SHOWDOWN: The Pepper Wars

The Original versus The Gaya-gaya

Sizzling Pepper Steak vs Pepper Lunch

Nope, there was no riot on Ginger's street -- ManilaReviews presents another showdown! In this article, we decide which restaurant in the "fastfood pepper steak sizzling-plate smoke-in-your-eyes come-out-smelling-like-your-food resto" category (it's a pretty small category) has the better Beef Sizzling Pepper Lunch/Steak: Pepper Lunch (Shangri-la) or Sizzling Pepper Steak (Eastwood).

For the flagship dish, both have the same concept -- raw beef/pork/chicken arranged in a circle around a mound of buttery rice served on a sizzling plate. Of course there are other offerings/variations but that's the basic idea. :)

It's also worthwhile to note that Pepper Lunch came up with the original idea. It was founded in Japan in 1994 and it's been spreading to other countries since. Sizzling Pepper Steak, on the other hand is the local gaya-gaya-puto-maya version.

Let's get down to business:

AMBIANCE/CLEANLINESS: Sizzling Pepper Steak!
Pepper Lunch: 3 / 5
Tables were wiped clean and the place was pretty well-kept. Average cleanliness. It felt like any fast food resto feels -- bleh.

Sizzling Pepper Steak: 3.5 / 5
Tables and seats were clean, cleanliness was also average. However, SPS created a more formal restaurant atmosphere -- ala Tokyo Cafe or Teriyaki Boy so it was a bit more cozy.


FOOD/TASTE: TIE!
Pepper Lunch: 3.5 / 5
Everything was pretty flavorful. To add some more flavor, you can use either of the 2 sauces served on each table: honey brown sauce or garlic soy sauce. Oh and that secret butter they hide in the middle of the rice -- sarap! It's not the best dish I've tasted but definitely something unintimidating and comforting.

PepperLunch_20090702_00003

Sizzling Pepper Steak: 3.5 / 5
Surprisingly, SPS was able to capture the flavor of Pepper Lunch's Beef Pepper Lunch! But then again, it's difficult to find the nuances in different sizzling dishes because you're basically eating with a burnt tongue. However, I suspect that SPS did a bit more research / reverse engineering than your average sizzling plate place to get that particular Pepper Rice taste down pat.

PepperSteak_20090821_00001

SERVICE: Sizzling Pepper Steak!
Pepper Lunch: 2 / 5
Pepper Lunch is a fast food restaurant. You wait in line at the cashier, you pay, they give you a number (that corresponds to a table), you wait for your food, you eat. Nothing special here. However, an experience I'd like to share is that the 2 times I've eaten at Pepper Lunch Shangrila, they gave me the wrong food -- both times, the food was for another table.

Sizzling Pepper Steak: 4 / 5
SPS is a restaurant - that spelled the difference. Service was much better and proactive. But the service we received wasn't the typical resto service -- it was actually better than what we get in most restos. Our beverages were being refilled without us asking and the waiter took the time to teach us how to place our order. Just nice. :)


VALUE FOR MONEY: Sizzling Pepper Steak!
Pepper Lunch: 3 / 5
P235 for the Beef Pepper Lunch -- pretty pricey for something touted as fast food.

Sizzpling Pepper Steak: 3.5 / 5
P195 for the Sizzling Pepper Rice -- just P40 cheaper, it doesn't really shout bargain. But considering that you get better service here, you kinda get your money's worth.


WINNER: SIZZLING PEPPER STEAK!
Both places offered filling sizzling meat & rice meals. You come out of both places smelling like what you ordered. However, one place stood out because of service -- Sizzling Pepper Steak wins this one.


Details:
Pepper Lunch menu can be found here.
Sizzling Pepper Steak menu here.

Pepper Lunch
Website: http://www.pepperlunch.com.ph/
Locations:
The Power Plant Mall
Concours Level
Power Plant Mall
at Rockwell Center
Makati, Metro Philippines
Tel : +63 2 895 3164
Fax : +63 2 895 6185
Hours: 11am - 10pm
Shangri-La Plaza Mall

Garden Court Level
Shangri-la Plaza Mall
Ortigas, Metro Manila
Philippines
Tel : +63 2 634 3231
Fax : +63 2 631 6410
Hours: 10am - 10pm

Alabang Town Center
2nd floor
Corte de Las Palmas,
Alabang
Tel : +63 2 480 3485
Hours: 11am - 10pm

Sizzling Pepper Steak
Glorietta 5
3rd Level
Glorietta 5
Ayala Center
Makati, Metro Manila
Phone Number: (63 2) 856-3525 to 26

Greenhills Promenade
Ground Level
Greenhills Promenade
Ortigas Ave.
Greenhills
San Juan, Metro Manila
Phone Number: (63 2) 721-0973

SM Megamall Atrium
4th Level
Phone Number: (63 2) 633-1569

TriNoma Mall
1st Level, M1
TriNoma Mall
EDSA cor. North Ave.
Quezon, Metro Manila
Phone Number: (63 2) 916-7040

3 comments:

Leslie said...

Good one! We've been wondering what the other has that the other doesn't. A lot of people are tweeting about Pepper Lunch lately too. This is a great read. ;) p.s. Check out myfoodtrip.com, you might like the reviews of our users, and you can share yours too. :)

Ginger said...

Thanks Leslie! I checked out your site. Nice site! I added myself to your facebook group :)

EJ said...

thanks leslie!

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