roasted vegetables – Jellybeans in the City

Making healthy food choices is important.

More than the amount of calories consumed, healthy eating is also all about the nutrients that fresh and wholesome ingredients bring.

Hillside Cafe & Juice Bar, located inside Cedarhills Garden Center along Mother Ignacia Avenue, is one of Quezon City’s prime destinations for healthy food.

Aside from its healthy food choices, visitors can also enjoy green space of the plant nursery beside the resto, and maybe even learn a thing or two about urban gardening.

My office friends and I recently visited Hillside Cafe & Juice Bar where we nourished ourselves with the resto’s deliciously prepared dishes made with organic and all-natural ingredients that demonstrate the gustatory possibilities of healthy food, such as:

Roasted Vegetable Salad (Php285 solo | Php475 to share). Roasted carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and squash tossed together and doused in a cauliflower-tomato-garlic dressing and topped with herbs.

Pesto Crusted Chicken Parmigiana (Php435). Large pieces of tender chicken cutlets, breaded with basil and deep-fried to a golden brown served on top of zucchini spaghetti aglio olio, accompanied by stewed chickpeas, edamame and sweet corn.

Squid Ink Pasta (Php265). Linguine pasta in tossed in rich, natural squid ink sauce along with sauteed shrimps, clams, mussels and squid. Here’s a warning, though: Get your selfies before you eat this dish because the squid ink is so rich and dark, your teeth will show the evidence of what you ate whenever you smile, hehehehe!

Citrus Crush (Php165). One of Hillside Cafe’s cold-pressed detox juices made with orange, lime and lemon to boost immunity, lower cholesterol levels and cleanse the skin.

Cacao Fudge (Php145 junior | Php185 regular). One of the classic flavors of Hillside Cafe’s Superfood Smoothies made with cacao, banana, cacao nibs and almond milk.

Choco Peanut Butter Nana (Php150 junior | Php195 regular). A Premium variant of Hillside Cafe’s Superfood Smoothies made with banana, dates, peanut butter, cacao, coconut sugar and cashew milk.

With restos like Hillside Cafe & Juice Bar, foodies can consider benefits food brings, not just to their palate, but to their overall health.

Hillside Cafe & Juice Bar is located inside Cedarhills Garden Center, 57 Mother Ignacia Street, Paligsahan, Quezon City. To order or inquire, call +63 2 77927475 or +63 915 6474706.

Check out my blog posts on other healthy eats in the metro:

Being a certified carnevore, I jumped at the chance to dine at the Chateaubriand Premium Steak Restaurant, braving last night’s rainy weather and the perennial traffic from Quezon City to Pasay.

I’m used to eating steaks and grilled meats in a more casual, even American West-style setting, so setting foot on Chateaubriand’s walkway and stepping into its posh dining area was quite a novelty. Nope, no cowboy hats adorn the walls nor down-home-type bric-a-bracs lie about. Instead, opulent white chairs and tables are artfully arranged on the restaurant’s elegant marble floors.

The focal point of the sprawling dining area may be the tastefully presented buffet spread. This buffet is pretty extensive with over a hundred items, catering to almost any preference as it includes:

a classic salad station
“Create Your Ceasar Salad”
authentic Brazilian dishes
Continental cuisine
imported cheeses
fresh fruits
a chocolate fountain
international breads
various types of pastries and desserts

However, as the restaurant’s PR representative Mikaela Mutuc tells it, the all the inclusions in the buffet actually are intended to serve as sides to grilled meats that the restaurant serves.

Well, true enough, the meats do take center stage and how!

The meats are all premium cuts, most of which are sourced from various countries, grilled and served churrasco style. By flipping the medallions on your table, you signal the churrasco boys to bring their grilled meats and other grilled items in skewers straight from the churrascaria to your table and cut off a generous and juicy slice for you right before your eyes. These include:

Picanha (signature Brazilian rump cap) – the real star of the show, IMHO!
Alcatra (top sirloin seasoned with a rich soy glaze)
Garlic Steak (sirloin marinated with garlic and fresh herbs)
Linguica (classic pork sausage basted with garlic butter
Frango (chicken quarters marinated with lemon rosemary)
Presunto (tender ham leg with pineapple glaze)
Milho Assado (baby corn roasted with garlic butter)
Abacaxi (pineapple with cinnamon and brown sugar)
Caramelized Banana (bananas with cinnamon and brown sugar)
Roasted Mixed Vegetables

More grilled treats may be added to the dinner menu such as:

Chuleta (rib eye with mesquite crust)
Fraldinha (choice flank steak marinated in Brazilian spices)
Lombo (pork loin with a delicate herb marinade)
Carneira (boneless lamb leg with a minted oil rub) – another winner for me!
Bacon-wrapped chicken breast with peri-peri marinade)
Pescado (grilled marlin or tuna)

To add even more flavor to your meats, you can dip or slather them (up to you, really :-)) with any or all of these three sauces:

Chimichurri
Salsa Rojo
Chateau Steak Sauce

Note: Other sauces and dips are available at the buffet but these are the essential ones.

You can wash down your meal with any or all of the three juices available: Honey Orange, Four Seasons and Strawberry Iced Tea.

The service staff are friendly and knowledgeable about the resto’s offerings. The churrasco boys, in particular, even give diners tips on how to better enjoy their selections and gamely display their grilled meats for food photos. They are also quick to assist requests and queries.

Feasting on churrasco at the pre-Grand Opening rates below is actually a steal:

weekdays dinner: Php2,000 (Php1,600 within October 2018 at 20% discount) + 10% service charge
weekend lunch: Php2,000 (Php999 within October 2018 at 50% discount) +10% service charge
weekend dinner: P2,200 + 10% service charge

If you want some spirits to go with your meats, you can get some by the glass at Php300 per glass or treat yourself to Chateaubriand’s wine buffet at Php599 + 10% service charge. Other alcoholic beverages and cocktails are also available.

Birthday celebrants also get to eat for free on the day of their birthday as long as they are accompanied by a full-paying adult, or on any other day of their birth month as long as they are accompanied by four full-paying adults.

While the churrasco-style dining may have casual roots, Chateaubriand’s opulent surroundings and top-rate service staff make it a fine dining experience.

Chateaubriand is located at Unit 105 Sunset View Towers, 110 William Street corner 2230 Roxas Boulevard, Brgy. 13 Zone 4 District 1, Pasay City. For inquiries and reservations, call +63 2 821 2031 or +63 905 1403748.

Disclosure: Together with other food bloggers, I was invited to attend a foodie meet-up held in 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.

Need some tips to maximize your eat-all-you-can experience? Read my buffet survival guide.

Check out my reviews of other buffet restaurants: