As a true-blue foodie, celebrating my natal day somewhere with good food and good vibes is a must.
So to commemorate my 46th trip around the sun, I took the fam to dinner at one of the metro’s most celebrated buffet restaurants: Guevarra’s by Chef Laudico.
It’s not actually my family’s first time at this establishment. Over the years, together with our extended family, we have celebrated several special occasions at Guevarra’s, from birthdays to graduations and balikbayan visits.
Guevarra’s in 2014
Courtyard in 2014
Birthday Lunch with the Fam
My 37th birthday
Vintage ambiance with an old-world charm
The place itself would strongly appeal to aesthetes, given its quaint vintage-inspired architecture and decor. Situated in a house built in the 1920s, the restaurant still retains much of the place’s old-world charm from its sprawling courtyard, imposing stairway and the intricate woodwork and chandeliers in the main dining hall.
Decorating the walls are pictures commemorating the restaurant’s namesake: Pedro Guevarra, a Filipino soldier, lawyer and legislator who became Resident Commissioner of the Philippines during the American Occupation. During his term as resident commissioner, he worked tirelessly for the approval of the Tydings-McDuffie Act which paved the way for the establishment of the Philippine Commonwealth and its eventual independence from the US.
Also adorning the walls are plates signed by local celebrities which serve as their testimonials to their superb dining experiences at Guevarra’s.
Filipino buffet menu well-suited to celebrations
Chef Rolando Laudico is known for his modern take on classic Filipino dishes, and Guevarra’s menu reflects that. Its expansive array includes well-loved classics in Pinoy cuisine as well as hearty and tasty dishes from international cuisines.
Appetizers.
Breads, Rice and Pastas.
Mains, Grills and Carvings.
Desserts.
Budget-friendly celebrations
Despite its elegant setting and delicious food, Guevarra’s is surprisingly affordable. You can enjoy a sumptuous feast without breaking the bank with these buffet rates:
Regular Buffet: Php759 net (Seniors and PWDs at Php542.14)
Weekend Breakfast: P559 net (Seniors and PWDs at P399.29)
Guevarra’s by Chef Laudico is located at 387 P. Guevarra Street corner Argonne Street, Barangay Addition Hills, San Juan. For reservations and inquiries, call +63 2 870 1811, +63 2 87051874 or +63 917 3112222, or reserve online.
Buffet schedules are:
Lunch 11:00am – 2:00pm
Late Lunch 2:30pm – 4:30pm (weekends only)
Maagang Salu Salo 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Dinner 7:30pm -10:00pm
Weekend Late Lunch 2:30PM to 4:30PM
Weekend Breakfast 7:30AM to 10AM
Some reminders:
Pets are not allowed (sorry, leave your furry friends at home).
Guests are required to wear face masks at the Buffet Area.
Parking spaces are on a first come, first serve basis. Parking along Mabuhay Lane is prohibited.
If you’re on the lookout for the what’s new and absolutely delish, The Tasteless Food Group’s got something for you.
Drop by Robinsons Magnolia to immerse yourself in a new dining concept – Public Eatery!
Taking inspiration from subway lines, this elevated foodcourt destination is marked by energy and movement, from the stylish and modern decor to the airy open dining area layout bathed in ample natural light.
Above all, Public Eatery brings the metro’s foodies to the express lane towards good eats by bringing together a diverse collection of dining options – covering a wide range of flavors and cuisines – in one convenient location.
Ready to go on a flavorful journey? Get all aboard and take your tastebuds for a ride with these exciting food stations at Public Eatery:
Anyhow
Our favorite ihaw-ihaw goes international! Inspired by the Pinoys’ penchant for various kinds grilled meats, Anyhow offers inihaw any way you like it! Here, your can make your own satisfying meal by combining your choice of smokey grilled meat – such as this succulent US Beef Belly – with equally flavorsome rice and sides.
Bad Bird
Famous for fully embracing umami flavors, Bad Bird goes all out in using MSG in its natural and processed forms: dashi, mushroom powder, furikake, miso, and more, all to produce that complex savory taste that tickles the taste buds. Check out Bad Bird’s Fish and Chips made with meaty white fish coated in its signature umami beer batter, and served with fries and tartare sauce.
Bookoh
Even the humble buko juice gets a make-over: at Bookoh, coconut water gets mixed with various syrups and sinkers to produce a tasty thirst quencher. This Coconut Pandan Gula Melaka Juice, for instance, combines buko juice with panda syrup, nata de coco, grass jelly and Gula Melaka, a type of palm sugar made from the sap of flower buds from the coconut palm.
