DemonAsmodeus

TERESITA'S of San Fernando

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Was at Waltermart Munoz recently and we saw that they finally opened a branch. Not that we are familiar with the eatery but since mom has always been a fan of dinuguan and halo halo, she suggested we give it a try. I was a bit apprehensive since I knew we are going to be getting "fastfood quality" food, but hey a foodtrip is nonetheless a foodtrip.

Well I was right about the fastfood part as all of our food orders (except the halo halo) were already served at our table even if we haven't finished paying at the counter. (crap !! we're getting re-heated food)

Dinuguan (Pork Blood Stew)

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The good thing thing is that they have those visible pieces of gelatinous pork blood. The bad thing is its served cold. (whatever happened to the Re-Heating part ??)

Kare Kare

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Too sweet for me even if mixed with some bagoong (shrimp paste). And I was a little puzzled with the red color of the sauce. The few pieces of meat were tough to chew on. (dish was served cold)

Conspiracy theory ....... me thinks they used those instant mixes from sachets.

Pansit Palabok

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A little heavy handed on the chicharon flakes as that is what all the dish tasted like. Sauce and noodles are a little on the sticky side. (and did I mention that most of the dishes are cold?)

Pork Sisig

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Its mostly fatty skin so there is almost no crunch to the dish (save for a cartillage or two). The supposed hot skillet is not hot enough that the eggs are not cooked all the way thru.

Garlic Longganisa

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The sausage is dry and cold, the eggs are a little over (I like my yolks runny)

Halo Halo

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Lets see ..... overdose of crushed ice, spoonful of egg custard, evaporated milk, macapuno, some small pieces of bananas and a generous serving of langka. And here I thought Razon's version was bad (But its a good thing I really liked Langka)

Top Chef Season 9 (Texas) is available in the torrents ..... yahooooo

already downloaded the first two episodes. (hopefully will be able to watch it tonight)

when I was a kid, I was a fan of the ARCHIE Comics series .......... iTunes Store has an Archie Comics App that allows me to read the said comics. (most of the comics are for sale, but there are several free ones too)

Time to re-live my 2nd childhood.

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* I also downloaded their Marvel Comics App.

* I wish they have the Asterix Comics App.

YING YING Teahouse has always been my favorite eatery to go to when I visit the Binondo area.

BEEF HOFAN..... Noodles are a little soggy but its got a nice beefy flavor. Though I'd choose the Beef Hofan served by Gloria Maris

STEAMED CHICKEN MUSHROOM IN POT...... A very pronounced mushroom flavor that blended quite well with the chicken. (considering I'm not always a fan of mushrooms)

STEAMED EEL IN TAUSI....... The dish I aways order whenever I come here. (Good as pulutan or as viand)

Top Chef 8 Finale (Championship Round)

It was an epic battle between RICHARD "Willy Wonka" BLAIS and MIKE ISABELLA as both contestants came out with guns blazing. They were to cook a four course tasting menu for the judges and 70 other people (kinda like a mini restaurant wars) and everybody in judges panel agreed that both of them cooked really delicious food. (I think it was only in the fourth course dessert that both fell just a little short)

I think after a tough debate, they decided on one winner and it was RICHARD that took home the prize. (yehey, I was rooting for him)

masarap din ang mga foods sa BUDDIES...corner Scout Ybardolaza and Timog Ave.

 

i like their pansit habhab and native longanisa...

 

the resto is very eye catching what with its very colorful lights and interiors ....... the disappointing part is the "fastfood" concept as well as "fastfood level" food.

Spent the long weekend playing CABAL ..... and though I was not really in a hurry to level up my Warrior (just wanting to finish the Lake in Dusk Hidden Helper Quests) I still managed to level it up to 92. (I love the Whirlwind and Seismic Wave Skill. wooohoooo)

Has anyone noticed how ridiculously overpriced some of the armor and weapon pieces are ????

MOMO CAFE

Eastwood Mall, Libis

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This was my first time to go to Eastwood, so pardon me if I'm not very familiar with the ins and outs. It just so happened that when we went up from the lot parking in the basement, the eatery was just to our left.

HERB PUMPKIN CREAM & BACON BITS

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Served piping hot, I actually didn't get any taste of herbs nor bacon bits ...... but the flavor of the pumpkin soup is still fantastic. Its creamy, but not overly rich that you will be full by the time you finish the soup and like most of the good pumpkin soups, it tastes like pumpkin.

WILD MUSHROOM CAPPUCINO

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Somewhat like your usual cream of mushroom soup but with a more flavorful mushroom taste. I personally think that some mushroom bits would have added some nice texture, but overall its still a delicious bowl of soup to start the meal.

MELTED CRAB AND SPINACH 3 CHEESE DIP

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The nacho chips were fresh and crispy, the dip however was a mess. Most of the cheese weren't creamy because it had hardened making it quite difficult to scoop out. Then there is some watery residue on top which kinda makes the dip bland in taste.

GRANDMA'S COUNTRY HERB and BACON WRAPPED MEATLOAF

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I don't often eat Meatloaf, fact is I cant remember the last time I had one so I cant make any comparison ..... if you ask me, its somewhat like eating a thick piece of beef burger pattie. The beef was slightly overcooked but at least there was some gravy sauce to help moisten it up a bit.

My only question ...... Where's the bacon ????

OLD FASHIONED BEER BATTERED FISH N CHIPS

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Did they really dip the fish in a batter before deep frying it ?? or did they just take a piece of rice paper, wrapped it onto the fish and deep fried it ?? I would think its the latter as I felt like I was eating a big piece of fish turon. But the real disappointing part was that the entire deep fried fish was still dripping with oil and that the fish was undercooked.

CRISPY BACON CARBONARA LINGUINI

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Maybe its just me ..... but I personally think it would have been better to cut the bacon into strips or bits, then tossing it with the rest of the pasta and cream sauce. But I think they would rather that we cut the bacon ourselves. (which by da way is not crispy at all)

The cream sauce was just a little too rich ...... Bacon aside, there was no other flavor except for the cream.

