Banapple is a Treat

It was last year when I first heard of Banapple from "QC Na Year 3 Awards Night" at the Imperial Palace Suites. Banapple was awarded for being a very successful restaurant business that have started in Quezon City. The restaurant first opened its doors at 225 Katipunan Avenue, Q.C. (tel no. 439-2675) which became a hugh success. The place is always filled up with parents and students from the schools and universities nearby. It opened another branch in 2nd level Il Terrazzo, Tomas Morato, Q.C. (tel no. 413-2675). Since the first branch of restaurant in Katipunan is always full, it opened another branch opposite it at 206 Katipunan Avenue, Blue Ridge, Q.C. (tel no. 438-2675) which is also always full despite having two branches on the same street opposite each other! Because of its success, Banapple branched out to other areas opening in Ayala Triangle Gardens (tel no. 756-2675) last December 2010 and in Connecticut St., Greenhills (tel no. 477-2675) last February 2011. Despite its fast growth and award-winning success, it is only recently that I've tried this place to learn what the fuzz is about.

Banapple logo on their placemats

It was in the morning when I went to their Greenhills branch. The place is very cozy with the lively colors of red, yellow and green which makes it feel like a cool summer hideout no matter what season it is. There are bookshelves lined up on their walls welcoming visitors to sit, relax, hangout and read a book or two while waiting for their companions or just simply enjoying the day.

Banapple (Greenhills branch) inside and out

Their tables are as colorful as the surroundings that makes one just want to stay and stare at their table top. I think the round edges of the tables are made up of marbles or holen in Filipino.

Banapple's table tops with their logo and a flower. Notice the green, red and yellow colors?

I absolutely love their red lampshades which ignites my imagination that they look like little apples floating around.

Banapple lampshade

Looking at the menu, the first thing I ordered is their Banapple Smoothie. The smoothie tasted more banana than apple with lots of milk. I think that apple in it made the mixture less thick and less creamy than the regular banana smoothie which can been seen on its top. But the apple made the smoothie smoother, easier to sip and swallow.

Banapple Smoothie

One of my companions ordered a Fudgy Banana Smoothie which has chocolate syrup stripes and very thick on top as compared to my Banapple Smoothie.

Fudgy Banana Smoothie

For appetizer, we had Super Caesar Salad, Banapple’s House Salad and Grandma’s Corn Chowder.

The Super Caesar Salad, true to its name is quite big for one person. The dressing is quite creamy and sweet with a little salty crunch from the bacon bits playing on one’s taste buds. There’s a tickling sweet after taste brought by the pecan praline bits.

Super Caesar Salad

The Banapple’s House Salad is a mixture of all the yummy greens one can think of like corn, cucumber, lettuce and bell pepper bits. It is mixed with crunchy sweetness of crumbled banana chips and honey peanuts that gives a bit on sweetness to the sour balsamic-caesar dressing. There’s a generous portion of shredded mozzarella cheese to mix in a little saltiness.

Banapple's House Salad

I did not have the Grandma’s Corn Chowder since I have other orders and I don't want to be too full. Of course, I still have to watch my figure out so that I can still eat more good food in the future. I just looked at my companions having their soup and observed. The soup is full of corn and potatoes. The mixture is thick and there’s a strong aroma of cream.

Grandma's Corn Chowder

For our entrees, we ordered their best-seller Hickory Smoked Barbecued Country Ribs as recommended by their waitress. We also ordered Breaded Fillet of Cream Dory with Honey Thyme Mustard Sauce. Then, we took their new offerings Banapple Beef and Sausage Stew and Bacon Fried Chicken Steaks with Milk’shroom Gravy.

The Hickory Smoked Barbecued Country Ribs has a very generous amount of sauce. The meat is very soft that it debones itself.

Hickory Smoked Barbecued Country Ribs

The Breaded Fillet of Cream Dory with Honey Thyme Mustard Sauce is crunchy, sweet and has a hint of lemon sourness.

Breaded Fillet of Cream Dory with Honey Thyme Mustard Sauce

The Banapple Beef and Sausage Stew smelled really good. The scent of soy sauce and beef mixed together is quite dominant. The beef is very soft.

Banapple Beef and Sausage Stew

The Bacon Fried Chicken Steaks with Milk’shroom Gravy does not have a generous amount of sauce but it’s just perfect to retain the crispiness of the chicken. Unlike regular gravy, their gravy has a creamy milk taste which complements the salty bacon and chicken.

Bacon Fried Chicken Steaks with Milk'shroom Gravy

All the entrees served came with garlic rice which has a huge amount of toasted garlic that gave it a crunch of garlic goodness and paired with either corn relish or glazed butter carrots.

Garlic Rice with crunchy garlic bits good for garlic lovers like me!

For dessert, there’s so many cakes to choose from that can make one go crazy because they all look so delicious!

Cakes of Banapple Greenhills

To be able to review this restaurant perfectly, we got their best-sellers Banoffee Pie and Apple Caramel Crumble Pie.

I love their Banoffee Pie! It’s filled with chocolate shavings that I can’t help myself to pick them up with my fingers and eat it right away! The cream was not very sweet so it’s a good match with the caramel inside. The bananas are not too sweet and are still quite firm so it’s easy to pick it up with a fork, mix it with a little bit of cream and caramel then some of its salty crust before putting it all inside the mouth. It’s so yummy that getting one bite will lead to more!

Banoffee Pie

The Apple Caramel Crumble Pie is good for those who are not into very sweet dessert. The apple filling is not so sweet so the caramel crumble on top is needed to give it some sweetness. It’s served hot so it’s good to be paired with coffee or maybe ice cream on top!

Apple Caramel Crumble Pie

Aside from all the lip-smacking dishes this restaurant offers, I noticed that the price of each dish doesn’t exceed P200! Lastly, Banapple also offers other baked goodies like muffins, cookies and breads which one can take home for snacks or breakfast on the next day. They also deliver so if you’re getting hungry because of this post, you better call the branch nearest you with the numbers I’ve given above! Now I know what the fuzz is, I do agree that Banapple is definitely a wonderful place to hangout and have a happy, decent meal. I can't wait to go back and bring my fiance and family with me!

Banapple menu

For more details about Banapple, visit their website or add Banapple on Facebook.