Cycle 5 – Item 162

16 (Mon) June 2014

Smashing Pounder

3.0

at Molly Malone’s

(Tune Hotel)

-Malate, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-

with various K staff

Smashing Pounder is a burger at Molly Malone’s (see also 5.053 Lamb Stew).  The name presumably in reference to the pound of meat that goes into it, and the smashing required for anyone without a detachable mandible.

It was quite good.  For starters, the bun had a squishy/chewy/resilient character that provided nice texture and, perhaps more importantly, held up against all the manhandling involved.  The tangy/cheesy sauce was tasty.  The lettuce-tomato-onion-cucumbers added a fresh undertone.  The meat was juicy and well-seasoned but exhibited a trace of gaminess, though described on the menu as beef, making me wonder if they hadn’t maybe tossed in some lamb that needed using up.  Nevertheless, a decent effort overall.

A pattern emerges.  JR recently informed me that he’d also experienced some gastrointestinal difficulties after eating the lamb stew at Molly’s.  I’m beginning to suspect that this place keeps lamb on hand, probably because an Irish pub is expected to serve lamb stew.  But it doesn’t sell very well.  However, to contain costs, they keep the meat too long, sometimes mixing it in with other meat dishes, like burgers.  As such, I don’t think that I’ll be going back to Molly Malone’s, at least not for the food.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN PHILIPPINES)