There is something to celebrate with the opening of the gates to tourists but also one to be wary about. But these are times that are really up to us to make safe or be carefree. We decided to try out the Grand Sierra Pines and sample their snacks at the Outlook Steak and Grill and eat lunch at their lobby restaurant. The food is worth the adventure apart from the garden and playground for the kids.
On a beef binge, the white cheddar Philly steak sub got my curiosity. If you have traveled to America, Subway is the best place to get the Philly steak sandwich. To everyone’s surprise, this sandwich came on a wooden slab in a black Cubano sub bread. The bread must have some secret ingredient to it, please ask. This was good for two people if you’re not a big eater with the cheese sauce, beef sukiyaki, white onions and green pepper strips. It’s worth the try.
The fries are freshly fried potatoes with skin and drizzled with some dill. These go with the clubhouse sandwich that is too much for one. Of course, this is a triple-deck sandwich with ham, cheese, and egg on one deck and tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce on the other deck. This comes with a mayo-ketchup dressing on the side.
Snack on the lasagna cachos tostadas too. The meat sauce dip is simmered in tomato sauce and topped with melted cheese. The cheese lover won’t be able to resist this. The nachos are made from lasagna chips and baked until crisp. This is easily a chip eaters favorite.
With the snacks we had café Americano and a delightful carafe of cucumber lemonade which is a house recipe made with fresh cucumbers. All these are must-tries in the upper deck Outlook Steak and Grill.
Lunch should be another treat here. Highly recommended is the hickory pork belly that is grilled tender and slathered with the hickory sauce to give it a salty sweet flavor. This is paired off with dry papaya pickles that are sweet -sour and crunchy.
For vegetables, it was tortang talong for us. This had the smokey flavor of grilled eggplant dipped in egg and fried. Garnished with some onion leeks and toasted garlic, this was actually enough to feed one person only.
The sinigang na salmon was the soup choice for variety. The salmon chunks were stewed in a sour broth from tamarind with the Filipino lowland vegetables – string beans, radish, eggplant and the green chili pepper that adds a delicious aroma to the soup. This would be any fish lover’s treat.
The beef with broccoli was great. You will be able to get a child to eat broccoli in this preparation. The tender beef strips and the thick gravy flavored with oyster sauce is salty sweet.
Yangchow fried rice is inspired from the Chinese stir-fried rice dish. This is actually a meal in itself because it has green peas, carrots, ham, shrimps, green onions, and egg. But there are different versions of this wok fried rice dish, one should try this Grand Sierra Pines style. The warning is that this is good for 10 people and not five as they publish. But it is delicious.
The whole fried chicken doesn’t cheat with the parts. The family with favorite chicken parts will not squabble. This is dipped in a light flour batter and deep fried to make it crisp. This cannot be compared with other fast-food counterparts because this is like homemade fried chicken without the extenders. This comes with fries and is one meal in itself. This is good for four people to share.
There you have it, there are many other savory dishes to try at Grand Sierra Pines but it is the refreshing view of the trees and the open spaces that should make this a family destination. The air flows freely through the restaurant with a koi pond and the grill. One should not worry about sharing the same space.
