First Bite: Outré

I have been curious about Outré for the longest time. Photos of the ice cream store's vandalized walls and the overflowing scoops of liquid nitrogen gelato made me drool like a St. Bernard. But its two branches are a bit too far from me and just thinking about the traffic makes me cringe. And so I made sure to include Outré as one of our stops when we went to Aguirre for a food crawl.

Hello, Outré! 

The place was empty when we got there around 3:30 pm on a drizzling Sunday afternoon. 

I quickly ordered the Milo Dinosaur Gelato (PHP160) while K went with Dulce de Leche Gelato (PHP150). 

It was fun watching them prepare our gelato. The smoky/fog effect never fails to entertain me.

First Bite: Café Lidia

After 9 hours of eating, we have finally reached the last stop of our Marikina food crawl. And just when we thought we’ll just have a spoonful of each dish, we were spoiled with mouthwatering pasta dishes, pizzas, meats and cakes! And we simply could not say no to those!

Hello, Café Lidia.

Café Lidia is one of the pioneer restaurants in Marikina and has been well-loved by residents and foodies alike. Most have seen this establishment grow from a humble restaurant to a space that could cater to special occasions like weddings and birthday parties. And I was surprised that at almost 9 pm, the place was still packed with diners. 

The place has this Hispanic or Old Manila feel with its brick walls, wooden furniture and lovely pond. 

As we waited for the dishes we were about to sample, I browsed through the menu and was impressed with the number of dishes Café Lidia offers. They have several viands, pasta, pizza and cakes to choose from.

Festa del Vino Stop #1: Sauceria

I am no wine connoisseur but I am always fascinated by the elegance this drink adds to any meal. I normally have a glass or two of red wine whenever I indulge in a succulent piece of steak. But McKinley Hill’s Festa del Vino (Wine Festival) exposed me to other pairings and I loved it!

Hello, McKinley Hill!

This bustling area of Taguig is another gem waiting to be explored by foodies. With its numerous establishments offering mouthwatering dishes, you’ll never run out of options. I have to admit though, I am stuck with Nihonkai Tsukiji whenever I visit this place. But thanks to Megaworld Lifestlyle Malls team, I got to explore the other lovely restaurants around the area. 

Our first Festa del Vino food crawl stop was Sauceria, a quaint restaurant that serves comfort dishes such as chicken wings, sandwiches and pizza. During my visit, I was able to try its Char Siu or Roast Pork Pizza (PHP405) along with a glass of Barefoot Merlot’s Dark Berries. We were also given some pork and chicken skewers in classic and chipotle sauces.

The wine served to us came from California and I actually liked that it had light tones of berries and that it wasn’t very strong. It was odd though that I let out some sweat beads while gulping down my share of wine. Then again, it could be because the place was packed with bloggers trying to capture a nice shot of the wine and food served.

I enjoyed the flavorful char siu pizza which went really well with the wine we sampled. It was a beautiful blend of sweet mangoes and salty roast pork.