Top Chef has part of its regular Judges in:

Tom Colicchio (Head Judge)

Padma Lakshmi (Actress, Model and Food Author); she is also the main host of Top Chef

Gail Simmons (Special Projects Manager of Food and Wine Magazine)

Some Special Guest/Celebrity Judges included the likes of:

Anthony Bourdain of NO RESERVATIONS

Michelle Bernstein (James Beard Awardee)

Rocco DiSpirito (Celebrity Chef)

Eric Ripert (Award Winning Seafood Chef of La Bernadin)

Wylie Dufresne (leading american proponent of Molecular Gastronomy)

Other notable guest judges included popular chefs like Ming Tsai, Daniel Boulod, Hubert Keller and many many more.

Top Chef Season 5

LEAH COHEN

Though she did not cook any filipino inspired dish, in one of the interview clips, she did say that her mother is from the Philippines.

EUGENE VILLATORA

He says he is from Hawaii ... in one quickfire episode, he made his version of our local dessert TURON. Since the challenge prohibits them from using sugar, he used cinnamon.

Heading back to our hotel in the afternoon for a brief rest, I got curious why a small crowd is gathered at a nearby stall. The place is called OLD CHIANG KEE and it sells fried snacks. (mostly served on a bbq stick) Naturally just to satisfy my curiosity, I patiently lined up myself and ordered a few of the snacks that would interest me.

FISHBALLS

I have always been a fan of this dish back home ever since I was a kid. Be it in those fishball carts with the swet and chili vinegar sauce or those brought from the chinese groceries and added to noodle or vermicelli soups. For this singaporean version, the fishballs are big and quite tasty too. As in you really taste the fish and not much of the extenders.

SQUID TAIL

Another quirky attitude of mine is that whenever I am served squid dishes (like inihaw na pusit) I always go for the head and tail first. This one does look a bit oily but it is not actually. Although I did find it a bit too salty.

FRIED CRAB CLAW MEAT

Of the three, this one was my favorite. You are not getting processed crab meat here. What you get here is the whole piece of the crab claw meat. The light breaded batter gives it a nice crunch complementing the subtle sweet taste of the crab. My mom thinks it was a bit oily but I disagreed.

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Our orders also comes with some sweet chili catsup-like sauce. But I opted not to use them as I find the flavors sufficient.

From the hotel we are staying, Orchard Road in Singapore is just an MRT ride away ...... we was to meet our cousin in this elegant mall called Takashimaya Mall and apparently we got there just a tad too early. Doing a little window shopping in their supermarkets we chanced upon this small Ramen House in one of the corner and with me being a big fan of noodle soup dishes I just had to try a bowl (even if lunch was just an hour away)

The name of the eatery is AJESIN JAPANESE RAMEN HOUSE and just to veer away from the usual maguro or salmon sushi, I tried their Scallop Sushi. The meat's texture was a bit rubbery as it probably was overcooked. The vinegared rice was lacking in vinegar as I would prefer vinegared rice to have that more tartful flavor.

Looking over at the Noodle Dishes in their menu, I could not help but try their Crayfish Noodle Soup since I hardly get to see that in our local menu. Crayfhishes are kinda like small lobsters and the texture of their meat is like eating a large prawn. The meat is not overcooked so it still has that nice firm texture when you bite into it. The soup, which is some pork based broth has a nice subtle saltiness but does not have any fishy aftertaste.

But what really had me on the edge was the noodles itself .... they were so nice and firm and even after a signficant amount of time sitting in the broth, it did not become soggy. (They were actually selling packs of the dried noodle near the cashier's counter but I regrettably did not buy a pack)

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I sorta got "robbed" when I ordered this drink called Blue Coral Soda when in fact it tasted much like your regular 7-Up or Sprite soda which I think was just tinted with some blue coloring.

Hahahaha. Oh well, Charge to Experience.

Been awhile since I've visited the TriNoma FoodCourt ......we were just there for a quick lunch before taking in a movie.

I've been reading a lot of raves about this WORLD CHICKEN, so I thought I'd give this place a try and see what the fuss was all about.

I ordered the Boneless Chicken with the bacon rice and mashed potatoes as side dish.

Lets start with the side dishes ..... the mashed potatoes was a little gooey in texture. I would prefer if it were creamy or chunky. The gravy sauce that was topped on the potato was a little too salty for me. The Bacon rice has too little pieces of minced bacon for it to taste like bacon. I actually wouldn't call it a Bacon Rice. In fairness to the chicken, it was nicely grilled with only the outer portions charred. The meat is still somewhat moist and is still tender. The problem is on its own, the chicken is totally flavorless. But add a little of the Farm Fresh Mushroom sauce and it becomes better.

Overall, its a hearty meal for less than 200 pesos (softdrinks included) just don't expect any gastronomic heaven.

We also ordered some Pork BBQ with Java Rice from the Reyes Barbeque Station.

The Java Rice is completely flavorless ... its like I'm eating plain rice thta has been added with food coloring. The Pork BBQs were a little tough and its a bit too sweet for me.

Also ordered some Pansit Luglug and Dinuguan from RAZONs

The noodles itself were nice and firm, but did little to help the flavorless and watered down sauce. The chicharon flakes and the calamansi were a little help though. As for the dinuguan, well all I tasted were lots of pork ... where's the dugo????

Cafe VIA MARE

Powerplant Mall, Rockwell

After our mini Food Trip at the Legazpi Weekend Tiangge, we decided for a little cool off in the air-conditioned enclave of Power Plant Mall. Then after an hours stroll, we all decided its time for a little dessert and coffee. My balikbayan Auntie has been craving for the native "Palitaw" the past couple of days, so off we went to one of her favorite hangout (as far as palitaw is concerned).

It was supposed to be just desserts and I was somewhat full already from my early morning food trip, but somehow I just can't resist the urge to try something else from their menu...... So (aside from the desserts and coffee) I just ordered some merienda meals which I will share with my sis.

OYSTER MEXICALI

Oysters topped with Chili Ground Beef, Melted Cheese and Tomato Salsa

As far as the oysters are concerned, they are nice and fresh. And the size of the oysters are fairly larger than what I've eaten the past couple of food trips. My issue here is that I can hardly taste the oysters themselves as the beef totally overwhelmed everything else...... It's not to say that the beef was bad, its just that this is by large still an oyster dish. (oh, since it did say chili beef ....... well, I didn't get any heat)

In my opinion, its probably better to just order the plain oysters and dip it with some vinegar or tabasco.

