Taco Bell Celebrates National Taco Day

Love tacos? Then Christmas came in early for you with Taco Bell's awesome promo this week! 

Hello, Taco Bell.

The well-loved taco joint is celebrating National Taco Day in high holiday spirit with its fun-loving promos. 

Promo Alert: Vatos is turning February FunTACOstic!

Vatos is probably one of the best restaurants I've been to last 2018. Just thinking about its to die for Cowboy Queso or its sweet as nectar Sexy Sanchez margarita is enough to make me drool for days. And just when I couldn't think of more reason to drop by for more, Vatos came up with a special treat for its patrons and would-be fans for the month of February. 

Happy anniversary, Vatos Philippines!

Vatos is celebrating its first year in the Philippines with 100% yumminess with its anniversary promos lined up! 

For the whole month of February, grab your favorite Vatos Urban Tacos for just PHP100 (2 pieces per order). Included in this promo are Spicy Chicken, Chimichurri Chicken, Braised Carnitas, Chili Lime Shrimp, Korean Pork Belly, Baja Fish and Barbacoa Pork. Its premium tacos Carne Asada and Wagyu Galbi Short Rib are available for PHP200 (2 pieces per order). 

Restaurant Love: Gringo

Gringo is no doubt one of my favorite restaurants in the Metro. It has been one of my go-to places for chicken ever since my love-at-first-bite encounter with it two years ago. I'd always grab a quarter or half of its Original Chicken and had no idea that I would also fall in love with its ribs and other dishes. And I had a brief moment of truth during my visit at Gringo's latest branch at O'Square, Greenhills. 

Hola, Gringo!

I had a hard time looking for Gringo's newest branch as I had no idea that O'Square is not just the building with BDO and Wild Flour on the ground floor. There's another compound fronting the bazaar area of Greenhills Center that is also considered part of O'Square. It took me several circles around the O'Square I know before I decided to ask for directions. Thankfully, it was just a block away and wasn't far enough for me to be at risk of heat stroke from walking under the unforgiving summer sun. 

First Bite: Tittos Latin BBQ & Brew

I’ve been hearing a lot of great reviews about this South American joint in Kapitolyo. I got so curious that I always drag people and convince them to try it out with me. But my first two attempts were not successful. The first one was because of parking and the second one was because we were too full from our first stop. But third time’s the charm.  

Hello, Tittos Latin BBQ & Brew! (Finally.)

The spacious restaurant is one of the few that offers a handful of parking spaces in Kapitolyo. But on a good day, the place gets really packed and you’d be lucky if you could score one of the “double parking” spots. Inside, you’d be welcomed by vibrant colors and very South American murals. 

Happy Tummies at Happy Tables

It is really fascinating how the Manila food scene has grown from a place with limited restaurants to a bustling city filled with food choices here and there. And with the growing number of food parks or hubs, you could tell that the restaurant industry is on fire! And just a couple of weeks back, we visited a new food park along the long stretch of Congressional Avenue and we were impressed. 

Hello, Happy Tables!

This food park, rather, a restaurant hub, is the brainchild of Happy Tables’ owner Oye Peralta. With his passion of offering quality dishes, he took the time and effort to do extensive food tasting to ensure that each and every dish offered in Happy Tables would delight the growingly discerning foodie market. The end result was a well curated list of restaurants that spoiled us when we visited. 

Love at First Bite: Spanglish

Looloo is an amazing app. I find myself relying on the app when I am traveling locally and have no idea where to eat. And last week, Looloo helped me find another great restaurant.

Hello, Spanglish!

After checking in our hotel, R and I went out for lunch to fill our tummies before C’s big day. And since we’re not familiar with the area, I checked Looloo for some recommendations. There were a bunch of Filipino restaurants in the list but the one that caught my attention was Spanglish.

Aside from the high rating, one of my schoolmates reviewed it too saying that it’s a gem in Clark. Convinced, we headed to the Mexican restaurant.

The complex where the restaurant is located looks abandoned with several retail spaces empty. Spanglish was the only area with a lot of customers. And we were lucky to get the last table inside the restaurant. (It was super hot that day!)

We decided to order the following: Chips and Salsa (PHP150), Chicken Quesadilla (PHP310), and Chimichanga Plate with shredded beef (PHP315). R also ordered a glass of House Blend Iced Tea (PHP65) while I got Espresso Triple Thick Milk Shake (PHP240).

First served was R’s iced tea and it was nothing spectacular. I also find it a bit too sweet to quench our thirst.

Chips and salsa was served next and it was quite filling. R and I ate nonstop and after 10 to 15 minutes of munching, the appetizer calmed our grumbling tummies. The pico de gallo was fresh though again, nothing extraordinary.

My Espresso milk shake was dessert and drink combined. It sure was thick and flavorful. I enjoyed it but I need it with a glass of water.

Finally, the mains were served.

First Bite: Nori Sushi Burrito x Yakitori in Kapitolyo

After several months, I am back, Kapitolyo! I read a couple of restaurant reviews on the new establishments in Kapitolyo, one of which is Nori. Since it has been getting a lot of buzz, I decided to invite my mom, sister and R to have lunch there last Sunday.

Hello, Nori!

