Christmas in May: The Plaza Pop Up Store at Rustan's Makati

Christmas came in early this year as The Plaza opens a pop up store in Rustan's Makati. Aside from its scrumptious ham, it also offers other favorites such as Krispy Kangkong, Lasagne al Forno and Chicken ala Kiev among others. And I got to try a bunch over the short midweek break. 

Hello, The Plaza.

Established in 1965, The Plaza has been a strong brand not just for its delectable ham but also in the catering industry. Its mouthwatering spread and strong clientele made it a trustworthy name and reliable supplier for event needs. And now you don't have to wait for the next gathering to sink your teeth into The Plaza's superb dishes.

First Bite: Little Winehaus

Looking for an affordable place to spend your Titas of Manila night can be a bit challenging. With most tapas and wine bars selling their wine and anti pasti at several hundreds per serving, going out for one could definitely hurt the holiday budget. But, what if I tell you that there's a place that could give you and your amigas a lovely Wine and Jamon Serrano night for only PHP540? Intrigued?

Hello, Little Winehaus.

The quaint wine shop located at the two storey restaurant complex along Mother Ignacia and Scout Lozano offers affordable sangrias and tapas perfect for those who want an all-nighter. 

We got a carafe of Sangria (PHP290), Jamon Serrano (PHP250), Hungarian Sausage (PHP180) and Dulong (PHP180) paired with crackers. 

First Bite: Pastry Armoire x The Wander Space

Ensaymada has been a staple merienda dish in the Filipino food scene. The fluffy bread topped with generous serving of butter and sugar on top can be bought in local bakeries and chains like Goldilocks and Red Ribbon. The growth of the market with discerning taste gave room to premium ensaymada offering more than your usual buttered pastry. We have the famous ensaymada of Pampanga hitting food bazaars like Yummy Eats and Ultimate Taste Test and we also have the like of Pastry Armoire. And I was lucky to be one of the guests of the later to its food tasting at the Instagram heaven, The Wander Space.

Hello, Pastry Armoire x The Wander Space. 

I was carrying several shoot items with me to the event and I gulped with cold sweat dripping down my temples when I saw The Wander Space on the third floor of a building along Maginhawa. With the elevator out of order, I took three flights up to get to the beautiful shop + coffee shop. And I was warmly greeted by Raymond of Pastry Armoire and Kim of The Wander Space. 

Brunch for Three: Wildflour

I think most of us are guilty for ordering the more photogenic dish over the tastier one. More often than not, I find myself asking the server if the dish I’d like to order is pretty or Instagram-worthy and hesitate when I get no for an answer. But there’s a restaurant with a menu packed with tasty AND photogenic dishes. Yes, I’m talking about Wildflour. 

Hello, Wildflour. 

I’ve never seen Wildflour empty and it proves that this restaurant is not just a craze or have lost its charm after the market became less interested in Cronuts. 

First Bite: Pepi Cubano

I have been hearing a lot about Pepi Cubano and how good its Cuban sandwiches are. But its location discourages me from trying it out. Then again, the food gods love me and made Pepi Cubano as one of the concessionaires of the Gourmand Market last May 2016. 

Hello, Pepi Cubano! I have read a lot of good reviews about you!

I was giddy to try it out on my second Gourmand Market visit and shared a Pepi Cubano (PHP250) with R. 

The Pepi Cubano was served after a couple of minutes and we were given a few dollops of Traydor Chili Sauce which they were also selling that weekend. 

First Bite: Bon Banhmi

I've been planning to visit Landmark for quite some time ever since I saw some posts about this banhmi kiosk and Kumori (which I have already tried thanks to the long weekend). But given the horrible traffic, my plan never materialized until when I had to source for showroom merchandise.

Hello, Bon Banhmi! 

It's hard to miss this as several directional pull up banners are placed everywhere. There are banners near the escalator, right before the entrance door of the mall and even the passageway to Glorietta. But... I missed it and ended up circling around and checking |ooloo for clues. 

After a few minutes, I found it! Yay!

But my enthusiasm was not reciprocated by the server who seemed to be having a serious dilemma or struggling with her monthly visitor. Anyhoo, I ordered a Traditional Banhmi (PHP119, medium | PHP134, large). 

Second Bite: K&L Café

Summer is here and the intense heat is driving me crazy. I want to walk around especially during food trips but the sun wants to fry an egg on my head. So when J and I went on a White Plains food trip, we try to escape the heat by having saba con yelo (hielo) at Pan de Amerikana (and brewed coffee and pandesal for a sasaw sa kape afternoon treat). And after a bit of cooling down, we were game to visit our last stop… K&L Café.

Hello again, K&L Café.

It has been quite a while since I last visited the adorable K&L Café.

They were busy setting up for a mini gathering when we arrived so we were requested to dine at the second floor.

The second floor is pretty cute too. The wall ornaments and the frosted window with the logo of the shop made the place homey.

After checking the menu, we went with the following: Longganisa Locale (PHP219), Mozz-Ham-rella Sticks (PHP195), and Ultimate Red Velvet Pancakes (PHP295). We also got Strawberry Calamansi (PHP95) and one of their new drinks that I forgot to take note of.

First served were our drinks. I loved J’s drink as it was sweet yet citrusy. Mine, on the other hand, was a bit too sweet and wasn’t much of a thirst quencher.

The mozzarella (with ham) sticks were served next. Served warm, the stretchy mozzarella with bits of ham was a great appetizer. I’m sure cheese-loving kids would love this dish.

My First Thanksgiving (and Black Friday) Experience

It was my first time to experience Thanksgiving and Black Friday here in the US and it sure was TIRING.

Unlike the Philippines, most parts of the US do not celebrate Christmas the way Pinoys do. I think the only place in America that feels just like the bright Manila is New York. But I'm in California, 6 hours away from the Big Apple. Then again, they also have something quite similar to our Christmas where relatives come over to share a feast and that's Thanksgiving.

Birthday Breakfast at 7AM

My mom has been bugging me to join her eat out for breakfast for quite some time now and I actually failed to make her “dream” come true during Mother’s Day simply because I was still so sore from the CS Manila Scramble that literally messed up my muscles and turned my skin red! But since her birthday wasn’t far off from the day of moms, we decided to have breakfast at Café France on her special day.

Yawn! We all woke up at 5 a.m. to have ample time to prepare for breakfast. They all had to adjust to my time as I was the lone person who had to head back at 9 a.m. since I have work. 

We arrived at the Greenhills branch of Café France around 7:00 a.m. and ordered some breakfast trays—Breakfast Deluxe (PHP260) for my mom and grandmother, a half Premiere Club Sandwich for my sister, and a Crispy Bacon and Egg tray (PHP250) for me. For the breakfast trays, we have an option to change brewed coffee to hot chocolate and since coffee makes me sleepy, I opted for hot chocolate.