It's confirmed. The British phenomenon One Direction will be in town next year. I'll have to find tickets for the kids. How do I do just that? They say both play dates are sold out. What to do, what to do?
Monday, October 27, 2014
Happy Lemon
I've been postponing my visit to Happy Lemon for some time now. When I first heard about this store from a friend, she insisted that the salted caramel drink was very very good. I was thinking about how a cold salty drink would taste like, and I wasn't too enthusiastic about trying the drink. I finally worked up enough guts to walk to the counter a couple of weeks ago, and I must add that the drink isn't bad at all (just about P100). Scaredy cat me!J. Boy
I was walking along San Miguel Avenue at the Ortigas Center when I came across J. Boy, a new Japanese fast food store. It was almost 2:30 pm and was thinking of skipping lunch; my tummy didn't agree so I stepped in the store. For just about P170, I had the combo meal below. Unbelievable how they cram everything onto the plate... Go figure...
Duck & Buvette
The old wing of the Shangri-la Mall is catching up with the new wing. One such evidence of transformation is the former Cafe Provencal, which the owners have re-envisioned as the Duck & Buvette, a French Bistro that is refreshingly candid, both in decor and in cuisine.
We started off with some Angus meatballs & potatoes with duck eggs. Pizza was interesting, but I don't remember what flavor we ordered (I was too busy chomping on slices while we were discussing how to fine-tune our business operations).
On to the juicier parts of the meal--duck confit, Angus briskets and beef burgundy. Hot off the stove, juicy, tender and yes, gone in 15 minutes. We were 5 guys, so what do you expect? We didn't eat in the usual refined manner, we practically wolfed down the food... Hahaha....
Prepare something like P700 per person if you just want to savor some casual French cuisine, and maybe P1,200 per person for the works. The duck confit is pretty well prepared (the bird is reasonably plump, skin is crispy), although I don't know if this was fried in bird fat or olive oil (those counting calories may want to ask). I was hoping that they would have goose confit too; this early I can already imagine the rich aroma! Ay yay yay... sarap!
Swiss Gourmet
I don't recall where I was able to purchase Swiss Gourmet meats. Probably either SM or Rustan's Supermarket. This Davao-based brand has consistent quality over different meat preparations (sausages and cured meats) and I simply love their pastrami. Keep up the good work!Mad Mark's (Greenbelt)
After having our mid-day snack at Kichitora, I purposely decided not to take some wasabi ice cream in order to try the ice cream at neighboring Mad Marks' Creamery & Good Eats. Our combination? Javan chocolate ice cream and Madagascar cookie dough. Not bad at all, milky, smooth, no air bubbles. Chocolate ice cream had the right amount of bitterness, and it wasn't syrupy sweet like that of some other brands. Monique loved the cookie dough, which is frankly, something that I don't like at all--it's like I'm eating raw batter! Around P80 per scoop, which is just about the pricing of artisan ice cream or gelato these days. My comment--I wish they had a wider range of flavors (they only have around a dozen). Of course Monique reminded me that it probably isn't viable to have too many flavors in production, but my point is that a bona fide creamery must have more stuff to offer!
Kichitora
By the time we sat down, Monique and I were already wondering if Kichitora would make it on our list of Top 10 Ramen Places in Metro Manila. We were only in for a mid-afternoon snack, so we shared an order of gyoza (P150) and an order of their best ramen--Paitan Zenbu No Se (P420). I liked them both! Monique always kids me since she thinks that I love everything; it is really true that she has more refined taste buds and can discern the subtle differences in food.
The food attendant informed us that the name of the restaurant meant "Lucky Tiger" in Japanese, which is why the tiger would greet guests as they walked in! We dined at the branch in Greenbelt 5, and I understand that they also have a branch at the SM Megamall (of course the original restaurant is in Tokyo).
Homeys Cafe
I used to work in Legaspi Village in the late eighties. The place looks pretty much the same, maybe a few buildings have gone up, but the character of the neighborhood hasn't changed much. I was meeting some people over lunch and we decided to try Homeys Cafe, which is at the ground floor of Miriam House, near the corner of Herrera St. The owners must have named the place such in order to make it as homey as possible! (My old English teacher, God bless his soul, constantly warned me that pun is the lowest form of humor).
