puto bumbong – Jellybeans in the City

Manam Comfort Filipino, Trinoma

Comfort food are fare that provide the diner with a feeling of consolation or well-being and are oftentimes associated with the food enjoyed at home or during childhood.

While these evoke nostalgia and sentimentality, they also excite the taste buds and stir anticipation.

After a typical morning at the office, my officemates and I opted to get some comfort and good eats at the newly opened branch of Manam in Trinoma.

We were welcomed by Manam’s friendly and accommodating wait staff as well as its well-appointed yet cozy interiors.

Manam was formerly known as NamNam, and it boasts of a menu that offers both the classic renditions as well as fresh twists on Pinoy cuisine.

That day, we feasted on these dishes:

Adobong Kangkong (Php98). Kangkong (water spinach) shoots sauteed in garlic and soy-vinegar.

Gising Gising (Php125). Sigarilyas and kangkong sauteed with pork and chilis in coconut cream and bagoong (shrimp paste).

Pinakbet (Php130). Okra, string beans, eggplant, squash and tomatoes sauteed in with pork bits and shrimp in bagoong.

Mangga at Bagoong (Php140). Sliced green mango and shrimp paste, this combo is famous for that sour-salty dynamic.

Caramelized Patis Wings (Php170). A twist on fried chicken, patis (fish sauce) flavors the zesty wings.

Crunchy Salt and Pepper Squid (Php280). Lightly battered squid pieces tossed in a crunchy mixture of stir-fried garlic and chilis.

House Crispy Sisig (Php398). Ranked as the No. 1 Sisig in Manila for two consecutive years, this dish features chopped pork jowl and cheek served sizzling.

Sinigang na Beef Short Rib and Watermelon (Php775 for family size). The sour broth of the beef sinigang is given a slightly sweet twist with the addition of watermelon.

Bibingka de Leche (Php125). A layer of leche flan (caramel egg custard) tops a pancake-like rice cake.

Kape, Sago at Gulaman (Php105). The samalamig (Filipino version of slushy drink) given a twist with the addition of coffee flavors.

Puto Bumbong with Muscovado Butter (Php80). The classic purple rice cake traditionally steamed in bamboo tubes accompanied by grated cheese, grated coconut and a bar of muscovado-enriched butter.

What a delicious way to get some comfort on a work day!

This branch of Manam Comfort Filipino is located at Ground Floor, Trinoma Mall Garden Wing, Bagong Pag Asa, Quezon City, open daily from 10am to 10pm. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 79005750.

Other branches are located at:

Powerplant Mall, Rockwell, Makati
Net Park, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
O Square, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan
South Wing, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay
Ayala Malls Manila Bay, Entertainment City, Paranaque
SM North EDSA, Bago Bantay, Quezon City
SM City Fairview, Novaliches, Quezon City
Ayala Fairview Terraces, Novaliches, Quezon City

Check out my reviews of other Filipino restaurants:

The Alley by Vikings, UP Town Center

It’s great to have officemates who love to eat (not as much as I do, but still).

Before we took our holiday break, my boss decided to treat our team to dinner at The Alley by Vikings in UP Town Center.

What sets this buffet restaurant apart from the others is that it takes the form of a street-style food hall which incorporates concepts from around the world. Walking around the stations, you get a feel of touring the streets of the countries where the featured food items originate.

Instead of filling your plates yourself, you can request for small servings of the dishes from their respective stations, similar to the street food tripping experience. For example, our “food trip” here included the following stations:

Hao Chi – for Chinese dimsum and Peking Duck
Yatai – for Japanese sushi, sashimi and okonomiyaki
O’Sean Eleven – for seafood chowder
Just Steak a Minute – for freshly grilled steaks and other meats
Ferino’s Bibingka – for freshly made puto bumbong
Hunnycomb – for cakes and pastries

Buffet Rates:

Weekday Lunch: Php738 for adults, Php188 for kids 3ft for 4ft, Php388 for kids 4ft to 4ft 6in
Weekday Dinner/ Weekend or Holiday Lunch and Dinner: Php938 for adults, Php288 for kids 3ft for 4ft, Php588 for kids 4ft to 4ft 6in
Kids below 3ft eat for free

There are a lot of food choices, and more food stations than the ones I mentioned, which can be quite overwhelming. Refilling the more popular stations such as the sushi and the muscovado sugar for the bibingka took a long time.