Just like most Kapitolyo restaurants, parking is a challenge. Luckily, R and I were early and got the one and only parking of the restaurant. My mom came in a bit later and she parked a block away. 

The menu is simple and you only have a handful of options to choose from which makes ordering easier for the fickle-minded. We ordered Bacon Crab Sticks (PHP39/stick), Chicken Yakitori (PHP39/stick), Mojos (PHP69), Chicken Teriyaki Burrito (PHP149), Beef Bulgogi Burrito (PHP169), Miso Glazed Salmon Burrito (PHP189), Angus Beef Teriyaki (PHP119) with one raw egg (PHP10). We also ordered house blend iced tea (PHP55).

First served were our drinks and mojos. The iced tea was sweet yet refreshing. It went well with the mojos which were thinly sliced and nicely spiced. I also enjoyed dipping the mojos with the Wasabi Mayo (which was not spicy at all).

Next served was my Miso Glazed Salmon Burrito. I liked the sweet sauce but I find it a bit off with the cabbage for some reason. The salmon was also a bit dry. And it was messy to eat. The fried potato chips on the side added a nice texture to the dish but it was slightly burnt having a bitter taste.

The yakitori sticks soon followed and the Bacon Crab Stick is literally crab sticks with bacon. It was okay though quite oily. The chicken yakitori was pretty ordinary too. Both were a bit salty so it might be good to eat it with rice.

Restaurant Discovery: Madeca

I admit, as much as I want to be lean and strong, I would choose a food trip over a free workout anytime. However, the case was different a few weeks back. I felt really heavy and when I do, I just have to give in to exercise and tried Plana Forma. It was PAIN. But there’s something I look forward to after every workout… reward. And by reward I mean food.

After an hour of squatting, T and I went to Podium with the plan of eating at Wildflour. It was our second attempt to do so but when we arrived, the place was packed with hungry brunch people. So we decided to look for another place to have brunch. Then I remembered Madeca. I saw it before in Yummy magazine and fell in love with the cute mason glasses. 

Luckily, the 4^th floor of Podium isn’t packed. (Normally, the busiest floor is the ground floor where Wildflour is located.) There was only one diner when we arrived. 

We noticed that Madeca isn’t an authentic Mexican restaurant. It is a fusion between Mexican and Filipino. I got intrigued with Lechon Kawali Burrito (PHP245) so I ordered one along with Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla (PHP125) and Guava Mojito (PHP135). T on the other hand ordered  Sisig Burrito (PHP225).

The Spinach and Mushroom Quesadilla was on the bland side but topping it with sour cream and salsa solves that. I love that it was served warm. The chips were delightful too as it added texture to the dish.

Let’s Salsa!

We were planning to go to Hollywood but for some reason, we ended up in Santa Monica. And boy, was I glad.  

“Hello Santa Monica!” we said while being greeted by the cold breeze coming from the beach nearby. 

We were tired from all the walking and the intense heat from Beverly Hills when we decided to move to Hollywood to grab lunch and roam around the Walk of Fame. However, the GPS failed us and we ended up in chilly Santa Monica. 

Our grumbling tummies did not let us roam around further and we found ourselves warm and comfy inside La Salsa, one of the many food places in the area. 

They have a pretty good array of Mexican comfort food from tacos, nachos, to burritos. I had my eyes on the taco salad but for some reason, I decided to go for Tacos La Salsa ($5.85) instead thinking that it was a heavier meal. My aunts decided to go for the Taco Salad ($5.25) and the Three Pepper Fajita ($8.49).

What I loved about the place was that there were several dips available. There were avocado, salsa, and even mango dips. It was a feast!!!

Celebrating weekend freedom with Fredom Fries

To celebrate Candy bagging the Golden Rocket Awards, the publishers behind the great teen magazine organized a Publishers’ Lunch at Army Navy.

It was my first time in Army Navy and the first thing I noticed there was the interior. It was pretty cute. It has the camp feel—stylized camp feel.

The name of the restaurant was painted on the cemented walls. There was also the cute Oscar-the-Grouch trash bin. The counter was also like the ones you’ll see in some camps serving potatoes and everything else mashed.

When we reached our tables, there were already several orders of Freedom Fries (PHP60) waiting to be eaten. My boss told me that Army Navy’s burritos and Fearless Fried Chicken (FFC?) are good but I got curious with the soft tacos and my boss never tried it before (I thought that at least I could tell her what it tasted like). I then ordered Soft Taco with Chicken filling (PHP125) and a regular Libertea, Army Navy’s brewed iced tea (PHP45).



The Freedom Fries was one addicting snack. The flavorful, thinly sliced long fries were not very oily and it was not salty at all. Zesty as the menu described it, it was something I will definitely order when I visit again.

 After finishing all our Freedom Fries, our orders arrived. My order has a very strong smell. Very oniony—a scent I do not like at all. I had to remove most of the onions to get a taste of the other ingredients such as—chicken.

The lime and the salsa didn’t play much of a role. It was like onion soft taco. K

At least the popular Libertea was good. It was definitely LEMON ICED TEA.

Next time, I'll stick to burrito.

Army Navy Burger + Burrito is located at the GF Strata 2000 Bldg., F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.