PANSIT LUGLUG

I'm not all too familiar with the other regional cuisine, but this dish does have similarities with the more familiar palabok. (they're probably just the same) Lets see, the noodles itself are similar, they both have this rich orangey colored sauce, (which I assume is shrimp or seafood based) some chicharoness, whole shrimps and an assortment of garnisgings.

Well in fairness, at least its not dry (probably because its freshly cooked)........ In fact, it is fairly "saucey". But given all those great flavored ingredients, the dish still turned out a little bland for my taste. Sure there was some fish sauce (patis) on the side, but I've always been the one to expect that accompanying sauces are there to further enhance the flavor and not actually give it some flavor. (in fact, too much fish sauce will make it taste more like ........ fish sauce)

GUINOMIS

I personally like to call this the watered down version of the local Halo Halo. Its got the usual shaved ice, sago, gulaman and pinipig. Not included would probably be some of the beans, the langka and the Kaong. (some preserved tropical fruit I assume) Oh and they used Gata (coconut milk) instead of evaporated milk.

They actually serve Halo Halo here, but I chose this dessert because I'm not really a fan of those beans they used in making the halo halo (actually im not a fan of beans)....the gulaman and the pinipig are great contrasts in texture but I felt they should have added more coconut milk. (kinda a bit watered down)

PALITAW

Its a flat rice pastry made from sticky rice, topped with some grated coconut, sesame seeds and sugar is added too...... I had to dust off some of the excess sugar lest it becomes too sweet for me. But aside from that, it tasted quite alright and the rice pastry itself is not overly sticky.

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On a personal Sidenote:

Cafe Via Mare is by large a small restaurant ... I think I counted around less than 15 tables. Considering they have at least 4 to 5 servers to take care of the service. Most of time, they are nowhere to be found. One might say they are probably inside the kitchen area giving the orders to the cooks. But just how long does it really take to hand out a piece of paper????

Aside from the slow service, they actually missed out on one of our order which is the "puto bungbong" ........ in the end, we just requested them to cancel that particular order.

What was supposed to be just a simple errand into the Binondo Area, but with some old friends also in the vicinity, it turned into a spontaneous Food Trip. Our venue was YING YING TEAHOUSE along Dasmarinas Street ...... I've eaten here many times before and I already did an FR once. But hey, I'm not complaining, for it is in this fine eatery that cooks one of my favorite chinese dish. :thumbsupsmiley:

We started with some Steamed Crabs with Garlic

While the overall dish was quite flavorful, especially with the great aroma of the garlic and a healthy dash of leeks, the crabs itself were a bit too oversteamed that the meat of the crab were a bit too soggy.

Hot Prawn Salad was next ......

The batter was just right and the sweetness of the mayo sauce did not overwhelm the flavor the the shriimp. Though I personally it did not go too well as pulutan. (Yes !!! we were having beer along with food orders)

In all the times I've eaten at President Restaurant or Ying Ying, I have never ordered the Sizzling Oyster dish ...... until now.

It's basically fresh oysters, with probably some tausi (black beans) and chili peppers served on a sizzling plate...... While the flavor of the tausi blended quite well with the oysters, this dish could use a little more Heat if it were to truly become an awesome pulutan dish. And I did find some issue with the rather small oysters.

A visit to YING YING would not be complete without my favorite Steamed Eel with Tausi.

This in my opinion makes great pulutan as well as a great viand when taken with plain rice (avoid fried rice). The eel itself is steamed to near perfection that its quite firm to the bite and the tausi further enhances the flavor.

One of my friend remarked that the dish could use a little more tausi for even better flavor and I agreed with him. Nonetheless, its still a fabulous dish for me. I mean I would be quite happy just partaking of this fine dish the whole night. My only issue was the over zealousness of the chef/cook in putting too much leeks. But it didn't ruin the dish anyway so I'm not really complaining.

Seeing that we still had a lot of beer, we decided for one more pulutan dish..... Salt and Pepper Frogs Legs came to mind.

Now this is Pulutan !!!! We were fortunate to have gotten some large pieces of Frogslegs, I assumed they were dipped in a light batter with salt and sprinkled later on with some garlic flakes and chili peppers. The dish was so flavorful (with the right amount of saltiness and spiciness) that none of us made use of the small bowl of vinegar dipping sauce that came with the frog dish.

Of course whats the use of so much great pulutan without a few bottles of Tsing Tao Beer.

Hey we're in Chinatown ....... so might as well try and blend in by ordering this chinese beer right ??? (in reality, we were the only group drinking beer in the restaurant. hahahahaha). Anyway, few bottles is a little of an understatement cause the 4 of us were able to consume around 10 bottles (roughly more than 500ml per bot) of Tsing Tao Beer.

My brother-in-law is not fond of eating seafoods, don't know why, but we kept teasing him that he's missing half his life by just sticking it out with poultry and red meat. I guess the only seafood he eats is shrimp. Anyway, its an advantage for me since whenever my sister would have cravings for japanese food (particularly sashimi) I'm sure to be invited into one of their food trips. :thumbsupsmiley:

It just so happened that my sister's birthday was yesterday so me and my parents got invited to dine again in KIKUFUJI JAPANESE RESTAURANT ........ I'm not all too familiar with Makati Streets, all I know is this fine Restaurant is somewhere within the Little Tokyo complex which is just a short distance away from Makati Cinema Square.

After a short recon in the Legazpi Weekend Tiangge, we arrived at Kikufuji around 11:00am, we were actually the first customer so we got a nice parking slot right in front of the resto. A lot of tables were already reserved but we still got us a nice table where we sit on the floor. A few minutes thereafter, streams of customers started to come in and in no time, the place was practically full. For customers, there was a mix of chinese, filipino and japanese family.

Most of us ordered rice toppings, so practically all of us were given these appetizers as part of the meal.

From the upper left, (going clockwise) we have vegetable salad in some vinegarette, followed by some kani (crabstick) sashimi and then some pickled bamboo shoots..... The salad were just right in tartness, just enough to whet the appetite, I'm glad they did not use those cheap crabsticks and I like the taste of the bamboo shoots.

By da way, Miso Soup was also included in the meal so one does not have to order separately.

