Restaurant Love: Café Adriatico

Malate is known for its bustling night life. And with the craziness ending till wee hours in the morning, I'd imagine its breakfast scene to be close to a ghost town. But I was wrong when I dropped by the iconic Café Adriatico. 

Hello, Café Adriatico. 

Café Adriatico is undoubtedly one of the gems of Manila. Established in 1979, this small cafe was the start of the successful LJC Group of Restaurants. 

First Bite: Bar Pintxos

I've been curious about Bar Pintxos ever since it opened its first store down south. Frequented by discerning locals, I couldn't help think that this place must be really good. I was thrilled when it opened branches in BGC and Makati as it made it more accessible to me. And after a few failed attempts, I finally got to visit its BGC branch a few weeks ago. 

Hello, Bar Pintxos Tapas Y Mas. 

Specializing in Spanish cuisine, Bar Pintxos serves limited but superb dishes perfect for lunch, dinner and after work drinks. 

First Bite: Bluesmith Coffee & Kitchen

I've been curious about Bluesmith Coffee & Kitchen since it opened its branch in Katipunan. Seeing several mouthwatering photos of its dishes online made my taste buds excited. However, my schedule was so crazy these past months that I didn't get to find time to swing by the area. Thankfully, it opened in Greenbelt 3 which is a bit closer to home. 

Hello, Bluesmith Coffee & Kitchen.

The New Flatiron

Flatiron is no new name to me as I've visited the home of the famous 6-hour brisket a few times already. But it seems that I haven't dropped by for a long time as I didn't even notice the change in Flatiron's look. More than its interiors and new logo though, it also revamped its menu and added new mouthwatering dishes.

Hello, Flatiron.

I was greeted by a place with familiar look but different hues and a more vibrant vibe. As I moved closer to the private dining area, I spotted M who, as always, greet me with much warmth. 

When in Davao: Saging Repablik

I'm always on the lookout for good food. I usually check apps and ask for recommendations whenever I'm somewhere I'm not familiar with. And when ForkSpoonManila recommended Saging Repablik to me when I was in Davao, I made sure that I drop by the place. After all, Forkie said the magic word... bibingka. 

Hello, Saging Repablik.

I've read a few reviews about this place on TripAdvisor before visiting. Most reviews say that service is slow and that the serving size of the dishes are not that generous. All reviews agreed though that this place offers delicious meals. It's just lacking in some aspects. Reading these made me expect a bit less from the place. 

When in Davao: Tiny Kitchen Creations

I was so scared to visit Davao again after what happened and still happening in Marawi. Knowing that the war zone is just 5 hours away from this smoke-free city doesn't make me feel very comfortable. But after hearing great words about this Spanish restaurant along F. Torres in Davao, I got excited more that worried.

Hello, Tiny Kitchen Creations. 

This beautiful restaurant is known to be one of the gems of the city. It is often packed for lunch and dinner and unfortunately, they do not take reservations. But they do accept pre-order as some of their dishes take an hour to prepare. We got to the restaurant around 6:30 pm and the place was full at 7 pm! It was a good thing Uncle R decided that we leave the hotel early for dinner. 

Love at First Bite: Grape Escape

I love exploring Maginhawa because it is filled with restaurants offering scrumptious dishes at affordable prices. And one of my latest discoveries is this wine place that serves impressive dishes that would intoxicate you with happiness.

Hello, Grape Escape.

It was a bit hard for me to spot Grape Escape during daytime when its signage is not lit. But thanks to Waze and its informative Instagram account, I was able to get dropped off at the right location. [Tip: Look for the building with Bo's Coffee and Anytime Fitness.]

New Food Park Alert: The Food Haven at 77

Filipinos love to eat and that pretty much explain why more and more new restaurants and food parks open almost on a daily basis. Though I’m not exactly a fan of food parks as more often than not, the food in these places are just so-so, I had to take back what I said countless times when I visited The Food Haven at 77. 

Hello, The Food Haven at 77!

This spacious two-storey house turned food park is one of the latest Kapitolyo gems worth visiting. Unlike other food parks, this one has ample parking space and the main dining area has A/C units in full blast to beat the never ending Manila heat. 

