The P149 Pasta Buffet at Joey Pepperoni

I've gone to Joey Pepperoni 3 times: Always for the eat-all-you-can pasta when I am in a carbicide mood. And always at their Cubao branch.

*The first time I went was with M. The selection of sauces were for white (can't remember if it was carbonara), tomato, and cheese. Penne pasta comes with the cheese sauce. It's an order-all-you-can type of arrangement, and they served a full plate each time.

M, who always thinks that white sauce burns him out, preferred the tomato sauce. But my instant favorite was the cheesy penne. It was liberally cheesy and they sprinkled bacon on it. Joy!

I don't remember much about the 2nd trip. All I know is that we went to their branch in The Fort and was told that they didn't have the promo there. Selected branches only. We had to trek all the way back to Cubao.

Last week, I had a severe pasta craving and decided to drag Mother in with me. She was supposed to have eat-all-you-can as well, but changed her mind at the last minute. --Maybe it was the matakaw look I had, and she realized that she could NOT eat pasta as much as I could. Instead, she settled for the set meal (tuna panini with carbonara and iced tea).

I started off with the cheesy penne. (I'm such a sucker for it!) The first order is a full plate, but it was a bit dry. Not enough sauce. I added a bit of salt, admittedly because I've started getting used to saltier food since going to culinary school.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="560" caption="The 4th Plate: A half-serving of glorious Cheesy Penne!"][/caption]

My second plate was for the Pesto Cream, and I was glad it came at a half-serving.  I found it much more nakakaumay than any of the pasta sauces I've tried there before. I guess they were trying to cater to a more Philippinized palate, where people aren't as welcoming to oil-based sauces as they are to the cream-based variety. There were slices of potato on top of the dish, but I found them to be undercooked (crunchy like apples, they wouldn't slide off when I speared them with my fork).

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="560" caption="2nd Plate: Creamy Pesto Pasta, while in the background was Mother's Carbonara."][/caption]

Third plate was for the Pinoy Classic Spaghetti. It was quite meaty and a bit on the sweet side, but not as sweet as Jollibee. I would describe it as the slightly sweeter version of Spaghetti Bolognese.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="560" caption="Pinoy Classic Spaghetti"][/caption]

Then I re-ordered the Cheese & Penne, which had more sauce, this time, than the 1st plate. (Hence the pic of half-order penne on the top of this entry.) :D

I've gone to this place 3 times already, so it's quite safe to say that my experiences have been positive. The service at the Cubao branch is good. The pasta itself is somewhat al dente. (Not too soft, but not too much bite for those diners who find that perfectly al dente is still raw for them.) The sauce-to-pasta ratio is fine.

Terms and conditions of this promo are different now than in the first 2 times I've gone. Before, I ate there for lunch and mirienda, but the buffet is now only available starting 6 pm. You also get a free pizza if you eat more than 9 plates, which I read was their record-holder's (I believe she is a slender young woman, by the way) maximum amount consumed.

*Sorry if I mix up the choices of sauce during my 1st visit. I honestly don't remember much about it anymore, but is still worth mentioning here.