Reno

I grew up on Reno liver spread.  It's not as smoothly mashed like imported liverwurst, but it's one sixth the price and tastes so yummy!  There is a slight spice to their recipe, and for years now, I've been adding this to my beef calderetta for taste enhancement and as a sauce thickener.  I remember we were panic buying when the news of the EDSA revolution spread--I bought a whole box of this as my protein fix.  Easy to eat, just spread it over some hot pan de sal.  Absolutely addictive!

Mr. Pizza

Monique, Vicky and I were at the Robinson's Ermita Mall looking for a cover for Vicky's iPad when we noticed that our tummies needed some attention.  Monique brought Vicky and I to Mr. Pizza, which is a Korean brand.  I must say that I'm impressed; we had one with gorgonzola cheese and another one with mushrooms and broccoli.  Flavorful toppings and crispy crust in around 15 minutes!  Spend around P400 per person for a hearty merienda.

Kusina ni Ingga

Our trip to Ternate was pretty hectic, and we had a lot of property tax research to do at the municipal hall.  Our group was able to find Kusina ni Ingga, a roadside restaurant in Maragondon, for a quick lunch.

We were hungry, and as you can see, we ordered whatever they had to offer, which was an instant feast--bulalo soup, sisig, fried chicken, inihaw na pusit, sauteed pusit, escabecheng hipon, pancit canton and bistek tagalog.  And can you imagine all 7 of us were stuffed at just about P300 per person?  Yummy yum yum!

English OPM Songs

Here are some OPM songs in English that I really appreciate:

1.       No One Throws Away Memories  (Richard Tann)
2.      Can We Just Stop and Talk A While  (Jose Mari Chan)
3.      Closer You and I  (Gino Padilla)
4.      Let The Pain Remain  (Basil Valdez)
5.      Be My Lady  (Martin Nievera)
6.      Points of View  (Pops Fernandez & Joey Albert)
7.      Show Me A Smile  (Apo Hiking Society)
8.      Till I Met You  (Kuh Ledesma)
9.      See You There  (Ding Mercado)
10.    Together, Forever  (Rico J. Puno)
11.     Take Me Out of the Dark  (Gary Valenciano)
12.     Tell Me  (Joey Albert)
13.     Beautiful Girl  (Jose Mari Chan)
14.     Jealous  (Nina)
15.     Even If  (Jam Morales)
16.     Give Me A Chance  (Ric Segreto)
17.     Till My Heartaches End  (Ella Mae Saison)
18.    Kaleidoscope World  (Francis Magalona)
19.     Friend of Mine  (Odette Quesada)
20.    I'll Always Stay in Love This Way  (Baron Barbers)
21.     Just a Smile Away  (Jaime Garchitorena)
22.    Hang On  (Gary Valenciano)
23.    To Love Again  (Sharon Cuneta)
24.    I'll Never Say Goodbye  (Nonoy Zuniga)
25.    Love At 30,000 Feet  (Jose Mari Chan)

Round Robin Cafe

Monique and I had a quick lunch at The Round Robin Cafe along Sct. Tobias St.  We tried beef dishes and cream pasta, spent something like P500 for the both of us.  The shop also carries some cakes, but not as much variety though.  Just be careful parking curbside--parking isn't allowed on Sct. Tobias, and the tow trucks pass by quite often.

Canton Road

Shangri-la at the Fort is indeed a lovely hotel, and we found that the interiors of their Chinese restaurant Canton Road had a muted sense of luxury that was very well appreciated by our group.  The food is enjoyable, although the service needs to be upped a bit (we waited over 20 minutes for after meal coffee).

Panda faced sweet siopao, anyone?  That was a conversation piece, together with the pumpkin balls.  The roasted duck and the lechon Macao were succulent, and had just the right amount of seasoning.

Anything coated with mashed salted duck eggs seems to be the in thing these days, and we were happy with the prawn dish that we ordered.  The stir-fried beef dish and the French beans were also a welcome treat.  We didn't have much room in our tummies for the fried rice which traditionally comes last.  Prepare something like P1,500 per person to enjoy a variety of dimsum and other viands.

Burger Company

Monique was the first one who raised the burger alert for Burger Company.  She found an online review of the restaurant and texted me a note about her find.  Located Scout Reyes St. in Quezon City (near the corner of Mother Ignacia St.), this restaurant is known not only for burgers, but for being a good place to play board games (I'm not really familiar about these games, but judging from the way the wall was filled with these games, they seem to have an extensive collection).

Burgers are juicy, and patties are flavorful.  The added condiments (I think I chose blue cheese) are just gravy (pardon the pun).  However, burgers are priced at the P250 to P350 range, which would put them at the high end of the market.  The place is clean and the color scheme of yellow and orange gives a peppy atmosphere.  Parking isn't bad (good for 3-4 cars), but I suppose that if your visit falls on a tournament date, then it'll probably be difficult to find a slot.