binagoongan – Jellybeans in the City

Enjoy delish Filipino hotplate your way at Butter Grill, The Landmark

Who would have thought that dining at a mall food court would give you such a superb dining experience?

Sure, food courts have their own appeal due to a variety of reasons: the variety of cuisines offered at affordable prices, easy accessibility, fast service and liveliness and bustle of the crowd.

However, the entrance of a brand new concept stall at The Landmark’s Supermart Foodcenter presents an exciting possibility for diners: personalization!

Buttergrill, The Landmark Supermart Foodcenter

Butter Grill offers sizzling plates classic Filipino dishes and foodcourt faves but with a fresh twist: the diner can mix and match various items on the menu to craft a hotplate according to their specifications.

Here’s how:

First, choose your meat among Butter Sliced Pork (Php159), Butter Sliced Beef (Php249), Mixed Seafood (Php285), Peppered Bangus (Php298), Angus Burger Steak (Php315) and Beef Tendon (Php345).

Second, choose a free sauce to complement your meat: Pares Sauce, Bicol Express Gravy, Kare-Kare Gravy, Honey Binagoongan Gravy, Steakhouse Gravy, Sinigang Gravy, Kaldereta Gravy and Salted Egg Gravy.

Lastly, choose a free side to complete your meal: Butter Rice, Pancit and Sourdough Pan de Sal.

Combining items from this menu produces tasty hotplates such as:

Butter Sliced Beef in Kare-Kare Sauce with Buttered Rice

Angus Burger Steak in Steak House Gravy with Buttered Rice: my absolute fave!

Sliced Pork in Kaldereta Sauce and Pancit

Beef Tendon in Honey Binagoongan Gravy and Buttered Rice

Beef Tendon in Sinigang Gravy and Buttered Rice

Buttergrill, The Landmark Supermart Foodcourt

With the Lenten Season coming in, you’d be happy to know that Buttergrill’s got your back for Meatless Fridays with a Buy 1 Get 1 Offer on its seafood hotplates for just Php298. Promo is available every Friday from February 24 to April 7, 2023.

Peppered Bangus in Salted Egg Sauce with Buttered Rice

Mixed Seafood in Pares Sauce with Pancit

Mix things up a bit and try some of the dishes with Butter Grill’s Sourdough Pan De Sal!

Cap your meal with something sweet and refreshing: Buttergrill’s Clear Gulaman available in Bulilit (Php49) and Giant (Php99) sizes!

Here are some tips to further enhance your Buttergrill experience:

Unsure of which combination to try? Ask the servers for their recommendations!
Mix the hotplate contents well to distribute the flavors from the sauces evenly.
Allow some of the rice and gravy to caramelize (forming a flavorful tutong I’m you’ll love!)

So if you fancy a fresh take on your favorite Pinoy dishes and more, be sure to drop by Butter Grill!

Butter Grill is located at the Supermart Foodcenter of The Landmark, Makati Avenue, Ayala Center, Makati City.

Stay updated on its promos and offers by following Butter Grill on Facebook and Instagram.

A home of gastronomic delights at Tahanan Bistro, Antipolo

As a foodie, I live for those food adventures that just take my breath away.

And my visit to Tahanan Bistro did just that.

Having earned the distinction of being one of Zomato’s Top Foodies Choice in Antipolo in 2019, Tahanan Bistro hosted a food tasting event attended by East-based foodies.

Tahanan Bistro opened in July 2016, the brainchild of Keesha Reyes and husband Kevin Tuason. They turned part of her family’s ancestral home made entirely from reclaimed wood from old houses and bridges into a casual fine dining 45-seat bistro.

The restaurant showcases creative takes on local ingredients, the masterpieces of her father, sculptor Benji Reyes, and a stunning view of Laguna de Bay beyond the surrounding verdant forest to provide diners with a relaxing and inviting haven away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

This place, though impressive in style, is still a home. In fact, guests are asked to remove their shoes upon entering, partly as a form of respect to the homeowners, and partly to help preserve the beautiful wood floors.

The kitchen is helmed by Kevin who brings his considerable culinary training gained during his stay in Melbourne, Australia. Tahanan Bistro offers set meals at Php1,350 (+10% service charge) per person. Named after famous mountains in the Philippines (Halcon in Mindoro, Iraya in Batanes and Mayon in Albay), each set consists of five courses with dishes hinged on the produce and flavors found in country, some of which my fellow foodies and I were able to sample.

Gising Gising (included in the Iraya set). An appetizer of prawns and winged bean dumplings, leeks, coconut cream, herb oil, chili oil and house-made crispy pork floss.

Danggit (included in all three sets). A light and refreshing salad made with quinoa, cherry tomatoes, mixed greens and roasted zucchini in lime vinaigrette.

Pininyahang Manok (included in the Halcon set). Smoked pan-seared chicken thighs, grilled pineapple, coconut, hasselback potatoes, carrot puree and capsicum.

Bistek Tagalog (included in the Iraya set). Braised beef shank, adlai, onion puree, charred white onions, parsley oil and fried enoki.

Binagoongan (included in the Mayon set). Crispy pork belly in a sauce made with tomato and shrimp paste puree, Greek yoghurt and Baba Ghanoush in a house-made flat bread.

Fruit Salad (included in the Iraya set). A dessert made chia pudding, bits of seasonal fruits in a campange sabayon topped with a cashew biscuit.

Ube (included in the Halcon set). Purple yam and white chocolate lava cake with cheese ice cream topped with an Edam crisp.