Our first orders came ..... its a platter of Assorted Sashimi.

Included are some maguro (tuna) saba (macakarel) uni (sea urchin) ika (squid) and lapu lapu sashimi..... The tuna are a bit on the soft side and not as firm to the bite as I would have wanted to, but they still tasted fresh. Same can be said for the squid. The Mackarel is not something I really fancy because it has that strong fishy (malansa) aftertaste. The sea urchin is nice and fresh and really melts in your mouth. Then comes the Lapu Lapu ..... ah yes, now this is the sashimi that I have been craving for a long long time. The slices are big, the fish is fresh and soooo nice and firsm to the bite. I practically like this fish better than tuna or salmon. (unfortunately, not all restos serve lapu lapu sashimi)

I liked the lapu lapu sashimi so much that I ordered seconds. :thumbsupsmiley:

More sashimi to follow ......

This time its Hamachi (or young yellowtail fish), note the fatty parts in this fish where the distinct flavor comes from. The slices are also big and like the lapu lapu, they are also fresh and firm to the bite. After finishing off the plate of hamachi, me and my sister agreed that we can now go to heaven. hahahahaha

My mom doesn't like raw fish so we just ordered some Californila Maki for her.

I did get to eat a bite though, nothing really special, a bit too much on the mango that it tasted too sour. But I like the vinegared rice in that it wasnt overly sticky.

Ebi (shrimp) Tempura was one of the dish my brother in law ordered.

The batter was just right, not to light and not to heavy though I felt they could have used bigger shrimps.

The Bacon Enoki has been the one dish that my sister always orders

Its basically bacon wrapped around some Enoki mushrooms and sprinkled with some teriyaki sauce. (I overheard that instead of the teriyaki sauce, you can opt for a salted version) ...... Now for me, practically any dish with bacon is good. The bacon itself is not overly salty nor oily, combining it with the mushrooms gives it a nice crunchy texture. I now would agree with my sister that this is something you should order here. (aside from the lapu lapu sashimi. hehehehehe)

My brother In Law also ordered some Beef Teppanyaki.

The meat were a little overcooked already since it was sitting on the sizzling plate for a certain period of time already. Normally, I would ask them to have the meat half-cooked so that it will eventually be just right once we would start eating it.

My own order was the Ikura Shake Don

It's raw Shake (salmon) and raw Ikura (salmon roe) on top of a bowl of vinegared rice..... Definitly not something that everybody will enjoy. While the salmon meat was fresh and firm, the salmon roe has that very strong fishy aftertaste. After every spoonfull of those fish eggs and once they pop inside your mouth, its like you are drinking very cold "malansa" fish soup. My opinion???? I'm sticking with the Chirashi Don next time. hehehehehe

To complete our meal, we were offered either Iced Coffee or some fresh watermelon slices as dessert.

I opted for the coffee ....... well its really nothing, just coffee with cream and sugar and some ice.

It was my auntie's birthday last sunday, and we were fortunate enough to be invited to dinner at GULLIVER's located at the 8th Floor of the Great Eastern Hotel along Quezon Avenue. Your best landmark will be Aberdeen Restaurant.

It's basically a Steak House with a Fine Dining set-up. The theme of the restaurant is somewhat of a travel back into time to the days when the main mode of transportation is those big ships with sails.

We were around 15 people settled into a very long table, so it would be near impossible to picture and comment about every dish ordered by the rest of my relatives ..... instead I will just focus on what I ordered.

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- I started with some PUMPKIN SOUP. You can order this in two sizes, mainly by the Cup or by the Bowl.

The soup is nice and hot and I could actually taste some pumpkin. I however felt that the spring onions added into the soup (primarily I think to remove the "lansa") was a bit overpowering..... Otherwise I would have gotten more of the pumpkin flavor.

- We were given some complimentary freshly baked bread slices as we waited for our main entrees.

They used sour dough to give it some light tartness ...... the crust does get a bit tough once the bread cools down. (some butter is also available)

- Included I think in the meat orders are some creamed corn.

It does come off as a little too sweet (but the kids in our group really enjoyed it). Personally speaking, I still prefer some steamed buttered corn over this sweet mixture.

- Ah yes, my main entree has arrived, I ordered GRILLED LAMB CHOPS ....... it comes with mashed potatoes (you can also opt for roast potatoes or steamed rice) some veggies and gravy sauce

I find the veggies to be nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps some added light butter would have been better??? The mashed potatoes were a disappointment, I really don't mind if the mashed potatoes were either a bit on the creamy or chunky side...... the one served to me was of the Gooey side. Kinda like eating a worn out chewing gum.

The Grilled Lamb itself was good (taste and flavor wise), they sprinkled some rosemary onto the meat to somewhat take away the gamey flavor of the lamb. I personally wouldn't mind a little gaminess because thats what makes the flavor of the lamb different from beef, and the rosemarys were a minor irritation as some would get stuck in my throat.

- They also included a small helping of peanut butter and some mint jelly.

These two can basically help out in taking away the gamey flavor of the lamb meat. But I opted not to use them.

- My cousin's husband who was just beside me, ordered the CHICKEN PARMEGIANA ...... can't remember exactly what was in the dish, but I did see chicken topped with some tomato based sauce, also included in some creamed cheese.

Since I did not taste the chicken dish, I had to rely on the opinion of my cousin's husband .... he says the chicken was cooked just right, the meat was moist and flavorful. The tomato sauce and the cream cheese were well balanced in that it did not overpower the flavor of the chicken.

H.K. CHOI

Atrium Section, SM Megamall

Short for Hong Kong Choi, this chinese inspired eatery is located at the lowest section of the Atrium of SM Megamall. Based on it signage, I'm assuming this is a branch of Choi's Garden located in Annapolis Greenhills...... Me and my parents were in kinda hurry so we decided to order some of the more simpler dishes.

SHARKS FIN SIUMAI

This actually came out by mistake, I told the server that I want to order "siumai" which usually translates to just pork siumai but instead I got the sharks fin version. Nontheless, I accepted it just the same......well as usual, I did not find any significant traces of sharks fin. But in fairness, the siumai itself was cooked nicely.... Still hot, juicy, scrumptious with very little extenders. The size of each siumai is not bad either. I actually ate the siumai without the use of soy sauce or chili sauces.

