Review Best Posts in Thread: Zaks Place

People try a business to make money but no-one should underestimate the amount of effort and risk that goes into it. So full respect to them.

 

Mystery over... the fish is Marlin... straight from the owner

 

Oh, I found that suggestion coming from you somewhat surprising. I've always thought of you as a health food person and Seven Eleven is mainly junk food, well, that's just my opinion.
But for sure any Seven Eleven of that size would have little if any ambiance to add to any dining experience. I know my 'Zak's Place' can be quite uncomfortable , especially with the stoney surface which is murder on my legs and feet, or if it rains or there's relentless sun beating down.
However, that's all about to change with a large awning now in the final stages of construction. I may even add a fan or two for air movement.
Menu has been changing and recently changed from the usual sized burger to an 8 ounce, this has been a resounding success ( a couple of tablespoons of Dijon mustard in the mix made a very pleasant change, I made 23 yesterday morning and sold out) along with the excellent dorado fillets I use for battered fish and chips. I'll never take that off the menu especially with this season's top quality fish. Having said that, I'm right now thinking of not only battered fish but also a saute'd version with a sauce of some sort. I toyed with the idea of Hollandaise or Bearnaise but these need to be cooked to order and need constant attention and this would be a diversion i don't want as I like my clientele to receive their order PDQ even though I'm cooking and serving,washing up, etc. Alone these days. So, maybe a cheese sauce, a mushroom sauce, a parsley sauce or even just a nicely seasoned bechamel .I'll see what time I have to spare today as I'm more or less starting from scratch, including homemade chips as I came very close to selling out last night after serving 30 lb + . My wife says my portions are too big and at 80+ pesos per kilo she's right. Bu t the potatoes have been very good recently and certainly compliment my style of frying..... We'll just have to see what the day has to offer.

 

Business takes a LOT of effort and reading your posts you sure put a lot into making your business model react to people's needs and desires and it deserves great success.

 

ok, we found zak's at noon on saturday feb 1 with the following report:

service--was great. the owner was working by himself and had a total of five customers arrive at the same time. all were served food in a short time with full service. the owner is a very nice gentleman who operates with dignity.

food--got to preface this with the fact that i would never run a restaurant because i could not cope trying to cook better than everybodys mother. that said, i had fish and chips. the chips were maybe my best ever. the breading on the fish was wonderful. real del monte ketchup (was our guess). the fish was white marlin which i do not personally care for. too dry for me and this fish was to thick for me. my regrets but i am a slave to my personal tastes

my wife had curried chicken. curry is one of those dishes with a million variations and this one "wasn't like momma's". also she only likes white rice and this one perhaps turmeric? but she did not like. again, personal taste

prices were fair in our opinion for the meals. garnish was very good and varied. sauces were also good.

location---not good. zak's place is something you would never see if you were not looking for it. first its a small truck parked about three feet below grade but near the road. it is against a tall hollowblock wall/hedge so you cannot see it if you are going downhill unless you stop and know where to look. going uphill the view is blocked by a ukay ukay that runs out to the sidewalk and is taller than the truck.

the driveway is rocks, parking is limited and walking on the rocks hard on my old feet

the filipinos who ate when we did ordered hamburgers and reported to us they were very good and they would come back!!

if we go to valencia we would probably try this again. i would eat fish and chips again if its not marlin. tat would try something else if there is white rice. part of this is because the owner is a really nice guy. if i had any money i would buy a lot with a good view on this same road, something where he can park under the trees for shade, and i would lease it to him

 

lami worth every peso..

 

The salmon you can buy in Belcris is farmed but from Norway and not China. For sure I will give Zaks Place a try, I'm also not into the cream dory, but marlin is great. I use mostly dorado for fish and chips

 

You can get fish and chips at NASPRI in Valencia downtown and it is a creamed Dory but not too bad. My wife likes it but I like a firm fish. I am within walking distance of Zaks and will definitely try it when we return to Negros O in a few days. I think it is great for the expat community to have these entrepreneurs take a chance and open up giving us new options. Kudos to them! Salamat Zak’s.


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I would be interested even though, at this time, I'm getting a steady supply of dorado and white marlin. The dorado are especially good, very moist, very flavorsome .

I have seen frozen cod in the Dumaguete / Valencia area about two years ago. It looked terrible and definitely to be avoided.
However, I fear that this was one of those deluded establishments that switches off all freezers at night thinking they are saving money on power. They're shooting themselves in the foot as the freezer's compressor is working overtime all day long trying to play catch-up. Then, of course, there's the clear and present danger of food poisoning. Killing your clientele is bad for business.

But I'm sure S&R have a much better work ethic and I'd like to sample their supply. Unfortunately there's only 24 hours in a day, I wish there were more as traveling to and from Cebu takes time. I would need someone returning to bring me a few kilos . But it would have to be someone with experience of these things, a person who knows what they're looking for and what they're looking at in regard to quality, to be able to recognise freezer burn and be able to spot if they have been defrosted and frozen again. I'll ask about.

 

hahahaha, well i have to tell you i use my own opinion as the first opinion, and then the doctor as a second opinion. most meds as you know you can buy over the counter here no script. there are many programs on the net where you can enter all of your meds including a new one and be advised of any interactions that should be avoided. every med has side effects so you always have to balance risk/reward issues. good luck!