{"id":415,"date":"2013-04-26T08:56:14","date_gmt":"2013-04-26T08:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/?p=415"},"modified":"2013-04-26T08:57:15","modified_gmt":"2013-04-26T08:57:15","slug":"pipino-vegetarian-food-by-pino-creative-vegetarian-chow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/pipino-vegetarian-food-by-pino-creative-vegetarian-chow\/","title":{"rendered":"Pipino (Vegetarian Food by Pino): Creative vegetarian chow"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how hard it is to be a vegetarian in this country, and we believe that you should be able to go into a restaurant and not have to worry about unwanted meat in your dishes.\u201d Here is this venue then that serves \u201cconvenient and deliciously satisfying meals for all vegetarians and veggie-lovers.\u201d Because this resto \u201ctakes your favorite Filipino fare and turns them into creative dishes\u2026 to bring you a vegetarian restaurant that bridges healthy and delicious.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>That, in not so many words, is the spiel given by Pipino \u2013 which is actually somewhat of an offshoot of the restaurant Pino. Remember when every Jollibee branch in the Philippines used to have a (smaller) branch of Greenwich attached to it? Well, if Pino is Jollibee, then Pipino is its Greenwich. When Pipino was opened in April 2011, it almost seemed as an afterthought since it was only a six-item line of Pino\u2019s menu. Eventually, though, this place has grown into a resto of its own. And it is largely because, yes, of that spiel of theirs, which they \u2013 fortunate for health buffs \u2013 somewhat fulfills.<\/p>\n

Pipino\u2019s venues are\u2026 in a word, nice, albeit small. Small because they only form parts of the bigger Pino; though nice, nonetheless, because \u2013 while nothing fancy can be seen here \u2013 they easily bring to mind small town caf\u00e9s. Wooden tables with wooden benches? Check. Blackboards with the day\u2019s offerings written for surveying? Check. Young (and friendly) waiters\/waitresses (like they\u2019re working their way to school)? Check. Heck, there\u2019s even a bulletin board in the branch in Quezon City \u2013 in case you\u2019d like to post or get info on those who post stuff there. No wonder that the yuppies, celebrities, fashion models (arguably diet conscious), bohemian, et cetera frequent the place\u2026<\/p>\n

All the same, the venue (for all its niceness) wouldn\u2019t matter much if the food isn\u2019t good.<\/p>\n

And Pipino delivers on its promise somehow.<\/p>\n

They have \u2013 for the lack of a more dramatic word \u2013 \u201ccommon\u201d offerings that can be found in most other restos. For soup (P45), there\u2019s the Cream of Pumpkin<\/em>, Cabbage Noodle Soup<\/em>, Cilantro Soup<\/em>, Tomato Soup<\/em>, among others. They\u2019re okay, though not too memorable for me \u2013 unlike Le Bistro<\/em>\u2019s Minestrone Soup with Malunggay Pesto<\/em>, or even (now this isn\u2019t that healthy, though it\u2019s definitely good) Yellow Cab<\/em>\u2019s Tomato Cream Soup<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But starting with the starters and beyond, the dining starts to become\u2026 an experience.<\/p>\n

Must-try starters, for me, include: Tofu Satay (with peanut sauce, P165) that may as well be called \u201cyum balls\u201d; and the Raw Dip Platter (miso malunggay pesto, aioli and carrot dips with vegetable sticks and pita bread, P195) that has something for just about everyone (even the non-vegetarian, but curious enough).<\/p>\n

For entr\u00e9e, try Banana Polenta<\/em> (with asparagus salad and dried tomato confit, P220), which effectively merges the banana\u2019s sweet mush with the dried tomatoes prune-y flavor; Squash Risotto<\/em> (with toasted pumpkin seeds and fresh ginger, P125), which is filling without being nakakasawa<\/em> (feeling like you\u2019ve had too much); and Vegetable Curry<\/em> (with couscous and tofu chips, P195), which has just enough tang so that that after-meal taste curry tends to leave in the mouth isn\u2019t apparent. And then there\u2019s the Watermelon Steak<\/em> (with taro miso mash, string beans and pickled mushrooms, P220), which tasted just as I remembered steak to taste like (when I used to stuff myself with steak in the past) \u2013 succulent somehow, and juicy (thanks to the watermelon\u2019s juices), too, so that \u201cmouth-watering\u201d gets new meaning\/becomes literal.<\/p>\n

Other offerings include: Portobello Inasal<\/em> (with red beet pur\u00e9e, ensaladang talong<\/em> and brown rice, P260), and Stuffed Dried Tomatoes<\/em> (with brown rice, mushroom salpicao and orange leek salad, P225).<\/p>\n

Sandwiches tried included: Black Bean Burger<\/em> (with lettuce and mango salsa on whole wheat bun, served with sweet potato fries and aioli, P155), and Tofu and Garlic Mushrooms<\/em> (with aioli on whole wheat bread, P155).<\/p>\n

Ditto, for pasta\/noodles: Cheese-less Vegan Lasagna<\/em> (with eggplant, zucchini and silken tofu ricotta, P120), Veggie Tempura with Udon (with soy mirin, P145), and Creamy Pesto<\/em> (with wasabi onion rings, P165).<\/p>\n

End the meal with the Choco Cake<\/em> (dairy- and egg-free, P80 per slice), Cupcakes<\/em> (green tea, vanilla cinnamon or red velvet, P50 apiece) and Muffins<\/em> (choc chip, P30; coconut, P20; choco-banana, P20; and blueberry, P30), or \u2013 my must-try \u2013 Homemade Ice Cream by Pipino<\/em> (P35 to P45 per serving, with flavors including fresh lemon, oreo, coconut, dark chocolate, an vanilla graham).<\/p>\n

Turning vegetarian is indeed hard(er) because of the lack of places to dine as a greens-lover. And while not everything in Pipino works for my taste buds, it sure makes going green easy and\u2026 yes, tasty. Drop by and discover for yourself.<\/p>\n

Pipino is open daily \u2013 from 11.00AM to 12.00MN from Monday to Saturday, and from 11.00AM to 10.00PM on Sundays. For reservations, catering, advanced orders for pick-ups, and bulk deliveries, call (+63 2) 4411773, or email pipinovegetarian@gmail.com.<\/em>
\nFor those who\u2019d rather have stuff in front of their doors, Pipino delivers; call (+63 2) 2121212.<\/em>
\nElse, head to its restos. In Quezon City, head to 39 Malingap Street, Teachers Village; while in Makati City, drop by #38 Jupiter Street (corner Planet Street).<\/em>
\nFor more info, visit http:\/\/www.pipinovegetarian.com\/<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vegetarian resto Pipino may have started as just the little sister (or bother) or Pino Restaurant, but it has become a must-visit for green lovers. Visit to see why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8,3],"tags":[215,190,102],"class_list":["post-415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations","category-dining-out","category-spotlight","tag-pipino","tag-vegetarian-restaurant","tag-vegetarianism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":420,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415\/revisions\/420"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zestmag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}