TORCHed again! The UP Town Center Experience

Last weekend me and the hubby wanted to go on a food trip for lunch. Both of us were craving for burgers, but we wanted to deviate from our default choices. So the hubby decided to go to Maginhawa.

I had a really nice time going around Maginhawa during my previous trip and was actually looking forward to it. We arrived there a few minutes before 12 noon, and we realized that it was too early to be on the prowl since almost all of the good places are still closed and will open only late in the afternoon. So we just decided to go all the way to UP Town Center.

We initially planned to dine at Casa Verde, unfortunately, we were 10th on their waiting list >.< . Knowing that Torch has a branch there, we went there instead. (I will be back for you Casa Verde!)

We were actually surprised to see that only two tables were occupied, being that it was already a bit past 12 noon. We happily settled in the corner, couch-seated table and ordered our favorites: Buffalo Asian Wings, Beef Short Plate and Bacon Roll (for a change) For the Buffalo Asian Wings, I requested if they could hold mixing-in the spicy sauce. They offered me a better alternative, which is to serve the sauce separately.

The Bacon Roll (Php 229.99) - Overloaded with bacon bits and cream cheese, yummy in every bite! The only thing that we noticed was that the rice used for it wasn't Japanese rice, since the roll would just collapse when I use the chopstick to pick one up. Hope they use real Japanese rice next time. :)



Buffalo Asian Wings (Php 324.95) - One of our staple orders. Yummy crispy wings, with sauce separately served. The two sauces are described as "Two Asian Sauces", one  on the right is sweet with a hint of barbecue and the other one tasted like mild spiced honey. Both go perfectly well with the wings! I personally prefer the spiced honey sauce.



Beef Short Plate (Php 269.95) - Our favorite main dish and definitely a bang for the buck! Tender beef belly slices drenched in mushroom gravy, with a side of buttered vegetables and a serving of garlic rice.



Torch is definitely one of our go-to places for affordable and delicious comfort food!

The good news is that the now have four branches:

TORCH GREENHILLS
63 Connecticut Street, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila
477-3771
Sun to Tue - 7:00 am to 12:00 mn
Wed to Sat - 7:00 am to 3:00 am

TORCH KATIPUNAN
Ground Floor UP Town Center, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City
287-8675
Sun to Thu - 10:00 am to 11:00 pm
Fri to Sat - 10:00 am to 12:00 am

TORCH TRINOMA
2nd Level Garden Restaurants, Trinoma, ESDA cor. North Ave., Quezon City
730-4102
Sun to Sat - 10:00 am to 11:00 pm

TORCH GREENBELT
Level 1, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati City
751-6213
Sun to Tue - 10:00 am to 12:00 mn
Wed to Sat - 10:00 am to 3:00 am

Torch, revisited

Last Friday night, we had a late dinner at Torch.

     

We had our usual orders, Buffalo Asian Wings and Beef Short Plate (please see previous review). I wanted to try something new so I got the Bacon Maki while Carla got the Vegetable Soup to soothe her cold.

     

The Vegetable Soup (Php 185.95) was a tomato based soup. It was really thick and looked more like a dip than soup. As for the taste, Carla described it as a sad version of minestrone soup. In my opinion, it tasted like a much sweeter version of Hunt's Pork and Beans.

The Bacon Maki (Php 229.99) was something different. I liked the overall blending of the flavors, specially since I'm a bacon lover. I just found it a bit hard to chew, maybe because the bacon filling wasn't on the crunchy side. Oh, and their wasabi also didn't have any kick.

TORCH

Home Studio Building, 63 Connecticut Street, Greenhills, San Juan City (02-4773771, 02-5020000)

A Touch of TORCH

Torch was introduced to us during a car-club meet. Ever since that event, we've been coming back here when we're within the Greenhills area.

It's located along Connecticut Street and can be a bit tricky to see because it's signage is covered by a tree branch.

The interior has a casual and comfortable feel.



Their menu is also quite interesting, it's like East meets West.

We were in the mood for a heavy lunch so we got quite a lot from their menu.

For starters, Volcano Roll (Php 369.95) and Buffalo Asian Wings (Php 324.95).

    

The Volcano Roll is a baked sushi with tempura, tamago, topped with spice-baked scallops and smothered with cheese and Japanese mayo. I love their presentation! Overflowing, lava-like cheese that makes this dish just delish!

For the Buffalo Asian Wings, we requested it to have less heat, they happily accommodated our request. :) The crispy wings were coated with a sweet glaze, followed by a subtle kick of spice that balances out the flavor. Perfect.

Next dish we tried was the Philly Cheesesteak Pizza (Php 369.95).



Simply put, it's your favorite philly cheesesteak sandwich turned into a pizza. You can never go wrong with this one.

For our main dishes, we got the Beef Short Plate (Php 249.95) and Salpicao Medallion (Php 449.95).



The Beef Short Plate (left) had hefty servings of tender beef belly with a generous amount of fat in it, served with garlic parsley rice with a side of beans and carrots. This was probably the best dish I had during our meal. The beef was just bursting with flavor and the fat, oh the fat, the words escape me.



The Salpicao Medallion is certified Angus Beef wrapped in bacon also served with garlic parsley rice with a side of sauteed French beans and carrots. We preferred it well-done. They serve this dish on a sizzling hot stone to prevent it from getting cold and greasy easily. The plating gives this dish a good first impression, but there was really nothing special with the steak.

Torch is a good place for simple, casual dates and budget friendly, feel-good food trips. We really enjoyed and were greatly satisfied with our lunch.

TORCH

Home Studio Building, 63 Connecticut Street, Greenhills, San Juan City (02-4773771, 02-5020000)