The dishes served combine the familiar and the new: the ingredients are home-grown but made novel with the addition of a few elements and foreign influences. They are also well-complemented by a refreshing glass of Lemongrass Iced Tea (Php95).

Given that access to this awesome place (and these delectable dishes) are possible only during weekends, and only by reservation, there is a definitely an air of exclusivity and specialness in the dining experience.

If you’re planning an cozy dinner for two or an intimate gathering for close family and friends where you can enjoy a well-curated and crafted menu as well as breathtaking views, Tahanan Bistro is your best bet.

Tahanan Bistro also offers ready-made products you can bring home to enjoy with your family such as ground coffee beans and butter spreads, among others.

Many thanks to Kim and the staff of Tahanan Bistro for the warm welcome and the delicious meal, and to Trisha and Donna of Zomato for extending the invitation!

Tahanan Bistro is located at 22 Loresville Drive, Lores Farm Subdivision, San Roque, Upper Antipolo, Rizal, open Saturdays to Sundays from 11am to 4pm and 6pm to 10pm. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 925 8801487. Walk-ins are not entertained.

Disclosure: Together with other food bloggers, I was invited to attend a food tasting held in this restaurant. Food items mentioned here were served to allow us to sample the fare and were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.

Check out my posts on other places for your romantic date in the metro:

A taste of home in the South at Serye, Santana Grove

Whenever a group of diverse people need to sit down for lunch, chances are, they would agree to go for Filipino food.

And why not?

The familiar dishes and comforting flavors of Filipino food have an easy appeal to most of us.

That’s what happened when my officemates and I stopped over for lunch at Santana Grove on our way to our fieldwork in Paranaque. Most of us live quite far from this area so we were happy to find a chill place to eat before we go back to work.

After doing a quick scan of the options available, we agreed on Serye as our venue for out midday repast.

Serye’s owner Alvin Reyes Lim is part of the well-known Reyes family of restaurateurs who brought about time-honored establishments and brands such as Aristocrat, Alex III, Reyes Barbecue and Mama Sita’s. In fact, he pays tribute to his heritage through his restaurant’s name as it is an anagram of Reyes.

Serye also means progression, as denoted by his restaurant’s well-crafted menu of classic Filipino favorites, some of which feature strong Spanish influences.

Our lunch that day consisted of:

Hototai Soup (Php195). Light yet flavorful broth with pork, chicken, shrimp, vegetables and wisps on wonton thickened with a fresh egg.

Deep-fried Chipirone (Php320). Seasoned baby squids deep-fried to a golden brown.

Serye’s Sisig (Php295). Serye’s version of the Kapampangan classic with seasoned pork cheeks sauteed in onions and chili peppers, topped with a fresh egg.

Pinakbet (Php220). Serye’s take on the Ilocano dish with choice veggies sauteed in homemade shrimp paste sauce.

Binagoongan (Php515). Hearty pieces of crispy and meaty bagnet and steamed veggies on a bed of homemade shrimp paste sauce.

What a lucky find: a delicious taste of home in the South.

Serye is located at Santana Grove, Dr. A. Santos Avenue, Barangay San Antonio, Paranaque City, open daily from 11am to 10pm. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 88269317 or +63 2 88254691.

Check out my reviews of other Filipino restaurants:

Come together over Pinoy comfort food at Sari Salo, the Podium

One of the newly opened stalls at The Podium’s Corner Market Food Hall featured during a food tasting event was Sari Salo. This eatery’s unusual name stems from two Filipino terms consisting of repeating syllables (another Pinoy quirk, hehehe!): sari-sari and salu-salo.

Sari-sari refers to “variety and sundry.” Hence, the ubiquitous neighborhood mom-and-pop stores present and vital in many Filipino neighborhoods are called sari-sari stores. These stores connote affordability, being the go-to places of families within the neighborhood for tingi-tingi (unit purchases) of basic food items and home necessities. It is also a place where people (stereotypically the chismosos or the busybodies) come together and hangout to talk about neighborhood life.

Salu-salo, on the other hand, refers to “a social gathering or party.” It’s a time when family or friends come together for a good time, and usually over good food.

Sari Salo, in turn, strives to live up to the wealth of cultural meaning that its name implies with its simple, Filipino comfort food you and your family or friends can enjoy while you spend time together after a shopping trip or a movie date at the mall.

Take for example the sampling of its offerings served during the food tasting event: the Crispy Pork Binagoongan (Php230) and the Angus Beef Sisig (Php280 for regular | Php350 for super-sized).

The pork binagoongan has the right combination of saltiness and spiciness that make it a tasty viand to eat together with hot steamed rice. The beef sisig, on the other hand, is flavorful and tender to the bite, given that its made of Angus beef, of course.

The food was served efficiently without much fanfare, giving us tasters more time and attention to devote to savoring our meal.

Sari Salo’s stall is also a more spacious and colorful rendition of the sari-sari store, and littered with fun Pinoy pop culture references. And since #EveryOppIsAPhotoOpp, I gamely struck a pose (or two, hehehe!). Thanks to Chef Jocen of Boodlebear for taking the photos.

I would recommend Sari Salo to mall-goers hankering for Pinoy comfort food.

Sari Salo is located at the Corner Market Food Hall, Second Floor, Podium Mall, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. It is open daily from 11am to 10pm.

Disclosure: Together with other food bloggers, I was invited to attend a Blogger Event held in the Corner Market Food Hall. Food items mentioned here were served to allow us to sample the fare and were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.

Check out my review of the other stall featured during the food tasting event: Pizza Morena.