First Sip: Brown Café

The milk tea bug got me real bad as I always find myself craving for this sweet drink. My eyes never fail to sparkle every time I see an ad promoting a new joint worth checking out. And I was so excited when I found out that Brown Café, a popular Thailand brand, opened in Manila. 

Hello, Brown Café. 

I've never been to Brown Café Thailand but its collagen infused boba drinks got me curious. And it's hard to say no to its cute, clean and dainty Instagram posts.

Beat the Heat: Shari Shari Kakigori House Philippines Opens this June 2019

With summer coming to an end, the heat still lingers and there's no stopping us from wanting cold treats. Thankfully, a new shaved ice dessert shop reached our shores and is up for the challenge to keep us cool. And it has legit matcha to boot!

Hello, Shari Shari Kakigori House!

Shari Shari Kakigori House from Hong Kong is finally opening in Manila this June and will be serving its bestsellers Japanese Tofu Kakigori, Matcha Cream Special, Earl Grey Milk Tea and Strawberry Special among others. As a Manila exclusive flavor, Shari Shari Philippines will also serve Cantaloupe Melon. 

First Bite: Bad Bird

Long queues never fail to make me curious. As one of the best indicators that something good is being offered, I usually line up even without having much clue of what's in store for me. Though it's not always a happy ending after getting what every one else was lining up for, I got to discover Ichiran and Hanjuku Kobo from spontaneously queuing. And one establishment that I've always wanted to line up for was Bad Bird. 

Hello, Bad Bird.

Bad Bird has been one of the establishments people go for when visiting Hole in the Wall. And it never seemed to run out of patrons whenever I visit. 

Gino's Brick Oven Pizza

One thing I dislike with new work is that I have to prepare and accomplish all these pre-employment requirements. I had to have my photo taken, fill out several government and company forms and take a physical exam. The hassle of doing all those motivate me to stay in a company as long as I could (till I see a better opportunity or something like it). But thanks to the hassle of going to a mall to have my photo taken, I got to have dinner with my former officemates, A1 and A2. Since we were near Serendra, we opted to have dinner at Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza.

Hello, Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza! Long time no taste!

We easily got a table with couch seats as the place was just half full at 7:30 p.m..

We ordered Sausage Pizza (PHP330) and Carbonara (PHP220). We also ordered a pitcher of Iced Tea (PHP125).  

Service was quick. Our drinks were served in 5 minutes and our dishes came after 10-15 minutes. 

The serving size of both dishes are good for two to three and it was perfect for our group.

The pasta was al dente and the creamy sauce was not cloying. The serving of bacon bits was a bit stingy but each forkful was still packed with flavor. 

Heart-shaped Burgers: Murray and D'Vine

I have this huge thing for hearts. I don't really know why but ever since I was young, I get attracted to anything shaped like a heart (not the human heart, just so we're on the same page). I used to have a lot of shirts with hearts printed on it. I also used to have a lot of accessories with heart pendants, charms, and what not. I also went crazy over Papa John's heart-shaped pizza. And I have this glowing heart pin I used to wear every Heart's Day. I guess it has something to do with being me being a February baby.

My favorite Dragon Lady, T, told me that there's a restaurant that serves heart-shaped burgers and we agreed to have a date there and murder a burger or two. But I didn't expect to visit the place sooner when I ran out of ideas during my trip there with J. 

Hello there, Murray and D'Vine.

The place was pretty dark when we went so I thought it was closed and I was already planning to recommend my favorite restaurant in Serendra, Mesclun, as an alternative. But the friendly server approached us and told us that they were open. So, I guess it was destiny. Hello, heart-shaped burger. <3

We opted to dine upstairs as it was cooler there. The server gave us a bell to use to call them. Pretty cute but it clashes with the whole concept of the restaurant. Anyway...

It took us quite a bit to order as we were distracted by the shape of the food. After a while, I decided to go for the Ostrich Burger (PHP565) while J went for the Aussie Burger (PHP515). We also ordered a glass of drink each (and unfortunately, I forgot what it's called but we got it for less than PHP100 each if I recall it right).

First served were our drinks which were pretty decent. The drinks had a slight kick but nothing to make one woozy.

