Fire In The Hole is a pop-up spicy noodle food stall located at Hole In The Wall in Century City Mall Makati put up by the same minds behind Wrong Ramen. "Pop-up and spicy" being its operative words since it will only run up until the end of this year and everything on the menu is spicy save for the dessert which can be a welcome respite from all the fiery stuff one could muster to devour.
Its limited run spring forth from the desire to just fill the void of the now defunct Kwong's Provision. Next year, Fire In The Hole will cease to exist as it gives way to a new concept expected to sprout at Hole In The Wall. With that said, I suggest you better visit Fire In The Hole before its too late.
So what exactly can diners expect at Fire In The Hole, you ask. Well, there are only five dishes comprising the menu. But I tell you, it does not make it less desirable because Fire In The Hole is meant to flirt with your senses.
Let's track back to two years ago and ask me to feature Fire In The Hole here on my blog and I will definitely politely decline since I was not too fond of spicy food that time.
But life is funny in a way. These days, just a mere mention of "spicy" then you'll have my attention. Throw in the word "noodles" and you'll have me driving from Antipolo to Makati. Such right timing, this Fire In The Hole. Well played, fate.
Having just five items on the menu and a limited run time, it is highly recommended to try everything at once - if you are dining as group. If not, several trips to Hole In The Wall wouldn't be that bad either.
For those who are not too fond of spicy food, fret not, as the spice level can be adjusted. There's mild, spicy, and flaming. Nope, that caricature of a man plastered right along the menu board at Fire In The Hole is not necessarily a clear indication of what you will be looking like should you decide to try their food.
You may adjust the level of spice so as not to assault your sense of taste and end up looking like that sadly funny guy.
During my visit, I tried everything in one go. I asked for the mild level of spiciness to accommodate a companion who isn't really big on spicy food and to let my imagination play a little by deciding if I can handle a spice level a notch higher than what I was already having.
First on the table was the only rice dish on the menu, The Spicy Dandan Rice (Php290) which is essentially made up of short-grain Japanese rice, hot peanut sauce, chasu flakes, crispy fried skin, and fried egg - as written on the menu, but obviously there are other things in there like the peanuts, sliced green onions, and chili.
But let us not go all gungho on that, because the truth is, this dish
surpassed all my expectations. It was so damn good I even dreamt of it
days after. Very Asian in flavor and the delightful nuisance brought
about by the exciting texture of the ingredients was equally noteworthy.
I was expecting to be blown away by the spicy noodles at Fire In The Hole, and yet, this rice dish slapped me in the face with a fierce stare suggesting that its impeccable awesomeness shouldn't go unnoticed.
Next was The Thai Red Curry with Braised Pork Ribs (Php390) made with braised soft bone soy pork, red curry, galanggal, chilis, Hakata noodles, and tonkotsu broth.
Braised pork ribs? sold! Reading the ingredients that comes with this dish while I was perusing the menu, I was already half expecting that I will be drawing enough bliss from its bowl. And I was right. I have always been a big fan of curry, so it is easy to predict that this will be a sure winner for me. The braised pork ribs on the other hand steeled my resolve.
Then there was also Hot Prawn & Fish Head Laksa (Php390) which I find very grandiose by its mere presence. This laksa dish comprised of salmon head, prawn, cockles, coconut milk, cilantro, chilis, Hakata noodles, and tonkotsu broth.
I rarely eat fish heads because I don't want any damn thing staring right back at me when I am about to eat it. So I leave the fish head to the pro and contented myself with all the other stuff on the bowl. And I find it good enough to warrant a repeat appearance on my table should I visit them again soon.
Now about the Korean Army Soup (Php390) made of stewed spam & sausages, fishcakes, tofu, kimchi, gochujang, onions, chilis, Hakata noodles, and tonkotsu broth. This dish is also known as Budae Jjigae.
If you are a long time blog reader, you know how I am crazy about Budae Jjigae - it is the culmination of my love for Korean Food. The thing about Fire In The Hole's Korean Army Soup, you cannot really have it the usual Korean restaurants' way wherein you can eat your way through an entire pot while it is boiling right in front of you.
But that is pretty understandable since they are not Korean restaurant anyway. Add to that the fact that prolonged boiling will result to a bloated and mushy noodle, and you wouldn't want that on your Hakata noodle right?
In terms of flavor, the taste of kimchi is very apparent it overshadowed the distinct flavor of the tonkotsu broth - it is more like a Kimchi Jjigae more than anything else. I guess that is because the flavors of the spam, sausages and all the other ingredients which was supposed to be the core flavor of a good Budae Jjigae was not given enough time to stew on its broth.
Nonetheless, if you dig kimchi, then this can be a good grub.
Then to temper all the spiciness there is, Fire In The Hole got Coconut Ice Cream In Shell (Php290) for anyone who managed to saved a room for dessert. The thing I love about this dessert is the citrusy flavor that gives character to an otherwise plain coconut ice cream.
It was really a great respite after burning the tongue from all that spicy food. And it tasted impeccably amazing too. The ice cream was made from scratch by a genius pastry chef known for sticking Pocky Sticks on his desserts - go figure.
Truth be told, I am not much of a big fan of pop-up restaurants because I hate the feeling of falling in love to something and having that lingering sadness that your source of joy will eventually shut down. But for this one I have to make an exception since we are talking about spicy noodles here.
So if you share the same affinity for spicy food - or even if you are not but is still game for something that warms the heart, then you better go ahead and visit Fire In The Hole immediately and feast on their spicy good grubs.
Fire In The Hole
Hole In The Wall
4/F Century City Mall
Kalayaan Ave. Makati City
Facebook Page: /HoleInTheWallPH
