (by da way, I asked the server how they pronounce the name and they replied TSER-KIYO)

PUMPKIN MALUNGGAY SOUP



Blame it on me to be always on the prowl for some of the best pumpkin soups in the metropolis and I guess this one doesn't disappoint that much. My personal standard for a good pumpkin soup is that it has to taste like pumpkin and not be overwhelmed by the richness of the cream. Circhio's version is just that and its not overly heavy on the stomach. The malunngay part however is just for added colour. I hardly tasted any of it. (but I'm not really complaining)

GRILLED CHICKEN SOUP



I really like the blend of this soup .... the smokiness of the grilled chicken, the salty-sweetness of the chorizo and the mild spiciness of herbs all blending well with the lemony flavor of the broth. I would definitly recommend this soup if one is looking for a little difference in flavor.

SPICY CRISPY SQUID HEAD



I lost the receipt so i definitly cannot be exact on some of the names of the food items we ordered. Aside from having some squid heads, they also included some of the tentacles. The squid is fried to just the right amount of crispiness in that you don't need jaws of steel to enjoy this. Its not overly sweet nor spicy that will have you continuously eating piece after piece after piece.

NACHOS



Nothing really to crow about as this is just a straighforward nacho dish with all the trimmings of green peppers, onions, melted nacho cheese and a meaty beef dip. (the dip could use a little more spice). Nevertheless, given that our family likes nachos, the contents disappeared in no time.

TUNA SALPICAO



I had a hard time eating this dish, the fish tasted really dry on the insides..... but the sauce would have been fantastic with plain steamed rice.

THAI SINUGLAW



I was wondering where the "Thai" part comes in, nevertheless I like the grilled smokey flavor of the pork liempo on top, though I wish they would include more of the lean parts instead of the fatty parts. The kilawin tanigue on the bottom is delicious, the blend of the vinegar is of the right sourness, and the meat of the fish is a nice balance of being cooked (by the vinegar) on the outside but still raw on the insides. And each chunk of the kinilaw is quite big, but small enough for just a single bite.

BOURBON RIBS WITH SPECIAL SAUCE



In fairness to the ribs, it was cooked soooo tender that it could almost slide off the bone by itself...... the disappointing part for me was that the sauce was way to sweet.

GRILLED PRAWNS with SOTANGHON



Nice big prawns, though nothing extraordinary in the flavor. I was delightfully surprised however at the flavor the sotanghon (glass noodles). Much like the Grilled Chicken Soup, the noodles have the flavor of lemon and it was quite a unique experience to have something far different from the usual salty flavor of some chinese sotanghon dish or the sweetness of the korean Japche

GAMBAS PIZZA



I like the thickness of the pizza dough, its almost tortilla thin and slightly crispy but still chewy enough. Toppings included the likes of shrimp cooked gambas style, some chorizos, tomato sauce and a generous helping of mozzarella cheese. Bottomline, its not something I would call as extraordinary, but should suffice if you just happen to be in this restaurant and your craving happens to be pizza. (by da way, they also offer sisig pizza, which I will try when I have the chance to return here)

PERI PERI CHICKEN



I actually didn't like the chicken, it was overcooked that the meat tasted dry. We could actually get a better tasting chicken in some other inasal restaurant....... What really blew me away was the rice which comes with the chicken. Very fragrant aroma, flavorful spices and a crispy texture that makes the rice soooo delicious. I actually wanted to finish off the rice by myself but my other companions were also jostling for a share of the rice. (a closer look would indicate that they added some finely chopped nuts into the rice which would account for the crispiness)

COOL AS CUCUMBER



A non-alcoholic juice with a mixture of fresh lime, cucumbers and coriander ....... its really a refreshing drink that I highly recommend. (they also have an alcoholic version of this drink)