Adobo Connection Serves Affordable and Homey Adobo for Everyone in the Metro

When in Manila and missing home-cooked meals and merienda, you can always drop by the nearest mall and, most likely, you will be able to enjoy an affordable and homey adobo meals and merienda specials in Adobo Connection, the fastest growing Pinoy franchise in the metro! What makes Adobo Connection very special is that they serve different varieties of the food that’s often dubbed as the most Pinoy meal, the adobo. There’s a certain sense of truth in Adobo Connection‘s tagline, “7,107 Islands. 7,107 Recipes. Adobo connects us all.” We all love adobo and almost each locality in the Philippines has a different way of cooking adobo. Making it readily available, affordable, and still homey for everybody, even beyond Metro Manila, is one of the missions of Adobo Connection. And have no worries, their adobo meals and merienda specials are delicious!

The restaurant chain is the brainchild of Meredith Ngo and Jerome Uy, who are Harvard Business graduates who found connection in adobo—and maybe that explains the name of the restaurant also! To date, they have 28 branches open already (and more under construction). And so I invited two friends to Adobo Connection‘s latest and biggest branch yet, the Adobo Connection Ali Mall branch in Cubao, Quezon City. We were warmly welcomed by Adobo Connection‘s Marketing Officer Johanna Manimbo who shared with us the very best that their restaurant offers.

My two friends, Cheska and Ian, with Johanna Manimbo.

Adobo Connection served us Merienda Specials first. They’re all very affordable! Each of these are only P49.

Fried Adobo Paos (P49)

Adobo Spaghetti (P49)

Arroz Caldo (P49)

Pork Adobo Rice (P49)

How was the food? We all loved Fried Adobo Paos: the outer breading of the familiar siopao is actually quite surprising. Instead of the familiar asado filling, the adobo filling tasted very unique and special. It was our favorite merienda! The other three merienda specials are also perfect for all types of Pinoy foodie. For those who want a different kind of pasta dish and yet feels reminiscent of Pinoy spaghetti, you can feast on their Adobo Spaghetti, served with special adobo sauce. For those who want to stay warm, especially because of the rainy season, try their Arroz Caldo which easily will remind you of being at home with nanay‘s cooking. And of course, if you want a filling merienda that is almost like a meal on its own, Adobo Connection can serve you their Pork Adobo Rice, two cups of adobo-mixed rice with scrambled eggs and adobo flakes on top.

The specialties of Adobo Connection, of course, are its adobo meal variations and other Filipino food. First one served was the most familiar to all of us, Mama’s Traditional Chicken Adobo.

Mama’s Traditional Chicken Adobo (Single Serving – P89; For Sharing – P169)

Mama’s Traditional Chicken Adobo, though it claims to be ‘traditional’, could still feel new for some. I loved the balance of sweetness and saltiness of the special sauce. It did remind me of the usual way adobo is served in many homes.

Kuya’s Fried Mixed Adobo (Single Serving – P119; For Sharing – 179)

This one is much more closer to home for me because in our family, our adobo is not quite saucy. Kuya’s Fried Mixed Adobo is dubbed such because it was said to be the adobo choice of many manongs and kuyas who were the first customers of Adobo Connection. I personally enjoyed the extra saltiness and flavor of both the chicken and pork meat. Some might even enjoy this as pulutan with their favorite local beer! I think I might just do that one rainy weekend. Haha!

Chicken Adobo sa Gata (Single Serving – P109; For Sharing – 169)

This dish won the ‘blind’ taste test for Adobo Connection in GMA News 7 Adobo Challenge! Chicken Adobo sa Gata is adobo with a bit of a Bicolano twist: the chicken pieces are smothered with rich and slightly spicy coconut milk sauce. My friends Cheska and Ian loved this adobo!

Adobo Flakes (Single Serving – P99)

But if you’re looking for a really good adobo breakfast variety, then Adobo Connection‘s Adobo Flakes is for you. Served with rice and fried egg, Adobo Flakes is great for those who love the comfort of a breakfast meal. This dish reminded me of this special tapa meal being served in a small restaurant in UP Diliman Shopping Center. But the best thing about Adobo Connection is that the meat are still flavorful and crunchy in shreds. Yummy!

Apart from these adobo meals, we were also served a fantastic side dish, Gising-gising, and another viand, Beef Kare-kare.

Gising-gising (P29)

Beef Kare-kare (Single Serving – P129; For Sharing – P189)

Both of these dishes are great complimentary meals to the adobo variations of Adobo Connection. Their Gising-gising is a must! It’s affordable and yet it tastes very expensive; just make sure that you have your drinks beside you as this side dish may really wake you up in a few spoonfuls. Haha! The Beef Kare-kare is a great addition to the fantastic roster of adobos because it’s cooked just right, with healthy servings of veggies in its thick peanut sauce and also their very own version of the bagoong.

To cap off our meals, we were served two of their bestselling desserts: Flan Turon and Leche Flan.

Flan Turon (P29)

Leche Flan (P39)

These desserts are crazy good. The Flan Turon is a variation of the normal turon that we all know and love because instead of the usual mango in the filling, the turon is filled with a slice of leche flan. Crazy, right? But it tastes awesome! And of course, for those who really just want to enjoy the good ol’ Leche Flan the normal way, you can have it served with caramel sauce as usual. Their flan is very well cooked as it is not too sweet and not too milky. I dare say, Adobo Connection‘s Leche flan is perfect. No exaggerations here.

Overall, our Adobo Connection dining experience was homey and filling. During our meals, in between taking spoonfuls of their delicious adobo meals and taking photos of them, we were being filled in on the developments of Adobo Connection franchising and research and development. Johanna shared with us a few of the upcoming adobo varieties and other special meals that are still being researched and taste-tested for their future restaurant offerings. She was also excited to tell us that the response of the customers have been overwhelming as the restaurant mushroomed into 28 branches (and growing!) in less than two years. And it’s not difficult to see why—adobo is, probably, our national food. Every Pinoy loves adobo and we will never grow tired of it, especially now that we get to have different variations of adobo which connect us all through Adobo Connection.

On behalf of my friends Cheska and Ian, thank you, Adobo Connection, for the great meal! We can’t wait to try more of your adobo meals and merienda specials with our family and friends.

When in Manila, head over to Adobo Connection near you. To view the complete list of their branches, click here.