Category: Eat

Jellybeans’ foodie finds

Quick Bite at Banh Mi Kitchen, Tomas Morato

Banh mi is a kind of sandwich which consists of a Vietnamese version of a crunchy baguette filled with savory meats and fresh vegetables. It is the product of the influences of Vietnam’s Indochinese neighbors and French colonizers, introduced in the mid-19th century and became a staple in the early 20th century.

Banh Mi Kitchen’s The Classic sandwich may be considered the starter variant among the shop’s various offerings. The crusty banh mi bread is filled with slices of Vietnamese ham, roast pork, pate, cucumber, pickled radishes and carrots, flavored with mayonnaise and hoisin sauce.

Together with the Banh Mi Kitchen’s own milk tea at only Php199 results in a fusion of flavors that made for light yet filling meal with decidedly Asian flavor.

This banh mi adventure occured during a recent lunchtime visit to M Place along Mother Ignacia Street, South Triangle, QC.

Banh Mi Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Homey Comfort Food at Mom & Tina’s, Greenhills

One of the mantras I always try to follow is to never shop hungry. For one thing, experiencing hunger pangs might distract me from getting the best deal and I might end up just settling. On the other hand, hunger makes me a bit grumpy and I might snap at a hapless salesperson.

In a recent foray with Hubby at Greenhills Shopping Center (where I did not snap at anyone, hapless or otherwise), I chanced upon this Mom & Tina’s branch near the newly renovated Unimart.

I’ve enjoyed dining at this chain’s branches in Tomas Morato and Ugong (even took out cakes for celebrations at home) so I had no qualms suggesting to Hubby that we take our lunch here.

Similar to other Mom & Tina’s outlets, this branch has a bright, cheery yet cozy atmosphere, accented by rustic and homey bric-a-bracs and light-colored furniture.

We ordered a substantial amount of food (proof of how hungry we were):

  • US Roast Beef (Php435) – slices of roast beef served with rich gravy served with mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes and rice.
  • Beef Stroganoff (Php270) – al dente fettuccini pasta tossed in cream sauce with thin beef slices.
  • Barbecued Pork Steak (Php335) – marinated and grilled pork belly served with Java rice and achara

The roast beef slices are a bit too well-done for my taste (they tend to seem dry) but the meats are tender and well-complemented by the mashed potato and veggies. The pork steak is also tender and well-seasoned; its blend of sweet and savory flavors blend well with the Java Rice (I prefer not to include the achara, it’s quite overpowering). The beef stroganoff is also hearty and filling. The portions of these dishes are quite large and we ended up getting part of our orders wrapped for take home (which was greatly appreciated by my son who ate it for merienda).

And simply because there should always be room for dessert, and because I truly deserve it, I got myself a Carrot Cupcake (Php70) to cap the meal. (No, Hubby is not into cupcakes; so… more for me!)

This lunch experience reminded me of the appeal of Mom & Tina’s and I look forward to trying more of its offerings.

This Mom & Tina’s branch is located at 2/F O-Square Building, Greenhills Shopping Center, Ortigas Ave., San Juan City.   For reservations, call + 63 921 5737710.

Other branches are located at:

  • Ugong: FRDC Building, 106 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., (C-5), Pasig City (Tel: + 63 2 9140833 or +63 2 5711541)
  • Makati: G/F Unit 14 Tropical Palms Condominium, Dela Rosa St. cor. Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City (Tel: +63 2 8404299 or + 63 2 8943598)
  • Tomas Morato: 58 Sgt. Esguerra Ave., South Triangle, Quezon City (Tel: + 63 2 3323080 or +63 2 3323579)

Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Got a taste of Bicolandia at Gata, Tomas Morato

Bicolano cuisine is characterized by spiciness and the use of gata (coconut cream): the spiciness gives the dishes a certain excitement while the gata gives them a distinct richness.

I’m not much of a Bicolano food fan myself (but I’m willing to give almost anything a try) so during lunch with my officemates, I found myself trying out a newly opened restaurant along Mother Ignacia Street – Gata: Flavors of Bicolandia, Atbp.

The resto’s interiors have a bright and airy feel; its walls are even adorned by a large colorful mural as well as paintings that depict food and food preparation.

