Herbs And Spices Cafe

This is a relatively new restaurant that's opened in the basement of Park Place serving scratch-made Filipino/Western style food. I've had the opportunity to check them out for lunch today, where I had their Orient Express, which according to the description on the menu, consisted of two eggs, your choice of meat, garlic fried rice and fruit. The food did take a while to come out (I waited about 25 minutes), and I suspect that they might have forgotten my order as they don't appear to have a ticket system. When the dish did arrive, it came with plain rice (as opposed to garlic fried rice) and no fruit. I don't know if it's because they made a mistake, or if they've changed the dish but had not the chance yet to update the description. In spite of these shortcomings however, I did still quite enjoy my meal, and I'm willing to overlook the problems in their service seeing that the restaurant is still quite new. Moreover, the staff were incredibly friendly and hospitable, and possibly the NICEST people that I've ever encountered at a restaurant. They apologized for the long wait, gave complimentary pieces of chocolate to everyone, and even offered me extra rice free of charge. I strongly recommend checking this place out if you happen in the area. Please support this place!

Orient Express ($9.99):
3.5/5
This came with two eggs and a choice of meat; I went with tocino. Now, the description in the menu states that it's supposed to be served with garlic fried rice and fruits, but I didn't receive any fruits and plain steamed rice. Now I didn't really mind not having fruit, but I was admittedly a bit disappointed about not getting garlic fried rice (which sounds delicious). Nevertheless, the food was still tasty. I had requested for my eggs to be cooked with a firmer yolk, and they came out perfectly, and were actually well-seasoned. The tocino (which I think is best described as a Filipino-style bacon), however, was the definite highlight of the meal. The meat (which I think is pork belly) was very tender, juicy and incredibly flavourful. It was glazed with a sweet sauce that's similar to that of Chinese Char Sui, except the flavour's more intense here and the meat's got a wonderful char to it. I can seriously eat a pound of this.

New Herbs and Spices is awesome. Great renovation, and really great update to the menu. Amazing deal for downtown. Some of the most friendly service I have experienced. Really awesome for sit-down breakfast and lunch, but also for to-go. On the to-go menu they have unique, fresh, gourmet sandwiches and salads that match any food trucks or specialty sandwich places downtown, but served with fires and salad combo for $8-10-- perfect. The Pork Adobo in Purple Yam Pandesal is awesome. I much prefer the food and service here compared to waiting in line for half an hour at other places. Also, after the reno, it is a really nice place for a sit-down breakfast or lunch with co-workers.

If you have been before, it is totally different: The New Herbs and Spices is a BIG time improvement. Now one of my top lunch recommendations for co-workers and friends. Give it a try. Highly recommended.

Note: the menu pictures below (as of July 2017) are out of date-- the new menu is different. Check their website.

Great lunch spot. Great spot for sandwiches over the lunch hour. Herbs and Spices is like a sanctuary compared to most DT cafes. I enjoy how it's all made to order, and service is always friendly and fast - the two keys to winning over this downtown lunchtime warrior.