#Issaeats: Bossing's Grill in Ali Mall, Cubao!

Last Monday, #teamAldous visited Bossing's Grill in Ali Mall! It's a buffet restaurant that offers a variety (hmm) of Filipino food, found in the G/F to the left. A bit hidden as the escalator blocks the view, but you'll definitely look longingly once you pass by it, as the food is laid next to the windows!

Upon entering, I was greeted by the staff, who was very prompt and attentive. They were also very nice and smiling whenever you inquired about something. Place was clean and spacious. Had a pretty mural and televisions to keep you entertained. Lighting was pretty odd though, as it was darkish yellow, which made me think of a lighting for a date rather than a supposedly lively Filipino buffet.

Mind you, I didn't have anything but oatmeal for brunch and suffered the MRT ride there during rush hour (never again, I swear!), so I was ravenous.

I tried the vegetable/salad part of the buffet. Ampalaya was a bit too bitter and the others were a bit bland. Nothing very exceptional, nor did any spike my taste buds.

I skipped the rice (as we all know what rice tastes like, haha. I don't like rice anyway!) and went on to the pinakbet. Again, ampalaya too bitter while the rest was just fine. 

The pork menudo was pretty good! The other one beside it was lechon paksiw, but I didn't get to try it since I didn't know they refilled it (I would've gotten a LOT if I knew!).

Chicken didn't really make a lasting impression, I actually forgot what it tasted like! The pancit was really good. I liked the fact that there was bagnet pieces.

The sweet and sour fish wasn't the best. It was bland at best. The dinuguan was VERY good, though then again… I really love dinuguan! I just didn't like that some of the chili wasn't cooked well enough or just added on top of the food.

There was another lil salad area, and I liked this part, except for the tofu, which was cold and tough. Bagoong tasted very nice (with the salted egg salad, not the plantains!). Vegetables were well-cooked, plantain was meh.

I tried a bit of the bacon sinigang, which would have tasted really good if they didn't add any more oil other than the natural one from the meat, and if they didn't overcook the vegetables, which was already soggy. I got to taste the monggo and miswa, which tasted okay.

The chicken satay was very good! Tender and flavorful. The pork sisig was just the right amount of crunchy and tender as well, so two thumbs up for that.

Their mongolian was undercooked, with the vegetable pieces being hard to chew and still raw. The chicken was okay and well-marinaded.

I really liked the grilled squid. I didn't get to taste the fish, since they ran out of it and replaced it with more of the squid. It wasn't very chewy and just right.

This had four different types of meat: Fish fillet (which tasted bad, just skip this), the chicken (tasted kind of like Max's, but didn't leave a huge impression on me), the calamares (salty, but will do!), and the magnet.

Now, the bagnet deserves a separate paragraph. Because I. Love. Bagnet. This one was a bit salty and was cooked with too much oil, but boy… I. Love. Bagnet. Perfectly cooked, crunchy, lots of fat for me to love and get a heart attack from. Definitely worth it.

Now, on to the desserts! They didn't have much variety here. Neither did I like any of them. Maybe those peanut bars with sprinkles, but that was mediocre at its finest. The rest were hard, bland, and not really worth my chewing. I wish they had ice cream instead of this, it would be a LOT better. I recommend ice cream and maybe puto instead of these bite-sized cakes.

They also had a lil halo-halo station, which was good, but I wasn't very impressed as they didn't have much toppings or ingredients for it.

Didn't try their drinks (iced tea and dalandan). Pretty sure they are your standard powdered drinks.

All in all, I could say my experience wasn't the best, but I wouldn't really call it the worst. They had their good points, and I would definitely recommend the meat section and steer clear from the desserts and salad. At a price of 300 PHP, you wouldn't have a LOT of variety in the food, but you can definitely make up for it by stocking up on sisig, dinuguan, rice, and bagnet. The bacon sinigang is worth the calories as well! 

How many times did I go back? I think… Six? Mostly for the bagnet, sisig, and dinuguan. :p Pretty sure my blood pressure and cholesterol went up, but I'm not complaining. Worth it!

I can say that at 300 PHP, it's worth the price. You don't get the best of the best, but it's nice when you're out with friends and hungry after work. Pretty nice to start the weekend with a buffet like this.

You can check Bossing's Grill out here:

Ground Floor Ali Mall Araneta Center Cubao

(02) 709-4105

Haven't been working out (or going out as much) since I've been swamped with articles and working on some stuff for school, but hopefully I'm out this weekend! ;)