foodietraveller

Taguig: Kuppa Roastery & Cafe

foodietraveller — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:45:51 +0000

Kuppa, our favorite Bacolod coffee shop, is now brewing in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

Kuppa Exterior

As in Bacolod, they offer good food and great coffee at very affordable prices. Their cozy interior is perfect for meetings, studying or just plain hanging out. They also have a separate smoking area.

Kuppa Interior

Now we don’t have to go all the way to Bacolod to have their Matt’s Chocolate Cake!

Matt's Chocolate Cake (Choco Lava Cake)

Kuppa Roastery and Cafe
Commerce Center
Corner of 4th and 31st Avenue
Bonifacio Global City
Taguig

View Larger Map

Quezon City: JT’s Manukan Grille Banawe

foodietraveller — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:18:43 +0000

JT’s Manukan Grille is now in the Banawe Area! Now we don’t have to go all the way to Greenhills for our JT’s chicken inasal fix.

JT’s Manukan Grille – Banawe
#74 Sct. Alcaraz St. cor. Banawe
Quezon City
Business Hours: Monday – Sunday 11:00 – 00:00
Telephone No.: (02) 731-9320

Bacolod: Aida’s Chicken

foodietraveller — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:36:47 +0000

No visit to Bacolod will be complete without tasting their famous Bacolod Chicken Inasal. The best place to get chicken inasal is at Manukan Country — an entire street of karineriyas selling chicken inasal. Our relatives in Bacolod swear that of all the places there, Aida’s serves the best chicken inasal.

Aida's Exterior

Aida’s has a bright and clean interior decorated with masks used during Bacolod’s Maskara Fesitval.

Aida's Interior

Maskara

The chicken inasal is very tasty and affordable! The chicken is very juicy and cooked only upon ordering.
Paa (Leg Quarter): PhP 65
Pecho (Breast): PhP 75
Isol (Chicken butt): PhP 55

Aida's Chicken Inasal

Vinegar, Soy Sauce, Chicken Oil, Calamansi, Chili

Freshly harvested oysters are also available at PhP 30 a plate.

Fresh / Steamed Oysters

Aida’s Chicken (Bacolod Branch)
Manokan Country (Located across SM Bacolod’s North Wing)
Fr. M. Ferrero St. cor. Rizal St.
Bacolod City, Negros Occidental

View Larger Map

In Metro Manila and missing the taste of authentic Bacolod chicken inasal? Aida’s has a branch at Makati!

Aida’s Chicken (Makati Branch)
Makati Cinema Square
Lower Ground Floor
Pasong Tamo, Makati
Tel. No. (02) 9949605

Promo: Unlimited Cravings @ PhP 450

foodietraveller — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:37:13 +0000

Already missing those times during the holidays when you’re stuffing yourself full? Why not visit Cravings for their Unlimited Cravings Promo for PhP 450?

Unlimited Cravings Meal

Promo lasts until January 15, 2012.

The Unlimited Cravings Meal consists of:
Unlimited Premium Dish – Enjoy unlimited servings of one of their featured entree (Today’s Main Entree were: Baked Fish in Olive Oil, Baked Pork Spareribs and Sizzling Chicken Ala Pobre)
Eat-all-you-can soup and salad
Unlimited Coffee and Cake – Choose from any of their featured cakes (choice of cakes may change every day)
Bottomless Signature Iced Tea (Their iced tea is really good! Tastes as if it’s home-brewed.)

This promo is really worth your money since one order of their premium dish + eat-all-you-can salad already costs around PhP 325++

P.S. TCB’s Unlimited Coffee & Cake Promo is still ongoing! (TCB – Unlimited Coffee & Cake)

Cravings
102 TM Plaza Bldg.
Tomas Morato
Quezon City
(02) 4269736

View Larger Map

South Korea: Time Out Gelato

mil.o.e — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:07:24 +0000

One of almost every DBSK/JYJ fans’s must visit places in South Korea: Park Yoochun’s gelato shop. Okay. It was a challenge to find this place, especially when one is unprepared. We thought we could just go to Apgujeong station then ask around. Unfortunately, there weren’t many people around during that day (it was a Monday). But, lucky us, there was internet!

