PENONG'S RESTAURANT

From the first three male customers that

Penong’s Barbecue, Seafoods, and Grill

Restaurant (or simply Penong’s, as it is

fondly called by many) had, it sure has come

 a long way. We would like to think that in

 some sense we have contributed so much

 to (if not changed) the dining trend in the

 restaurant industry, particularly in the grilled

 food business. The sensation that the first

 Penong’s started has become a success story.

   In a short span of five years, Penong’s was

able to indelibly establish its trademark in the

 restaurant business with a reputation for the

 best-tasting chicken barbecue in town.

 Penong’s is now irrefutably the most famous

 when it comes to moist and tender, slow-grilled dinners.

A very apparent indication of how far Penong’s

 has moved forward is the addition of two

other branches to the original Penong’s at

 llustre St., Davao City where it all began.

These branches are now concurrently

 operating in Matina.

 I preferred dining at Penong’s is the ambience,

 the location is set in an open-walled local

 building so diners may experience clean air

flow coming from outside.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted

 by some wait staff having their lunch, others

 were busy wiping the tables, and I saw a

 couple of ‘em sleeping. We arrived around

1pm and the restaurant was empty; I thought

 they were closed or we just came in early.

 We then went inside an air-conditioned room

 since it was freaking hot that day. A wait staff

 readily followed us and handed the menu.

Here’s the Sinugbang Pusit with atchara on

 the side. The grilled squid is stuffed with onion,

 tomato, ginger and spring onion. I was

 expecting a bigger size of serving for its

price. I could get grilled squid way cheaper

 than this in Manila.

The squid, however, is soft and easy to

chew. I didn’t enjoy it much since it has

 too much onion and tomatoes in it that

 overpowers the taste of the squid.