Gel Jose

Why Lucifer Morningstar is Totes Adorbs

Charming. Charismatic. Devilishly Handsome. These are just some of the words that describe Lucifer Morningstar, erstwhile Ruler of Hell but currently owner of Luxe, the most happenin’ club in Los Angeles, and consultant for the LAPD.

Beyond these endorsements, Lucifer (naughtily portrayed by Welsh actor Tom Ellis) has so much more to offer, and here are some of them.

He has a wicked sense of humor. From his funny teasing quips (“You give your child money everytime she swears? Bravo, detective!”) to his wickedly arched eyebrow, Lucifer is in on the joke and more importantly, he wants to share it with it you.
He is loaded. As the owner of a successful night club, and judging from his spiffy attire and his luxury cars, he obviously has moolah to spare and he seems like he wouldn’t mind spending it on you.
He has great taste in music. Check out his playlist on Spotify. And wait ’til you hear him sing while plays the piano.
He knows your deepest and darkest desires. Or he can make you spill them.

Lucifer is based on the Vertigo Comics character created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg. Jerry Bruckheimer serves as one of the show’s executive producers.

Seafood Haven at Crab ‘n Crew

The folks invited us to try out this seafood resto in Project 6. It is located in a small building along Visayas Avenue. There is ample parking space but given the seemingly universal appeal of its #CrabAllYouCan for only Php699 offer, be ready to wait for your table like we did.

The resto’s interiors have an industrial feel to it with multiple hanging lights and black and white photos providing accents to the decor.

Our group ordered a Mussel Bag (Php420/100grams) and a Butter Bag (Php999, consists of seafood and corn on the cob bits), which we ate with our hands (making use of the bibs and gloves provided.)

I like how the mix of textures from the crabs, prawns, mussels and oysters and their respective sauces made for hearty meal.

The wait staff are also friendly and attentive.

Crab ‘n Crew is located at 77 Visayas Avenue, Quezon City.

Get-together at Homey Cafe Mary Grace

Cafe Mary Grace is best known for its baked goods, particularly the Ensaymada and Cheese Rolls. Stemming from its owner (guess the name!) Mary Grace’s passion for baking, Cafe Mary Grace aims to provide the homey delights of fun Sunday family lunches to its diners.

When a friend came home from Singapore, we decided on a whim to meet up at Cafe Mary Grace in Greenbelt, Makati for dinner.

True its homey roots, the place has a warm and inviting atmosphere, with trinkets and framed sayings and food shots dotting the walls. There were lots of diners there who -similar to us – are friends getting together to catch up or families out for a good meal.

We ordered a Smoked Salmon and Cream Pasta (Php330), a Pasta Amatriciana with Italian Meatballs (Php320) and capped our meal with cups of rich Mary Grace’s Hot Chocolate (Php157) and decadent slices of Chocolate Cake (Php120) and Mango Bene (Php198).

It was an enjoyable meal among friends enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of home.

This branch of Cafe Mary Grace is located at Ground Floor, Greenbelt 2, Esperanza, Ayala Center, Makati City.

Affordable Kebab Meal at Mazza Shawarma

What do you do if your family is hankering for a meal of kebab and rice but you’re on a budget? Drop by Mazza Shawarma, of course!

Beef kebabs are a particular favorite for my family. We love the tender and smoky-flavored of the marinated and grilled ground beef, complemented by buttered rice, and garlic and chili sauces.

Our meal consisted of:

Four orders of beef kebab meals (Php130 each) which come with two kebab sticks, buttered, cucumber, tomatoes and onions
Grilled tomatoes and onion (Php20 each)
One order of ox brain (Php90), we consider this our indulgence
Red iced tea (Php30 each)

All in all, it was an enjoyable meal, made even more fun by the fact that we spent just a little under Php1000!

This Mazza Shawarma branch is located at the Eastwood City Walk 2, Libis, Quezon City.

