Pipino: Indulging in a guilt-free (and a major withdrawal) green lunch

Go green. go organic. go vegan.

Okay so maybe I was too engrossed with the go green campaign I've been working on for 2 weeks now and it's been haunting me everywhere!

And the culmination of those 2 weeks was... Pipino! (it couldn't get any greener than this)

Last Saturday we found ourselves in a cozy vegetarian restaurant in Malinap Street, Teachers Village. It housed 2 restaurants where Pino served "normal food" and Pipino, well for the health enthusiasts. A few minutes after I took this photo, people piled in and minutes after Pipino was packed!

With the place filled up, I was excited to see if Pipino was really as promising as it looked. I wondered how they would create their dishes and if it could measure up to Greens which was the first vegan restaurant I've tried.

[caption id="attachment_685" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Pipino Vegetarian Food by Pino"][/caption]

Good thing we just ordered one Pipino special iced tea. At only Php35, their serving was huge and their blend was refreshing too. Its mix reminded me of carrots.

[caption id="attachment_686" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Pipino Iced Tea (Php35)"][/caption]

Then we had the Fresh Vegetable Lumpia which tasted normal too. I've had better though but by far this was the best part of my Pipino dining experience next to their iced tea.

[caption id="attachment_689" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Fresh Vegetable Lumpia (Php120)"][/caption]

They used an egg-less crepe which had quite an interesting texture to it and it was a bit chewy too. Topped with peanut sauce, toasted seaweed and fresh garlic. It was also served with crispy rice noodles that I enjoyed nibbling on. (There was not a pinch of saltiness in it, mind you)

My choice of greens was Pipino's Garden Burger. The "pattie" was Carrot Bacon in Chili-Garlic Sauce on Whole Wheat Bun, served with Kamote (Sweet Potato) Fries.

[caption id="attachment_691" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Garden Burger (Php155)"][/caption]

Did I enjoy it? I wanted to run to the nearest Mcdonalds. I hate to admit it but I'm a fastfood / junkfood junkie. The moment I had a bite of the pattie, I wanted to run into the arms (if it had any) of a quarter pounder or a double cheeseburger.

[caption id="attachment_692" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="The carrot-bacon pattie"][/caption]

Don't get me wrong, it might have worked for those on a Vegan diet. It was guilt-free alright but I was suffering from major withdrawal after.

Jason's choice was Squash Risotto. It had Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, Vegan Sausage, Cashew Cheese Nugget and it was peppered with Fresh Ginger.

[caption id="attachment_693" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="Squash Risotto (Php220)"][/caption]

It looked pretty appetizing. But as Jason had a spoonful of it, I couldn't paint the expression on his face. When I had a bite of it, well... it wasn't so cruel. You really have to get used to the taste. At first it was a bit difficult to swallow. The rice was sticky and soggy, (thanks to the ginger, I could imagine myself having Hainanese Chicken with it) and it was really hard to appreciate. The Vegan Sausage was  okay though and the Cashew Cheese Nugget. But if you eat them together with the rice, the latter's taste would overwhelm the former.

It also had an aftertaste of garlic sauce so I pretty much imagined myself chowing down on shawarma / kebab.

At that point I was thinking of children being forced to eat their greens where mom would say "Mmmmmm...." to stimulate the poor kid's appetite after feeding the kid a spoonful of ampalaya.

I'm not cut out for this diet really. I could only fool myself into a green and healthy lifestyle for an hour or two. But on the other hand, I lasted a week living only on broccoli and cauliflower.

I hope though their quite normal counterpart (Pino) is a lot better than this. After that guilt-free lunch, I'm sorry but I had to rush to the nearest Dairy Queen (in Katipunan) to reward my major craving. I had their Oreo Cheesecake, as Oreo is their featured flavor of the month and dare I say, it was the highlight of my green day. :)

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Pipino Vegetarian Food by Pino

 2F 39 Malinap Street, Teachers Village

Quezon City, Philippines

Dairy Queen

Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City

Philippines

On a Vegan roll @ Greens : Who said going green is pricey?

At the start of this year, I vowed to the undisputed, tried and tested KAMOTE DIET. On very few occasions though, I still have my rice and my sweets so I won't go berserk in my lack of sugar and other nutrients. But sometimes, after a long week of the once-interesting and now dull-tasting root crop, i tend to CHEAT making me feel incredibly GUILTY. Thanks to GREENS, the occasional guilt-trips are now miles away.

Discovering the place in Scout Castor street in Quezon City was really just an accident. Straying away from the Tomas Morato strip, we entered one of those side streets and well hello there Greens, you were such a pleasant surprise. <3

The facade is garden-like with a stone path leading to its threshold. Inside, a homey atmosphere awaits - quite small and very intimate. You can enjoy a night of good conversation over good and healthy eats.

I'm simply addicted to shawarma, so anything in pita bread is my choice pick. In Greens, I had one serving of VEGGIE WRAP take note, for only Php80!!  It was tomatoes, cucumber, eggplant, a bit of cheese and other greens in a delightful roll! I had the garlic sauce container all to myself so it is but natural to me to have the roll oozing with the creamy shawarma blend. I was on a vegan high! Plus it was really filling too. I'm gonna pass on dessert. Thank You.

Veggie Wrap (Php 80)

Not to mention my fondness for pasta and lasagna, I also had a bite of their Parmigiana (Php140). Instead of using the regular lasagna pasta, they used eggplant as substitute with the usual melted cheese on top. Served with 3 pieces of bread sticks and mixed veggies on the side. Cheesy, most definitely! But remember those greens on the side when you've had too much of the cheese bite. Oh guess what? It didn't taste like eggplant at all! It's your baked lasagna heaven minus the carbo loaded pasta. Great isn't?

Eggplant Parmigiana (Php140)

Not only is it a cozy place but their food is affordable too. So whoever said going green is pricey better take a bite of those vegan yummies!