On SLEX, Binagoongan, and Palabok

[Disclaimer:  This entry is just a bunch of ramblings written by a stressed-out  and frazzled girl who'll probably realize in the morning that this whole entry makes no sense.  I apologize in advance.]
 
Earlier today we took a field trip to the south to run some errands and do a little business.  That trip took up half of my day... 4 hours of which were spent sitting in heavy SLEX traffic.  Boo.  This is exactly why we try to avoid doing events in that area as much as we can because the traffic over there is unpredictable (at least to me).  Unlike in Makati, Pasig, and QC where I have learned to perfectly estimate our travel time no matter what time of day it is.

While stuck in traffic I saw this huge billboard of Max's Binagoongan.  I suppose it's one of their new products they're trying to push.  For some reason it got me salivating.  Odd since I'm not really a Max girl.  I guess it was because of the way the dish was glazed in the picture and the fact that it was all I could see for about 30 minutes.  Since we're talking about Max's, I used to be a big fan of their  fried chicken... that was until I discovered why their chicken's so addicting.  The secret ingredient?  Pork lard.  Deadly stuff, but nonetheless really tasty.  Anyway, it got me wanting to eat any sort of Pinoy food.  Hmmm... well it made sense in my head at the time.  

This got me thinking.  Which is the best Filipino restaurant you've been to?  One that serves well-done Pinoy food that blows you away?  One that you can rave about for hours on end?

The first restaurant that immediately comes to mind is Abe.  It's not phenomenal, but their flavors are really good and they try to put their own twist on their dishes as much as they can.  My Dad's side of the family is Kapampangan and my grandmother on that side really was an amazing cook.  My titas have given it its stamp of approval so that says something.   Moving on, KKK is... meh.  And service is terribly slow.  Felipe J's apparently is a sister restaurant of Abe.  I would never have guessed.  The ambience is elegant (the perfect place for power lunches) I'll give them that, but their food underwhelms me especially for the price.

I also know that there are a lot of Cafe Juanita fans out there.  I tried my best to see where the hype was coming from but I'm continuously left dumbfounded.  Their portions, plating, and flavor are nothing to boast about.  I know I'm not picky.  Ask anyone close to me.  I'm the easiest person to please when it comes to food.  Maybe it's because I've been spoiled with my food at home.  I really don't know.

So I wonder?  Which is the best Filipino restaurant of all time?  Maybe I just haven't been exposed to the right restaurants yet.  I'd love try though.  For all I know, it's probably just me, myself and I reading this blog.  But if there's someone else out there who managed to stumble upon my dilemma I'd love a few suggestions.

Anyone?

Guess not.  It was worth a shot though.  Good night world.