Ramen break at Rai Rai Ken

While out on an errand with my daughter in SM City Taytay, we came across this branch of Rai Rai Ken. We don’t normally come across Rai Rai Ken branches in our usual haunts and since I’m going through my ramen phase and my daughter is a tempura aficionado, we decided to have our dinner here.

Rai Rai Ken started out as a humble eatery located along Bautista Street, Makati City in the early ’90s, which later started offering authentic Japanese ramen to its clientele. Now, it has 30+ branches nationwide, all serving old-fashioned steamy, heartwarming bowls of ramen. Its expanded menu now includes sashimi, sushi, teriyakis and teppans.

The branch in SM Taytay is clean with Japanese-inspired decor that includes a cherry blossom painting and paper lanterns that add character to the space.

I chose Tonkutsu Ramen (Php375) for myself; it consists of a rich pork tonkutsu broth, Japanese noodles, slices of marinated and slow-roasted pork belly, topped with mushrooms, aji tamago (marinated soft-boiled egg), menma (bamboo shoots) and nori (edible seaweed). The steamy dish does warm the heart with its full-flavored broth and the contrasts in texture of noodles combined with its toppings.

I also ordered Ebi Tempura (Php355 for 5 pieces), Salmon Sashimi (Php350) and Kani Salad (Php179) as requested by my daughter.

This branch is located at the Upper Ground Floor, Building B, SM City Taytay, along Taytay Diversion Road, Bgy Dolores, Taytay Rizal.

More info available at the Rai Rain Ken website.

Steak-time at Artsy Cafe, Maginhawa

It’s been some time since I last visited the famous Maginhawa Street. I like variety in cuisines and dining options available in this strip.

For my Saturdate lunch with my teenage daughter, I took her to Artsy Cafe in Maginhawa. While I’ve never dined there before, I’m familiar with the menu since I’ve eaten at the Artsy Cafe along Panay Avenue which is nearer to my office.

We arrived at 11am as the place was just opening. I’m happy to find that the place is already clean and ready to accommodate early patrons. The place has both indoor and outdoor dining areas and airy interiors. Its decor has a whimsical quality: you can see this from the colorful lamps hanging from the ceiling, the playful chalk writings on its walls and boards, to its multi-hued chairs.

The staff were friendly and quick to take and served our orders.

I treated myself to a succulent T-bone Steak (Php290), served with rice, sautéed vegetables and a rich buttery gravy. My daughter, on the other hand, ordered a Salisbury Steak (Php225), juicy browned ground beef patties, also served with rice veggies and gravy. As evidenced by our lunch preferences, my daughter and I are both carnivores. We found our food well-seasoned and flavorful.

We’re both looking forward to coming back and then, we will end our meal by trying some of the desserts that Artsy Cafe offers.

This branch is located at 36 Maginhawa Street, UP Village, Diliman, QC.

The appeal of Bacolod Chicken Parilla

It is rare for a group of ten coworkers to instantly agree on where to have lunch but mention Bacolod Chicken Parilla and you will find us simultaneously leaving our desks to go to what seems to be our favorite chicken inasal place.

The chicken inasal, a Bacolod specialty dish, is a type of roasted chicken which is marinated in lime juice, pepper, annato (called achuete in the Philippines) and vinegar, grilled over hot coals while being further basted with the marinade. It is often served with garlic fried rice and a dipping sauce called sinamak (which is made of palm vinegar infused with garlic, chili peppers and ginger. The most common serving variations of inasal are the paa (leg and thigh), pecho (breast and wing) and pakpak (three pieces of wings).

My personal preference when it comes to chicken inasal is the paa because, while the pecho is usually meatier, the paa is more flavorful and juicier. I also want lots of chicken oil (usually made from rendered chicken fat infused with garlic and annato seeds) to drizzle over my chicken and garlic rice, making my meal so much more sinful but tastier as well.