SHRIMP HAKAW

Like the sharks fin siumai, these hakaw are steamed to near perfection, it was just right in that the skin of the dumpling did not become to soggy so it did not stick to the bottom of the container. The shrimps used are bigger than average ....... The turn off here was that I ordered the siumai and the hakaw roughly 10 minutes before I ordered anything else and the hakaw was the very last of the items we ordered to arrive.

CHICKEN WANTON SOUP

Here you have basic chicken soup with wantons and a half chicken swimming alongside some veggies ...... once the bowl is placed on the table, the server divides the chicken and serves it with the soup, wantons and veggies in a smaller bowl.

Considering that its one of the more expensive soup dish in their menu, there was just nothing (tastewise) that would suggest it deserved to be on top. The ingredients actually are quite common fare even in teahouses. The wantons tasted alright, but I felt the chicken was in the pot for too long as it tasted overcooked and kinda dry.

BARBECUED ROAST PORK & SOY CHICKEN

The pork dish is sometimes known as Asado Pork and I'm personally not really fond of eating this dish. But I guess it tasted ok (just a tad too sweet) As for the chicken, well it was overcooked and dry. Worse, the chicken itself was bland ..... adding some of those ginger sauces wasn't much help.

SEAFOOD with TOFU in HOTPOT

Considering there were a lot of ingredients inside this bowl, one would expect an explosion of flavors to come from the different bounties of the sea and the earth ..... here we got shrimps, scallops, fish fillet, squid, mushrooms and of course the tofu in some starchy sauce. BUT the disappointing part is that apart from the different textures, practically every ingredient tasted similar and the starchy sauce was a bit watered down up to the point of it becoming flavorless.

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I guess that with a significant number of diners, a couple of shortcuts were probably used so as to get the food out to the diners at the soonest possible time.

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On a personal sidenote:

As the food wasn't bad enough, its a wonder why they have to subject us diners with poorly designed chairs that makes it very uncomfortable to sit on. Imagine this one with a very narrow backrest ....... I mean how could big people be able to sit back and relax???

Then there is the issue of the bottom part of the chair, I mean I am practically sitting on a wooden box with cushions with all the bottoms closed up. So if one wants to curl up his legs, its just isn't possible.

I kept telling myself that maybe I should stop reading the restaurant and food section of MTC lest I will always be tempted to try out food trip suggestions or recommendations by fellow MTCers .... But hey, you only live once right ???? and who wants to live forever anyway ??? hehehehehe. It was a clear, not-so-hot tuesday afternoon that I was chatting with a friend on YM, and the topic suddenly was about food. I then suggested that we try this Bulalohan place as I had read about it and that the posters were all raves for it. So then, it was decided that on that same evening we would head out and look for PAT PATS KANSI.

Our destination was to be the Visayas Avenue Branch, and it was relatively easy to find (well easy for us) ..... coming from Munoz, just head into Congressional avenue, past S&R and a couple of minor stoplights you will come across a major intersection. This is Mindanao Avenue (KFC on the right corner will serve as landmark) Keep going straight past Cherry Fooderama (on the left side) and you will come into another intersection with a stoplight. This is now Visayas Avenue, turn right and keep going until you past a McDonalds... just keep going and you will soon see a yellow sign (to your right) that advertises the eatery's name.

Alternatively, you can use the Quezon Memorial Circle as a starting point ..... just enter Visayas Avenue, and go straight. Past a couple of blocks the eatery should be seen (just look left)

Contrary to some reports that this is a "hole in the wall" establishment (im not sure which branch) .....well at least, the one in Visayas Avenue is certainly not because it is quite spacious to be considered such. (I like to call it more of a Canteen) There is no airconditioner but there are significant amount of electric fans to keep the temperature at a somewhat comfortable level. Heck they even had one of those big water evaporator cooling machines. As the both of us took our seats, a server approached to hand us our menu..... Not that we really need it since we already made up our mind what to order (the bulalo of course) but we took a glance just in case some other food items might catch our attention.

It was a good 10 to 15 minutes of wait before our order arrived, and while waiting were discussing the possibilities of trying some of the other "not so well known" eateries in the Visayas Avenue area. In the meantime, the server placed on our table some of the utensils that were to be used once our Bulalo order comes in.

Aside from the usual spoon and fork, a knife is provided for cutting and slicing plus a wooden skewer which I assume is to be used for getting at the Bone Marrow. Included also are some calamnsi and chili peppers as condiments. For me, I mixed the calamansi, peppers and soy sauce while my friend used the vinegar.

Soon thereafter, our order arrives, first on the table are two cups of the bulalo's soup (you can ask for refills)

Then a larger bowl is placed on the table, this time with the large bone included (there is also additional soup in the larger bowl)

My friend first used the knife to slice off the meat and litids from the bone and let it rest in the soup.

Then finally he got the bone marrow out ... .and my gosh !!! it was one huge chunk of cholesterol waiting to be devoured. hehehehehehe

I almost forgot, we did place an order for inihaw na pusit just for the sake of trying it out ..... in my opinion, there was nothing special about it, a little dry but at least not too tough to chew on.

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Ok back to the Bulalo ....... I first tasted the soup, it was nice and hot. There was a lot of flavor in the soup which I think is the result of hours of boiling the beef and bones in the pot so that nearly all the essence of the beef are squeezed out. Its not too salty and there was this slight tartness. (Turns out they added some vinegar) But what really impressed me was that considering this is bulalo soup, there is very little of that oily aftertaste. I was actually waiting for the "sebo" to slowly solidify on my lips, but there was none.

The meat and litids are very tender and it goes very well with the toyomansi-chili mixture I did awhile ago. The Bone marrow itself is also very flavorful and has that buttery (but not excessive) oily taste. It went really well with the double rice each of us ordered.....

Damage for an order of Bulalo (with soup +refills), an inihaw na pusit, 4 cups of rice and 2 sodas comes to less than 450 pesos.

CRUSTASIA

Tri Noma

This was just an out of the blue decision to dine here for our weekly sunday lunch ..... aside from this restaurant which eventually won out, we were contemplating on other restaurants that were nearby. Restaurants like CIBO and David's Hot pot were considered since they were close by.

