a little bit about travel, a little bit about food, a lot of everything in between; as seen, tasted and experienced by different points of view..
Here’s the part2 of the family’s trip to Tagaytay. We get to the breakfast place my sisters chose: Café Voi La. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not pronounced as “vwä-lä”, yes, we asked the server, and he said it’s pronounced as is, “voy-lä” (yes, I …
Back in 2011, we had our 1st vacation as a family. Everyone enjoyed their time then and my siblings and I agreed to make it a yearly thing. So far, we’re doing a good job there but this year, instead of going on a flight …
Valentine’s Day? No problem! There’s a new restaurant in Podium (yeah I’m gonna need a long time to finish all of them especially now that I only go to the office once a week haha), Las Flores. It’s just right beside the huge entrance to the mall, tucked neatly in its corner.. which is probably why you’ll also miss it. Not to mention they have these homey white doors that separate them from the mall, like their very own mini entrance into their lavish interiors matched with high ceilings and modern contemporary design.
I was seated on a table for 2 with mismatched chairs, one cushioned and one just a brown, bare, wooden chair. I looked around and found another table with the same setup. I’m thinking they could easily have swapped the chairs, but hmm.. maybe they wanted it that way? The ceiling was high and on my right side, they had this chandelier dangling, couldn’t resist to take a shot of it of course. In front of me was their full bar, and as if their bartender got the invisible message I sent, he went out of the bar and opportunity presented itself and I was able to take an unmanned bar (ding ding ding!).
My order was received by one of the servers. I ordered the Solomillo de Ternera, which is basically a 180g) Mulwarra (Australian) Tenderloin steak topped with Maldon salt and served with seasonal vegetables in EVOO. Yum! But before that arrived, this pretty little thing was given to me by the restaurant owner/manager, I think, and she said it’s a complementary appetizer. When I sliced through it (of course I wouldn’t eat the whole thing without knowing what it was), it was deep fried squid ink! I knew well not to show my teeth to anyone that passes by my table, the server kept asking if I wanted water haha! I’d just nod and smile or murmur a “yes, please.” From their menu, it’s probably the Pescadito Frito, a deep fried medley of shrimp, sardines, and squid with mayo.
So, when my plate came, asked for a medium well btw but they gave me a medium (thank goodness because of the cut), it was so Instagram-able haha! It was constructed a little to the side of the plate, leaving some good negative space around the plate which actually forced you to look at the steak more. Judging by the meat, it looked succulent and tender and when I had the first bite, the salt enhanced the overall taste. Delicious! I think I saved some for until the last bite lol yeah, holding on to those crystal flakes til the very end. The vegetables could have been done better, they were a little on the soggy side, but thank goodness for the EVOO. They had marble potatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, string beans, and red bell pepper. I liked the cherry tomatoes the best.
Verdict: 3.5/5
I like the ambience, steak, my chair, and the service. It was a pleasant dining experience and worth another visit. They had several items in the menu that were not available, maybe they really wanted me to get the steak because hey, it’s Valentine’s Day after all.
I had an early start on this day to complete my errands and I’m so glad it panned out great. It felt like everything fell into place and it was just begging for a little celebration and a happy dance. And so it was decided …
There aren’t a lot of restaurants here serving roast duck (or I just haven’t searched enough). It’s a good thing I don’t have to look far and wide for it, like going to Chinatown maybe? Haha because a new restaurant just opened in Podium! Tai …
Festival Mall has long since started its own makeover by adding more wings around their new activity center. There’s a long way to go to fill those new stalls but restaurants are slowly opening its doors to customers. The Cook by Hongleepark, a fusion restaurant (Italian-Korean), is one of those. I was with my parents then and we decided to eat here for lunch.
The restaurant was divided into 2 sections. On the right was The Cook and on the left was Ho Bing (hey, isn’t this the 1st review I ever did here?!). Since my parents already dined here recently (and they liked it), I chose the dishes they didn’t order so they could compare. I ordered the Seafood Tomato Spaghetti and their Bulgogi Pizza, so we could really scream Italian-Korean fusion! LOL just 2 dishes because the servings are good for 2-3 persons.
The spaghetti was served on a steel serving pan, pretty much giving off the Korean feel right away. I like the presentation, the pasta was swirled and on a heap at the middle and the garlicky squid, shrimp, and clams scattered around it. The seafood wasn’t overcooked, which is great. The pasta wasn’t al dente and the sauce was ok, nothing that will make you jump off your seat. The pizza I liked better. The dough was just the right thickness. Toppings were marinated bulgogi, bell peppers, and cheese.
