Taking the place of Fish and Co., Smokin' Hot Bar BQ is a new addition to the roster of restaurants in the Greenbelt area. Serving Filipino dishes tweaked to appeal to both the local and foreign palate, another Bistro Group concept is here to stay.

The interior and ambiance of Smokin' Hot Bar BQ are similar to what the other Filipino restaurants look here in the metro; dimly lit, bourgeois and without a coherent theme. Nonetheless, you would not care about any of those when the foods are smacking good!

The menu is extensive. Salads, soups, all-time Filipino favorites, unique rice offerings and barbecued viands; whatever mood you might be in, you are sure to pick up something that could satisfy your appetite.

This choice is a no-brainer. Grilled pig's ears is a delicacy that we always go for whenever we find ourselves in an eatery that sells those beloved ihaw-ihaw items. Thinly sliced and cooked with that Bistro-concocted sweet sauce, this dish could easily pass as the perfect starter for your group's shindig. The irresistible taste and "crunch" would definitely call for a second serving, or more!

Since we collectively agreed that an order of sisig is already too much for our heart and calorie count, we then opted to just have the Sisig rice. Good for 2-3 persons (who do not have huge appetites, if I may add), the sisig rice is rice mixed with parts of a pig's head, cooked to golden brown, crisypness and topped with slices of fried egg. A meal in itself, this is still meant to replace the usual steamed rice that Filipinos cannot do without.

Gata (coconut milk) is something very close to my heart. Any dish that has gata in them would surely capture my attention. In this case, the dish is gising-gising , which is diced string beans and pork simmered in coconut milk. You can opt to have it spicy or mild spicy depending on your tolerance. This mild spicy gising-gising is so creamy and thick that we gulp it down in seconds!

The star of our meal is this Smokin' BarBQ Chicken that was marinated for 6 hours in their house BarBQ sauce. Grilled to perfection, a bite of the sweet, tangy and tender chicken meat made me instantaneously grin with amusement (possibly much like that grin that Magellan had when he discovered the Philippines). At last I already found the taste of grilled chicken that I am looking for all this time! Anyway, you can just get the bare essentials or you may also pair this dish with a maximum of 3 side dishes at a minimal cost. I advise to just skip on those and order instead their ala-carte versions because of the minute servings of the side dishes. If you are to order one dish from here, this would definitely be it!

If you are looking for a unique twist on your beloved Filipino dishes, Smokin' BarBQ Chicken is the way to go!