FRNK
Try out FRNK’s artisanal beverages that accentuate the natural flavor of milk through the addition of flavors from chocolates, teas, fruits and other ingredients. It also produces a variety bakery items that pair well with its milk beverages such as its plant-based Coffee Almond Doughnut that complements its Frozen Kokoa drink.
Konbini Karaage
In Japan, convenience stores are more than just places to grab some essentials at all hours. They also provide quick access to tasty munchables such as this Karaage, Japan’s crispy and yummy take on the fried chicken, served hot and fresh – quite conveniently – in a cute takeout box.
Le Chon
Chef Happy Ongpauco-Tiu celebrates savory roasted meats that define Pinoy celebrations at her newest venture, Le Chon. Aside from the hallmark lechon baboy and lechon manok, Le Chon also serves other meats, deliciously roasted lechon-style, such as this Lechon Angus Beef Belly.
Merry Moo
Our sweltering summer heat calls for some ice cream, doesn’t it? Well, chill out with some icy handcrafted confection that comes from the milk of happy cows at Merry Moo. Go for creamy and velvety scoops of Merry Moo ice cream richly flavored with Auro Milk Chocolate finished with a generous amount of roasted cacao nibs for an additional burst of cacao.
Morse
Perk up your day with a cuppa joe from the passion project of Mike Holaschke, the Austrian blogger behind “Making It Happen.” Power great conversations with your companions with The One, made with a shot of espresso topped with thick salted cream and sea salt.
New York, Cubao
Award-winning and best-selling cookbook author Chef Myke “Tatung” Sarthou curates an array of much-loved, down-home, and “Simpol” Pinoy fare we all know and love, remixed for variety and rediscovery. NYC’s Tocino Ribs brings a hefty serving of salt-cured pork ribs, perfect for a very heavy breakfast with fried rice and egg.
OK Bob
Satisfy your cravings for Middle Eastern dishes with OK Bob‘s fresh takes on classics such as kebabs, falafel, hummus and curries, with recipes and methods perfected by Chefs Decker Gokioco and Jorge Mendez. How about wowing your friends with a towering serving of Hanging Kebab comprised of a skewer of grilled beef hanging over a bed of buttered basmati rice topped with grilled tomatoes.
Samyan
Bite into Authentic Thai streetfood, curated by Chef Third “Ton” Tassanakajohn and produced by Chef Gabriel Ong, at Samyan. Named after the bustling Sam Yan Market in Bangkok, Samyan brings exotic yet comforting tastes and textures of Thai street cuisine, such as in this Khao Pad Pu, also known as Crab Fried Rice.
Seafood Oyster Bar
It’s quite shuck-ing how oysters have become a big hit in food halls. As evidenced by Seafood Oyster Bar, foodies have gone crazy over the briny taste and silky mouthfeel of oysters – whether raw with spiced vinegar, doused with garlic butter, heated with a few drops of tabasco or as an oyster shot – or even Baked and topped with Miso Custard. Because, why not?
Thomson Road
Savor the flavors of Singapore at Thomson Road, inspired by the Lion City’s famous shophouses and hawker stands. Chef Johanne Wee dishes out fresh takes on Singapore’s much-loved street dishes, such as this spicy yet comforting Seafood Laksa.
Ten by Tsukemen
Sate your hunger with a mouthwatering bowl of ramen that scores a 10 out of 10. Chef Noel Mauricio helms the kitchen, taking his cues from the minimalist Japanese culture, to produce ramen bowls such as this Tonkotsu Premium, made with pork bone broth and ramen noodles topped with grilled chashu, aji tamago, sesame seeds and negi. Be sure to get the Richer broth, that’s the chef’s recommendation!
The Bev Bar
Who says you can’t make pour decisions? You can do just that at The Bev Bar which serves a wide assortment of refreshments to pair with your orders from other Public Eatery stations. Chef Patrick Go creates mouthwatering drinks such as this scrumptious Choco Chocnut Shake.
So let this be my Notice to the Public: Go full steam ahead on your next foodie adventure at Public Eatery. With so many cuisines to explore, you can always count on a flavorful and satisfying food trip.
Public Eatery is located at the Fourth Floor, New Wing, Robinsons Magnolia, Aurora Boulevard corner Doña Hemady Street, Barangay New Manila, Quezon City, open daily from 10am to 9pm. For inquiries, call +63 976 2810277 or email publiceatery@tasteless.ph.
