Restaurant Love: Nonna's

I am a big fan of truffles! I love anything with a strong kick of this fragrant ingredient. For one, Mama Lou's truffle pasta surely makes my top list of truffle dishes. And when I had a belated birthday celebration with my mom and sister, I made sure that we dine somewhere where I get my truffle fix. This time, we went with Nonna's in Robinsons Galleria.

Hello, Nonna's. 

Nonna's is the sister brand of Mama Lou's. You'd quickly notice it too once you check its menu. 

When in Bataan: Stregato Gelateria

It’s quite frustrating to be in a lovely city yet not know where to eat. I checked a bunch of sites but most of the establishments in the area have zero reviews. I remember though that a close friend of mine recently went to Bataan and took a photo of herself with a charming swing. I quickly checked if it has reviews in looloo; and it has an overall rating of four stars. Since it is just beside our hotel, we decided to drop by. 

Hello, Stregato Gelateria! 

The quaint dessert shop is located at the ground floor of Galeria Victoria Mall and it was a good thing that I asked The Plaza Hotel’s doorman for directions as we would have missed it and walked 15 minutes away as directed by Google Maps based on the pin in looloo. 

Entering the restaurant could be a bit unpleasant as kids selling garlands would tap and force you to buy. One kid even asked me to treat her a scoop of gelato. Though it is sad to see kids trying to earn money to survive, it could also be annoying to some customers who just want a nice meal, poke-free.

The showcase freezer of gelato is the first thing you’ll see once you set foot inside the charming restaurant. But since R and I were famished, we didn’t bother to check it and looked for the menu instead. After spotting some savory dishes, we headed to the second floor and took the table with a swing couch. After a while, we moved as the table is too small for dinner. 

We decided to go with Mushroom Soup (PHP97), Loaded Potato Skins (PHP145, add PHP10 for additional sour cream dip), Grilled Salmon (PHP185) and Eight-Hour Roast Beef (PHP220). For drinks, we went with Gelato Shake (PHP130) and Frozen Iced Tea (PHP85). I went down again as they have this pay as you order policy.

After placing our orders, I was informed that they were out of roast beef. I then changed it to pork belly but they were out of pork as well. I could sense that R was frustrated as he wanted to eat either beef or pork. Eventually, he settled with Pan Fried Herbed Chicken with Gravy (PHP178). 

Service was fast and our drinks were served after 5 minutes. 

Restaurant Love: Fish & Co.

R is such a big fan of Fish & Co. and that is the very reason why he avails of a Bistro Group card each year. He gets perks such as 30% discount on Mondays and 20% on the other days of the week. Not bad if you frequent the Bistro Group establishments. And during a long break, I managed to visit R at work and we had lunch together at… yes, Fish & Co.

Hello, Fish & Co. 

The place was not packed when we arrived. We easily managed to get a table and ordered R’s favorite Pork Knuckles Platter (PHP995) and a liter of Jungle Freeze (PHP335) split into 3 mugs. I also ordered a cup of Mushroom Soup as I was really hungry.

First served was the messily poured Jungle Freeze. 

The nice blend of pineapples and rambutan made this drink very sweet. No wonder R loved it. I hardly managed to finish my mug and R gladly finished it for me. 

The mushroom soup didn't leave much of an impression and I could not recall anything about it. 

The platter arrived next and it looked delectable!

First Bite: Love Shack

Sunday means rest day for most but it is the day I do most of my errands. I sweep, wash and do grocery on the last day of my weekly two-day break. I usually start the week tired because of this. But thanks to R, it was a Sunday well-spent. And we even went out for dinner and tried Love Shack.

Hello, Love Shack!

I have been eying this restaurant for more than a year now. As a sucker for anything with the word “love” in it, this burger joint caught my attention. But I am always on my errand mode whenever I visit SM Aura so I never get to visit this place sooner. So when R asked me where to eat, I suggested we try Love Shack.

The restaurant had a few diners when we arrived. Ambiance is cozy and warm with its wooden furniture and predominantly brown interiors.

Since we were not really hungry, R and I opted to just share a meal. We got Overtime Burger with Umami Beef (PHP260), Mushroom Soup (PHP100) and Toasted Marshmallow Soft Ice Cream with Graham Cookie Crust (PHP170).

First served was the mushroom soup which had a darker color than I expected. It wasn’t thick too. I guess I was wrong to expect such as the menu didn’t state that it was cream of mushroom.

It actually tasted good. It had a nice taste of shiitake mushroom. It was a tad salty though but it was balanced out by the complimentary slice of bread.

We were still finishing our soup when the burger arrived. It came with a generous serving of fat fries and small bowl of ketchup.

Game Night: Puzzles Board Game Lounge

I love board games and I could be very competitive too. That’s why I spent 9 hours in Ludo last year. But since I got busier with work, I wasn’t able to visit that puzzle heaven anymore. There are actually a lot of board game places now like Dyce N Dyne which I have yet to visit too. One night, C posted something that made the gamer in me so excited.

Puzzle Board Game Lounge now has a Fort Strip branch! Woohoo!

Since it’s quite near work, we decided to head there on the last day of work before the long weekend. And because we want to make sure that we have a table, C reserved one for a party of 8.

But when we arrived, 5 minutes before our reservation, there was no table available! The server and (I guess) the owner said that there were a few walk-ins and they accommodated them. It made me upset. What’s the point of reserving then? But what made matters worse was there was another party of three who walked in and they were given a table and seats before us (as soon as a table was cleared)! I told C that if I was not with them, I would have walked out already but since everyone was eager to play games and enjoy the night, we stayed.

After 20 or 30 minutes of standing in the middle of a very narrow walkway in front of the counter where everyone who try to cross to the other side will bump you, we finally managed to get a table for 5 pax. Remember that we needed a table for 8? They claimed that the table we had was good for 8. Yes, it is possible if the other three were floating. (Just thinking about it annoys me!)

Anyway, we just sat down and ordered. I decided to get Fried Chicken and Cheese Pasta (PHP250) and a bowl of Mushroom Soup (PHP160). While waiting, I snacked on a pack of Sky Flakes.

Our food arrived as we were playing Dirty Minds, a game that will test how clean or dirty you think.