20:25 Asian Gastro Lounge — Restaurant in Baguio

Although it had mixed reviews on Google Maps, most of them are positive, I think it's a matter of preference.

I, on the other hand enjoyed the food here. I do have certain tweaks or changes but I was just being nitpicky.

I got 200gms of their Beef Brisket, Truffle Mushroom Soup and Cheesy Baked Oysters.

Beef Brisket - shows proper smoke rings on the edges. A velvety smokey flavor. Nice fatty and juicy meat that was continuously dripping upon placing on my table. Served with 3 different sauces BBQ Sauce, by itself tasted tart and good but with the meat, it tasted like the signature sauce of Rack's Ribs. Chimichurri, which had a spicy herby flavor and vinegar that had spices.

Also served with tiny Yorkshire Puddings and Coleslaw. Both of which are also good.

Truffle Mushroom Soup - a nice woodsie flavor, definitely for mushroom lovers. The trufle is coming from the oil. The buttered slices of bread tasted like it was made in-house, would like for it to be more airy though but again, I'm being nitpicky. Also I would prefer it to be more salty.

Cheesy Baked Oyster - stayed true its cheesiness as seen on the picture. Again, seafood was treated with respect and was not overpowered by the other ingredients. It was a bit salty, I was thinking that it needed acidity to counter, then I remembered, it came with a sauce. True enough, it was a plum like flavored vinigarette. I asked what was the plum used, the server said it was vinegar boiled with spices and lemon rind which produced a plum like flavor.

It has an ambiance of a speak easy bar. You can see a nice camaraderie amongst the staff. My server was always smiling and answered my questions about the food.

It was a pleasant experience. I gave my highest tip which I only give to a select few.

Well recommended as an end...

We went today.

The place was empty but we still had to stand outside to fill in a form rather than sit down like everywhere else in town.

The service was, to put it politely, disinterested. You know you're in for a bad time when it takes half an hour for a Sprite and a beer to materialize in an empty restaurant. Though there was no shot of free hand sanitizer offered (for which I am grateful but suspect others would not be).

My girlfriend's food arrived after a mere 45 minutes of waiting. The pork belly, to be fair, was excellent. The pork skewer, OK and the chicken quarter both over and undercooked, a feat of engineering that I had plenty of time to be impressed by.

My beef wellington arrived a mere 1 hour and 20 minutes after ordering. The beef was overcooked and the pastry undercooked, this is what happens when you put them in the oven frozen.

The mash potato was over-watery Smash or Smash-alike and possibly the worst potato I have ever had the misfortune to taste in my life. It's hard to make mash that I won't eat, but they succeeded with flying colors.

The vegetables on my plate looked like they'd spent a few weeks in the grave before being cooked, I decided to pass on them.

The beer was insanely sour and a terrible color with a head half the height of the glass and frankly, it was the highpoint of my meal.

The saving grace, as far as my girlfriend was concerned at least, was the Halo Halo which was gloriously presented full of fresh ingredients and tasted great.

We won't be going back, there are much better places to eat at this price point in Baguio and much better places at lower...

Great little restaurant and bar specializing in a variety of grilled meat options. Cash only, prices are reasonable for what you get. Limited beer and cocktail menu in addition to non-alcoholic drinks.

Visited about 7pm on a weeknight and there was nobody there. However they were pumping the pop music at full blast through their speakers so perhaps it picks up a bit later on as a club as well as eatery. Staff were friendly and recommended a grilled combo and suggested I opt for the quarter chicken leg/thigh as meat. Since they were out of all their stock options I agreed, and also ordered their baked scallops appetizer and the Urban Manhattan (can you get more urban than Manhattan?!?!) cocktail.

Had no idea how many scallops came with the order (at least 10)! Delicious, but buried in melted cheese. Incredibly rich! Served with a spicy vinegar that cuts the richness a bit. The grilled BBQ chicken was also delicious and flavorful, accompanied by a mound of steamed white rice, another small side of the spicy vinegar mixture, and another small garnish side of vinegary spicy stuff. The entree also comes with a complimentary house-made iced tea that is sweet and refreshing.

The Manhattan was very well balanced. Maybe a little on the small side but delicious.

Definitely worth a stop in. Google claims you can come for lunch or dinner and they're open till...