PAPA JOHN'S (Tomas Morato)

Was supposed to be trying out this korean inpsired resto in the area, but for some strange reason, they weren't open for lunch service. We were already hungry so we decided not to go beyond the 2 block radius that we were in already, PAPA JOHN'S was in that radius so we decided to give it a try.



This resto boasts of using fresh ingredients, and going by that line, they hope to make great food out of it......... so did they succeed ????

CREAM OF CHICKEN and CORN
Chunky Soup with Grilled Chicken and Corn Kernels



This cream soup was a little watery, but I didn't mind since I don't want a too creamy heavy soup to start my meal (considering the rest of the food items will be starchy). The soup got this nice smokey chicken flavor and the corn kernels added a nice texture.

Thankfully the soup was served piping hot.

SPICY POTATO WEDGES
Potato Wedges with a Bit of Spice



The potatoes were cooked well ...... slightly crunchy on the outside, hot and fluffy on the inside. However they weren't spicy at all. In fact they were a bit on the salty side.

DIABLO BURST
Choice of Spaghetti or Penne with Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, Garlic and Crushed Red Peppers



At first bite, you'll appreciate the firmness and bounciness of the al dente pasta (we opted for spaghetti), then you'll taste the rich flavor of their tomato based sauce which peaks when the "heat" starts to set in. And by the time you reach the over saltiness of the itialian sausages ???? It's all downhill from there.

GRILLED CHICKEN DELUXE PIZZA (Thin Crust)
Tenderly Grilled Chicken, Ham, Bacon, Fresh Mushrooms in Carbonara Sauce.



For a pizza that names chicken as its main flavor profile, it's quite surprising that one gets very little chicken and a whole lot more bacon (maybe they should rename this pizza BACON DELUXE). I would have wanted the cheese to be a bit more gummier but what we got was flakey cheese.

And going back to the bacon, it was just way too salty for everyone of us in the table.


****************************

PAPA JOHN'S also has some dipping sauces for us to choose from (for the potato wedges and the pizza). We chose the Pizza Sauce and the Garlic Dip.



The pizza sauce is fine with me as it went well with the potato wedges (just as what the menu suggested). The Galic Dip however had absolutely no flavor of garlic and all that we got was the taste of salty butter.


***************************

In the end, it had me thinking ...... you can have the freshest ingredients available from the market, but if you can't put them together in a more balanced way, then all those boasting about freshness will mean absolutely nothing.


On a personal sidenote:
In most restos, if you're going to doggy bag your unfinished food, its usually just wrapped in foil or plastic and viola. I really appreciate their use of these disposable plastic containers wherein you can immediately pop into the microwave once you're ready to eat them again.