I had been to their Ortigas branch once before, and was pretty stoked to find out they had a store by Forbeswood. It said that they were open as early as 7 o'clock in the morning, and since what they served was perfect breakfast food, me and Jericho headed over there at around 9 in the morning, excited to taste the whimsy of the sandwiches that was served at The Bread Bag Pandesal Bar.
This place puts the famous Casa Marcos Restaurant to shame. Walking in, a stench similar to that of acrid wood being left out to dry in a humid place, like the wooden slats used to shovel out the pandesal had been cleaned and then locked in a room before completely drying, fills your nostrils. Jericho was nudging me to have breakfast at Sweet Bella instead, as he was already turned off, but I was determined to sit out the stench and order some of the pandesal sandwiches. That was before I met the horrible waitstaff.
It was made very clear to us that they did not appreciate us being there so early in the morning... if you consider 9 o'clock for breakfast early. We found ourselves a spot as the attendant wouldn't even bother to look up from what was preoccupying her and waited for her to finish whatever it was she was tinkering with behind the counter to hand us a menu. Not happening. "Excuse me, can we see a menu, please?" She looks up, visibly annoyed by being addressed, grabs the menus and puts it on the table.
No one was really paying any attention to us, with three servers in attendance, and me and J being seated in front of the register. It was like they were pretending we weren't there. I don't care if you think it's too early for us to be there, even though you open at 7am. You have to be there, it's your job. We voluntarily came in at this time because we want to try out your food. Stop being a bitch.
Jericho got the popular Adobo Flakes with Kesong Puti (P122) - fried pork and chicken stewed in soy sauce, vinegar and garlic topped with laguna cheese and served with kamote chips and more adobo sauce. It was really very good, except that the pandesal was cold. It looked like it was slightly toasted, but was probably left on the counter for too long. The delicate Laguna cheese complemented the adobo meat perfectly, crumbling under each bite, with the adobo sauce lending a bit more of its flavor. J ended up sopping up the dip with his pandesal, and I'd dunk mine in every now and then.
I got the Roast Beef (P122) - beef brisket braised in beef stock, soy sauce, tomatoes, garlic and onions. The Roast Beef is what I like to call roast beef pang debut, but at the very affordable price, it's completely understandable. Also served with pandesal that hadn't even been bothered to be heated up, I was too tired of the shit service to ask the waitstaff to do something about it. The gravy looked like it was heated in the microwave, but bubbled over and spilled, leaving a little under half the contents. Still, they served it. At least this time, they bothered to wipe down the sides.
You won't find me mucking around The Bread Bag Pandesal Bar at Forbeswood again. We were extremely disappointed with our experience at the Forbeswood branch. I had gone to the Ortigas branch a couple of times before, and can attest that it is far, far better that this hole-in-the-wall with the Casa Marcos signage. I will never come back here again. The food is so-so, which is expected, given the price points, but the place itself stinks, and the staff is not just unprofessional, but downright rude.
The Bread Bag Pandesal Bar
+63 2 552 3781
F121 Forbeswood Heights, Rizal Drive,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
Open Daily: 7am - 3am
