Making the most of the cool weather a few weeks back, Jericho, Justice and I went out to take Mr. Wiggles to run around Molito for a bit of exercise and to work up an appetite. As it turned out, by the end of it all we were the ones that got hungry, so we trooped over to the nearby Alabang Town Center for an early dinner.
Since we had our furbaby in tow, we sought out the pet-friendly restaurants in the area, which are mostly the new, free-standing restaurants, and Chili's seemed to be a nice place to hunker down for a few hours and enjoy a couple of plates of good grub. Plus, the waitstaff weren't afraid of the bouncy fluffy puppy, and even went so far at to play with the little guy, which was a great sign. A table outside for three and a half, please!
Chili's façade at the Alabang Town Center is really pretty, especially in the late afternoons, with big windows letting all the light in, and enough shade for people who would rather stay out and enjoy the beautiful weather or for hungry customers with dogs
I cannot get enough of Chili's unlimited Tostada Chips (P350) ever since I got to try them at their newest branch in Megamall, and ordered one for the table. I also got their addictive quezo dip made with melted cheesy goodness and bits of ground beef, the perfect compliment to the fresh house-made salsa the thin chips come with.
Before we weaned Mr. Wiggles off of table food, we shared a plate of Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers (P320) with the fluffy puppy. Far from being bland ol' chicken fingers, these chunks of tenders were sweet with a touch of Chipotle spice. The best part of this meal was sopping up the leftover sauce with pieces of chicken, corn kernels, and thick-cut fries.
Craving for some good old-fashioned Country-Style Pork Belly Grilled Pork Chops (P450), these two slabs of juicy meat looked absolutely magnificent - a burnished brown with just the right amount of fat lacing the sides, with beautiful grill marks. This came with steamed vegetables and cilantro rice, that Jericho finished most of. He's in a cilantro phase right now after discovering the herb, so we let him have most of the rice.
Being the shameful carnivores we are, we still weren't satiated and completely decimated a plate of Baby Back Ribs & Chicken (P750) at the same time as the chops. There were sticky, smokey, sweet, and slathered with Chili's barbecue sauce. Next to it was a big Monterey Chicken breast, grilled and topped with two rashers of bacon, Mozzarella and Jack cheeses, and freshly diced tomatoes, as well as generous helping of mash and steamed vegetables on the side.
As I mentioned earlier, I was especially happy at how none of the servers were scared of coming to the table just because we have a dog, which is the case at most "pet-friendly" places we go to. The servers we'd usually get would be scared of coming near dogs, usually asking if they bite, or saying they had gotten bitten once before and now have a phobia, which quite frankly, is a turn off for us, the customers.
At the end of the day, we were all pretty stuffed and very happy. Mr. Wiggles made new friends in the form of our server, and a kid and his father blowing bubbles by the fountain. Mr. Wiggles goes crazy for bubbles, and had a fun time bouncing around trying to eat them all.
When mucking around Alabang and feeling quite peckish after walking your bundle of fluff, take a break with a bottomless pile of Tostadas and a cold one over by Chili's at the Alabang Town Center. They also have a drinking bowl for your furbaby to cool off while he patiently waits for you to finish your meal. They thought of everything! Yey!
Just mucking around Manila,
www.muckingaroundmanila.com
Follow @_muckingaround on Twitter and Instagram.
Like the Mucking Around Manila fan page.
Chili's Bar & Grill
+63 2 846 2647
Ground Floor, Alabang Town Center,
Filinvest City, Muntinlupa
Open Daily: 11am - 10pm