For more information on Public Eatery, visit its website or follow it on Facebook and Instagram.
Disclosure: I attended a food tasting held at this venue. Food items mentioned here were served at no cost to facilitate this feature.
The Manila Hotel’s dining outlets, the famed Café Ilang-Ilang and the iconic Champagne Room reopens soon after undergoing a few weeks of general maintenance. The hotel chose to suspend dining operations as the holiday festivities died down to ensure food quality and guest safety, as well as spot-checks on its facilities.
Come visit Café Ilang-Ilang
Café Ilang-Ilang is scheduled to reopen on January 28, 2022 (Friday). The dining outlet enjoys a loyal following among local and foreign guests as it offers authentic international fare as well as family-friendly dining experience. It continues to draw diners with its daily offering of gastronomic delights coupled with the culinary team’s passion to create an amazing spread of dishes that is in keeping with its acclaimed status as one of the best buffet restaurants in the country.
Diners can indulge in Café Ilang-Ilang’s wide range of food selections for lunch and dinner daily. This brings together Italian, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and even certified Halal dishes under one roof for an indulgent eat-all-you-can feast featuring crowd favorites like the US Beef Rib Roast; items from the Churrasco station like meats and salmon; seafood like prawns and crabs; a glorious spread of different sushi and sashimi; Filipino favorites like Lechon with truffle rice; Chinese highlights like duck and various dimsum; an array of desserts including bibingka, puto bumbong, and halo-halo; and many more.
Fine dining at The Champagne Room
Meanwhile, Manila’s premier destination for exquisite fine dining will start accepting diners again on Wednesday, February 2, 2022. To date, The Champagne Room is a premier restaurant whose timeless beauty remains, coupled with fine dining of choices for discriminating diners who put a premium on impeccably prepared dishes, outstanding service, and luxurious ambiance. The most romantic room in the country marks the return of its fine dining just in time for Valentine month.
The Champagne Room will welcome guests with an option for walk-in and reservations four days a week (Wednesday through Saturday), with select a la carte items and special multi-course degustation menus to choose from—conceived by the hotel’s Executive Chef to showcase what this dining outlet is all about. Think generous servings of Black Angus Tenderloin, US Prime Beef Rib, the Chilean Sea Bass, or the satisfying Seafood Medley; there are also choices of starters; and for dessert, don’t miss out on the indulgent sweet delight—its signature Baked Alaska.
Safety standards
Both The Manila Hotel premiere outlets elevate the dining experience: broadening our palate with flavors from global cultures and cuisine and applying elevated standards of safety that allow guests to dine comfortably and with peace of mind.
Café Ilang-Ilang and The Champagne Room still implement physical distancing and reduced capacity measure that are compliant with the IATF and DOT guidelines for restaurants.
Every once in a while, we all get a craving for food that’s hefty and fatty, the kind that will make a cardiologist’s heart skip a beat (ironically so).
And when that craving comes, there’s no better (or tastier) way to assuage it than to indulge in a juicy and succulent piece of lechon.
Well, if you can’t buy the whole roasted pig, why not indulge yourself in some lechon liempo?
Liloan’s Pride Liempo combines the use of traditional culinary methods and ingredients and modern cooking processes to produce a perfectly roasted pork belly. Each serving is meticulously marinated to infuse the meat with flavor and roasted exactingly to give the skin a satisfying crunch to the bite.
I got another taste of this famous lechon together with my fellow foodies when I joined a foodie meetup at the Liloan’s Pride Liempo store at Calfornia Garden Square in Mandaluyong.
There, our feast included:
Cebu Liempo (Php360). A huge slab or pork belly marinated and roasted Cebu lechon style. A spicy version is available for Php380 if you’re craving for additional heat.
Roasted Chicken (Php360). The chicken version of the Cebu liempo which makes for tender and juicy meat and flavorful skin.
Liempo Manok Rice Meal (Php190). The best of both worlds, really: the lechon liempo and the roasted chicken plus a cup of steamed rice in one plate.
Classic Sisig (Php160). Pampanga’s famous dish made with pig cheeks flavored with calamansi, onions and chili peppers. For me, it could use a bit more crunch and saltiness (from crushed Cebu liempo skin maybe?).
Garlic Bangus (Php220). A whole medium-sized bangus (milkfish) butterfly-filleted, marinated in garlic and vinegar then fried to a golden brown and topped with toasted garlic. It’s very fragrant from all the garlic but it could use more of the vinegar taste so keep some of the store’s sawsawan handy when you order this. A rice meal with a quarter of the garlic bangus is also available for Php99.