The offerings here are also quite affordable, contributing to the almost universal appeal among my officemates. Menu prices for the items we usually order are:

Pecho at Php90
Paa at Php90
Pakpak at Php85
Garlic Rice at Php25

This branch of Bacolod Chicken Parilla is located at the corner of Scout Gandia and Scout Reyes Streets, Bgy. Paligsahan, Quezon City.

Fresh, huge and great burgers at Zark’s

There are days when you just want to forget about greens and calorie counting (which to me is everyday) and sink your teeth into some sinful, hearty and greasy burgers. These are times when a visit to this burger joint comes in.

Zark’s Burgers was named after its owner, Zark Espina Varona, a burger fan himself who put up his first store near De La Salle University along Taft Avenue in 2009 (all the better to cater to those hungry students, I guess), with the mission of offering burgers that are “FRESH. HUGE. GREAT.” The chain has since grown to 29 stores with branches in Metro Manila, Laguna, Batangas, Cebu, Iloilo and Bacolod.

When my hubby and I craved for sinful burgers, we visited the branch in SM East Ortigas and treated ourselves to:

Chicken Fingers and Fries (Php159) for sharing
The Zark’s Classic Cheeseburger (Php109 + Php40 for fries and drink) for me.
The Zark’s Ultimate Burger (Php149 + Php40 for fried and drink) for hubby. It’s composed of a quarter-pounder burger with caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, cheese sauce and, of course, bacon
Snickers Ala Mode (Php149) for sharing. It’s a Snickers bar dipped in batter, deep-fried and served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup

In a later visit, I even tried out the heart-healthy (not! But YOLO – Uh-oh!) Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Burger (Php279), a burger completely wrapped in bacon strips, then deep-fried, giving it a crispy crust that gives way to a juicy burger as you bite into it. I didn’t even need the Mamba sauce that came with it.

This Zark’s Burgers branch is located at 2nd Floor, SM City East Ortigas, along Ortigas Avenue Extension in Pasig City.

A feast among friends at Gerry’s Grill

I usually dine at Gerry’s Grill in Tomas Morato for quick, no-frills lunches with my coworkers but in this branch in SM Marikina, I feasted with new friends. After participating in an outreach activity in a nearby charity institution, hubby and his car-clubmates decided to have lunch at SM Marikina. After a considerable time waiting, a table was found for our large group.

Among the hearty fare we enjoyed were classic Filipino favorites:

When dining in large groups, Gerry’s Grill seems like a great choice as practically everyone would have something to like. We ate family-style which also helps in fostering new friendships.

This branch is located at Ground Floor, SM City Marikina, Calumpang, Marikina City.

Beautiful decadence at Cafe Shibuya

Shibuya honey toast is the Japanese version of the French toast. Consisting of thick stacks of buttery bread, syrup and toppings, it is a beautifully constructed and decadent treat.

Aside from this Japanese classic, Cafe Shibuya also offers savory variations of the toasts such as those approximating Eggs Benedict and pizzas, as well as salads, soups, pastas, main dishes and cakes.

During an event at the Glorietta Mall, my officemates and I hung out at the Cafe Shibuya stall for some snacks. It occupies a small area with seating that can accommodate around 20-30 people.

I ordered a San Rival Toast (Php275) which I shared with the group: it consists of thick slices of crispy-on-the-outside but soft-on-the-inside buttery toasts interspersed with buttercream, cashew meringue and pistachio nuts topped with a generous dollop of vanilla ice cream.

The others ordered a Beef Bulgogi Nachos (Php295), a Sardines in Olive Oil pasta (Php245) and a Spaghetti al Tonno (Php235) which we all shared. The beef bulgogi bits and cheese complemented the crunchy nachos quite well. The pastas were cooked al dente and the sauces are infused with flavor but not overpowering.

On my next visit, I’m looking forward to satisfying my sweet tooth with the Ghirardelli salted caramel mocha and the Banofee toast.

This Cafe Shibuya branch is located at 3rd Floor, Glorietta 2, Ayala Center, Makati City.