Basta Pasta at iba pa's Beef Lasagna (REVIEW)
Hi, everyone! Sorry if I post rarely; we're still in a Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (you do the Googling) so I cannot go out of the house that much, making life still boring as it was on the earlier part of the quarantine. It's also kind of difficult to make quality but interesting content. Of course, I will do my best to give blog posts with great quality (OH MAH GASH, SO ADVERTISEEENNGG). Anyway, enough self-glorification. Let's move on.
So last May 23, 2020, my classmate sent me a message through Facebook's Messenger; he's selling beef lasagnas on behalf of a food store, Basta Pasta at iba pa (I think it can be translated into "as long as it's pasta and many more") located in Project 4, Quezon City, Philippines, beside Savemore-P. Tuazon. The lasagnas are packed inside rectangular microwaveable containers. At first, I was hesitant to buy; I thought it will taste like the street food-style of spaghetti, which has a sauce made of banana ketchup which is not as delicious as a tomato-based spaghetti but very affordable. I'm not degrading that spaghetti style, though; it's just that I won't be happy if he charged me ₱100 (delivery charge included) with a pasta that tastes like something I can buy at ₱35. Ye' get me? Tha's good. I still agreed to buy, anyway. I thought he would need some cash now that we're in a MECQ (he's sidelining as a delivery guy, by the way).
My classmate was able to deliver my order yesterday via motorcycle, May 26. "Masarap ba ito (is this delicious)?" I asked him. "Sobrang sarap (very delicious)," he answered. "Siguraduhin mo lang, ha (Just make it sure)?" I retorted jokingly. Then we parted ways. Should I start writing in Wattpad?
It slid a bit inside its container due to transportation.
The moment of truth: after receiving it from him, I heated the lasagna in a microwave oven (it's a bit cold when he gave it to me). After a minute, I grabbed it out and sliced a piece.
It's a bit small in terms of the height of the lasagna. Lasagnas are usually 4-5 layers of pasta and thick sauce. This one had just three layers of pasta with thin layers of sauce in between. It kind of look like cheesy and creamy, though. There are also a few bits of ground beef. Well, I think that's what you get for a pasta worth ₱80 (if pick-up/dine-in). Prices of lasagnas in Metro Manila are around ₱190 to ₱475, an average of ₱359.20 per serving (based on the top 10 beef lasagna listed by Spot.ph in 2018).
My classmate gave me a flyer from the food store. (O.C. ALERT)
Other food items behind the flyer. (O.C. ALERT)
I nommed a piece from my slice... BAM. Tomatoey sweet-and-sourness and cheesy-creaminess burst in my mouth, the flavor combination that I'm looking for in the past years. It's like the moment when Remy from Ratatouille discovered a new flavor combination by biting a piece of strawberry and cheese (this one's not new flavor, though). I was happy to finally taste it; since senior high, I've been experimenting on how to achieve that taste without spending too much. I tried mixing spaghetti and carbonara but to no avail. I haven't tried the lasagna of Greenwich, a fast-food restaurant, either. My daily allowance those times are enough for cheap lunch and snack.
It seems like they used tomato ketchup for this, which might explain the vinegary sourness. The grated cheese and cream made a great white sauce that complements the pasta sauce. It might look like the amount of grated cheese on top is too small, but for me, it's just the right amount. This prevents the lasagna from getting too salty like me. Whoops.
The lasagna pasta is a bit too soft to be al dente (maybe due to reheating), but not too soft to be mushy. It still gave a pleasant chewiness to the dish. I barely tasted the ground beef, though it gave more texture. In fact, it would be okay for me if they won't add any ground beef; they can just use tomato, cheese and cream sauce instead. Of course, they should charge me a lower price if they did it.
I expected that the pasta tastes cheap due to the cheap price, but it exceeded my expectations. It didn't throw my classmate's name to shame when he claimed that it's very delicious. Affordable but quality taste? Very clever use of cost-cutting. It is surely something the Filipino masses will love. I would like to pre-order again soon, this time I'll order two: one for me and one for the family. BWAHAHA!!!
Thank you for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed it. If you want to order from Basta Pasta at iba pa, you can click the link below the first photo above or from my cited sources (they only operate within the Philippines). To be updated, click the Subscribe button beside my name; or, you can go to the Contact Me page and click my social media links. See you in my next post. Bye!
Source:
- Basta Pasta at iba pa. (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2020, from https://www.facebook.com/bastapastaatbp/?tn-str=k*F
- Labrador, C. (2018, June 19). Top 10 Beef Lasagnas in Manila (2018 Edition). Retrieved May 27, 2020, from https://www.spot.ph/eatdrink/the-latest-eat-drink/74138/top-10-beef-lasagna-2018-edition-a198-20180619-lfrm
Comments
Post a Comment