Best of Boracay in Manila: Coco Mama

I always feast on cold treats whenever I'm basking under the sun. With ice cream and fruit shakes as my staples when at the beach, I've received a handful of recommendations to try Coco Mama in Boracay. However, I never saw its store after being there for 4 days. And I wouldn't have thought that I'd be trying it for the first time in... Manila. 

Hello, Coco Mama!

This popular ice cream joint from Boracay is known for its coconut ice cream. It being vegan, non-dairy, lactose-free, gluten-free and having low glycemic index makes this an in demand dessert to most foreign visitors who are more particular with food. 

Best of Boracay in Manila: Poketo

Say "Let's have Japanese food for lunch/dinner" and you would have my complete attention. And that was pretty much how Poketo caught my eye when I visited Street Market Boracay. It would be hard to not take notice of Poketo with the aroma of its grilled skewers. And it was a no brainer for me to brave Manila traffic when I found out that Poketo's in Manila.

Hello, Poketo.

Poketo is another concept from Street Market Boracay and is known for its scrumptious grilled yakitori. I've tried its wagyu yakitori last year and though quite expensive for an island meal, it was worth it. 

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.

Love at First Bite: Urameshi-Ya

It has been months since I saw J's Urameshi-Ya Instagram post and I can't help dream about unlimited wagyu, oysters and scallops. The best part is that it only costs PHP500 (plus service charge). Thankfully, some loolooers were game to brave the Makati weekday traffic to visit the Little Tokyo's not so hidden gem. Since most are free today, July 4 (which also happens to be a Monday, the surest day that Urameshi-ya has wagyu), we decided to go for it! 

Hello, Urameshi-Ya!

Little Tokyo was a ghost town when we arrived as most restaurants open at 5 pm. While waiting, we enjoyed some ice cream from Dojo which I will review separately. 

It was just 4:30 pm when Che Che of Urameshi-Ya approached our table asking if we're complete as we could already start if we want to. We were pleased as it means that we could eat earlier as I was famished! (I only had SkyFlakes in preparation for this feast!)

Soon, we were given tongs and griller. (We were given two but the other griller was placed on our table after 10 minutes or so.)

Restaurant Love: Chili's

It has been quite a while since my last Chili's visit. If I remember it right, it was way back February of last year. Yes, it has been a year! I usually visit for a few mugs of margarita till I realized how much sugar each glass contains. Oh how I hate getting old. Anyway... Since we were missing Chili's delectable dishes and because I had PHP1,000 worth of gift certificates (thank you, looloo!) waiting to be spent, R and I opted to have dinner here one night.

Long time no see, Chili's! 

The restaurant was packed the night we visited and we were on the waiting list. We opted to use this time to browse the menu and decide on what to order.

R went with his usual Chicken Crispers (PHP340) while I tried Monterey Chicken (PHP485). We also got a glass of Molten Chocoate Smoothie (PHP195).

Despite having a very busy night, service was quick. We got out beverage in less than 10 minutes.

It was love at first sip! It was chocolate ice cream in liquid form! It was so chocolatey and something kids would love. The only downside is that it doesn’t really quench your thirst and actually just makes you even thirstier.

R’s Chicken Crispers and my Monterey Chicken were served soon after.

R’s chicken tenders are delightful as always. The crisp hand battered chicken strip is L-O-V-E. I also loved Chili’s fatfries that are made from real potatoes.

I’ve never ordered the Monterey Chicken before and one bite made me regret why I didn’t bother to order this during my earlier visits. The dish was delightful!!! The succulent chicken breast was far from being called bland and I loved how the bacon strips added flavor to the dish. The mashed potato topped with white sauce that had a hint of garlic was divine and addicting! And the best thing was it still tasted great after a few days! (I had my leftover packed and I had it for lunch a couple of days later.)