Love at First Bite: Chelsea Kitchen

I think Ippudo and I are not meant to be. I have tried to have lunch or dinner there for a whole month now (or even more) and for some reason, it gets cancelled… all the time. But I am not giving up on you, Ippudo! I AM NOT GIVING UP. Anyway, I was supposed to have lunch there with friends after Christmas but the line was still crazy which scared my friends. So we opted to eat elsewhere.

Hello, Chelsea Kitchen!

A good friend of mine told me that this place serves good food. And I believe her since Chelsea never fails me.

When I arrived, M and K already ordered the following: Smoked Tinapa Aglio Olio (PHP320), Three Cheese Pizza (PHP320), The CK Chicken Salad (PHP250) and Jones’ Tapa & Fried Egg (PHP320). I just added Crispy Pork Belly “Bagnet” (PHP395), Truffle Mac N’ Cheese (PHP295) and Sundrenched Freshly Brewed Iced Tea—Strawberry and Lemon (PHP195).

First served was our salad.

The server mentioned that it is best eaten with a bit of the dressings. True enough, I like the different flavors—saltiness of the grilled chicken, sweetness of the plum dressing and coolness of the herbs. It was a delightful dish to start the meal.

Next served was the tapa which was topped with a lot of fried garlic. It was loooove! It was tender and flavorful.

Greetings from California... Pizza Kitchen.

My sister have never tried to dine at California Pizza Kitchen before so one random Sunday afternoon, we decided to go to Rockwell and have one late lunch there.

I’ve never dined in CPK’s branch in Rockwell so it felt so weird that the place was quite small (as I was used to the [former] spacious Shangri-La branch located at the ground floor). There were only a few diners when we arrived so we got a table right away. We got the one with a couch! Yey!

Love at First Bite: The Cheesecake Factory

“VISIT THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY!” That was perhaps the most enthusiastic suggestion I’ve heard my whole life. My friends told me to visit this restaurant when I told them that I’ll be going to the States for the first time. I had no idea what to expect but the weird happy faces and all the jumping gave me the impression that it was a must visit place.

It took me a week to convince my mom to have lunch there. (Yes, my pestering powers are slowly diminishing. It comes with age I guess.) I was thrilled when she finally said YES.

We did a bit of shopping first before heading to the big branch of The Cheesecake Factory in Americana (my favorite place in Glendale). The server Amanda was very attentive and she guided us to our seats the moment she saw us. She also handed the menu and gave us drinks right away. Great service!

I was so excited to order the Hershey’s Chocolate Bar Cheesecake ($7.95 per slice) that it was the first thing I told Amanda. It looked so tempting online. I also ordered Fettuccini Alfredo ($13.50, $16.50-with chicken) and a glass of Green Iced Tea ($2.95). My sister ordered Cheese Pizza ($10.95) as she wanted to have pizza with nothing on it but cheese (yes, she’s such an adventurous foodie!). My mom decided to share with my sister while the friend we were with (let’s call him R) ordered the Smokehouse B.B.Q. Burger ($11.50).