After ordering our food, we were given some complementary veggie sticks in the form of carrots and turnips. As dipping sauces we were given a plate of what seems to be syrup. The ones on the side tasted kinda the same and it was sweet while the one in the middle was a little sour. I forgot to ask the servers what these syrups are. Nontheless, I felt they do not have any rich flavor in it and that I would personally dip my veggies in something thats more thick. (at the very least mayonnaise)

WESTLAKE SOUP

Finally our orders arrived, this one is basicaly just some starchy eggdrop soup. Though it could a little more salt and pepper, at least it was served very hot. A pretty nice starter to prepare us for the next dishes.

FRIED THAI SPRING ROLLS with SHRIMP

The spring rolls were fried too crispy that it breaks apart when you bit into it, thereby leaving a mess on the plate. The fillings were not too spectacular ... its basically shrimp, some ground meat, vermicelli and some diced veggies. The sauce is kinda bland that it didn't enhance the flavor of the spring rolls.

BAKED OYSTER SAMBAL

I asked the server what is a Sambal, and he told me its some chili based sauce..... actually looking at the picture on the menu, I saw a more reddish tone on the oysters which probably means there was a healthy serving of this sambal sauce. In reality, all I see is a lof of cheese and just a speck of that red colored sauce. So how did tase like??? Well, it tasted like oyster with cheese. Nothing more, Nothing less......... The oysters itself were a bit small.

THAI CHICKEN AND BASIL RICE IN BAMBOO

Looks cute on picture doesn't it ????? but believe me, given that they used a larger sized serving spoon, it was pretty hard to get the rice out of the bamboo container without spilling rice all over the table. I had to ask the server for a regular spoon so I can scoop out the rice, and that doesn't totally prevent spillage. My verdict ??? Ditch the bamboo container

Tastewise, it comes of a bit too salty. And the basil and lemongrass flavor just didn't go to well with the chicken pieces. I also had issues with the lemongrass itself. There were many pieces of it mixed with the rice and they were not edible. I had to take some time in separating them from the rice which lessens my enjoyment for the dish.

THAI CRISPY NOODLES with SEAFOOD

Too bad I wasn't able to get a pic when the server placed it on the table.... initially it looked like vast amount of small pieces of kropec were placed on top of the bowl and that the noodles and sauces were below. In reality, what we thought were kropec were actually the flat noodles itself. They had it fried until it puffed up into what look like crispy kropec.

Unfortunately, the sauce was just too overwhelming that the crispiness of the noodles is instantly lost ...... and the sauce itself was way tooo sweet.

CRISPY FRIED LOCAL DUCK

Plain and simple, its just fried duck, PERIOD........ Kinda a bit uneven on the cooking as some parts were ok while some were too dry.

COMPLIMENTARY PASTRY

Well I think it was a pastry, we just forgot to bring it home. (they gave it to all diners as part of their valentine whatchamacolit)

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On a personal sidenote:

I had two issues here when we dined that particular sunday morning. One was the tables and seats ...... Initially when we came in, we were escorted to some tables and chairs by the left side (coming from the entrance) Probably because of poor designing or poor quality wood, they had to add this horizontal bar to the leg of the table for added stability. Unknowing diners who would suddenly want to stretch out while sitting may get ther shin hurt.

We eventually transferred to the other side with some diffrently designed tables and chairs, but then, these were so uncomfortable to sit on. I felt I was in some military camp or something as I could not position my back in a more relaxed manner as the backrest was just too straight.

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The other issue I observed was one of the server ........ I mean most of the other servers/waitstaffs or what have yous were more or less appropriately dressed which is composed at the very least a short sleeved button polo shirt with slacks and black shoes. BUT there was this one guy who was wearing an orange round neck shirt and somewhat shiny jeans along with a big white watch. I mean if someone were to serve me in some local carinderia wearing sando, shorts and slippers ..... I probably wouldn't mind. But my gosh, this was at the very least a semi-fine dining restaurant.

BUt what really bugged me was in the way this guy was taking the orders ...... I'm no graduate of any HRM or Hospitality courses, so I probably won't be able to tell you the proper way to take orders from diners. BUT this guy was just way too much to ignore. I mean while taking the orders, both his arms were leaning on the backrests of the diners chairs. (and there were diners sitting on those chairs) Is this guy crippled that he can't stand on his own two feet ???? Goodness, if he were the ones taking our orders, I would have stood up immediately and leave.

Try IZUMI SAKE BAR LOUNGE in Global City.

 

Newly opend recently and you can enjoy good sake and good wine as well.

 

Very nice atmosphere.

and good food too ????

been awhile since I had sake wine (puro soju eh), guess I should try it out again.

RISTRAS

San Juan

I knew of the existence of this eatery thru MTC when a fellow member opened a thread in the Resto section, and being someone who likes Tacos and Burritos, I knew I just had to try this place out...... Last Sunday, I had a spectacular Food Trip lunch session at Celsius Gastrolounge. Come dinner time, I was craving for one more Food Trip......... Luckily for me, our beloved Moderator, the SINful Bandit was near the location of this eatery and he willingly agreed to accompany me even though he already ate.

It was another easy place to find, From Greenhills Shopping Center, take Wilson St. and when you reach Alex III restaurant, take a right. Then around a block away (by the corner) you will find Ristras on the right side. Parking may sometimes be a hassle, but there are a bunch of "watch your car" gentlemen who will point out which area you can park.......... Don't expect much in terms of ambiance. This place is basically a fastfood joint wherein you line-up, place your order, choose your ingredients, grab a beer if you like, pay at the counter and look for a vacant table.

BURRITOS

I just ordered a basic burrito with shredded lengua as the meat, plus the usual veggies, rice and dressing wrapped inside a soft tortilla. I like it in that they added some whole corn kernels which gives it a nice extra flavor and texture. The cilantro-laced rice was also good with that subtle aroma..... Accompanying the burrito are some home made fresh salsa which is also very good. By da way, the Burritos here are BIG, so if you're not one with a healthy appetite, better bring along some extra company.

I personally would have been able to finish off the Burrito myself except I still have to try the tacos ..... in the end, I just had the other half to go.

