First Bite: Pompoms

I can never resist French fries. As much as I would love to lessen my carb intake, I could never find myself saying no to some of these crisp and heavenly goodness. And when I spotted Pompoms, a casual restaurant that serves twice-fried, thick-cut French fries, I giddily skipped my way towards its cute shop. 

Hello, Pompoms.

Located at the Ground Floor of Robinsons Place Manila, one could easily spot this fries haven if you frequent Pedro Gil wing.  

Expect to be greeted by red, yellow and white retro interiors that would give you this hip (original not the dark Riverdale) Pop Tate's kind of vibe.

I also love the Instagram/Instax wall. It's a cute way to share their patrons' posts.

I thought that it only serves fries but I was pleasantly surprised that it offers chicken poppers and sundae too. 

But my eyes were on fries and decided to go with a Smallin' cone (PHP99, a la carte | PHP131, combo). I was planning to just go with a la carte as I have a lot of food with me after my shoot nearby but the lady behind the counter convinced me to try its "very creamy" sundae which is part of its combo (you can opt to replace sundae with soda). Intrigued with how creamy the soft serve would be and thinking that Chef Miko Aspiras may have something to do with it, I went with her upsell recommendation. I went with ketchup powder for flavor of my fries. 

Since the fries are freshly made, it took about 10 minutes before my cone was served.

Made with real potatoes and generously topped with powder, I could already tell that I got my money's worth. 

It was so hard to focus on taking photos of my cone as the fragrant smell of the ketchup powder kept making me drool. It smelled just like Pik-Nik's ketchup flavored potato crisps. But unlike the canned treat, this one had a sharper flavor and it definitely made me salivate even more after one bite. My only problem is that some fries seem to be a bit overcooked (due to being twice-fried, I think) giving it a slight bitter taste.

Quite tangy, it went beautifully well with the soft serve ice cream. And the lady was not kidding when she said "very creamy". It was indeed very thick and smooth. 

Overall, it was a nice treat to have. I first thought that it was pricey compared to other fries in the market but its serving size and thick cut made me realize that it was actually bang for the buck. And hey, they use fresh potatoes and have unique flavors. 

I hope that they'd have more branches soon. I heard though that they're opening a branch in Poblacion some time 3rd quarter of 2018. Soon in Quezon City or BGC next please!

Note: I accidentally deleted 90% of the photos I took. Huhuhu!!!

Pompoms is located at Ground Floor, Pedro Gil wing, Robinsons Place Manila, Ermita Manila.