Restaurant Discovery: Saboten

Japanese food seems to be extremely popular these days with ramen and katsu places popping left and right. Every time I pass by The Fort or walk around Shangri-La, I see a lot of new Japanese places I just have to try. And yes, Saboten is in the list.

It has been a while since I last saw M so I set a date with her to catch up. We were supposed to have lunch with T but T suddenly backed out as he had to meet his friend. *sad*

We met up a bit past 2 p.m. and I was surrounded by food as early as 11 a.m. so I was tortured for over 3 hours! >.<

 

Anyway, when we arrived at Saboten, the place was still full and we were on the wait list. But since we’re second, we decided to wait. It wasn’t long till we got a table.

I got mesmerized by the Grated Radish Katsu so I ordered the Loin Set (PHP395). But since ordering just one viand isn’t my thing, I convinced M that we order Saboten Special Set (PHP525) too. The Special set includes one deep-fried shrimp, 65g loin cutlet, 30g tenderloin cutlet, and one crab cream croquette. For dessert, we ordered one Chocolate Hazelnut Cream Cake (PHP195).

 

Service was quick given that the place was packed.

 

First served was a huge bowl of cabbage and some pickled cucumber and radish.

M and I enjoyed it so much that when the first dish arrived, we were a bit full. But the dressing was just too addicting!!!

 

Now for the moment of truth, the Grated Radish Katsu…

Sweet Find: Chez Karine

I first heard of this store from B and ever since she bought a box of macarons, I’ve been curious if it really tastes good (as B was really looking forward to buying a box of it). Months passed by and finally, I managed to grab a few macarons.

 

Hello, Chez Karine!

 

This small pastry shop has a charming feel to it. Filled with light colored items, it sure screams “cute”. I went straight to the macarons and asked the friendly server for their best sellers.

She suggested that I get the Earl Grey, Salted Caramel, Dark Chocolate and Strawberry (all macarons are priced at PHP50/each). I decided to get the first three and opted to get coffee instead of strawberry as my sister is not very fond of it. 

I also bought one Muscovado Pudding (PHP100) and Mango Panna Cotta (PHP100).

Weekend Love: Gourmandise Patisserie

I had a solo date a few Saturdays ago and though at some point it felt a bit lonely, I was able to visit some stores I wanted to visit and one of which was Gourmandise Patisserie. 

While walking, I spotted a small éclair place that could house at most 8 people. I remembered the name of the store. It was one of the featured sweets in the desserts issue of Yummy magazine and I even got to sample some before! Oh yum!

I hurriedly entered the place and checked out the different flavors.

I wasn’t feeling very adventurous then so I opted to order the more popular ones such as Salted Caramel, Chocolate, Praline, Vanilla Bean, and Coffee (PHP100/each). I also ordered some Salted Caramel macarons (PHP65/each) and a cup of cappuccino (PHP85) as snacks while resting from my mini walkathon.

While waiting for my order, a party of 5 arrived and I realized that the place was really packed already. No wonder there was a table outside the shop too.

The coffee is your typical cappuccino and it isn’t anything spectacular and I really do not have high expectations as it’s not a coffee place. The macaron on the other hand is another story. It was HEAVENLY.

Exotic Food Trip Stop: Abe Restaurant

If you checked my previous entries, you’d know that I like, uh, love exotic dishes! Blame Balaw Balaw for turning me into a normal-people-do-not-consider-this-as-food freak. I fell in love with exotic dishes ever since I tried Uok. I just can’t describe how happy I was every time I discover a yummy exotic dish. I just can’t.*Big smile here*

Part of our Fear Factor Exotic Food Trip itinerary was Abe just so we’d feel a bit more… posh after jumping from one place to another in Binondo. 

A Date with Chuck

I just love shopping turned food trip with friends. Unexpected. Happy tummies. What’s not to love?

A friend and I planned on checking several bazaars last Saturday but food has always been a concern. “Where will we eat or have snacks?” has always been part of the plan. This time, since I hardly frequent BGC, my friend suggested having lunch at Chuck’sDeli. 

I’ve never been to Chuck’s Deli but I’ve heard that they serve great sandwiches thus I was so excited to finally check the place out. 

We were greeted by cute blackboard walls with very nice handwriting with Christmas greetings, announcements, specials, and the names of the 5-minute challenge winners.