Hungry Hippo - SM City Batangas Branch — Restaurant in Batangas City

Alright, i felt sorry for bringing my wife in this food stall. 🫣

(NOTE: To the management, Pls hear me out and learn from it. This is just my honest review. Congratulation for keeping the business running)

I've been telling her that Hungry Hippo (the one right outside Unversity of Batangas was soo popular in the old days that the whole floor (1st and 2nd) was always packed. It's so nice that this chain is now accessible here in SM City Batangas. And so I was excited to have her taste it for the first time while I walk the memory lane and share my childhood stories.

There's a lot of choices in the menu, but since we only wanted to have a quick bite, we ordered Cheese Burger and add in some nachos and a strawberry shake. Just enough to fill 2 bellies. 😇

Nachos came first. The food looks good, perhaps not so much beef and cheese. But it was okay. Yes, just okay. 🤷‍♂️

Then the main event came, our cheese burger. And unlike the Nachos where it got a "instagrammable" presentation, the burger is just.. well a burger. Nothing spectacular. I even struggle finding the right spot to take photo 😆 Apart from the looks, the taste is no different. The beef patty was salty (my wife said) and it doesnt hold and started to fell apart just like a ground beef being grounded right in my plate. We had to use knife, spoon and fork to finish the rest. Yes, with spoon. 🤣

In the old days, the bun was pan-fried (or grilled, i can't remember) to a point where it was almost crunchy to bite. There was even a slight burn on top showing that it was really pan-fried. But not the Cheese Burger that we just ate. 😔

Finally, the strawberry shake is the blockbuster! Probably because I was already lowered my expectation when i started drinking from it. 😅

The service crew were attentive. In fact, i think they love their job. So kuddos for the high spirit in the...

Staff were pleasant and the order came after about 10 minutes. My wife's tuna sandwich was fine. And the chips were good. A friend had an all day breakfast which seemed OK. But the burger? 'Steak and cheese burger' tasted like soggy corned beef inside a wet bun with a slice of processed cheese. Most unappetising. The glass of iced tea had froth which looked like someone hadn't rinsed out the detergent before filling it. And the kitchen - which had a prominent noti effect saying 'hair net zone' had only 2 of 6 people wearing a hair net. Not the kind of restaurant I'd want to take anyone again to. Will not be...

The Staff was nice and accommodating they tell you their recommendations. Greets you with a happy and pleasant smile. The place is nice and clean and could be improved with changes in the design concept. The wall clock is a nice piece. For the food the Iced Tea was nice and very refreshing. The fries and onion rings were good, for the burger they were unpleasant. The patties were mushy and the burger buns weren't toasted. Burgers need improvement in preparation or recipe and also in the...