Hukad is a Filipino restaurant located in the ground floor of
Trinoma Mall in Quezon City. Hukad is part of the Hukad sa Golden Cowrie chain
of restaurants based in Cebu that boasts of over 50 dining establishments all over
the country. The word “hukad” is Cebuano for “limitless servings of food”, and
true to its name, Hukad lists down dozens of Filipino dishes on its menu.
A couple of weeks ago, Che, Juvy,
Hope and I celebrated Hope’s birthday in Hukad. I had a fond experience of my
first visit there and of my first trip to Trinoma Mall in years. The staff of
Hukad was above-and-beyond accommodating. At the end of our meal, they asked us
for feedback, and what I wrote on this post is the same thing I said to them
and more.
Happy Birthday, Hope! 😊
*The following are photos taken in Hukad – Trinoma Mall:
Hukad Restaurant in Trinoma Mall
Inside Hukad – the interior is simple and cozy. The lamps hanging down from the ceiling are shaped like the famous Cebuano puso (rice wrapped and cooked in coconut leaves).
The dining tables are no nonsense and almost utilitarian.
Cowrie Pinakbet, P195.00 (US $3.72). Cowrie pinakbet is mixed vegetable stew with shrimp paste. The vegetables were crisp and the shrimp paste was neither salty nor bland. It had a perfect balance of the sweetness of the vegetables and the savory of the shrimp paste.
Bicol Express, P165.00 (US $3.14). Bicol express is string beans cooked in coconut milk and chopped chili. This was the only dish I ordered and it turned out disappointing. The coconut milk was really diluted and could be barely tasted. It was like eating vegetables drowned in coconut-flavored water.
Pancit Guisado, P210.00 (US $4.00). It was an okay dish. It was a little salty for my taste.
Adobong Pusit, P295.00 (US $5.62). Adobong pusit is tender squid chunks cooked in light soy, vinegar, and other Filipino herbs. The squid chunks were tender but the flavor was really light. I thought it needed more punch to make elevate it from a decent dish to a great one.
Grilled Tuna Belly, P330.00 (US $6.29). This one was packed with flavor. The fish was juicy and was marinated well.
Crispy Pork Kare-Kare, P375.00 (US $7.15). This turned out to be the best dish on the table. And I am talking about the pork. The exterior of the pork chunks was beautifully crisp and dramatically burnt, but the interior was juicy. It was also flavorful that I did not need to eat it with the vegetables or with the sauce. So so so good.
