Adobo is a classic and one of the most popular Filipino dishes. It’s made of meat, poultry, seafood or vegetables and then cooked in vinegar with garlic, bay leaf, salt and peppercorn. You can also add soy sauce if you want to.
I honestly prefer adding in some soy sauce but it depends on your taste. Sometimes it depends on which part of the country you grew up in. You see, adobo has many variations. Adobo dishes in Manila are quite saucy while Zamboanga features a thicker sauce with the help of coconut cream. It can also change colour like in Batangas’ case which is reddish-orange because they use achuete. Some places like Laguna use turmeric while Bicol uses coconut milk.
Are you starting to crave adobo? I know a nice place.
The Restaurant
Adobo Connection is a fast-food chain founded in 2011. They have several branches nationwide but the one I was able to visit is located at The Annex, SM North EDSA. Just go to the upper ground floor and walk towards The Medical City Clinic. Before reaching the end of the building you will see a restaurant with bright red signage that says, “adobo connection”.
Once you enter, you will see a counter where a cashier is stationed. If it’s your first time, no need to worry because their menu is upfront. Plus, their menu is fairly simple which consists of Adobo Meals, Budget Meals, Kare Kare, Fish, and Desserts.
After ordering, walk towards the back and there you will find various seats. Since I brought my Abuelita, we chose the couch for her comfort. Btw, I chose to sit beside the wall which gave me a view of their various displays.
They have photos of Philippine sunrise, sunsets and other views. They’re really pretty and these photos entertained me and we waited for our food. It didn’t take long so now let’s talk about…
The Food
On our first trip, we ordered the following:
Classic Chicken
Chicken adobo with pancit bihon and chichadobo (P109/P169)
Beef Kare Kare
Kare-kareng baka, with bagoong and chichadobo (P179)
Spicy Beef
Maanghang na beef adobo with pancit bihon and chichadobo (P109/P169)
So how was the food? First, I make sure I get to try all that we ordered. I can say that their adobo is great but I honestly, I thought they would be offering a wide variety of adobo in their menu. It is after all, “Adobo Connection.”
Moreover, my family and I loved their combinations. Take their Chicken adobo for example. It comes with pancit bihon and chichadobo. It’s a complete meal and worth the price. What we didn’t like was the Beef Kare Kare.
This was my Abuelita’s original order but it wasn’t good. Sure, it tastes like the kare-kare we know but the meat is just tough and chewy. She couldn’t eat and enjoy it so we switched. She got my Chicken Adobo instead.
The question now is, will we come back? No plans at the moment because we can basically cook the said dishes at home or try a different restaurant. But if we’re in the area and craving for adobo, I’d be happy to give it another go. *Will update this post once that happens.
Don’t let my review get you down. If you want to visit Adobo Connection, they are located on The Annex, SM City North EDSA.
Happy eating and please do share your dining experience below!
Adobo Connection
Located in: SM City North EDSA
Address: Upper Ground Floor, The Annex SM City North EDSA, Quezon City, Metro Manila
My rating: 3/5