TACOS

Instead of Ground Beef, they used shredded beef accompanied by the usual shredded veggies (and yes!!! more corn kernels) ......you're pretty much eating a burrito minus the rice and instead of the soft tortilla, a crispier taco shell is used to hold the ingredients....... Unlike most of the other tacos I've tried, the shells they used are not extremely crispy, it actually is slightly soft which will not break off in the middle once you start biting.

BEER

Since we were there already, might as well try out a few of the beers they're offering. I just asked the SINful bandit to pick out whatever beer he fancies and we'll just how well it goes with the food. First bottle he got was the Cerveza Dos Equis -Amber which in my opinion is kinda like a milder version of our local Cerveza Negra. It has this subtle sweet aftertaste which will definitly go well with anything spicy.

Our second beer is of German origin and its called Gordon Biersch ...... these have a stronger alcohol flavor and much like the Dos Equis, they have this mild sweetness to it.

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Overall it was a satisfying meal, a very casual setting, nice simple food, nice conversation with the SINful one and drinking the beer which I personally like to call "cowboy style" (straight from the bottle)

On a personal side note: The food here does not come cheap, For our order of one big burrito, tacos (3 pcs.) and 2 bottles of beer ....... damage goes to around 970 pesos.

CELSIUS GASTROLOUNGE

Scout Rallos near the corner of Tomas Morato

It's quite easy to find this place, coming from timog avenue (as you pass Club HOLLYWOOD) you will arrive at the rotunda, turn right and on the first corner (there is a shakeys to your left) turn left immediately. A few meters to your left is the restaurant itself.

Its too bad I forgot to take a pic of the the facade, the table setting looks quite casual and non-intimidating for first timers like me.

There are those for bigger groups, for fours and even those on a date.

But what I'm really here for is the food ..... lets get right to it.

HOPPERS

Sauteed 5 Spiced Frogs Legs Served with Spicy Salt, Giner, Green Onions, Garlic Chips and Chili Slices

In some ways, its like eating the frogs legs served at President or Ying Ying teahouse over at binondo, but here, aside from a somewhat better job in presentation, the flavors are well enchanced. I'm not saying that the frogs legs in the binondo restos are bad, I'm saying this one is better if you are talking about the overall dish. Do beware that this dish packs a good amount of heat so for those who are not really into spicy foods, better request that they tone it down.

SATAY STICKS

Moroccan Spiced Goat Satay served with House Made Curry and Pickled Vegetables.

They actually have a choice of either chicken, beef or goat ..... I chose the goat since I get to eat beef and chicken more often. I also forgot to give a little focus on the pics of the curry and the vegetables which are just at the right side of the Goat meat.

The moment I sank my teeth into the meat, I instantly fell in love with the dish. The middle eastern flavor is very pronouned and rich and yet its not totally overpowering. Dip it into the curry sauce and you're in heaven (well I exaggerated a little. hehehehehe) Anyway, if it were not for being lunch time, I would have ordered me a cold bottle of beer to go with it...... Like the Frogs Legs,this one also packs a good amount of heat.

I think the only issue I had was that some parts of the meat were a little tough.

SIMMERED LEG OF "KAMBING" GHOULASH

Served with Garlic Croutons and garnished with Asian Pesto

Ghoulash is served either in stewed form or watered down into a soup ..... what Celcius served was the latter.

Here you can separately taste the different flavors that are in this soup, the richness of the tomatoes, the subtle gaminess of the goat meat and the nice aroma of the herbs and spices ........ the diced potatoes do come a little bit on the excessive side so it might be a bit heavy on the stomach.

CELCIUS TUNA TASTER

Fresh Tuna Loin Two Ways

Its basically a tuna duo ...... the one in the left side of the pic is Chopped Marinated Kinilaw while the one on the right is Pepper Crusted Pan Seared tuna. Over at the middle we have some arugula dressing tossed in some asian dressing and crispy galic chips.

Presentation wise, I'd give the dish a thumbs up ..... tastewise, its really nothing to be raving about. While the tuna is very fresh,I did the find the Kinilaw lacking a bit more in tartness. Perhaps I'm just much more used to regular Kilawin dishes I eat in other establishments. And the Pepper Crusted one??? well I tasted pepper and I tasted tuna, no spectacular flavors exploded in my mouth ...... well in fairness, it was nicely cooked. And the side veggies did provide us with a little saltiness.

CHORIZO FRIED RICE

I'm the type of person that likes my rice which are not too sticky, kinda like the Beryani Rice of some indian restaurants which you can easily separate each grain. I was glad that the Chorizo Rice is like that. There's a slight subtle sweetness which comes from the chorizo. The flavor is not overwhelming that its quite suitable to still have this rice along with the other viands. A slight issue would be the oily aftertaste....... which I assume also comes from the Chorizo.

CHORIZO and SPINACH STUFFED CHICKEN

Seasoned Chicken Breast Stuffed with Chorizo Bilbao, Cream Cheese and Spinach served with Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce

For me, this one is a winner !!!! Perfectly seasoned and (almost) perfectly cooked chicken. Even if we are having white meat, its still tender and moist....... then the mushroom cream sauce, ooooh this is one of the few times I went Mmmmmmmm. The flavor just went so well with the chicken and the assorted veggies placed below the meat. I liked the sauce so much that I would have gamely licked the plate clean. (but of course I didn't do that)

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On a personal sidenote: While I was all praises for the Chicken Dish, When I got to the part with the wing (the one thats shaped like a chicken drumstick) I noticed significant amounts of pink color. Meaning those parts were undercooked.

I did let the waitstaff know of the mistake, of which she apologized ...... but I did not make a big issue out of it and still complemented them on a very fine dish (especially the mushroom cream sauce)

OMAKASE

IL Terrazo Bldg., Tomas Morato

OMAKASE SALAD

Kani with Japanese Crabstick, Lettuce, Cucumber, Tomato, Ebiko with Chef Special Mayo

A little bland to look at considering this resto is noted for making nice looking sushi rolls ..... the greens are nice and fresh and they used the right amount of mayo dressing. I of course would have wanted more crabsticks. hehehehehe

SUSHI PARFAIT

Sushi Rice served on a Margarita Glass topped with Salmon, Ebi, Kani, Avocado, Gelatin and Mango.

