Food, Restaurants

Can’t Get Enough of Rice? Ninak it is!

Sorry, this establishment is no longer operating. :(

For a long time now, I have been on an on-and-off attempt to lose weight, thus going through various regimented diet practices. Unfortunately, for a guy who loves to cook (and eats what he cooks) and finds guilt-free pleasure in savoring all the kinds of taste in the spectrum of flavors, it’s not easy: if I’m lucky, my diets last for a week. Another challenge came when what I ultimately am told to avoid was institutionalized through a restaurant.

The culprit is Ninak—a medium-scale restaurant owned by the “brothers” of Brothers Burgers, and located at the heart of Northgate, Alabang (near the call centers, HSBC, Bellevue, and beside Prince of Jaipur). As you might well have figured, Ninak is rice (kanin, in Filipino) spelled in reverse, so their pilot dishes are rice varieties (Tinapa, Chorizo, and Java) plus other yummy viands that go well with rice. What’s interesting is that the main categories in the menu are also written backwards (instead of Ulam, it’s Lam-u). Prices range from the P15 plain rice to the P95 rice varieties which can serve more than 2. My mom, Betty, Jamie, Marvs, and I went there to check out the food (for my first assignment) and we ordered Pinakbet, Crispy Tenga, Crispy Beef Belly, Fish Finger with Teriyaki Sauce, and Tinapa Rice.

Pinakbet (P79) yields a harmonious mixture of taste—of course, with the bagoong, the meaty (or fishy) flavor, and the fresh bite of a plethora of vegetables (well, there are just five kinds at most, so plethora is blowing it out of proportion). However, the taste of the bagoong dominantly dictates its character. Bagoong isda is different from bagoong alamang, and Ninak’s pinakbet used bagoong alamang; thus its sweet, salty, and spicy character. The meat was tender and the vegetables maintained its fresh crisp; however, the tastes failed to blend with each other, missing the totality of the pinakbet experience. Although a pinakbet is a pinakbet is a pinakbet and it never fails to satisfy my gastronomic whims.

We also tried the Crispy Tenga (P89). It tasted like deep-fried pork skin (which I reckoned it actually was, only from a very specific body part), best dipped in their sweet and spicy vinegar. Minus the unplucked (or unshaved) hair and the more-chewy-than-crispy bite, it could be a really good pica-pica, pulutan, or whatever eaten on the side. But for health-buffs, it might not be as appealing.

Not getting enough of crispy, we also ordered the Crispy Beef Belly (P119). Interestingly, this is the first time I’ve encountered such. There’s pork belly (aka liempo), and tuna / bangus / salmon belly, but not beef belly. So there. It was not bad but I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t able to capture the distinct taste of beef fat; besides, its frozen-looking appearance and relative dryness were a bit disappointing. It still tasted like beef but it was no different from the deep-fried beef we order from other joints. Though I just have to say, the sweet soy sauce gives it all the redeeming character. It’s actually good with the sawsawan.

The Fish Fingers with Teriyaki Sauce (P99) met our (discriminating?) expectations. The teriyaki sauce achieved the authentic Japanese tang and it went very well with the crisy breaded fish. You know when the sauce eventually overpowers the distinct flavor of the fish (or meat) especially when it’s breaded? Well for this one, they were (almost) a perfect match.

The best dish we had for the night would perhaps be the Tinapa Rice (P95). From the aroma, to the taste, to the presentation, it’s very tinapa (though I think they used daing na bangus instead of tinapa)! The rice blended very well with the tinapa (or daing) and the salted egg, which gave it the feisty and kickin’ character of the dish. It can serve up to 5 people (or 2 hungry ones) and definitely, nobody empties the plate disappointed (except for those who aren’t into fish). If this bore the standard of Ninak, justice is indeed served.

Ninak is for the medium-budgeted fellow craving rice done in (and accompanied by) various tastes. Though it’s such a pity that we weren’t able to try the other rice varieties (Chorizo and Java), I highly recommend getting the Tinapa Rice (believe me, it can stand on its own). The menu is a great balance of good-tasting pork, chicken, fish, and vegetable viands—all of which are must-tries. With its hearty servings, food safe for assorted taste buds, interior backdrop of dainty vertical stripes in shades of green, and its proximity to various offices in the progressive Northgate of the South, Ninak is very promising and will be any rice-eaters gastronomic delight. With these, I will gladly and repeatedly fail my diet.

Ninak
Fastbytes, Northgate Cyberzone,
Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City
807-5410

Tags: filipino food, muntinlupa, ninak, northgate, restaurants, rice

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