Grind & Co.

It was sibling Saturday for us, and while we missed Erica (she's in Sydney), Anita, Mickaela and I continued with the jang-jang and went around the Scout area to have merienda at Grind & Co. (along Scout Tuason).  We had never heard of this newly opened burger joint, and just stopped and parked as we drove by.  Turned out to be a good experience!

We started off with nachos and fries, both topped with ground meat, drizzled with lotsa cream and cheese, then punctuated with semi-spicy jalapenos.  We dug in and enjoyed with our messy hands.  Since there were 3 of use, we decided to share a triple-patty burger just to see how monstrous this would be.  Beefy, tasty, though I would have wanted it slightly saltier.  Not bad for a spend of just less than P200 per head. 

The staff were efficient, pleasant and very eager to make us feel at home.  Even though they were still on dry run, they served us quite well.  We'll be back!

Caffe D' Vita

The regular coffee drinkers in the family were not sold on Caffe D' Vita's hazelnut flavored cappuccino blend. Kong, Gwammy, and Anita all felt that the nutty taste was overwhelming the coffee.  Despite my protestations that the brand was tagged as a premium instant beverage in Southern California, the purists were not happy at all.  After much banter, lo and behold, Michaela pops into the main house, and ravishes about the drink! She's the only one absolutely nutty over the nutty taste, hahaha!

Subway

I remember that at one point in time, Subway was on top 5 of the list of fast food brands with the most number of outlets in the world.  I think that this still holds true today, since they have some 37,000 outlets, mostly franchises.  I was at the Dela Rosa car park yesterday, and I was surprised to see an outlet there.  There was a P99 promotion on the ham submarine, and I couldn't resist the temptation!  I like watching the crew build the sandwich, and since it's made right in front of you, everything seems to be so fresh and appetizing.  Absolutely yummy!

Maitre Truffout

I found some Austrian chocolates in Unimart, and these were pretty inexpensive just around P50 to P75 for 100 gram packs.  First time I've seen Maitre Truffaut, and these came in three flavors--almond, cappuccino rectangular bars and round espresso balls.  Good flavor, although it's got too much sugar for my taste.

Baja Mexican Cantina

Had some time to kill in between meetings at the Greenbelt area, and since I just had a very light lunch, my tummy was growling by 4pm.  I decided to have a light merienda at Baja Mexican Cantina.  It turns out that because their burritos were quite large, my merienda became a heavy meal.  The burrito arrived very hot, tightly wrapped in aluminum foil, with just the right mix of shredded meat, beans and rice.  I know that Monique would have liked it to be cheesier, but the flavor was right for me, not salty, not too spicy.

Expect to spend some P200 per head on light meals, but if you want some variety, prepare around P400 per head (of course the bill can shoot up when you start drinking).  Comfy, homey atmosphere; during the daytime, the staff don't rush you and let you read your book or play on your iPad.  At night, however, I can just imagine the pandemonium when the guests start downing the margaritas and the mojitos!

Merced Bake Shop

Don't you just love the way birthday cakes are decorated?  I think that a lot of skill goes into each cake, and whenever I see the pastry chefs squeezing the white icing through the nozzles of the icing bag, I can't help but be mesmerized at how they do it.  It was Becca's birthday recently, and Vicky went all the way to Highway 54 (to the young ones, that corresponds to EDSA) to get an extra large birthday cake at Merced Bake House which has been around since the early seventies.  I think the newer bakeshops just don't make the sugary white icing as good as the older bakeshops.  To be truthful though, I tried only a spoonful--it's much to sweet for my taste, but the sisters just love it!

Hen Lin

I've been spending some time around the Dela Rosa St. in Legaspi Village, and last week I just wanted to get a light afternoon snack.  I found that the ground floor of the car park building has a lot of fastfood outlets, and I walked into the Hen Lin store for an order of pork siomai (4 pieces at P39).  Unfortunately, the siomai had been sitting in the steamer for some time, and to the purists, I tell you the wrapper was quite soggy.  Nevertheless, taste was acceptable for my hungry tummy, and I can't complain much at the price I paid for it.

Macarose

I was at the SM Megamall to pick up my passport at the DFA counter, when I noticed that a large throng was trooping to the skating rink area.  I found myself following the crowd to see what was going on; apparently returning Olympic figure skater Michael Martinez was going to have a press conference.  On my way out, it was good that I passed the Macarose macaron counter, and was delighted to try the one with chocolate ganache made from Davao beans (I always like to see what local produce has to offer). Very good!  65% cacao blend, bold chocolatey taste, and the sweet meringue just completes the experience.  Not bad at all for P45 each; this brand is a bargain for a world class mouthful (I was told by the counter girl that the store owner is a certified chocolatier).  Kudos!  Nicely done!

Cake 2 Go

I've seen some branches of Cake 2 Go from afar, but I've never tasted their cakes until yesterday, when Deannie bought a Creme Brulee cake for Gwammy's birthday.  The sponge cake was fluffy, and this was nicely interlaced with a sweet creme filling that felt like cotton to the palate.  The sugar glaze topping was very sweet, so you'd have to take this with a lot of the sponge cake and the creme to balance off the sweetness.  Not bad at all; the cake was gone in 20 minutes.

Brewing Point

I had a breakfast meeting at Brewing Point Cafe along Congressional Avenue (right beside the gate of Tierra Pura Subdivision) and I was quite surprised to realize that the area was fast developing with commercial buildings being built left and right.  My friend had a ham & cheese omelet while I had corned beef, which was soft and flavorful.  Expect brekky to come to around P250 per head, which isn't bad, especially if you live around the area.  I saw some signs regarding Zumbia classes, and I surmised that the group also runs the Brewing Point Dance Studio.  Neat mix of dance and good chow!

Golden Bay

I was lucky to be invited to a dinner function at the Golden Bay Seafood Restaurant along Macapagal Avenue in the reclaimed area of Paranaque.  We were led to the 2nd floor of the restaurant and I was quite surprised to see that the place was large enough to accommodate some 1,200 people (100 tables of 12 people each).  I think this is one of the largest function areas serving Chinese cuisine in town, and I heard that the place is often booked for large weddings and big parties.  Our meal was quite lavish--assorted appetizers, prawn salad, abalone, steamed Lapu-Lapu and garlic crabs were the highlights of the meal.  Engrossed in conversation, I failed to take even one picture of the delicious viands.  The food was cooked in traditional Cantonese style, and was of good quality. From what my friends told me, set meals start at around P1,000 per head, and could go up threefold in price depending on the rarity of the items ordered.  Talk about exotic!

Ginebra San Miguel

The hullabaloo surrounding the nail-biter basketball games between San Mig Coffee and Ginebra San Miguel made me chuckle since both teams were owned by SMC.  Reading more about the 180-year history of Ginebra San Miguel startled me a bit--I just learned that this is the world's largest selling brand, with sales of 23.8 million 9-liter cases in 2012.  According to figures from Drinks International, this is even more than the combined sales volumes of the next five top-selling gins, Gordon's, Bombay, Seagram's, Beefeater and Tanqueray in the same year.  I was flabbergasted!  Upon closer scrutiny, this was understandably so, since Filipinos are among the world's top alcohol drinkers.  Every time PBA season sets in, the tomadors in barangays all over the country get together and gives toasts as well!

Kasuga

Monique and I had a late lunch treat courtesy of the Callar family in a ramen shop in the South Triangle district near ABS-CBN.  You can zip by Kasuga Ramen House without even noticing it, so you have to drive slowly along Sgt. Esguerra St. if you are not familiar with the area.  Parking is also limited, and while there are parking spaces in front and at the side of the shop, the staff told us that on some nights, you have to be prepared to look for on-street parking some distance away.  It was close to 2pm, and we were lucky to park right in front of the shop.  We had the place all to ourselves on a Saturday afternoon.

They have a wide variety of soups--clear or thick; plain, with miso or with soy; in beef, pork and seafood broth; with thick or thin noodles.  The flavor of the broth is pretty amazing--flavorful, not too salty, and the soups arrive at your table piping hot.  Portion size is reasonable.