Pochero Meal (Php149). Pork belly slices stewed together with chickpeas, sliced bananas, potatoes, green beans and cabbage in rich tomato sauce. I find it ok but would prefer the beef version of pochero.
Beef Pares Meal (Php99). The power combo of beef asado, garlic rice and broth.
So the next time that craving comes, you know what to do! Hie yourself over to Liloan’s Pride Liempo.
Many thanks to Ms Ani Conanan and the staff of Liloan’s Pride Liempo for the meal and to Harvard of AlwaysHungryPH for extending the invitation.
This Liloan’s Pride Liempo branch is located at San Juan California Garden Square, Domingo M. Guevarra Street, Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City.
Other branches may be found at
SM Hypermarket, Upper Ground Floor, Building B, SM Megamall, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City
Ground Floor, Connecticut Arcade, Greenhills Shopping Center, Greenhills, San Juan
Lower Ground Floor, SM Cubao, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City
Third Floor, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Avenue, Salcedo Village, Makati City
The Block, SM City North EDSA, Bago Bantay, Quezon City
SM Hypermarket, North Wing, SM Mall of Asia, MOA Complex, Pasay City
Food Court, Second Floor, Alabang Town Center, Alabang, Muntinlupa
Disclosure: Together with other foodies, I attended a foodie meetup held here wherein food and drink items were served to allow us to sample the fare. These were not paid for by the attendees, including myself.
Lately, restaurants touting “modern Filipino cuisine” have sprouted up all over the metro.
But what is modern Filipino cuisine?
Simply put: it is the flavors you grew up with but broken free of traditions surrounding them, even incorporating foreign influences. It is composed of tastes and textures familiar to you but applied and presented in exciting and novel ways. In short, this is not your grandma’s cooking.
Unless your dear Lola is part of the visionary team behind Ombu Kusina, of course.
Ombu is a modern Filipino restaurant located along Mother Ignacia Street in Quezon City. Having recently revamped its interiors, it also recently launched its special holiday dishes. And your friendly neighborhood Jellybeans is among the lucky foodies who were able to attend its exclusive food tasting event.
Ombu’s newly renovated premises are simply impressive. White subway tiles serve as an elegant backdrop for light-colored plush seats, darkwood tables and the feast laid out for us.
And said feast consisted of Ombu’s signature dishes such as:
Dilis Rice (Php80 per cup: Php170 for sharing). Your favorite sinangag (garlic fried rice), lightly flavored and topped with salty crispy fried dilis (anchovies).
Salted Egg Spaghettini (Php260). Al dente spaghettini noodles tossed in a sauce of salted egg yolks, sprinkled with tomatoes, diced cucumber and salted egg whites. The salted egg sauce was evenly spread throughout the noodles and the cucumber provided a fresh contrast to the sauce with every bite.
Sisig Pizza (Php520). The classic pork sisig and egg tops a thin-crust pizza drizzled with garlic sauce.
Binagoongang Talong (Php300). Fresh eggplant and lechon kawali served with a thick bagoong (shrimp paste) sauce. While I found the sauce a little too thick for my taste but the crispy fried pork belly is just yummy and went well with the Dilis Rice.
Seafood Mix Laing (Php290). Taro leaves wrapped around a mix of shrimp, crab meat, onion and lemon grass, slowly cooked in light coconut milk.
Also part of the feast are Ombu’s seasonal dishes such as:
Adobochon (Php440). Flavorful roasted pig with tender meat and crispy skin served with adobo sauce on the side.
Flaming Chicken (Php340). Tender and juicy chicken flambed right before our eyes.
For dessert, we had Frozen Brazo de Mercedes (Php180). Delightful layers of frozen soft meringue alternating custard filling, ice cream and graham cracker crust.
The dishes were expertly prepared and given a fresh twist by Ombu Kusina’s chefs.
So for a great taste of modern Filipino cuisine, check out Ombu Kusina.
Disclosure: Together with other food bloggers, I was invited to attend a foodie meetup held at 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.
Ombu Kusina is located at Ground Floor, Sequioa Hotel, Mother Ignacia Street, Brgy. South Triangle, Quezon City, open daily from 6.30am to 10pm. For reservations and inquiries, call +63 2 4411789 or +63 922 8149086, or email omburestaurant@yahoo.com.
Jellybeans in the City 