Just a few sizzling reasons why you should try Pepper Lunch

It's D-I-Y.

Eating a Pepper Lunch meal is just half the fun. The other half, cooking your food yourself. The secret lies in their electromagnetic plate which heats up quickly but stays hot longer than the average sizzling plate. This technology gives you enough time to stir, flip and mix your food before the plate cools down. You'll never worry about your meal being served cold, but you can also never blame anyone else for the way your food was cooked. 

Sizzling Beef Pepper Rice

The brown butter

There's something about that brown butter they put on every meal and that's pretty much everything we can say about it. Alone, it doesn't taste like anything extraordinary, but when it melts and blends with rice and meat, it becomes something else. Perhaps you might discover what's in that special butter.

Oh, that's why...

Double hamburger steak with egg. That's the butter on top of the meat.

Quick service

With cooking time out of the table, guests get their orders before they can even say "Pepper Lunch!". Average serving time is about 8-15 minutes depending on the staff's skill level and organization and volume of customers. 

Just a few other things

Meal prices, and menu may vary per branch.
Curry Chicken Pepper Rice with Cheese is our favorite in its Trinoma branch. But in SM Megamall, we had to pay for the curry powder and cheese as add-ons, making the entire ensemble more expensive.

Spot the difference. Curry Chicken Pepper Rice with Cheese (upper right) is not on SM Megamall branch's menu so we had to add curry and cheese. P215 (Chicken Pepper Rice) + P20 (curry powder) + P40 (cheese) = P275. Whereas in Trinoma (right), the meal is available for only P169. Ouch.

Lychee Cooler. Pepper Lunch's branch in SM Megamall has something the Trinoma branch doesn't. The lychee cooler is available at P88. It's so good,we forgot that we're slightly pissed with them.

For a restaurant that makes you cook your own food, however, eating at Pepper Lunch is not so budget-friendly. Prices range from P200-500 per meal without upgrades. But that's not saying that it's not worth it. Money can't buy happiness, after all. And if happiness is served on a sizzling plate, we say you should take it every once in a while.

10 Things you're LIKELY to eat on a rainy day

Half the city's submerged and the rains don't show any signs of stopping. With glacial pace, you remove yourself from bed realizing that there's nothing else to do but watch TV or browse the web as classes and work get suspended for days, citizens and the government play the blame game and people scare themselves over Genesis 8: 7-12. 

It's the perfect time to be socially aware and responsible, you thought, but a socially aware and responsible mind can't run on an empty stomach. So, you will yourself to the refrigerator and the food cabinets, looking for the most scrumptious yet very lazy-friendly food you can get your hands on.

You may want to look for one of these:

10 Oatmeal

Being one of the healthiest options in this list, you really can't go wrong with oatmeal. It's loaded with fiber that keeps you metabolically sound. And it's easy to prepare; just add a proportional amount of water, boil for about 4-5 minutes or until thick, then serve hot with milk and sugar or fruits.

9 Bread

When there's a dire need to eat and you're left with no other choices, even the stalest bread will taste like heaven. Pan de sal, pan de regla, kabayan and spanish bread from yesterday's breakfast, or even a nearly-expired, plain loaf bread will do --- more so if you could reheat it in an oven and maybe add a little bit of butter or cheese to melt on top.

8 Chocolate

Nothing says "Don't worry, you're dry and comfortable" and "You're gonna be fine" like sweet, sweet chocolate, whether local or imported, in bars or in a mug served hot with marshmallows. It's probably the only legit comfort food on the list with studies claiming that chocolate will make you feel good.

7 Eggs

Every refrigerator should never be without eggs. Farm-fresh or days old in the storage, they will all taste as good as the other when served scrambled, sunny-side up, boiled or half-cooked. Provided, of course, that they haven't gone bad yet. And watch your diet.

6 Biscuits/Cookies

You've probably ignored them when there were lots of other munchies around. But now that they're one of the few that stand between you and a quiet stomach, it's time to love them back. Now if you could just dip them in milk or hot coffee...

5 Chips

Health conscious people may have been avoiding them all their life, but these hard times call for a little leniency. So what if you eat chips dipped in salsa or cheese melt? And some soda to wash it down, perhaps?

4 Banana

No matter the season, they've always been on your table. And today is one of those few days in the year that they look very enticing. You'll fantasize about putting some scoops of ice cream and a dash of chocolate syrup on it, or putting it in a blender with coffee, vanilla and ice to make a coffee banana smoothie. But then, you'd be too lazy to go through the entire ordeal. You'll peel the banana and eat it straight up instead, and you'll find it not bad at all.

3 Tuyo / Daing (Dried salted fish)

When was the last time you ate tuyo or daing matched with spiced vinegar and tomatoes and steamed rice? If you can't remember and find yourself face to face with one of these dried and salted goods, make sure to remind yourself of how savory and liberating it is to eat them without any form of etiquette.

2 Canned goods

During a disaster, canned goods and instant noodles are most likely the ones you'll have in abundance. Though they are ready-to-eat, it's the little touches that will make your canned good eating experience more exciting. Try Spanish sardines with a few drops of calamansi juice and crushed chili for an added spike.

1 Instant noodles

There's nothing like a rich noodle soup from scratch. But when convenience and speedy preparation is a priority, instant noodles will have to do. Some will take them plain, while others will try to approximate the real thing by adding a few chunks of meat from yesterday's leftovers.

Now that you've had your fill, you decide that it's about time you stop being oblivious to what's happening around you. And then you realize that right now, the least you can do is offer some of what you have. :)