Food Trip: Maple - First Visit

I've been curious about Maple since it opened in Shangri-la's new East Wing. I've heard that it's owned by the same people who own Pancake House, which I have loved for years and years -- only, it's an upscale version of the all-day breakfast place. The day came two weeks ago, when a friend suggested we have dinner there. Well, it was an interesting experience. Read on.

THE VIBE

Maple's a cute, homey place. It has a country sort of feel to it, but polished and not as casual as Pancake House. When we were there (a weeknight), it wasn't crowded at all. In fact, it was just me and my friends plus two other tables.

View of the restaurant from our table

THE FOOD

Maple has a fairly large menu, so it took a while for us to decide on what to order. It was nice that they were fast with the drinks. We all had the Maple iced tea, which was tall, and really good and refreshing with some citrus notes in it. They also served us their yummy complementary maple-glazed bread rolls with butter immediately, so we had something to munch on while browsing the menu.

Maple iced tea

Maple-glazed bread roll

My friends and I didn't expect the dishes to be for sharing, so we ordered one each. We were surprised when they came in very large servings. That's our fault because we didn't ask, heh, and we wanted different things anyway.

One of my friends ordered the Spaetzle Jambalaya, which is fresh spaetzle pasta with Jambalaya sauce, shrimps, and mussels. It was really good and savory. The sauce was rich and the seafood was fresh. My friend noticed that the shrimps were overcooked though, because it was too mushy. Despite that little detail though, the dish was lovely.  

My other friend had the New England Clam Chowder, with clams, bacon, potatoes, and a garlic baguette. She said it was okay, and that she expected it to be a bit heftier, but that was it.

I chose the Eggs Benedict, because I'm an Eggs Benedict girl, and I always try it when I see it on a menu. Maple's Eggs Benedict is enormous with two servings on the plate and a mound of country fries, which was very tasty and crunchy. 

The thing is, while eating I kept thinking there was something missing. It tasted so unremarkable, and I expected better. Then I realized, wait -- there's no meat in this! It's supposed to have Canadian bacon, poached eggs, some greens, and hollandaise sauce like any Eggs Benedict, but when I looked at my plate, there was no Canadian bacon anywhere.  

Meat-less Eggs Benedict

I had to interrupt my friend who was in the middle of an important story, and called the waiter over to ask if the dish really didn't have meat. He said it was supposed to have "ham" (their menu says Canadian bacon), but he took my plate and said he'll check with the kitchen. When he came back, he apologized and said that they were redoing it. I heaved a sigh of relief. A meat-less Eggs Benedict is just wrong.

When my plate arrived again, it was served by the manager, and had two whole Eggs Benedict sets on it, plus the missing meat. I told her I already ate about half of the first Eggs Benedict, so they didn't have to give me two new ones, but she said it was okay, and apologized once more for the error. I shared the plate with my girl friends because it was really too much Eggs Benedict for one night. 

As for taste, I've had better Eggs Benedicts (those from Milky & Sunny and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf immediately come to mind). The hollandaise sauce was nice, and the Canadian bacon was just right, but the buns weren't to my taste. They were flakey and croissant-like, which made the dish too messy on the plate. I want buns that can absorb the runny eggs and creamy sauce, and don't fall apart on me.   

  Complete with meat!

THE SERVICE

It was disappointing how the cooks could forget the meat on an Eggs Benedict plate, and the restaurant wasn't busy that night. I really appreciated that they made up for the mistake though, and that they were very easy to talk to the entire time. The waiters were attentive as well.

MY THOUGHTS

My friends and I were really excited about trying Maple, but it just didn't meet our expectations. The food we tried was run-of-the-mill, and there was nothing that felt new to our palates. The Eggs Benedict fiasco was disappointing too, but it was good thing that the Jambalaya and maple-glazed bread rolls kind of saved the dinner. I couldn't help but think that I've had a way better dining experience at Pancake House, at half the price to boot. Still, we're willing to give it a try again in the future.  

With my friends at the end of the night

Maple is located at the East Wing, Lower Ground Floor of Shangri-la Mall, Shaw Boulevard, EDSA.

What are your thoughts on this new restaurant? Would you be willing to try it again if I were you?