I'm baaaaaack!
I've been on a pretty long hiatus almost to a point that is unacceptable for a blogger. Let's just say I was on a long mental health leave. But I am happy to be here, sharing with you a new section that is hopefully an ongoing series of restaurants and food finds from Pampanga because I am currently Pampanga-based for an indefinite period of time.
Pampanga is famed for being the "Culinary Capital of the Philippines". So it's no surprise that it is filled with many restaurants. Pampanga is home to a great number of homegrown restaurants and most of them don't have branches anywhere else. I am telling you, I can literally create a separate food blog for restaurants just here in Angeles. There are so many to try! I hope to share my food finds and tickle a taste bud or two.
So enough with the introduction and let's take a step back to the 50's with Mr. Cupcake Diner, a retro-themed restaurant located in Guagua, Pampanga. We always pass by Mr. Cupcake Diner in San Fernando every time we travel to Manila and back and I've always been curious about it. The bus diner concept is a unique sight here in the Philippines (or at least, for me) so I found it to be inviting. But we never found time to stop by and visit.
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| Mr. Cupcake Diner in San Fernando Photo submitted by Kaizen1975 on tripadvisor.com |
We were on the way home from Pradera Verde in Lubao, Pampanga when we passed by Mr. Cupcake's main branch in Guagua. We fell in love with the interiors the moment we stepped inside. It reminded me a lot of Pop's Diner in the series Riverdale. I love that it's situated in the middle of nowhere. Just take a look outside the windows and you will see waves of tall, green grass surrounding the diner. It looks dated but in a good way. I've been told by their manager that they've been there for just two years. It's a good hang out place for families and friends.
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| See the view outside the windows |
I've read a few negative reviews on Facebook about the food and management in their San Fernando branch so I'm happy to say that the staff has been great and hospitable during the time we were there. The Guagua branch also offers a lot of space in terms of movement and seating capacity.
THE FOOD
True to their tagline, you will find a selection of typical American food such as burgers and milkshakes. We ordered just a few but we loved them all. I found the fried chicken's skin a little bit salty but my mom said it was just right. She's a great cook so I guess her opinion is better than mine. It all depends on your taste. The chicken's crunchy on the outside, but juicy and tender on the inside. Yum! The order comes with french fries.
An order of their ramen is also good for sharing. I'm not into ramens but I liked this one. The waiter said it's only a single serving but it was good enough for us three. There's no way one of us can finish this ramen alone. My parents weren't able to finish their burgers because they were already full from the ramen. I just wished for it to be a little hotter because it was getting cool when it was served.
For the burgers, we ordered a Captain America burger for pop and regular cheeseburgers for my mom and me.
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| Captain America Burger |
The burger sauce was nothing special and I wish there were more servings of fries (because you can't get enough fries). We still love the burgers because of the juicy and delicious burger patties which aren't the commercial kind. It is often taken for granted by most restaurants so we also love that the burger buns were made in-house and they were not dry. Also, the Captain America burger had big helpings of bacon. That's definitely a plus.
At first, I thought that Mr. Cupcake only serves cupcakes because duh. Haha. Their cupcakes look delectable at an affordable price (Php 25-35) so I feel bad that we didn't get a chance to try them. Hopefully, next time because this is one of those restaurants we want to visit again.
Mr. Cupcake Diner can improve on a few things but we loved the whole experience. The ambiance takes you back in time and the food prices are reasonable for the amount of servings that you get.
Planning to visit or already been there? Leave me a comment below and let me know how it went or what to try next time.
Mr. Cupcake Diner is located in OG Road, San Antonio, Guagua, Pampanga. They are open from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily.
Note: This is not a sponsored post.
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