First Bite: 205

New restaurants never fail to make my eyes sparkle. I feel like a crow lured by anything shiny and that I just have to go nearer. And when I spotted 205, I just have to check it out.

Hello, 205.

Shimmering with its gold and marble interiors, 205 is one eye catching restaurant along Bonifacio High Street Central. 

First Bite: Mama Lou's Italian Kitchen

I've been looking forward to dine at Mama Lou's Italian Kitchen ever since I fell in love with its sister brand, Nonna's in Nuvali. And when my fried decided to have her birthday celebration at its Ayala Malls the 30th branch, I smiled from ear to ear! 

Hello, Mama Lou's Italian Kitchen.

After years of eying this place, I finally got to visit  Mama Lou's with some of my closest friends to celebrate K's birthday. Since we were dining on a Friday night, I decided to make a reservation to make sure that we have seats. 

Almost everyone came on time except for one who got stuck in terrible C-5 traffic. And I was glad that I made that reservation as the place was packed! 

First Bite: Gelatofix Lifestyle Cafe

Looks can be deceiving and names do too. Who would have thought that Gelatofix offers more than gelato? 

Hello, Gelatofix Lifestyle Cafe!

Conveniently located near Seda BGC and High Street, I can't believe that I never passed by this dessert haven till last week. 

Second Bite: Dohtonbori

R’s parents have been so nice to me and they always invite me to join them dine at great (and fancy) restaurants. I have always wanted to return the favour and kept thinking where to bring them for lunch. And thanks to looloo and Dohtonbori, I managed to treat R’s parents for free! 

Hello, Dohtonbori!

I decided to treat R’s parents during Father’s Day and tried to make a reservation at Dohtonbori for lunch. However, Dohtonbori does not accept reservation on weekends. And so, this marked a Sunday morning Amazing Race. 

We got to the place at 11:30 a.m. and I rushed to the second floor of the building where Dohtonbori is located as I was scared we might ran out of table with chairs. R’s dad cannot dine at the tatami area as he might have difficulty standing up. I was lucky that I managed to score the last table with chairs! (Note: The okonomiyaki restaurant opens at 11 am.)

R’s dad was famished so we quickly ordered the following: Mixed Okonomiyaki (PHP290), Quattro Formaggi (PHP240), Dohtonbori Pizza (PHP340), Grilled Salmon Chanchan (PHP380), Sukiyaki (PHP190), Steak Yakimeshi (PHP390) and Kiwami (PHP390).

We were offered the Father’s Day promo where dads get a free mug of beer. But there’s a catch. This promo cannot be availed with any other discounts and that includes senior citizen discount. Since the discount we will get from being a senior is more than the cost of a mug of beer, we decided not to avail of it. (Oh, and you cannot use your gift certificates too if you avail of the promo which was weird since gift certificates should be considered as cash.)

Since Dohtonbori was so busy that day, speed of service was not at its peak. Though water was served while we were ordering, our request for hot and cold tea was forgotten and we had to follow up more than thrice for it. 

The ingredients for our first dishes also arrived after 20 minutes. Yes, ingredients. We had to wait for a few minutes for someone to prepare the okonomiyaki for us and it took around 8-10 minutes before the dishes were cooked. 

I felt so bad as R’s dad was so hungry already. He ate the salmon chanchan a few minutes short of the ideal cooking time. Nonetheless, it was still good and he liked it! He even asked to have the salmon skin placed back on the teppan plate to make the skin crispy. 

The Mixed Okonomiyaki and Kiwami were prepared next and both were well-loved! 

I loved the different textures in the mixed okonomiyaki. 

The crunch and chewiness of the squid, pork, shrimp, octopus, tempura bits, cabbage, spring onions and red pickles led me to okonomiyaki heaven.

Restaurant Favorite: California Pizza Kitchen

As a tradition, my team and I went out for dinner to celebrate getting our bonuses. (Yay, more money to buy food!) But unlike last year, we are celebrating (sort of) two events, our bonuses and my despedida. *cries*

I was pushing for Peperoni that time but all my teammates were craving for California Pizza Kitchen's delectable The Original BBQ Chicken Chopped (PHP625, full | PHP395, half). Fine. 

I got to the place late as I had to go to St. Luke’s Global City first to get my X-Ray results. And I got lost on my way to the W Building. I always get disoriented at night and this is the reason why I always hurry back home when the sun’s about to disappear. Anyway...

All the dishes were already served when I arrived. On the table were: Quattro Formaggi (PHP450), Pepperoni (PHP365, regular | PHP225, personal), Pesto Cream Penne with Shrimps (PHP525, sharing | PHP295, personal + PHP295/PHP160 for shrimps) and Bangkok Calamari (PHP465). 

The Calamari were just so-so for me. It was your usual deep-fried battered squid rings. 

The BBQ chicken salad was divine as always. It had a nice harmony of flavors and textures. It was sweet because of the barbecue sauce but also refreshing because of the cilantro and other herbs. The soft chicken bits were also well complemented but the crunchy greens. The dish was quite heavy but great for sharing. 

Ti Amo: Lombardi's

People come and go. Those who stay are just one of the three—family, friends, or the one. Anyway, I won’t be mushy today as I’m referring to the second one. I’m so glad that I have friends to talk with when I have problems or bug when I’m in the mood to eat. It has been over a month since I last saw my MScM friends and so many things happened for the past weeks. We needed a catch up session.

I was looking forward to the 24^th of October as my friends and I were planning another staycation. But we were not able to book a room. *boo*

 

We decided to have dinner instead at Shangri-La. K and F picked Lombardi’s as they haven’t tried the food there yet.

When I arrived, they already ordered Spaghetti Ai Fruitti Di Mare (PHP440) and Quattro Formaggi (PHP475). I ordered Crèma di Spinaci (PHP175) and Chicken Cacciatore (PHP590). I skipped ordering dessert as I was craving for tea.

 

My cream of spinach soup was served first and it was quite salty. Actually, it was really salty. But I was hungry so I finished my bowl of soup. It made me look forward to the main course though.