I would also guess that the air-conditioning couldn’t cope with the volume of diners as it was quite warm where we were seated.

All that said, it was still a good time spent with my office buddies.

This branch of The Alley by Vikings is located 2nd Level, Phase 2, UP Town Center, Ayala Mall, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City, open daily from 11am to 2.30pm and from 5.30pm to 10pm. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 82771888, +63 2 82772888, +63 917 6735888 or +63 918 9078888.

Other branches are located at:

2nd Level, Ayala Malls Cloverleaf, A. Bonifacio Street, Brgy. Balingasa, A. Bonifacio, Quezon City
C1, Upper Ground Floor, Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

Planning a visit to The Alley by Vikings? Here are some promos you can take advantage of:

20% off Weekday Lunch for every group of 5 pax from January 2 to February 28, 2020

Birthday celebrants eat for free on the day of their birthday if accompanied by one full paying adult, or within their birth month if accompanied by four full-paying adults

(Note: Terms and conditions apply for the above-mentioned promos.)

Maximize your buffet restaurant visit. Read the tips in my buffet survival guide.

Check out my blog posts on other buffet restaurants in the Metro:

A European take on the puto bumbong at Vanderlust, The Podium

The food item that I most associate with the Christmas season is the puto bumbong.

I was late in joining #TeamPutoBumbong, having developed a liking for this delicacy when I was already working, but it soon worked its way up to the top of my favorite seasonal food items.

Puto bumbong is a type of steamed rice cake (“puto”) made from a special local variety of rice called pirurutong which has a deep purple color. The grains are soaked in salted water overnight then drained and packed densely into bamboo tubes (the “bumbong”) and steamed until done.

The resulting purple cylindrical rice cake is is then usually served on banana leaves, slathered with butter and sprinkled with muscovado sugar and grated coconut.

Well, you couldn’t get more Filipino than that!

Well, Vanderlust, the bistro owned by world wanderers Val and Anthony Tan, has just introduced a European twist to the puto bumbong: by cooking it ala Dutch baby pancake.

While retaining its native ingredients, this puto bumbong is baked in the oven using a cast iron skillet instead of steamed in bamboo tubes.

It is served topped with generous helpings of custard, toasted coconut, queso de bola and muscovado syrup.

It’s basically everything we love about the puto bumbong with a novel way to enjoy our favorite Christmas delicacy.

This dish is exclusively available at Vanderlust’s branch in the Podium so hie yourself over there if you want a taste!

Many thanks to Jen of SandUnderMyFeet.com for sharing this dessert treat!

Get a free dish when you and a friend dine at Vanderlust Bistro, thanks to Zomato Gold! Zomato Gold provides members with 1+1 (Buy 1 Get 1) deals on food or 2+2 (Buy 2 Get 2) deals on drinks. All you have to do is sign up for a Zomato Gold membership here. Use the code JELLYB to get 10% off the membership fee.

You can also book your table at Vanderlust Bistro using Eatigo to get up to 50% off your food bill. Sign up using my referral link to get additional perks.

This Vanderlust Bistro branch is located at Fifth Floor, The Podium, ADB Avenue, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City, open Mondays to Thursdays from 11am to 10pm and Fridays to Sundays from 10am to 10pm. For inquiries, call +63 2 88717314.

Another branch is located at 100 Scout De Guia Corner Tomas Morato Avenue, Barangay Sacred Heart, Quezon City. Check out my review of this branch here.