Meals are reasonably priced. You can't go wrong with dining at around P250 per head; the food is prepared in home-cooked style and comes to your table right off the stove. We had pinakbet, chicken bagnet and lengua salpicao. The chicken was really fried chicken, but I guess the cook boiled it first before frying, just like pork bagnet. The salpicao was tasty but quite oily for me (in fairness, most salpicao versions are oily, but I can think of a few restaurants that can cook it right sans the dripping oil).
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Bette's Fried Pizza
The 6th floor fast food center of the One Corporate Plaza along Julia Vargas St in the Ortigas Center has some culinary surprises that make my day. I came across Bette's fried pizza stall, and I am amazed at how this wonderful lady chef came up with the idea to fry her pizza crust prior to oven baking. She's got several flavors going (I like the Pizza Supreme best, it's got lots of cheese and a number of flavorful toppings), and the best part is that the outer crust is crunchy to the bite, and at the same time, the crust has a hot gooey, chewy center dough that simply makes me smile. The resulting sensation when you bite the crust is something you can't find in other pizza stores. Keep it up Bette!
Cardhu
We had a break from our stressful board meeting with a bottle of Cardhu Speyside single malt whiskey. Love the taste, clean, woody. Certified firewater. Quite addicting!Blue Bell
In the late sixties we used to have Silver Bell ice cream. This brand, however, faded out of the limelight, slowly losing market share to both Magnolia and Selecta ice cream. When I was in Robinson's Galleria, I came across Blue Bell ice cream, and I wondered if it were somehow related to Silver Bell (not a chance, though). I had a couple of scoops. Utterly delicious! They don't have too many locations though, and I hope that they open more branches soon.
Tampopo
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Shopping at Greenhills can be fun and exhausting at the same time. By 6pm, Ed, Korina and I were all tired from all the walking. We were finally able to make our way to the Promenade and settled on going Japanese for the night. Tampopo was the obvious choice, and we were lucky to get a table immediately. Gyoza (both steamed and fried versions) was our appetizer.
The 10-minute ramen wait was well worth it. This ramen shop knew exactly how to blend in the flavors--flavorful broth, crunchy corn kernels, pickled veggies, marinated soft boiled eggs, firm noodles with just the right amount of spices. No wonder this chain was voted one of the best in Singapore!
Yoghurt came from the nearby Red Mango, which I supposed had a tie-up with the store. All in all, we spent something like P550 per person, and that was enough to make us so full we could hardly get up from our chairs.
Tiffany Break
New brands are coming up everyday, and Becca brought home some Tiffany Break chocolate wafers manufacture by Dubai-based IFFCO. A good mid-day snack, but a bit on the sweet side for me. Big J Sausages
I came across Big J sausages at the Robinson's Otis and for under P100, I did get to enjoy a Hungarian sausage sandwich. Not bad at all. Kudos to the entrepreneur who concocted the recipe!
Hassan Kabab & Steaks
An adventure with Ed and Korina along Katipunan Avenue took us to Hassan Kabab & Steaks. This restaurant is near the Santolan junction and you won't miss the bright orange sign. They have an air-conditioned section if you want to escape the mid-day heat. Steaks are cheap (below P200) but you can't expect real beefy goodness. We didn't get to try the kababs though, but I wouldn't expect much.
Butlers
There's something about the tag line of Butlers chocolates that gives me a kick; "Purveyors of Happiness," they say. I was lucky enough to receive a box of Irish truffles from a friend of mine and by golly, these chocolates are indeed delectable! Smooth texture, creamy finish, not too sweet, infused with intense coffee, cream and liqueurs. Absolutely heaven!Experia Z3
We went to St. Francis Square a couple of weeks ago, and cousin Eddie got himself a gorgeous Experia Z3! Wonderful phone. Great specs. 5.2" full HD screen. Snapdragon 2.5 GHz Quad-core chip. Watertight. Kit-Kat 4.4. 20MP camera. 3,100 mAh battery. P32,000 on retail basis. Whew!Draft
Draft GastroPub in Greenbelt is primarily a bar but that didn't prevent us from having our late lunch there. Surprisingly the food was good. Monique loved the French onion soup, and Andi finished her linguine in record time. The pot roast, which Vicky had, was very tender and tasty. Our bill came to something like P500 per head, very reasonable for the area. Next time I'll try the lunch specials; those dishes looked quite appetizing.
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