Hyundai Department Store

From Apgujeong Station, proceed to exit 5. If you saw the Hyundai Department store at the other side of the road, you’re still good. Just walk straight, and then turn left at the first corner. Walk a few meters from there; be sure to look at your left or you’d miss it (not really). The gelato bar is in front of L’occitaine. Mission accomplished! Yeah, it was actually easy to find the shop… if you know where to look for it. We got lost for a while.

timeout gelato map

Time Out Gelato Bar

The females over the counter were friendly, but understood limited English. It was okay though, hand gestures and basic English will do. A regular cup contains two scoops of any gelato flavor. It costs 4500KRW (~3.90USD)—a tad bit pricey, but fair. The gelatos were flavorful! They were not bad. I’m willing to try the other flavors. The drinks cost from 4000KRW to 5800KRW.

Counter

Gelato flavors

I actually like the interior. Base on the pictures circulating in the net, I imagined it would look cluttered because of the many pictures of Yoochun, and other random materials. The full length windows on two sides of the room definitely made the gelato bar look bigger. I also adore some of the details like the doorknob and the pop of green mosaic tiles by the door.

right side area from the door

left side area

door knob

Mainly DBSK and JYJ songs with 1 or 2 others played all throughout our stay. We expected that much.

Merienda: Cafe Via Mare

foodietraveller — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:41:41 +0000

After an afternoon of shopping in Greenhills, my sisters and I were suddenly hit by a craving for a Pinoy merienda; and what better place to get some kakanin other than Via Mare?

We ordered our usual favorites:

Palitaw – An order consists of 3 pieces of small, flat, soft, sweet rice cake loaded with niyog (dessicated coconut), sugar and seasame seeds.

Palitaw @ PhP 45

Bibingka with Laguna Cheese and Queso de Bola served hot with a chunk of slowly melting margarine on top (You can also order the bibingka with Laguna Cheese and Salted Duck Egg.)

Bibingka with Laguna Cheese and Queso de Bola @ Php 138

Puto bumbong with niyog and muscovado sugar – Via Mare is the best place to go too for puto bumbong outside the holiday season.

Puto Bumbong @ PhP 70

The next time you’re looking for great kakanin, head over to a Cafe Via Mare – a truly Filipino cafe.

For a list of Cafe Via Mare branches, go to:

Promo: Serenitea Anniversary Jumbo Cups

foodietraveller — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 09:32:58 +0000

It’s that time of the year again; the day Serenitea fans are waiting for… their anniversary (December 19)! From December 19 to 21, order one of their Top 10 Large Serenitea drinks and get a free upgrade to 1 Litre!

Serenitea Anniversary Promo

You can choose from their Top 10 best sellers:

Big love comes in jumbo cups! Mark your calendar from Dec 19 to 21. Enjoy a free upsize on any of our top 10. If you cant finish it all by yourself, remember, tea is sweeter when shared with someone special ❤❤❤
- Serenitea Facebook page

Edit (19-Dec):
Already got my Wintermelon Milk Tea with black bricks!

Jumbo Wintermelon Milk Tea with Black Bricks

Mercato: Simply Delicioso

foodietraveller — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:13:38 +0000

Flooded by thousands of different smells from barbeques to sweets, it was the mouth-watering smell of chili that led us to Simply Delicioso’s stall at Mercato Centrale. It was then that I found the best Texas-style Chili in Metro Manila.

Simply Delicioso (Catering to your epicurean taste) is run by Gina and James Gallegos. Everything they offer is home-cooked by Gina. They are said of offer the best-tasting, best valued Spanish, European and Western-style dishes.

We ordered their excellent Texas Chili topped with garlic-yogurt sauce and jalapeno. It’s worth noting that they use beef chunks instead of the usual ground meat. One order is filling enough for a whole meal, but you can opt to order a bowl with rice for a total of PhP 100.

Texas Chili (PhP 80)

We also had their creamy and cheesy Chicken Enchilada. We liked it so much that we bought another slice for our family.

Chicken Enchilada (PhP 80)

We wanted to try out the other items on the menu but we’re too full. Oh well, this is one good reason why we have to go back to Mercato Centrale or look for them at McKinley asap!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simplydelicioso
Twitter: http://twitter.com/smplydelicioso

Check their facebook page / twitter to know where they will be setting up shop.

Promo: King Chef Dimsum

mil.o.e — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 05:25:01 +0000

Most decent dimsums nowadays will cost at an average of 80php per order— expensive for someone like me who love to eat different varieties in one sitting. Fortunately, King Chef is here to save our wallet! All their dimsums are only at 48php during these times:

Mon – Tues 2pm – 5pm; 9pm – 12mn

Wed – Sat 7am – 9am; 2pm – 5pm; 9pm – 12mn

Sun 7am – 9am; 2pm – 5pm; 9pm – 11mn

Dimsum Menu

Some of the basic dimsums (basic meaning dimsums that were already in the pushcart) that we ordered were: Pork Siomai, Taosi Spareribs, Chicken Feet, and Beancurd Roll.

