After lunch at nearby Cafe I’m Here, my friend and I hied ourselves over to the Macao Imperial Tea outlet along Timog Avenue. Occupying a narrow area in the second floor of RTT Building, it is one of eleven outlets in Metro Manila of this new entrant to the milk tea business.
When we arrived as the lunch hour was nearing its end, there was an impressive line to the counter of people waiting to order their drinks, a testament to the popularity of this milk tea brand. Despite the narrow space, there were quite a few seating spaces.
Having been named one of the top ten milk tea places in Metro Manila, Macao Imperial Tea serves an extensive menu that includes coffee, milk tea and cream cheese-based drinks.
For this visit, we each ordered a Black Pearl Milk Tea. At only Php100, each drink comes in a premium-looking reusable plastic cup. The milk tea was creamy and not-too-sweet with pearls serving as nice accents to the drink.
We took our drinks back to the office to enjoy at our leisure.
This Macao Imperial Milk Tea branch is located at RTT Building, Tomas MoratoCorner Timog Avenue, South Triangle, Quezon City. Other branches are located at:
780 Banawe Street, Banawe, Quezon City
Fisher Mall, Quezon Avenue, Del Monte, Quezon City
Ground Floor, Circuit Makati, Olympia, Makati City
308 Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes, Parañaque City
Third Floor, Main Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City
Fourth Floor, SM City Manila, Ermita, Manila
Calle Bistro, Ground Floor, Ever Gotesco Mall, Commonwealth, Old Balara, Quezon City
Second Floor, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Binondo, Manila
Ground Floor, Unimart Supermarket, Oranbo, Pasig City
As can be gleaned from its name, Outback Steakhouse is inspired by the hearty meals of burgers and barbecued meats in Australian cuisine. Being a core component of the Australian diet, meat does take center stage in the restaurant’s menu: with Signature Steaks of various cuts cooked to order, Australian-themed appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and more.
The place is not as full as we expected despite the lunch hour on a Saturday. The ground floor dining area is for smokers but the second floor dining space is more geared towards families and non-smokers. The darkwood floors and furniture give the place a masculine feel (quite appropriate for a steaks and grill place).
Light lunch fare and Outback steakhouse’ offerings do not usually go together but my daughter and I solved this dilemna by splitting an order Bacon Cheeseburger (Php499). This consisted of an Outback Steakhouse’ humungous ground beef burger patty, grilled to medium doneness per our request, topped with bacon, American cheese, pickles, onions, mayo, lettuce and tomato between warm fluffy burger buns, certainly juicy and meaty with every bite. It is served with Aussie Fries, large fried potato wedges which helped make this meal filling enough for two.
Considering availing of the same Metrodeal offer? Here are some friendly reminders:
Note the validity period of the Metrodeal voucher. It may not be valid for use during holidays or special events.
You can only use a maximum of 8 vouchers per table per redemption.
Be sure to reserve your table before you go to the resto.
This Outback Steakhouse branch is located at the Ground Floor, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Glorietta Complex, Makati City, open daily from 11am to 1am. For reservations and inquiries, call +63 2 7298458.
Other branches are located at:
Ground Floor, ATC Corporate Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa (open Sundays to Thursdays from 11am to 10pm and Fridays to Saturdays 11am to 11pm; Tel: +63 2 7721844)
Blue Bay Walk, Macapagal Avenue Corner EDSA, Libertad, Pasay City (open Sundays to Thursdays from 11am to 10.30pm and Fridays to Saturdays 11am to 12midnight; Tel: +63 2 8931026)
Eastwood Citywalk 1, Libis, Quezon City (open Sundays to Thursdays from 10am to 11pm and Fridays to Saturdays 10am to 12midnight; Tel: +63 2 2773216)
Superheroes embody all that is noble and good in all of us. They serve to inspire us to do and be better, to give us hope when feel disillusioned or to provide us a respite from the mundane aspects of daily life.
This November, SKYcable subscribers can revel in the feats of these super-powered beings.
After the death of his father, Crown Prince T’Challa grapples with the weight of the crown of Wakanda and its relationship with the outside world in Black Panther. Catch the TV premiere of this blockbuster on Fox Movies (ch 55SD, 170HD),November 17, 9pm.
In The Gifted, suburban parents discover that their children have mutant powers and takes them on the run. Follow their continuing fight for peaceful coexistence with humanity in a brand new season airing on Fox (ch 50, 173HD) same day as the US, Wednesdays at 9pm.
The Arrowverse is continuously expanding with new fierce warriors and metahumans joining the fray on Tuesdays starting at 9pm on Warner TV (ch 34SD, 197HD). After being forced to reveal the secret identity behind the Green Arrow, Oliver Queen is incarcerated and must deal with the criminals he put behind bars in Arrow. In Legends of Tomorrow, the super-powered band of misfits continue to travel through time to protect history.
If these channels are not in your SKYcable line-up, don’t fret! Get 15-day access to these and so much more with SKY Select’s Holiday TV Fest promo. Until November 12, activate up to 70 SKY Select channels for FREE for 15 days by simply texting SELECTCHRISTMAS to 23662 or activating them online via mysky.com.ph/selectpromo. You may also call SKY’s Customer service hotline(02) 381-0000 or your local SKY office.