First Bite: Café Lidia

After 9 hours of eating, we have finally reached the last stop of our Marikina food crawl. And just when we thought we’ll just have a spoonful of each dish, we were spoiled with mouthwatering pasta dishes, pizzas, meats and cakes! And we simply could not say no to those!

Hello, Café Lidia.

Café Lidia is one of the pioneer restaurants in Marikina and has been well-loved by residents and foodies alike. Most have seen this establishment grow from a humble restaurant to a space that could cater to special occasions like weddings and birthday parties. And I was surprised that at almost 9 pm, the place was still packed with diners. 

The place has this Hispanic or Old Manila feel with its brick walls, wooden furniture and lovely pond. 

As we waited for the dishes we were about to sample, I browsed through the menu and was impressed with the number of dishes Café Lidia offers. They have several viands, pasta, pizza and cakes to choose from.

Table for Two: Ninyo Fusion Cuisine & Wine Lounge

As much as I love eating good food, I hesitate dining in super fancy places especially when I have to splurge… a lot. But I get to score great deals from sites like Deal Grocer and Cash Cash Pinoy at times. A few months back, I did with a 47% off deal for a romantic dinner for two in Ninyo. I bought it in an instant as I wanted to go somewhere romantic with R.

Hello, Ninyo Fusion Cuisine and Wine Lounge!

It was a rainy day when we decided to visit Ninyo. I had a private gazebo reserved (for an extra romantic vibe) and I got worried that the rain will ruin our dinner but I was surprised with the fantastic service of the staff. The servers approached us with umbrellas and made sure that we are dry and comfortable.

The set-up was perfect. There were rose petals everywhere.

First served were a few slices of warm bread and butter and it sure hit the spot. The bread was soft and delicious! Too bad I was too hungry to take a photo of it.

Next served were the Wasabi Fried Oyster Tempura and it was good. Wait, scratch that. It was awesome! R loved it too. The starter sure did set the bar high. I loved the contrast of the soft oysters and the crunchy tempura batter. The balsamic citrus mayo dressing with red lumpfish caviar made it even more interesting.

The Nori Pumpkin Soup was pretty good too. I loved the creamy texture and the sweet yet salty taste.

It was difficult to eat the Yuzu Sorbet. R and I decided to eat it straight from the ceramic spoon/plate. It was very refreshing though. 

Restaurant Discovery: The Café

Last Friday was perhaps the lightest day of my career life… so far. 

After our morning client presentation, one of our AEs offered to buy us lunch. *Happiness!*

She did not inform us where she will be treating us so we kept on guessing and guessing. There were happy thoughts of us having lunch at Yakimix or at this posh Japanese restaurant (or so what one of my colleagues said). Then we realized that we were in front of the wrong building.

Oh, hello The Café.

We saw our AE in front of a packed quaint-looking restaurant called The Café. (Packed means good right?) We waited for 2 minutes for some seats to free up but since we were too hungry to wait any further, as staring at some hungry diners smile while chewing their food was plain torture, we decided to eat outside. (There were a few tables outside the restaurant just in front of the parking area.)

Pinoy Food Master: Pepita’s Kitchen

I’ve been saying this for quite a lot already but I want to say it again. I love my job! I get to try new food, meet interesting people, and try more new food because of my work. I love love love it! 

Last Thursday, some of my officemates and I went to the lovely home of Dedet de la Fuente and tried her Pepita’s Kitchen Lechon Degustation. We arrived at around 7PM hungry and desiring lechon like never before. 

I heard that they have really good lechon as these were stuffed (yes, stuffed!). I never thought of having stuffed lechon as it alone was enough to get me stuffed.

We waited for a few more people from press and we started off with Pinoy Patè and Pinoy Caviar. It looked pretty ordinary but the taste of these two were just so addicting!

The Pinoy Patè was made of bihon. Who knew that bihon can be transformed into pate, and a good one at that? It had this grainy texture that went well with the crackers. It was not salty at all and was quite light. Quite a delightful appetizer.

 The Pinoy Caviar on the other hand was made of balut. It seemed to be a bit oilier and it tricked some to think that it was fish or liver.