Restaurant Review: PepperLunch

As part of the Filipino culture, lunch usually consists of a viand or two, soup, and lots of rice. At PepperLunch, a restaurant chain from Japan, this is how meals are served. Focusing on serving 'food you can cook', the Japanese chef/owner of PepperLunch invented an electromagnetic plate that gets heated up to 260 degrees Celsius within a minute. This special plate lets you control how 'cooked' you want your food to be and it also keeps your food hot, up to the very last bite!

So why name the restaurant PepperLunch? It's because the choice cut of either pork, beef, chicken, or salmon which comes with flavors such as teriyaki, onion sauce, honey brown sauce and garlic soy sauce and the rice pilaf and vegetables served with it are all seasoned with a dash of freshly ground pepper.

The first time I tried PepperLunch with my family, I thought that it tasted like the usual Japanese meals we get from other Japanese-inspired fast food chains. Also, my dad didn't appreciate the fact that the meals were quite pricey for its level yet once you leave their place, you'd notice that the odor of the food has already stuck to your clothes. However, my sisters and I recently gave this restaurant a second try. Now it seems like we're craving for their teriyaki!

Since we already know how plenty an order is, the three of us ordered two meals and shared that. We got the Chicken Pepper Rice (Number 3), and the Teriyaki Pepper Chicken (Number 15). As you can see from the picture, I was pretty eager to mix the Chicken Pepper Rice because the sauce and flavoring was underneath the rice. I just didn't want the rice to get all the flavor (haha, excuses). I think Number 3 is aptly named as Pepper Rice because you'd really get peppercorn bits (just like in some kinds of Adobo), so a word of caution for those who aren't fond of the peppercorn. A little tip though, you could tell the waitress to lessen the amount of pepper upon ordering (they'll be more than happy to accommodate your request). The Teriyaki Pepper Chicken, on the other hand, is satisfying. I think this is what's making me want to return to PepperLunch as soon as possible.

The teriyaki-ness (if there is such a word) of it was just right, for me at least. I believe this is now my go-to restaurant for chicken teriyaki. Maybe this is now my comfort food (when it comes to chicken teriyaki). Hehehe.

This restaurant offers variations of their Steaks, Teriyaki, Combos, and their popular Pepper Rice. They also have desserts, coffee, soups, and salads. But, NJ noticed how they don't have meals for our vegetarian friends. Okay, they do have salad but looking at the salad's proportion, it isn't meant as a main course. I guess that's a recommendation for PepperLunch reps there, come up with a meal for the vegetarians. How about Tofu Pepper Rice or Tofu Pepper Teriyaki, right?

Anyway, if you're already salivating from all this food talk, why don't you visit them at The Concourse in Power Plant Mall, Rockwell or at Shangri-la Plaza (basement level).