I'VE FOUND MY WINGMAN

Seconds before the wings flew into my mouth..

       
     Forget Maverick, Iceman, or anything Barney Stinson may have told you the "Bro Code" says.. I've found my Wingman at the Collective in Makati! A number of people have told me to check out this place, but I've never gotten around to going. I don't exactly go crazy for Chicken Wings, so there was no real urgency for me to go. One day, whilst I was surfing on the net, I read about a place here in Manila that served "Deep Fried Snickers" as their trademark dessert. I couldn't help but be impressed as I read further on about this mythical place that stared down the face of the Department of Health to serve such a sinful dish, and lo and behold, It was the legendary place that they called Wingman.

            I told Rina about the dessert, and she was ecstatic to try it. Just thinking about it, she said out loud. "Wow, I don't think anyone could ever finish one order of that". I looked her straight in the eye, and in the immortal words of one of the greatest Wingmen of all time, I said to her..

           "Challenge Accepted."

Simple and Cozy

             Wingman is located at The Collective in Makati, along Malugay street. I went on a Sunday afternoon, and I accidentally zoomed past it because there was nothing to give you a clue that you were already at "The Collective". No signs, or neon arrow lights or anything like that. Apart from that, as of Nov. 23, the "Wingman" Signage was taken down, I'm assuming to be replaced with a better one,

             Wingman is the ultimate guy's hangout. A no frills place with hardly any decors (apart from a few picture frames. It's a comfortable spot where you can loosen up your tie, roll up your sleeves, kick back and relax with your friends, maybe even slam back an imported beer or two.. but most importantly, order some awesome food.

I love how there's Rubbing Alcohol readily available

    
       For all it's comfort, Wingman won't be in the running for any awards in interior design anytime soon. In fact, the place looks messy and shabby. But the weird thing is, that's part of the place's charm. It doesn't try to be anything else that it isn't. It is what it is. If you want good food, come on in. If you're looking for a place that has three different forks for salads, and main courses, I suggest you keep moving. Even their tissue, they give you a whole bag of it, straight from the grocery. (Which is better because you're going to be needed it later on.. especially if you eat with your hands, like I do)

      We went on a Sunday, so there were only a few customers in the restaurant, but I do have to commend their waiter for doing a great job. He was very friendly and did his best to make you feel at home. I ordered a half order of one flavor of wings, and a half order of another, it was the waiter himself who said, "Sir, I'll just order you the one dozen of wings and change the flavor so it comes out cheaper." I actually didn't think about doing that (I was focused on all the choices) but I appreciated his effort to make sure we get the best value for our money. 

THE FOOD

My kind of tacos

           Rina and I started off with the Pulled Pork Tacos (P280). At first taste, it reminded me of Sloppy Joe's, but as I chewed on, the hickory flavor of the pork got stronger and boy was it good, I didn't even realize there was red cabbage and carrots in it. It came with Salsa and Sour cream dip. Naturally, I didn't bother with the salsa, but the Sour cream went well with it. Truth be told though,it was unnecessary because it was good on its own. Rina really liked it.

The inside of a taco.

           The dish was excellent on its own, and didn't really need a dip. The only problem was it was a tad bit oily, and it got on my shorts. As expected, Rina was not pleased ( Apparently "But the oil is where all the flavor is!", was no excuse to get it on my clothes).

     Fries are better when they're all twisted

             Wingman's Curly Twist Fries (P120) are better than Mcdonald's Twister Fries. I'm not ashamed to say it. And no, I don't feel like I"m betraying my love for McDonald's either. It's the truth. The basic concept is the same but I found the texture to be slightly different, with the biggest difference being it was crispier. Not to mention the fact that it had a more natural, "Home made" taste to it.. as opposed to the frozen variety we're used to.

I love it when Rina shows me her puppies

          

          I ordered the Corn Puppies (P180) for Rina, but it seems like I enjoyed it more than she did. They basically cocktail hotdogs dipped in pancake batter and deep fried. But this wasn't your usual corn dog.  I loved the way it crunched with every bite, especially with the way the pancake batter added a sweetness to it. My only comment would probably be they could probably use a better tasting hotdog. Not that the hotdog was disgusting or anything, but I've had better. (No sick jokes, please)

The Anatomy of a Corn Puppy

             Unlike other corndogs where you get 80% dough and 20% dog. There was a good balance between the two, with the batter creating a delicious crust around the dog. Even though it was served with  a side of honey mustard and a side of ketchup, I had it plain, and loved it just as well.

In the battle between Honey and Parmesan, Honey won the Garlic Wings Challenge

                    After a reasonable wait (7-8 minutes) Wingman's speciality, their Wings (Duh) arrived (P280 1 Dozen, P180 for 6pcs). Rina ordered the Garlic Parmesan Wings, while I ordered the Honey Garlic (Can you imagine what our breath smelled like afterward?) As good as the Garlic Parmesan was, the Honey Garlic was just too good, making us regret not ordering more. There were around 2 Honey wings left as opposed to 4 Garlic Parmesan, and I could tell Rina was eating hers faster just to make sure she gets in on the last wings. Both Flavors were juicy on the inside, but the sauce of the Honey Garlic proved to be the difference. It came with a ranch sauce and come with carrot sticks (although I have no idea what to use the carrot sticks for).

DESSERT

Holy Mother -

       

          As good as the wings were, I had my eyes set on the deep fried snickers. I ordered it in advance just to make sure they have it in stock. This is what I came for, and if they told me they were out, I might have (though i admit, quite regrettably) walked out of the restaurant.

Hook up your dextrose, and you're good to go

     

        The Deep Fried Snickers Bar (P220) is truly a sight (and smell) to behold. Caked in thick Pancake batter, while laid on a bed of Whipped Cream with a side of Vanilla ice cream and laced with chocolate syrup, this is perhaps one of the most sinful desserts I've ever seen with my own two eyes. Even if you remove the hidden snickers bar from the equation, its calorie content would be off the charts, but when you think that buried deep within all this goodness is a caramel filled candy bar.. You might want to re-think your diet for the next two weeks. Naturally, I didn't care and attacked it with reckless abandon. If we can't live in a world where a bar of Snickers can be deep fried and eaten with a scoop of Ice Cream, then the terrorists have won.

Yes, that's a Snickers Bar inside there

          Digging into the beautiful mess, it smells just wonderful. But i must warn you - at the risk of belaboring the obvious, the Deep Fried Snickers Bar is a sugar bomb. The Vanilla Ice cream and Surprisingly, the pancake dough help neutralize the sweetness, but not by very much. Honestly, this really is too much for one person to take. As it was, it was a lot of work for Rina and I. but we eventually finished it, with a few bits of the Pancake batter left over.

I ordered so much food, they had to bring out an extra table!

           I really enjoyed my trip to Wingman, and I really want try the other flavor of wings. One of the owners who was there when we were dining, went back and forth to our table to see how we were, and when he would take a look at what we ordered, he'd say, 'Wow, you got all the good stuff". I'm interested to try the other flavors of the wings, like Teriyaki, Honey Mustard, Hickory Smoked, Mango BBQ and maybe the Lemon Pepper.

My only bad comment was.. umm.. I don't know..  Rina ordered Pink Lemonade.. but they gave it to her blue?

            Other than that, I can't wait to go back!!