Kanin Club at the Ayala Triangle

I finally got the chance to try this popular lunch go-to place in Ayala Triangle (aside from Wee Nam Kee and BonChon)... KANIN CLUB. My cousins and a lot of friends have been recommending the place but my first two attempts to eat here failed because the wait time was just too long. My dad, Addie and I took our chance earlier to have lunch there and we were lucky that the line wasn't that bad (to think it's a Friday). Well maybe it's because we got there almost 1:15 already and we passed the rush "lunch hour". 

Their menu is pretty extensive with a wide selection of Classic Filipino dishes with a twist. It's a good thing that the first page made it easier for us because it stated the most ordered and chef's recommendations to narrow down the choices. Here's a rundown of what we had;

Sinangag na Sinigang  (Php 224.00)  - I've been a Sinigang addict since I was a kid so I was really psyched to try this new take on my all-time favorite Filipino sour broth. Can you imagine sinigang without soup? Well, this is it! It's "dry sinigang" so to speak. The rice was flavored in sinigang but it wasn't as sour as I want it to be (bitin sa asim!). The thinly sliced liempo on top of the rice was soft and juicy though. And the kangkong tempura sprinkled with tamarind (sinigang mix) powder was a nice addition to the dish. Over-all, I would give it a 7.5 out of 10.

Crispy Dinuguan (Php 261.00) - A number of friends and cousins recommended this dish so I made sure that we sampled it. It was nothing like what I expected. I thought by "crispy dinuguan" it would mean a dry kind of dinuguan (the same concept as crispy adobo flakes) but still had a lot of sauce and the meat used was mostly CHICHARON! So they could have called it Chicharong Dinuguan. I'll give credit to the creativity put into it but I wouldn't rave about it (taste-wise). First of all, the sauce needed more vinegar/acidity and eating chicharon as a viand/ulam is just too much for me. After taking a few bites of it, my dad complained that he was starting to get a headache! So just a fair warning to those who want to try this dish...get ready for your blood pressure to shoot up! hahaha!

Seafood Salpicao (Php 224.00) - Nothing spectacular...I wouldn't order it again :(

 KC Turon (Php 90.00) - Addie was so intrigued with this dessert because the menu said that this is a must-try dessert and she really loves turon. Turns out it's not your classic turon with banana and langka...it's more of a "halo-halo" turon and with this I mean the components of a Halo-halo are inside the crisp deep-fried lumpia wrapper - ube (yam), macapuno, red beans, langka/jackfruit and saging/banana. and the wrap itself was covered with a hard caramel coating. Talk about sugar overload! It was difficult to eat because it was way too sweet and not a very comforting dessert :( 

With all the hype I've heard about this place, I was disappointed. I expected more.  To its detriment, I guess they tried way too hard to change the traditional Filipino favorites.  

Kanin Club
Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati City
02-6216109