Journey #3: Burger Bites

Overall Dining Experience: 7/10

Location: Monot Street, Beirut

Small BURGERS, BIG TASTE. Is that true?

If you have friends that study at the Saint Joseph University, then you'll definitely hear from them about Burger Bites. After a long day of school, Burger Bites surely made me satisfied! 

And we have to give the waiter tons of credit for blasting out awesome music!

Basically, the restaurant has this option on the menu called "Burger Boat". 

If you order this boat, you get 8 burgers of your choice with a large free portion of their delicious waffle fries. 

So, we went for 2 boats.

Our choices:

- Baconator Bite (Onions, 3 slices of bacon*, & BBQ sauce)

- BBQ Brie Bite (Melted Brie cheese, lettuce, tomato, & sweet BBQ sauce)

- Beef Mozzarella Bite (Mozzarella patty, lettuce, tomato, pickles, & BBQ sauce)

- Brie Bite (Brie, lettuce, tomato, & cocktail sauce)

- Classic Bite (Lettuce, tomato, pickles, & cocktail sauce)

- Classic Cheese Bite (Emmental, lettuce, tomato, pickles, & cocktail sauce)

- Chicken Guacamole Bite (Lettuce, guacamole, & BBQ sauce)

- Chicken Mozzarella Bite (Mozzarella patty, lettuce, pickles, & BBQ sauce) 
- Chicken Pesto Bite (Lettuce, pickles, & pesto sauce)

- Chili Chicken Bite (Lettuce, pickles, & hot sauce)

- Jalapeno Bite (Jalapeno peppers, lettuce, tomato, & cocktail sauce)

- Mushroom Cheese Bite (Emmental, tomato, onions, mushrooms, & BBQ sauce)

- Smokey Bite (Onions, tomato, & BBQ sauce)

*You can choose pork or turkey bacon.

(we ordered 2 of some burgers in case you're wondering why we only named 12)

Beef Vs. Chicken:

We can't deny that the chicken was cooked to perfection. However,  it lacked seasoning and the taste it had wasn't as sublime as the one delivered by the beef bites. 

The Chili Chicken Bite wouldn't be an option for chili lovers; it happens to be very mild.

Another con would be the waffle fries. They are super delicious, but when they cool down a bit they get really oily and soggy. Better munch them down fast!

Overall Detailed Evaluation: 50/70

Welcoming: 4/5

Music: 4.5/5

Food Presentation: 7/10

Food Taste: 16/20

Menu Choice: 7.5/10

Service: 7/10

Value for Money: 6/10*

* Burger prices range between 4,000 LBP and 6,000 LBP

Overall Pluses: - Fast & Friendly Service

                      - Great Taste In Music

Recommended Dish: Baconator Bite

Journey #2: P.F. Chang's China Bistro, DOING IT AGAIN!

Overall Dining Experience: 6.5/10

Location: Beirut City Centre, Hazmieh

There are many times when you hear that the same place has better service at one of its branches. However, that can't be taken as a sole theory. So we decided to check if that was true; and it P.F. Chang's place, it actually is!

This time, we decided to try one appetizer dish, 4 main dishes, and 1 dessert dish.

And this is what we tried:

Dynamite Shrimp - 23,000 LBP

Is putting shrimps in a Martini cup a good idea? Yes, yes it is.

It is quite an expression of elegance that P.F. Chang's portraits through their technique. 

The shrimps are crispy and perfectly battered and glazed with a delicious spicy sauce, and topped with small diced fresh green onions.

However, the only setback to this mouthwatering dish is its very small portion.

Evaluation:

Food Presentation: 10/10

Food Taste: 8/10

Moo Goo Gai Pan

Unfortunately, this dish was the biggest disappointment. This dish constitutes thin slices of chicken and shrimp mixed with white mushrooms, snow peas, and water chestnuts covered with rich white sauce.

The dish was bleak and tasteless. It lacked the flavor that bursts from all the other dishes. 

Evaluation:

Food Presentation: 5/10

Food Taste: 3/10

Sesame Chicken - 27,000 LBP

Sounds like every chicken dish P.F. Chang's sets on tables is a cracker!

You'd fall in love with this dish just from smelling it. 

Basically, it constitutes diced chicken breast along with broccoli, red bell peppers, yellow onions, and a three sauce mixture that glazes the chicken. 

The flavors of chili, garlic, and ginger are well balanced. A perfect combination!

Definitely no cons for this dish!

Evaluation:

Food Presentation: 8/10

Food Taste: 8/10

Crispy Honey Shrimp - 35,000 LBP

"Lightly battered shrimp prepared with a sweet and tangy sauce, served over a bed of rice sticks."

The menu says it all. Simple FLAWLESS.

Evaluation:

Food Presentation: 8/10

Food Taste: 7/20

Double Pan-Fried Noodles - 19,000 LBP

We tried this same dish at P.F. Chang's Ashrafieh to find out if the service differs between the branches. It proves that pretty well!

Double pan-fried noodles are a crispier version of the Lo Mein egg noodles offered by P.F. Chang's. 

This time, the noodles were still crisp, and the sauce was a lot fresher. That's all because of the faster service this branch offered that didn't allow the noodles to absorb that magnificent sauce. 

In addition, the presentation this time was a whole lot better.

Evaluation:

Food Presentation: 8/10

Food Taste: 6.5/20

Banana Spring Rolls - 19,000 LBP

Six pieces of banana rolled in brown sugar and cinnamon, then wrapped in wantons and fried with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and topped with vanilla and caramel sauce drizzles, all surrounded with fresh strawberries. A really good dish!

However, the dough was floury, which took away some of the good flavor. Maybe they should take a lighter take on this dish. In addition, it doesn't really look as good as the picture the menu shows.

Evaluation:

Food Presentation: 6/10

Food Taste: 6/10

Overall Detailed Evaluation: 45.5/70

Welcoming: 3/5

Music: 3/5

Food Presentation: 6/10

Food Taste: 15/20

Menu Choice: 7/10

Service: 6/10

Value for Money: 5.5/10

Overall Pluses: - Fast & Friendly Service

         - Perfect Food

            Temperature

                - Skillful Staff        

Total Evaluation: 57/70

Recommended Dish: Sesame Chicken

Journey #1: P.F. Chang's China Bistro

Overall Dining Experience: 6.5/10