For our lunch, we ordered some of Bicol’s most popular dishes:

  • The ever-present Laing (Php235) made of dried gabi leaves sourced directly from Bicol
  • Adobong Bicolano Liempo (Php250), Bicol’s traditional way of cooking adobo characterized by the lack of sauce
  • Piniritong Manok ni Lola (Php230), homestyle fried chicken, cooked like how grandma does it 🙂

The flavors are familiar and comforting but the serving portions are on the small side.  That said, my dining experience here certainly merits another visit.

Update: I recently attended a Zomato Foodie Meetup held here.  Together with fellow Zomato foodies, I was able to taste more of Gata’s signature Bicolano dishes such as:

  • Sinantol with Kamote Chips (Php190).  Great for vegetarians, this dish pairs deep-fried kamote (sweet potato) chips with the tangy sinantol which consist of finely grated santol rind cooked in coconut milk.
  • Laing Bites with Gata Sauce (Php180).  Another all-veggie dish, this features laing wrapped in deep-fried wonton and served with a homemade gata sauce.
  • Cocido na Buong Lapu-Lapu (Php495). Bicol’s version of Sinigang, it is less sour but still has a hearty broth.
  • Kare-Kareng Bagnet (Php330).  At last I was able to taste this dish made of sizeable slices of pork belly served with a gata-infused kare-kare sauce.
  • Kinunot na Pagi (Php295).  Flakes of stingray meat simmered in gata, quite a new foodie adventure for me! (Trivia: There’s a joke that when a Bicolano takes some gata to the beach, the sharks and stingrays get the hell outta the way!)
  • Halo-Halo Turon with Ice Cream (Php110).  Classic halo-halo ingredients in lumpia wrapper then deep-fried and served with vanilla ice cream.

Gata: Flavors of Bicolandia, Atbp is located at Unit 3, The Grandia Place, Mother Ignacia Avenue, South Triangle, Quezon City.  It is open everyday from 11.30am to 3pm and 4pm to 10pm.  For reservations, call +63 995 4627251.

Disclosure: Together with other Zomato foodies, I was invited to attend a foodie meet-up held in this restaurant.  Food items specified here were served to allow us to sample the fare and were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.

Lechon Feast at the Lechon Shop, Tomas Morato

In the Philippines, a celebration wouldn’t be complete without lechon. This much-loved national dish is an offshoot of our colonial roots, having been brought here from Spain. The word lechon, in fact, is a Spanish word referring to a roasted suckling pig.

The best examples of lechon are characterised by tender flavorful meat and crispy, crackling skin, best served smothered with a think and slightly sweet lechon sauce usually made of liver, breadcrumbs, vinegar, sugar and spices and partnered with steaming hot rice.

On the birthday of one of my coworkers who has a marked preference for lechon, he treated us to one of his newly-discovered haunts: The Lechon Shop along Scout Tobias near Tomas Morato in Quezon City.

Operated by the same people as Leonardo’s Lechon based in San Juan, The Lechon Shop offers diners lechon by the kilo. (If I recall correctly, our group ordered 4 kilos.). We also ordered Chicharong Bulaklak and Laing which we ate with our steaming plain rice. A welcome surprise were the Maja Blancas that brought us back to our childhood.

The place is quite cozy and almost had trouble fitting our large group in. However, the server was friendly and accommodating, and helped us all find our seats.

This celebration was one for the books and I, for one, don’t regret the sinfully decadent consumption of lechon. After all, you only live once and “nasasayang lang ang calories pag hindi ka nasarapan.”

The Lechon Shop by Leonardo’s Lechon is located at 49B Scout Tobias Street, Laging Handa, Quezon City. For reservation and inquiries, call (02) 745 3104.

The Lechon Shop Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Want to learn how to cook your favorite Filipino dishes at home? Check out these recipe books on Amazon.com!

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Soul Food Feast at Morganfield’s, Ayala the 30th

The fam recently met up with the in-laws for a birthday celebration at Morganfield’s at Ayala The 30th.

Morganfield’s is a casual dining restaurant specializing in “good ole’ fashioned barbecued pork ribs with an extra dose of Southern hospitality” – the tenets of cooking what has come to be known as soul food.

Its signature dish – Sticky Bones – is made of slow-cooked and hickory smoked tender prime pork ribs, which are then basted with the home-made tomato/based sweet-and-sour mopping sauce, resulting to the “sticky bones” left when diners are done with the meal.