Pork Siomai

Taosi Spareribs

Chicken Feet

Beancurd Roll

Our favorite from the above would be the Beancurd Roll. The Siomai and the Taosi Spareribs were not bad. I personally like the Chicken Feet; but, my sister thought they were skinny.

Some dishes that were not in the pushcart are cooked or steamed only once ordered. So, we waited for a while for the dimsums below. Lesson learned: order the specials first to get ‘em cooking then browse through the pushcart.

Spinach Dumpling

We expected the Spinach Dumpling would be something similar to Kuchay Dumpling– veggies inside with few bits of shrimps. Guess not. This dumplings’ wrapper itself was the spinach, and the inside was full of shrimps. A surprising delight!

Hakaw

I’m always wary of Hakaws expecially during promos, because I usually get disappointed. King Chef’s Hakaw is definitely not one of them. They were packed with shrimps! More than the Spinach Dumplings’. For their original price of 90php, still worth it!

*note: Hakaws are not included in the promo during Tuesdays.

Xiao Long Bao

Xiao Long Pao: another dimsum that I’m also wary of. An authentic Xiao Long Pao has soup inside the wrapper, of which King Chef do serve. This is my second favorite dimsum of King Chef. Be sure to watch out for the soup! They are very hot since they are freshly served from the kitchen. They serve 3 pieces of Xiao Long Pao per order.

*note: Xiao Long Pao are not always available. Maybe it’s because they are that delicious, everyone would order them!

Fried Prawn Dumpling

Since I have mentioned my second favorite, might as well share my top favorite dimsum of King Chef: Fried Prawn Dumpling. Ma introduced us to this. She raved so much about this to the point of me expecting highly from it. She was right. It was delicious! It wasn’t very oily from what you would expect from most fried dishes. The dumpling is also filled with prawns. The sweet sauce that comes with it, compliments it a lot. Can’t get enough of crustaceans!

Ham Soy Kok

My sister ordered this. I didn’t really know what to expect with Ham Soy Kok because I haven’t tried one before. That or I didn’t know it’s called Ham Soy Kok. It was surprisingly tasty. The shell or breading tasted a bit sweet similar to a buchi’s; and filed with minced meat. Definitely a good trial.

We have also ordered HK Style Asado Siopao, but they vanished after a few second of the tray landing on the table. The bun was very soft and fluffy! The asado was also very juicy and tender!

So far, we have little to none criticisms to all the dimsums. The special orders are definitely are top faves though. We are thinking of going back to King Chef to try everything else on the dimsum menu. I would like to try their Machang and Steamed Seafood Dumpling.

King Chef
989 Banawe Street,
Quezon City
Business Hours:
Mondays to Saturdays: 07:00 am – 12:00 mn
Sundays: 07:00 am – 11:00pm

**note: Please excuse some of the unfocused images. We were too excited to sink our teeth into them. Cheers.

Batangas: Cafeno Coffee House

foodietraveller — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:19:40 +0000

Going to Laiya, Batangas for a weekend getaway? Don’t forget to stopy by Cafeno at the Poblacion at San Juan Batangas. Cafeno is located at the intersection near Puregold and Petron, one street before you turn right to go to Laiya.

It is a charming bahay mestizo-type structure (ground floor was made of stone and 2nd floor was made of wood) that used to be a gas station before it was converted to a cafe. Our med friend who was training near the area said that it is mandatory for us to visit the place, so we dropped by the cafe before going to La Luz.

Alfresco Dining Area

The interior was very cozy. It was as if time stopped during the mid 1900s.

Counter Area

Inside Dining Area

We ordered Waffle with Ice Cream which was homemade Vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two pieces of crispy waffle.

Waffle with Ice Cream (PhP 90)

We also ordered their freshly brewed Barako Classic.

Barako Classic (PhP 35)

We liked the place so much that we dropped by the place before going home to try the champorado that our friend recommended.

The champorado came with fried banana halves and some tuyo. Apparently, the tuyo is there to enhance the taste of the champorado, but my friend ended up eating the tuyo on its own.

Champorado with Fried Banana and Tuyo (PhP 70)

I am already missing the champorado and Barako Classic. I will definitely drop by again next time.

Cafeno Coffee House
No.9 Cor General Luna and Rizal St.
San Juan, Batangas
Business Hours: Monday to Sunday 08:00 AM – 09:00 PM
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/cafeno.batangas