Lamonfest at Vikings, SM Megamall

Vikings seems to be the default buffet resto for celebrations and family gatherings. Known for its lavish decor that display sumptuous spreads of mouth-watering dishes from various cuisines throughout the world, Vikings can generate long waiting lines of avid diners.

The fam, together with the in-laws, recently dined at Vikings at SM Megamall’s Mega Fashion Hall for bro-in-law’s birthday celebration.

With an all-you-can-eat arrangement at the rates below, the family is definitely in for a #lamonfest:

Adults: Php738 (weekday lunch); Php938 (weekday dinner, weekends and holidays lunch and dinner)
Kids:
- for kids below 3 feet: FREE!
- for kids 3 feet to 4 feet: Php208 (weekday lunch); Php938 (weekday dinner, weekends and holidays lunch and dinner)
- for kids 4 feet to 6 feet: Php418 (weekday lunch); Php618 (weekday dinner, weekends and holidays lunch and dinner)

Note: Rates not yet inclusive of the 5% service charge.

For this #lamonfest, I focused on some dishes that I don’t usually have the opportunity to taste that often: the Seafood Paella (I guess I’m going through a paella phase now), the Lengua Estofado (went so well with the paella for a great taste of Spain) and the Leg of Lamb. The Ebi Tempura is always a good bet (and always nearly depleted by the time I get there, hehehe!), but some of the meats in the carving station fell short of my expectations: the Stuffed Turkey was a bit dry and the Angus Beef was tough and chewy.

View this post on Instagram

And so the #lamonfest begins. The winners in this round are the #seafoodpaella, #lenguaestofado and the #legoflamb. #eatlikeaviking #foodie #foodiegram #foodgasm #buffet #eatallyoucan #allyoucaneat

A post shared by Jellybeans in the City (@beingjellybeans) on May 16, 2018 at 4:32am PDT

For dessert, no one can tear my away from my favorite Puto Bumbong (since it always reminds me of Christmas; I even went to the Cheese Station and sprinkled some grated premium cheddar on it) and Avocado Ice Cream (as it’s hard to find ice cream of this flavor in the supermarkets). I also tried the Caramel Dip for the Churros and the moist Carrot Bar.

View this post on Instagram

For #LamonFest Round 2, winners are: #putobumbong, #carrotbar, #avocadoicecream and the #churro with #caramel. #hellodiabetesmyoldfriend #sweetstothesweet #alwaysroomfordessert #justdesserts #eatlikeaviking

A post shared by Jellybeans in the City (@beingjellybeans) on May 16, 2018 at 5:46am PDT

Overall, it was a great dining experience for the family.

To make the most of your #lamonfest at Vikings, you might want to make sure you do the following:

Make your reservation. This way, you avoid waiting outside and can just walk right in as soon as you arrive. To make your reservation, you can call +63 2 8454647 (this hotline covers all Vikings branches), book via the Booky app (you may get some discounts at selected branches), or book online via the Vikings website.
Check out Vikings’ current promos. You just might get big savings. For example, birthday celebrants get to eat for free on the day of their birthday so long as they’re with one full-paying adult, or any day of their birth month if they’re accompanied four full paying adults. Until June 30, members of the graduating class of 2018 can eat for free as long as they’re with three full paying adults (which is why my daughter snapped a photo of her diploma before we left the house). Just make sure that you bring all the necessary documents. For more details on these promos, click here.
Pace yourself. Scope out the spreads first and pick the ones you want for your gastronomic explorations, be they your tried-and-tested favorites or some new cuisines you want to sink your teeth into (literally and figuratively!). Sample a bit of of the food and just come back for seconds to avoid leftovers. There are an awful lot of food here and you don’t want to already be in a food coma just when you get to the stuff you want.

For tips on how to survive a buffet, check out my blog post: Buffet Survival Guide: All-You-Need-to-Know to Eat-All-You-Can.

Check out my blog reviews of other buffet restos: