First Bite: Elephant Grounds Opens in Manila

Bonifacio Global City is staying true to the word global with the number of international brands and concepts filling all those empty spaces in the growing business district. Shake Shack just opened a few months ago and it was not too long before foodies shifted their attention towards another brand-- Elephant Grounds.

Hello, Elephant Grounds.

Elephant Grounds is finally open after almost a month long delay and its jam-packed shop is enough to prove that many were waiting to get a sip of its famous coffee and a taste of its ice cream and food curated and developed by Chef Nicco Santos. I actually haven't visited its main store in Hong Kong but I've heard from a few foodies that this place serves great food and drinks. And that was enough to keep me excited. 

Since 1999: Brothers Burger

Do you still remember what you were doing in 1999? I sure don't but I know three brothers who clearly do. The Jose brothers started to revolutionize how burgers should be that year. The genius trio were tired of the usual burgers fast food chains offer and this triggered them to start their own burger joint--the first to make artisanal burgers. And Brothers Burger was born. Several years later, Brothers Burger is still a brand of choice for foodies particular with their patties. But on its 18th year, Brothers Burger has become more than just burgers. 

Love at First Bite: Sunnies Cafe

A bright ray of sunshine dazzled everyone walking along High Street. With its pastel colored walls and light hued furniture, it's an instant magnet for youngsters and Instagram lovers. It's no surprise that it was packed with people on its first day of operation yesterday. And despite feeling ill, I headed to the lovely new restaurant slash café today for lunch. 

Hello, Sunnies Cafe.

I was greeted by a plain pink door with a signage that says that it is now open. I noticed that the celebrity owners are inside and looking posh as always. But they were there not to chitchat with the customers; rather to prepare for a TV shoot to feature their newest business venture. 

I felt that this is a mistake on their part as it made the whole dining experience not as good. It was quite chaotic when I was there. And I could not get a decent photo of the whole dining area. And it took me around 5 minutes before I waved the white flag. You won this time, TV crew. 

For lunch, I opted to go with Spaghetti Al Fungi (PHP260). The server recommended Sunnies Cafe’s Pumpkin Purée soup (PHP150) which I decided to order as well. I also got a free Sunnies Funtetti (PHP290) as part of Sunnies Cafe’s opening promo*. 

Foodie Alert: The Gourmand Market this May 20-22, 2016

No plans this weekend? Then head to the Gourmand Market by nawwTy's kitchen and indulge in delectable dishes by top and promising food concessionaires. 

Don't miss this chance to stuff yourself with great food. Bring your family and friends as food always tastes better when shared.

See you there! <3

First Bite: FowlBread

I am a big fan of Le Petit Souffle and Scout's Honor hence I was so giddy when I found out that the brains behind these two establishments have a new baby on its way. It has been a few weeks ago since I first saw C's post about Fowl Bread. I counted the days and weeks till its grand opening. I even commented on Chef K's post on when it'll be open and she replied this afternoon. She said, "today." And off I go to FowlBread.  

Hello, FowlBread!

The place is at one of the corners along High Street (near Krispy Kreme) and its bright electric blue signage against its industrial interiors sure catches attention.

Despite the small size of the restaurant, there were a lot of servers on standby to assist. One friendly lady guided me to my table in the air conditioned area of the establishment and quickly handed the menu. 

There are only three dishes and two sides to choose from so it's not really hard to choose. I was told that the Chicken Sandwich (PHP215, ala carte | PHP265 with salted fries | PHP295 with garlic fries) is the best one out of the three so I went with that one. I also got garlic fries to go with my sandwich because it was recommended too. (And I was eating alone so I don't really care if my breath stinks after.) You can have your burger with a bit of spice, a lot of spice or none at all. I opted to get "normal" as I am never a fan of anything spicy. I didn't bother to order drink since there was only one drink that seemed promising but at PHP180, I felt that it was a bit steep. I do hope though that it's served on a huge glass. 

After 10 minutes or so, my sandwich finally arrived.

Since I was dining outside, I opted to use the utensils in front of me and sliced a bite size off my burger (I'll call it burger from this point onward since it looked more like a burger than a sandwich to me). And it was a challenge. The crispy chicken skin was tough to cut and it made everything else go off to all directions. I ended up putting the chicken skin aside and crack it to pieces and use it as topping.  

Love at First Bite: Single Origin

It's rare when I get to roam around BGC in the afternoon on a weekday and when I do get a chance, I make sure I get to eat something yummy. And a few weeks back, I got to visit... Single Origin. 

Hello, Single Origin.

Dark hues of brown greeted me as soon as I stepped in. With predominantly wood interiors, this place exudes a warm and welcoming ambiance.

I wasn't exactly hungry when I visited and after seeing that the dishes offered do not exactly fall under the "wallet-friendly" category, I opted to just order a a pot of Black Onyx using Hario V60 Pourover (PHP165) and Cappuccino Lava Cake (PHP295).

The server warned me that it takes roughly 20 minutes for the cappuccino lava cake to be ready. Since I was not in a hurry, I still ordered the bestselling dessert. 

In less than 10 minutes, my pot of coffee was served.

The Hario Pourover version is the cheapest among the coffee methods but it was also the one the smallest serving at 12 oz compared to others at 15 and 20 oz. 

Familiar with the taste of Black Onyx as I ordered it before when I visited Refinery, I took a sip without any sweetener. But my unsophisticated taste buds found the coffee slightly bitter despite it being one of the sweeter coffees available (as it highlights deeper caramelized sugars and notes of dark chocolate). In short, I ended up adding sugar. And it tasted a lot better.

After a couple more minutes and half pot of coffee gone, the lava cake finally arrived and... it was so mouthwatering. 

Second Bite: Pound

I never waited for food for over 2 hours until that Pay What You Want promo. I don’t know what got into me to make me wait for so long. Well, I guess the idea of just spending whatever you feel like for your burger or slider is attractive. Okay, okay! It was tempting as ice cream for a person who has sore throat! But just when I said I will never ever wait that long… it happened again after 4 days. Darn it!

So hello again, Pound.

Yes, I have been lured to this place again after my new looloo friends R and W expressed interest in the very tempting promo.

R was the first to arrive around 6PM and she was already on the second column of the list. That means over 20 diners were ahead of her. Unbelievable! My officemate A also had her sister B reserve a table and given that she’s ahead of R, I had the seat reservation up by two more to accommodate R and W.

And then the wait game began.

We almost ran out of topics to talk about as we waited 3 hours this time. At least, it was more enjoyable than my last visit where I waited alone.

We quickly ordered as soon as we got settled. R and I decided to share two slider meals—Bacon and Egg Sliders (PHP200) and T.E. Crispy Chicken Sliders (PHP195) while everyone else ordered Amsterdam Burger and T.E. Burger.

Service was quick and in less than 10 minutes, everyone’s burger arrived—except for our sliders. R and I were literally drooling after getting a sniff of the burgers in front (or beside) us.  We had to follow up and overheard that the staff overlooked ours. Whaaaaat???

Anyway, they did make up for it and our sliders were served in 5 minutes or so. Or so I thought.

Love at First Bite: Nadai Fujisoba

Random date nights (on weeknights) are the best. It’s a nice break from work and preparing dinner at home. R and I hardly have those lately so it was refreshing when he suggested that we eat out last week. And it was perfect as I just checked a list of restaurants I wanted to visit along high street. One of the restaurants I was eying was…

Nadai Fujisoba.

The cute soba and udon restaurant was half full when we arrived. Since R was hungry, we hurriedly ordered O-Ebi Ten Mori Soba (PHP260) and Niku Fuji Soba (PHP260). We also got Sobacha Pudding (PHP80) which the server initially described to be made of soba but it was tea pudding.

Service was very quick as our food was served within the 5 minute mark. I was impressed.

R’s cold noodles was served with two pieces of tempura and a cup of some sort of watered down soup which the server suggested to be mixed with the remaining dipping sauce and drink it like tea. It was said to help blood circulation. Not sure if it’s true but… okay!

Restaurant Love: Olive Tree Kitchen & Bar

It has been quite a while since I last saw A and we just have to catch up for a girls day out. (Sorry, I have a curfew so it can’t be a night out.) We decided to go for a mini spa date but ended up having an early dinner with drinks at Olive Tree Kitchen & Bar and arcade afterwards. So much for a girly day.

Hello, Olive Tree Kitchen & Bar!

It has been 8 months since I last visited this restaurant and I could say that I loved the dishes I tasted. It was slightly on the expensive side given we only ordered two appetizers and iced tea but our bill was over PHP800. However, we didn’t really mind since the food was great.

This time around, we ordered Prawns and Chorizo Pasta (PHP599), Salmon Benedict Salad (PHP395) and Pumpkin and Pea Soup (PHP239). We also got Almond Cream Pie (PHP150) for A and Ginger-Lychee Mojito (PHP150) for me.