This and more were feasted on when the fam ordered Rib Sampler (Php3,295) sharing platter. It’s basically a humongous serving of 3 Flavors of Barbecued Ribs, loads of sausages, garden salad, corn on the cob, corn bread and french fries. For added meat, we also ordered a 300g Rib-eye (Php1,325), a juicy medium-done US rib-eye steak accompanied by a special garlic butter, baked potato and crisp garden vegetables. To represent the fruits of the sea, a serving of Beer-Battered Fish Fillets (Php395) was ordered. And, as if all that was not enough, we munched on some Onion Rings (Php155).

There was a wide range of hearty flavors and textures that made for a filling meal, albeit quite an expensive one as well.

The place had a fun and casual family-friendly vibe, helped by cheery and helpful wait staff.

This Morganfield’s branch is located at the 2nd Floor, Ayala Malls The 30th, 30 Meralco Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For reservations, call +6327213502.

Morganfield's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Steak Lunch at Sizzlin’ Steak, SM East Ortigas

I was initially excited when I saw that Sizzlin’ Steak opened a branch at SM East Ortigas.  Being a confirmed carnivore, I decided to take the fam out to lunch here one Saturday.

The place was packed when we got there (the resto being newly opened and all) but there were still some unoccupied tables at the back, which, curiously, the servers weren’t ushering us to.  After some minutes of awkward waiting, we were finally seated.

We crossed-ordered some items from Teriyaki Boy next door (read about that here) but Hubby and I decided to get twin orders of Australian Marbled Steak (Php675 each) for ourselves.  These were served on sizzling plates with plain rice and some veggies; the gravy, of course, was poured over the steaks for that sizzle.

Given the price of this dish, I wish there was more I could say about it.  Sadly, I had to sprinkle some salt on my steak to get a little more flavor out of it.

The service was also slow. Aside from not being quick to usher us to our seats, the staff also neglected to refill our water glasses (I ended up having to stand up and get the water pitcher myself).  Lastly, they forgot to give us the official receipt I requested for.

Oh, well. Maybe next time, I’ll have a better experience here.

 

Lunch at Teriyaki Boy, SM East Ortigas

Update: I patched things up with this resto (so to speak). Check out my updated review here.

I used to really enjoy dining at Teriyaki Boy.  This is the place that developed my family’s love for ebi tempura. My special go-to order would also be the Wafu Steak and Yakimeshi Rice; I found the blend of flavors rich and satisfying.

This is why we cross-ordered some items from the Teriyaki Boy menu when my family dined at its sister-store Sizzlin’ Steak.  For appetizers, we got a Dynamite Roll (Php185) and a Tuna Tempura Tartare (Php165).  Both were pretty good.

For our mains, I wanted to order my favorites Wafu Steak and a Yakimeshi Rice (Php75).  However, for some reason, the Wafu Steak is no longer in their menu! We then ended up getting two orders of Tonkatsu (Php280 each) for the kids.

Later that same week, I went back with my daughter for a late lunch.  We ordered a Chashu Ramen Shoyu (Php245) which fell short in comparison to the other ramen I have tasted.

I might still be feeling miffed at the removal of Wafu Steak from the menu.  Hopefully, the next time I dine here, I will be in a better frame of mind to enjoy the store’s offerings.

Why not try your hand at preparing Japanese cuisine at home?  Check out these recipe books from Amazon.com!

Want to try some recipes today? There’s no need to leave home to shop for ingredients.  With Honestbee, just order your groceries online and you’ll get them delivered right at your doorstep at your preferred time. Use this referral link and get Php500 off for a minimum spend of Php2,500.  You can download the Honestbee app on iTunes or Google Play.

If you’re in the US and an Amazon Prime member, sign up for a free trial of Amazon Fresh to get your groceries delivered to you.

Affordable Chinese Food at Greyson’s Dimsum and Noodle House, Mother Ignacia

Feeling a bit adventurous and finding myself without my usual lunch buddies, I decided to try out the newly opened dimsum and noodle place near my office.

It’s really a hole-in-the-wall, a cozy (almost cramped) self-service eatery along Mother Ignacia Avenue.  I suggest you head on over here for lunch a bit early as it tends to get full of diners really fast.  In fact, I almost didn’t have anywhere to sit; it’s a good thing I was able to spot some coworkers who were already dining there and allowed me to sit with them.

Given the really affordable pricing, I actually went a bit crazy with my orders (takaw-mata, anyone?): Spareribs with rice (Php85), Pork and Shrimp Siomai (Php45) and  Quail Egg Siomai (Php35).  I didn’t get to finish my rice toppings and quail egg siomai as I got too full.  Still, it was a filling lunch at less than Php200 so I can’t complain.