SKY Cable Corporation is the first to introduce cable television to Filipinos in 1990. Since then, it has been a frontrunner in technology and cable TV content by being the first to design a highly customized viewing experience among subscribers, and offering the most number of HD channels.
Disclosure: I work for SKY and part of my job is promoting its products and services, especially the content it provides to its subscribers. I consider being able to share my love for TV shows and movies and the experience of watching and talking about them with like-minded people some of the biggest perks of my job.
Dining at a roofdeck restaurant affords you a spectacular view to enjoy together with your meal. Aside from the stunning vista of city lights, you also get to enjoy cool, clean and calming breezes far removed from the busy streets below.
Despite my acrophobia, I have a special affinity for roofdecks: I guess the peace and relaxation I experience when situated far above my normal concerns outweigh my chronic fear of heights.
This is why I was excited when Zomato invited me to a foodie meetup at Firefly Roofdeck.
Located at the 32nd Floor of City Garden Grand Hotel in Makati, Firefly Roofdeck provides a chill ambiance in which you can relax and while away the workday’s stresses. The resto’s ceilings, spacious dining area and al fresco setup give you an expansive background for your get-together with friends or solo chill-out drinks while waiting for Makati rush hour traffic jams to abate.
Firefly Roofdeck’s view of the Makati skyline is quite simply breath-taking. Especially during evenings, you will see a wide expanse of blue-black sky awashed with pin-points of colorful lights and skyscrapers jutting upward.
Firefly Roofdeck recently launched its Japanese-Korean buffet, coincidentally, two of my favorite cuisines. It boasts of an extensive menu of new and favorite Japanese and Korean dishes, giving diners a wide selection of viands to choose from.
These include:
Salad Bar (with choice of Wafu, Ponzu, Yangnyeom Jang dressing): Kimchi, Sigeumchi Namul, Oi Muchim, Hobak Bokkeum, Gaji Namul, Gamja Jorim, Mu Saengchae, Pajeori, Eomuk Bokkeum; Chawanmushi (Japanese egg custard dish)
Japanese Bar: assorted maki rolls and takoyaki
Cook-to-Order marinated Chicken and Pork
Assorted bread rolls
Soup: Samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup)
Carving Meat/Centerpiece: Buta no Kakuni (Japanese Braised Pork Belly)
Main Courses: Seafood Cheese Tteokbeokki (Spicy Rice Cake), Chicken Nanban (Deep-Fried Chicken with Tartar Sauce), Gaji Namul (Steamed Eggplants) and Japchae
Rice: Tori Chahan and Steamed Rice
Dessert: Sata Andagi (Okinawan Doughnuts), Fresh Fruits and Chef’s Discretion Desserts
At only Php800+ per person, it is available only for dinner until November 30, 2018.
The sheer variety of food on offer can be quite overwhelming at first, but as I’ve often advised when eating at an eat all-you-can buffet, concentrate on food that are your absolute faves or try out ones you don’t get to eat often. This way, you get to maximize your savings and the experience.
Some menu items could use a few tweaks such as offering mild and spicy ssamjang dipping sauces to go with the grilled pork and chicken, replenishing the ebi tempura more often, offering more dessert choices (hopefully bingsu!) and lessening the sweetness of the teokbokki.
Other than those points for improvement, the upscale ambiance and the superb servicing of Firefly Roofdeck’s wait staff make dining at Firefly Roofdeck truly memorable.
Aside from the Japanese-Korean Buffet, diners can opt for other menu items ala carte such as:
Rooftop Barbecue (includes vegetables and choice among rice, French friends or mashed potatoes):
Grilled Squid (Php650)
Grilled Liempo (Php325)
Beef Tenderloin (Php780/200g | Php1,395/400g)
Lamb Rack (Php728/200g | Php1,195/400g)
Rib Eye (Php840/200g | Php1,395/400g)
Salmon Fillet (Php875)
Tiger Prawn (Php595)
Chicken Breast (Php295)
Hungarian Sausage (Php575)
Veal Bratwurst (Php575)
Bar Chow
Mezclado Nueses & Patatas Fritas (Php195)
Lechon Kawali (Php495)
Tinapa Salted Egg Roll (Php225)
Buffalo Itik (Php625)
Grilled Tuna Panga (Php850)
Grand Chicharon (Php150)
Adobo Potato Wedges (Php225)
Lechon Sisig Overload (Php350)
Crispy Crablets (Php245)
Papas Fritas (Php195)
Chicken Fingers (Php295)
Cerveza Pescaito Frito (Php325)
Nachos A La Queen (Php395)
Camaron Picante (Php425)
Pollo Palomitas en Parilla (Php295)
Firefly Roofdeck is located at the 32nd Floor of the City Garden Grand Hotel, Makati Avenue corner Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati City, open daily from 10am to 2am. For reservations and inquiries, call +63 2 5543429.
Disclosure: Together with other Zomato foodies, I was invited to attend a foodie meet-up held in this restaurant. All the food items mentioned here were served to allow us to sample the fare and were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.
Need some tips to maximize your eat-all-you-can experience? Read my buffet survival guide.
Jellybeans in the City 