John and Yoko

   Most people would prefer an almost empty over a full restaurant because it meant no waiting time for a table and service. We are not most people. When choosing among never-been-there restaurants our gauge is the number of occupied tables inside. This is why we chose John and Yoko over La Maison, both at Greenbelt 5. We felt that the less than five customers inside the latter was not a good sight.

   Tofu steak. You see those brown bits near the spoon? That’s beef. The picture on the menu showed beef strips, certainly more than what was served. What we had was more like ground beef. The tofu was firm and somewhat porous, like the kind used for tokwa’t baboy. For an upscale restaurant  I expected the tofu to be soft, with the consistency of fine custard. Crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. The kind that melts in your mouth. This one you will have to chew, and chew. 

   Ika linguini in tomato. Nothing special. More squid tentacles than meat. I could still taste the flour in the squid breading. Definitely needs improvement. 

   Salmon wasabi cream. We had to try this one because salmon is our favorite fish. If you’re thinking spiciness that seems to de-clog your sinuses you’re in for a disappointment. I think the only wasabi in the dish is in the name. We had to exert more effort than usual to cut the fish. It was dry and not the least bit tasty. My theory is that it was due to its un-freshness. There were three of us sharing this dish but 1/4 slice was left on the plate. I repeat, salmon is our favorite fish. Enough said.

   Green iced tea. Allegedly lemon flavored but does not taste lemon-y at all. It wasn’t a lemonade after all.  Red iced tea. Calamansi flavored. Blue iced tea. Dalandan flavored. Both good ones. The best thing about these iced teas is not only their being bottomless. You can order any flavor and choose a different flavor for refill. I was lucky to have the red iced tea as my first choice because I liked it. Lisette’s was the green iced tea who went through the ordeal of drinking all of it so she can have a refill of the better flavors. I had to taste it too. For this blog. 

   Lesson learned in this food trip: the number of diners inside a restaurant is not always a good gauge of  its food quality.

   Next time we’re at Greenbelt 5 we’ll try La Maison. Regardless of the number of clients inside.

P.S.

   I found that the top portion of our receipt is cut so technically, the receipt does not have the establishment’s name and tax identification number. Whatever. I’m a food critic here. Not a BIR agent.