It was earlier this year when I first saw it. The mouth-watering Pares with a humongous cholesterol-inducing bone marrow. I mean sure I'v ad Pares before, but never with a humongous bone marrow paired with it. I love bone arrow, in case you didn't know. If you follow me on Instagram, you know the only reason why I order bulalo is the bone marrow. Lol, kidding. Of course I love bulalo in its entirety but the bone marrow is that golden cherry on top that seals the deal for me. So when I saw this Pares place with bone marrow on the Facebook group 'What's your ulam, pare?', I knew I had to try it.
It's inception started earlier this year and I saw how long the queue was. I'm a huge foodie but I will not waste my time lining up. Some accounts of trying Shorthorn Pares mentioned they had to wait for an hour or 2 just try the dish. Just like all of the food hypes that happened this year, I waited it out. Made sure the hype cloud was over before trying it.
THE PLACE
While on our way to the joint, we noticed 2 locations on Waze. Apparently, the original location is temporarily unavailable due to expansions and renovations. The location we visited was a temporary location. When we got there, the place was practically empty; there was only one couple dining at that time. Parking is scarce since it is situated in a residential area. Most residents usually park their cars along the road so the only parking you every really get is the one in front of the temp location which is about 1 or 2 slots at most.
Of course I had to order the famous HB (Highblood) Pares P180.00. When I saw the serving size I was pretty disappointed because it only had a small amount of Pares in it. I meansure the bone marrow was huge, but really, that tiny serving is the right amount for this mountain of rice? Anyway, let's go to the taste. The rice was served cold but props to all the toppings. I mean, it would've tasted better if it was served hot. The Pares was okay, nothing special. Most of the Pares that I've had tasted the same; I've tasted better. Now let's go to the bone marrow, This is where all my disappointment seems to stem from.
I grew up under the assumption that bone marrow tastes the same regardless what the dish is. I've tasted it in Bulalo, Nilagang Baka and just plain roasted marrow. I always fall in love with the creamy, buttery umami taste you can't quite describe. But when I had their bone marrow, there wasn't any flavor at all? I don't know why. I mean sure it tasted fatty but it doesn't have the usual umami taste I fell in love with. I was sorely disappointed. I wanted it so bad and waited for it for so long. My expectations weren't high because I know what bone marrow tastes like, but it fell short even with that. And you know me, I'm a rice person. But would you believe me if I said I didn't even get to finish my bowl of rice? It was a pretty small bowl but I didn't even finish it.
I don't mean to demean this food joint in any way but I just wanted to express my dissatisfaction. I don't get what the hype is all about :( I hope this was an isolated case and it isn't the same for everybody because I love supporting small businesses. Too bad my experience with them wasn't so good. Would I go back? Probably not. The taste didn't exactly prove to be travel-worthy. But if I happen to just really pass by the place and I'm hungry, I might give it another chance.
SHORTHORN PARES
Budget : P500 for 2 people
Monday - Sunday 12PM - 12AM
3 Shorthorn Street, Project 8, Quezon City (Main) 24 Road 11, Project 8, Quezon City (Extension)
Ochi is a twenty-something Corporate Trainer who loves to cook, take photos and videos of her food, eat and travel. On weekends, she's either drunk or snuggling in bed watching her favorite crime drama. 