Verdict: 2/5
Getting a 2 for the 2 dishes they served us. Excellent customer service, the crew was very courteous and helpful and always asked if we wanted refills of their pickled veggies sides. A downside to this place was their soaring high prices and even higher service charge. The disclaimer said the a la carte dishes serve 2-3 persons. We’re not really huge eaters, but I thought they were a little small for their price.
I’m writing a review this time for Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen. But honestly, this isn’t the 1st time I’ve dined in this restaurant. All the while though, I thought it was. Digging through a year’s worth of Instagram posts, I discovered that I dined at their …
As if we needed another buffet (well, if you’ve read my last post, we kinda do), here’s another one: Hong’s Family Restaurant in Lahug, Cebu City. ReiMart and I went here after watching Sinulog and I think that’s a good excuse already. Since we did a lot walking and we missed breakfast!
Hong’s is like an old house transformed to a restaurant, at least that’s the vibe I got from it. They had basic chairs and tables, small crew, and a guard outside. The menu was provided right away and we were informed that both of us should pay for the same unlimited dishes if we wanted to get those. You could also ask for the combo, a mix of Chaldobaki (beef) and Sam Gyeop Sal (pork) cuts, instead of ordering each. Unfortunately, they did not have the combo *sadness* so we were forced to get the Unli Sam Gyeop Sal. And of course, we ordered Bibimbap! Just because.
Like typical Korean restaurants, they served the sides first. They had bean sprouts, potato strips, and kimchi to name a few. You can also ask for refills but you have to call and tell them every time by using the buzzer haha! The sam gyeop sal arrived and I thought to myself, these are like huge, fat strips of bacon. Really, huge cutsof pork belly, as in 8in pork belly cuts. ReiMart had to cut them to smaller, bite-size pieces so they would cook faster. There was a stove in the middle of the table, but for some reason, we didn’t use that. They provided us with a portable stove instead. So ReiMart, being the chef between the two of us, did all the cooking and I just hunted for the cooked cuts haha!
The Bibimbap had better chances of raising the rating for Hong’s. Although it lacked the finesse of an authentic Korean bowl of bibimbap, the flavor was spot on. The rice at the bottom had crisped up and they put enough spice that it didn’t overwhelm the dish.
Verdict: 2/5
I’ve been to Korean restaurants before and this is my first time seeing a cut like that. It was just too thick and we spent some time trying to cut them to smaller and thinner strips. The side dishes were ok, we liked the bean sprouts and kimchi and had multiple refills of those. The bibimbap was very good. Maybe go here if you’re really hungry and hope that they have everything on their menu.
First of all, a warm welcome to 2018! And what’s the best way to celebrate it and crush any diet resolutions? Going in buffets of course! So, our 1st victim (or is really the other way around?) is Wakamatsu Yakiniku of Cebu. Flew all the …
I’ve always liked the Marine Gateway complex because it has (almost) everything I want in one place. If I can afford the condos here then I would probably move into this neighbourhood haha I don’t remember when I first tried out the Ban Dao restaurant …
I don’t remember when I last went to Shangri-La Plaza at Shaw Boulevard. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I ever did. One reason that I can think of is I always thought of it as a high end mall that I would really not want to spend time in haha because I won’t be happy afterwards if I splurge on anything I bought from there. LOL gee, was I wrong this entire time. While looking for new restaurants to try (I was on mid-shift for a month then so I was able to pass by this place), Café Dome grabbed the spot. It’s an Australian franchise originally serving world class coffee (which I didn’t really know until I read the menu!) but evolved to something more to catch the Filipino market.
The parking in the mall was a little tricky, I think I got to level 7! Fortunately, when I got off the lift, the restaurant was directly on my right. So I found myself seated in an old European interior, nice, comfy seats, and they even have rooms for large groups. Looking around, there aren’t a lot of diners, whoever was there though, all looked important and all the while busy. The server was quick to hand me the menu and I asked for their Roast Beef Belly and their Café Mocha.
The warm coffee came first on a tall cup with sweetener on the side and a bonus of a small cookie! The coffee was ok but it’s not really out of this world. After a few minutes, my lunch plate arrived. Roast beef belly, check, it was rather a small cut though. Rice, check, but I don’t think this was the best option to accompany the star of the dish. Green salad, check, I wanted more though. I liked the mustard vinaigrette dressing. Gravy, check, nothing spectacular here. So after my meal, I had a lot of leftover fat slices, it hasn’t been rendered enough to my liking, like you’re swallowing oil. The rice was barely touched, maybe they have a better chance of nailing this dish if they replaced the carbs.
Verdict: 1.5/5
Well, this is a coffee shop after all, but it didn’t do it justice. The .5 came from the tiny cookie haha! My food was a little underwhelming too, there’s just too much I didn’t like. Pity because the meaty part was nice and soft. I just wasn’t able to enjoy the entirety of it. So better luck next time? If there is one.
