We knew people would be flocking to Chinatown last weekend so we went to SM North instead. Craving for roast duck, we chose to dine at Gloria Maris in The Block. That restaurant was one of our usual hangouts whenever we were at SM North. We loved their food and service and we had never had any reason to be dissatisfied.
However, we were much disappointed in our last visit.
For one, they had no duck. It was Chinese New Year season and this Chinese resto ran out of duck. A bit of a letdown but not so bad, since we arrived at past 8pm.
Then there was that baby cockroach that scampered across our table. When we called over one of the waiters to inform him that we would be changing tables because of the cockroach, the little bugger decided to show itself, prompting the waiter to catch it with his bare hand. I guess having some pests in a restaurant couldn't be helped and we should probably be thankful that the waiter did not smash that cockroach in front of us, but it was a bit off-putting. Anyway, we did not make a fuss about that.
What we disliked the most was the Roasting Combination (P488), a platter consisting of slices of pork asado and chicken. We thought only the topmost chicken had a bit of cooked blood so we didn't complain at once. Upon inspection, however, all the chicken slices had blood and it wasn't even cooked blood, but fresh blood. When we called a waiter to request the chicken to be sent back to the kitchen and cooked more thoroughly, he agreed that the chicken was indeed bloody. After several minutes, the chicken came back recooked, but the taste had been affected and we did not enjoy it.
I'm not sure what happened to that chicken. All that fresh blood would have been obvious to the cook and to the one who arranged the food on the platter. I had a feeling that it was just rushed since when we arrived, there were only a handful of customers that they probably thought they would be closing the resto soon (but after 9pm, a lot of customers began to arrive).
Gloria Maris
The Block
SM City North EDSA
Quezon City, Metro Manila
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