The gyoza isn't bad at all, properly stuffed without going overboard.  To have a full tummy, be prepared to spend something like P300 per head.  They have smaller (and cheaper) merienda bowls, if you are not that hungry.  At the time we visited the place, we had just come from a long fitting session with Angela's seamstress, and most of us had each a big bowl of ramen.

Rich Man Poor Man

We spent a good part of our childhood weekends in Sampaloc, gathering around my grandmother's RCA television set to watch shows with the whole clan.  Gwammy was particularly enamored with Rich Man Poor Man, one of the first TV miniseries that was culled from the book by Irwin Shaw.  The drama was pretty much a shortened soap opera, following the lives of two brothers, well played by now veteran actors Peter Strauss and Nick Nolte (this was was in the mid-seventies, and at that time, they were just starting their careers).  We didn't dare miss an episode, and instead of merely watching at home, Gwammy made it a point to make an appointment with the whole clan to follow the series en masse. The plot was discussed, analyzed, argued over, rehashed, and predictions about the ending were made.  Talk about wild and crazy fans!

Chops Shangri-la

The new wing of the Shangri-la Mall is wonderful place to spend a lazy day.  Good shopping, plenty of places to eat in.  Monique and I took Eddie, Remy and Korina to lunch at Chops Chicago Steakhouse, which we learned was a sister restaurant of the Liberty steakhouse over at the UP Town Center.

We started off with some bread; I wasn't too happy though with the cheese spread which was very bland for my taste buds.  Ed and Korina made a beeline for the Angus tenderloin, which was served with lots of mushroom gravy (it's inside the boat).  Thank goodness it was tender and juicy!

Monique was pretty curious with country-style steak, and to her delight, a large slice was served, completely coated with a thin batter, golden fried till crunchiness set in!  I had a flank steak, which wasn't as soft as the tenderloin cut, but was much tastier. 

Remy was happy with her salmon, which came with a poached egg on top, nice plating. Steaks come in a wide price range, from P700 to around P3,500 for the Wagyu cuts.  I also noticed that they had a Tomahawk steak, which was large enough to feed a whole family (hmmm.... I wonder if I can finish that?)

Interiors are very neat, and the place seemed to be a popular restaurant as it was around 70% full on a Saturday noon.  I even bumped into one of my Indian business acquaintances who was all smiles dining there with his friends.  I learned from the staff that the restaurant also has a branch in Greenbelt mall, on the top floor.

Sweet Avenue

Vicky, Monique, Becca and I picked up the car from Toyota Pasong Tamo, and on the way home we passed by Sweet Avenue, a bakeshop along Leon Guinto St. in Malate.  Out of curiosity, we stopped to take a look at the place.  Vicky and Monique wound up buy some chocolate chip cookies, which turned out to be quite good.  It seemed to me that this bakeshop had just started, but a friend who is familiar with the area told me that the bakeshop is already around four to five years old.  They have a small cafe area where one can enjoy their cakes; and I understand that light meals and snacks are also served.

Domo

Went to the Tomas Morato area to have lunch with Vicky, Monique and Angela.  We found ourselves trying Domo, a Japanese restaurant that offered several promotional offers.  As you can see in the picture above, this is quite obvious from the street; various streamers have been placed to highlight their menus.  It was a weekday, and we had the place all to ourselves; and parking was relatively easy.

We took a couple of their promotional packages, which included some udon and sushi cuts, salad, tempura, gyoza and sizzling beef.  Taste, temperature and presentation wasn't bad at all.  By the end of the meal, all four of us were pretty full.

We spent around P450 per head, which is pretty reasonable considering that we had a lot to eat.  I understand that the restaurant has an eat-all-you-can promo on sashimi, which sounds good at first but well, how much raw food can you eat in one sitting?  My only comment is that we were the only ones eating in the place, which I thought was a rather lonely situation.  I was told by the staff that at night, however, business would pick up considerably.