If you want a quick, fuss-free and affordable meal, this place might just be your best bet.

Carnevore Fest at Premier The Samgyupsal

Apparently, my addiction to Korean food is communicable because Hubby had a hankering for unlimited Korean BBQ at Premier The Samgyupsal after seeing one of his friends post about it on FB.

So we took advantage of the light traffic on Election Day and, together with the kiddos, drove all the way to Malate to check it out.

While still on the road, I was able to reserve our table just by texting my name, number of people in out party and expected time of arrival to the number indicated in the resto’s FB page. When we got there, even though the place was packed, our table was waiting for us. (Parking was a problem though.)

The place was indeed full of diners and quite cramped. There was also the pervading smell of smoke which is common to most Korean BBQ joints despite the presence of exhaust tubes per table in this restaurant. (True enough, by the tume we left after our meal, we all had that “amoy-usok” scent, hehehe!)

Service was a bit slow with the servers shouting at each other over the din giving off a vibe of general chaos. That is, until one of the waiters, Steven, noticed our group and took it upon himself to really give us great service: promptly serving and setting up our meats on the table-top grill, attending to and even anticipating our refill requests, etc.

We ordered Go Unli Mix (Php500 for lunch; Php580 for dinner) for all of us. This meal package consist of unlimited beef bulgogi, woosamgyup, marinated pork and aged samgyupsal plus unlimited rice and twelve refillable side dishes which include the fam’s favorites: kimchi, fishcakes, sweetened peanuts and sweet potatoes.

The aged samgyupsal is the resto’s claim to fame. It’s a thick slice of pork belly aged for more than 48 hours in a special aging machine to make it extra tender and juicy. Among the meats served to us, this took the longest time to cook but it was well worth the wait.

After our meal, the kids enjoyed Korean Ice Cream (Samanco and Pangtoa) for their desserts.

Considering we were able to eat out fill with a bill of just Php2,000 (not including the ice cream), I’d say that Premier The Samgyupsal gives good value for money.

Branches of Premier The Samgyupsal is located at:

  • 1720 A. Mabini cor Alonzo St., Malate, Manila (Tel: + 63 9772794820)
  • Aseana Power Station, Diosdado Macapagal Ave., Baclaran, Paranaque (Tel: + 63 9167925412)
  • 116B Sct. Lozano St., Tomas Morato Ave., Quezon City (Tel: + 63 927 6808188)

Laid-back lunch at White Camp, Tomas Morato

Lunchtime is that magical hour (or hour-and-a-half) where you can rest your brain from your office worries. For me and many of my work buddies, the lunch hour is sacred: it is a respite from work and an opportunity to explore the possibilities for gastronomic delights that surround the workplace.

Last Thursday, when I found myself without my usual lunch buddies, I was lucky enough to chance upon another officemate who was willing to forego the pleasures of the office foodcourt and accompany me to White Camp Coffee.

A newly opened cafe located at the corner of Mother Ignacia Avenue and Sgt. Esguerra Street in Quezon City, White Camp promises to be “a bright space for infinite cofee and dining adventures.”

The resto’s interiors are bright and cheery, a palette of white with spots of colors which are all easy on the eyes. Comfy tables, chairs and counters are conducive to hanging out and enjoying one’s coffee concoction.

For lunch that day, I ordered a Truffled Eggs on Toast brunch set (Php189) which consist of a smaller portion of the resto’s fluffy scrambled eggs with a hint of truffle oil on toast, accompanied by crunchy wonton chips and a free drink which I upgraded to a Latte (by adding Php30). Perfect timing as it turns out because brunch sets are only available weekdays from 10am to 2pm.

My companion, on the other hand, got a Bacon Bagnet Rice Meal (Php289). Sinful strips of bacon deep-fried for a satisfying crunch were served alongside fluffy garlic fried rice.

The portions were substantial considering my companion shared some of his bacon bagnet with me and I ended up having half of my toast wrapped up to go.

All in all, it was a satisfying meal for me, made all the better by having a new lunch companion.

Update: I went back to White Camp together with my usual lunch buddies. I ordered a Kani Sandwich Brunch Set (also Php189) and I just upgraded the drink to a Flat White (+ Php30).

White Camp Coffee and Kitchen is located at 62 Sgt. Esguerra Corner Mother Ignacia Avenue, South Triangle, Quezon City (Tel: +63 9178987793)

White Camp Coffee & Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato