Dennis The Grill Boy – Unlimited Rice, Unlimited Yum!

One of our favorite restaurants in SM Mall of Asia, is definitely Dennis The Grill Boy (they started out as “Pupung and Friends” – but I guess they had to change the name ‘coz, “Pupung” doesn’t really sound appetizing… ^_^;).  If we were in the mood for good Filipino food, in a day when we don’t really want to experiment and make sure we really get our money’s worth, and also if it’s that time of the month (when all the bill are due) and we need to stay on a budget (unlimited rice… *wink* *wink*), Dennis is our go to restaurant, no questions asked.

ABOUT THE SHOP

I wouldn’t say the restaurant was spacious, but it’s not cramped either, so it’s ok.  It’s located in Level 1 of the Entertainment Mall (one of the sections of MOA).  Here’s the Mall of Asia map for your reference:

The MOA store locator still says "Pupung and Friends". They haven't updated it yet. It's the red square you'll see top center of the screenshot.

Dennis (and even when it was still Pupung and Friends) is actually a comic strip character.  I’m not sure if it comes out in any newspaper but I’m sure that I’ve read Pupung and Friends before.  In anycase, the restaurant itself is “comic themed” from the menu boards to their walls, and their restaurant signs.

Here's a view of their counter. Menu boards with Dennis (the character) everywhere... ^_^

Here's the other part of the counter that I wasn't able to capture in the first photo. That's the grill part, which is the most important part of the counter (probably) because the restaurant is called "Dennis The GRILL Boy". ^_^

Behind Mario, at the very further back, are cushioned seats, but, as luck would have it, there are only 3 sets of them and they're always taken although we've gotten the privilege to sit there twice out of the 20 or so times we've eaten there. ^_^

Pan ever so slightly to the right of that last photo and you'll see a colored-comic strip-wrapped-pillar.

Here's the view from inside the store to outside, which is MOA. More seats outside and a big menu stand that highlights some of their dishes (photos later in the post).

Here's my side of the wall. Something to read while waiting for your order. It's fun, actually. ^_^

Here's the view from outside the restaurant.

THEIR MENU (or at least some of their dishes)

ABOUT OUR ORDER

So, as the title says it, UNLIMITED RICE!  I mean, how can this restaurant survive the business with that?  But still, I love them for even just that!  A Filipino fast grill restaurant with unlimited rice!  Now that’s a rare find, let me know if there are others and I would love to try them out too!  But the other gold medal factor is that their dishes are just worth those extra servings of rice.  I mean, we wouldn’t want to just keep coming back because of the rice, there has to be something else, right?

Pork Sisig w/ Egg  (Php95.00)  

Here’s a crunchy sisig for you (or me).  I love sisig but this isn’t my usual order at Dennis, I usually order their liempo (love the garlic white sauce and order extra… ^_^).  The reason I don’t order sisig is not because I don’t like their sisig, I really do love it, really crunchy and really perfectly seasoned.  I don’t usually order it because I know I’d be asking for more rice.  With liempo, I mastered the technique of limiting myself to 1 rice.  ^_^;

Doesn't look like much but sure delivers a ton of flavor! I love soft chewey sisig, but I love crunchy ones too! Especially the kind that's paired with unlimited rice!

Annie’s Lechon Kawali (Php 95) – Extra Mang Tomas (Php 3.00) 

And this one, is Mario’s regular order and yes, always with extra Mang Tomas.  Notice how they didn’t really mask the sauce’ name by giving it “Dennis’ Sarsa” or something.  I love that they outright just say it’s “Mang Tomas” and I think may customers would have noticed it anyway.

Mario said that the skin is a little too tough for the teeth. Sometimes it's like that I guess if it was left over from lunch rush and it got cold, but it should be fine if it was fresh from the pan. Otherwise, Mario says it's great! Well, it should be. This is what he orders EVERY TIME... ^_^

OVERALL

I really can’t find any fault because (even if the crew would mess up, or the place gets crowded, or there will be a long line at the counter) because the food overshadows those little things.  Restaurants are really about food and, for me, about relatively reasonable price.  I factor in the unlimited rice we got, and every peso spent here was worth it.

Mario gives it two thumbs up and a big smile!

Me and my boots... ^_^

Oh yeah! We'll be back, again... and again... and again...

Contact Information (unverified – from MunchPunch):

Unit 1128 G/F Entertainment Bldg.,

SM Mall of AsiaPasay City,

Metro ManilaPhilippines

Call:  (02) 556-0779