Now this one is definitly "eye candy" ...... but I did have several issues with this dish. Firstly, its a bit difficult to actually eat it using a pair of chopsticks what with most of the ingredients chopped to small pieces. I mean sure I could easily ask for a spoon but since they did not put one in the first, I assumed it wasn't meant to be.

My second issue was that as a whole ..... this dish just did not come together. Given that I was using the chopsticks, I was only able to pick up small pieces at a time of each ingredient. So in the end, the avocado is just flavorless as is the gelatin. Perhaps if they just made it into a sushi roll then the flavors would have merged and we might have a better tasting treat. (on a personal note, I just didn't think mangoes and raw salmon didn't work well for this particular dish)

SCORPION MAKI

Sushi Roll with Cucumber, Unagi on the inside then Shrimp on the Outside.

The waitstaff recommended this because according to her its one of their bestsellers. And I can why that is so. I like it because the shrimp on the outside is nicely cooked giving it a nice subtle crunch, the unagi inside gives out subtle sweetness and the sushi rice is neither too sticky nor too loose.

OYSTER BUTTERYAKI

Grilled Oyster cooked in Butter with Ponzu Sauce

The Ponzu sauce which is citrus based gives out a nice acidic flavor which is actually good with the oysters. Except the oysters do come out way too salty.

TOFU STEAK

Japanese Tofu wrapped in Beef

Considering its mostly lean meat, the beef is nicely cook and is tender enough to bite. The tofu itself could use a little searing..... given that its japanese tofu, it tends to be very soft and so it runs out when you bite into the beef. (I just sucked out the tofu first, then finished off the beef later on :thumbsupsmiley: )

LEMON SALMON STEAK

Salmon Cooked in Lemon Butter Sauce

The Salmon itself is nicely cooked .... not too dry and not too rare. But like the oyster dish, its just way too salty for my taste.

UNI TEMPURA

Sea Urchin wrapped in Nori

It is then coated with a light tempura batter and (I assumed) deep fried....... This is actually my favorite dish for this particular meal. The batter is enough just to make it crispy, the nori will provide the temporary saltiness. Then the juices and the subtle sweetness of the warm sea urchin will just explode in your mouth.

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On a personal sidenote: While it is quite commendable for their waitstaff to try and impress us by taking our orders without the use of a pen and pad (via memory only). Perhaps they should do a little more practice first as they got our orders wrong two times.

Ah yes !!! the pleasures of dining alone, I actually miss doing this wherein its just me, my food and the wonderful ambiance (depending on location) I think its already been more than 3 years since I've done such an adventure. The only drawback I guess is that by being alone, one cannot order as many varieties of food as one would want.

It was just last sunday that I got this wonderful chance again. Given that I had to drive both my parents to Century Seafood restaurant (near Harrizon Plaza) for a wedding reception. I was left with a few hours all by myself. My initial plan was to head off back to the binondo area and try some of the small eateries that I've never been to. But thanks to some wisecrack that decided to close a huge portion of Roxas Blvd. for some bike race, the traffic snarls made me decide to choose somewhere nearer.

The Asian Food Village called MAKANSUTRA came to mind and it was there that I went...... Initially, I thought this food establishment was housed either beside or near the Manila Oceanarium Complex. Turns out it is within the complex on the 2nd floor. Thankfully, there are some signs that would point the way. (either that, or you can just ask for directions)

A portion of the many stations with cooks busy cooking up a good number of fine asian dishes.

Based on what little I read here in MTC about the eatery, I thought the style here was you approach individual open kitchen kiosks and place your orders there. Turns out, they made it easy as you just look for a vacant table, then a server will come along with a menu and you can order from there. I didn't get to glance at all the different sections but based on the signs, they were offering asian goodies from singapore, india, thailand, philippines and probably malaysia, indonesia and korea. (I think there was also some hint of western food)

So what to order ???? Like I said, the drawback of dining alone is one cant order as much as one would want to. As I glanced at their menu, my thoughts kept circling around the likes of the chicken satay and some other dishes I cant even pronounce. Eventually, I decided to order a somewhat familiar dish and take my chance on something I have never tasted. (the fun of food trippin :thumbsupsmiley: )

ROTI PRATA

As what the menu says, its indian pan fried flipped bread. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Accompanying the bread is some curry type sauce used for dipping...... I must say that the bread is what they advertised it to be. A good pinch reveals it to be nice and crispy and as chew on it, you can feel the softness. The curry sauce is somewhat not bad and really goes great with the bread, though I felt they could give it a little more "ooomph".

LAKSA

Before I continue, let me just say that I cannot vouch for the authenticity of this dish (presentation and tastewise) since this will be my first time to try it. I can only comment on whether I personally enjoyed it or not.

Anyway, this version of the Laksa is basically rice noodles with spices like chili. Some shrimps and tofu that is topped on seafood stock mixed with curry and coconut milk...... Definitly the curry and the added chilis will give this dish some heat as evidenced in some beads of sweat developing on my forehead. The sweetness of the coconut milk then added a very nice contrast that somehow neutralizes the spiciness.

Much like the Roti dish, I felt they could improve on this and give this dish a bit more of a stronger flavor. While I think that overall the dish was not a bad one. It just did not make me go Mmmmmmmm.

BANDUNG with CHINCHOW

Feeling that there was still some "heat" coming from the nice laksa dish, I felt I could use something to cool it down.... Ah yes, its dessert time !!! Don't ask me how they came up with the name of this dessert. hahahahaha.

It basically rose syrup mixed with cold milk and some sliced black gulaman...... It was sometime last year that I had a weird experience in ordering some weird rose flavored shake in an indian restaurant somewhere in retiro quezon city, the flavor was soooo strong that I felt I was drinking a puree of rose petals. Fast forward to Makansutra and I am again faced with the question on whether this will taste like rose petals more than anything else.

Well surprise surprise .... while the aroma and taste of roses are still there, it came off in a more subtle and non-overpowering way. It actually blended quite well with the sweet taste of the milk. The thinly sliced black gulaman was there to give it some nice texture. Overall, I think this was the best of the three I ordered.

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I finished my meal feeling quite satisfied but a little on the "bitin" side since I could not order any of the other dishes. Next Time .... I'm bringing reinforcements. :thumbsupsmiley: