Hatch 22

Last Friday, I dragged Hubby to the Power Plant Mall's "The Neighborhood", a pop up flea market that features retailers, performers, food and food trucks at the Rockwell Tent.  We initially wanted to grab a bite from the food trucks, but because of the rain and the wind, we opted to find someplace to eat within the mall.  I was actually excited because there's a new kid in town:  Hatch 22.  Been wanting to try out the place since it opened, but the last time I was in Rockwell with friends, the line was too long and we were too hungry to wait.  Well, the line was still long that day, but we had a bit of time to kill, so we just waited for our table.  

First disappointment:  From the moment I first scanned the menu, I knew what I wanted.  The Lobster Bayounnaise.  And it wasn't available.  Boo.  So I scanned what else was available in the menu but was distracted by the neighboring table's plate.  It was a breakfast dish, but it looked so intricate that I soon found myself ordering one.  

Second disappointment:  our server was in such a hurry.  She kept cutting us off and didn't even let us pause and take a second look at the menu, or order more dishes.  After we gave her an order of one soup and one main course each, she repeated our order and ran off.  Looks like she didn't want any additional income for the restaurant.

I was hoping that after those few disappointments, things would look up from there.  So was the food better than the service?  Read on:

Newer England Clam Chowder

Err... nope.  Here comes disappointment number three:  our clam chowder arrived, and it tastes watered down.  It's basically tasteless.

French Onion Soup

The French onion soup didn't do much either.  But it sure was better than the clam chowder water soup.

Trio of Longaniza

Disappointment number four:  Hubby's Trio of Longaniza.  Remember what I said about the neighboring table's plate?  Yup, this was it.  If you're curious as to what that brown thing in the middle is, it's actually egg.  Props to the chef for coming up with an unusual presentation for something as simple as an egg.  But that's about it because it doesn't taste as good as it looks.  One bite and about a teaspoon of oil will ooze out from the egg itself.  It's literally like drinking oil.  If I wanted to kill myself, then this is surely the way to go.  Puny pieces of longaniza too.  Even Jollibee's version would've been better.

Crispy Corned Beef

And the fifth disappointment:  my order of crispy corned beef.  Same oily wreck.  And the corned beef?  Canned.  And dry.  I could have done a better job at home compared to this.  Actually, I could have opened my own restaurant if the food is as bad as the ones we got.  I'd serve better food too.

Finally, one last disappointment:  we initially wanted to order something for dessert.  But after the colossal letdown from everything we ordered, we had to think twice.  Plus, we overheard the other table complaining about their dessert, which the server promised to serve within 10 minutes, but still didn't arrive after 30 minutes.  So, to save ourselves, we chose to skip dessert.

I had such high expectations from Hatch 22, but in the end, I now realize that it is nothing but pure hype.  Long lines does not always equate to good food, or good service for that matter.  0 out of 5 stars.

Hatch 22 is at Level 1, Powerplant Mall, Estrella St. Poblacion, Makati City.

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