Headquarters of Everything Delicious: Chefs' Quarter

I have been eying Chefs’ Quarter for quite a while now. Every time I plan to dine there, something happens. But this time, it’s a different story…

It was my dad’s birthday yesterday and he was craving for steak. *Light bulb moment* I suggested Chefs’ Quarter and he agreed.

 

The place looked pretty cozy. 

We noticed that there was a function room. Since no one reserved it, we opted to dine there (as we do not like having people pass by us all the time).

The menu had a lot of mouthwatering dishes (or perhaps I was extremely famished as I only had one measly bar of Rice Crispies for breakfast). As a salmon lover, I ordered Grilled Salmon Tranche (PHP420) and the Soup of the Day (PHP105) to calm down my grumbling tummy.

A Chocolove Story: Risa Chocolates

I love Risa Chocolates. It never fails to brighten my day. If only I could have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it would be like living in chocolate paradise.

I still remember my first box of Risa Chocolates. It was during the Best Food Forward way back in April 2011 and luckily, I met the friendly owner Pam. I was able to try several chocolates such as Classic, Dark Rum, and Cerveza Negra (my favorite—and no, it will not make you drunk).

It has been a while since I last bought a box but I could still remember how great the truffles were. 

This time around, I bought more Cerveza Negra.

NEW PRODUCTS! Risa Chocolates has new products!!!

Cheap Thrill: Mini Stop Choco Strawberry Ice Cream

Remember the creamy and oh-so yummy Hershey’s Dark Chocolate of Mini Stop? Well, I do and I can still recall how my small eyes widen every time I get to have it for dessert. I could say that I’m lucky that my place is very near a Mini Stop branch and that I could buy it while wearing my pajamas.

After work, I passed by Mini Stop to buy some snacks when I noticed something new. NEW ICE CREAM! Choco Strawberry… hmm… sounds yummy. 

 FAIL.

No, it was not the ice cream that failed me. When I went to Mini Stop to buy one, it was out of stock. :( I guess that proves that the ice cream was indeed good. 

 

My second attempt to buy was a success. I still remember that it was right after my dental appointment. (Way to go, right?)

A Schizophrenic’s Wonderland

I’ve mentioned in one of my previous posts that I have always wanted to visit The Collective because of one particular store… Skitzo. Close to the term schizophrenia, this store will surely make you relive your fantasies (and I’m talking about wholesome fantasies here, okay?).

It was not hard to spot Skitzo. With its window display of Snow White’s outfit, you’d easily spot the costume heaven. 

I’d say that it was rather magical. True, there are a lot of costumes in toy stores and other kiddie stores but those definitely do not fit me (even if I try to go on a diet for a decade!). Thus, a lot of adults, or kids at heart, flock to this cutesy store to be the character they have always dreamed of. (When I was there, there was a guy around his mid-thirties who tried on a Batman outfit. It was… very interesting.)

 

Yakitake Japan Moment: Dezaato Pan Breads Sweets Café

For some reason, I wake up really early on weekends. Last Saturday, I woke up at 5am (to think that it was such a “bed” weather) because I was super hungry. It was also the same day of my food trip so I decided to stick with just some bread and jam.

My friend sent me an SMS telling me that everyone cancelled for breakfast. Well, it was not such a surprise for an 8:30am call time on a rainy Saturday morning screams SLEEP.

But determined to well… eat, my friend and I decided to have breakfast somewhere. The original plan was to try Marina at the Mall of Asia but since it was raining, we decided to change the plan a bit. We drove through Katipunan only to realize that most stores were still closed and those up and running were either fast food chains or restaurants that serve food I “was” not allowed to eat then. 

Soon, we found ourselves stuck in a light traffic going to Tomas Morato.  

We finally settled in Dezaato Pan, a quaint café known for its bread and cake. 

Ramen Girl Moment: Wabi-Sabi

I’ve been dying to go to The Collective ever since I found out about this costume heaven store called Skitzo. I still remember how much I begged and begged my mom to accompany me to go to The Collective to try on some wigs and costumes (a big fan of Halloween here) but it was always postponed, cancelled, and eventually, forgotten.

Food Trip! October 1, 2011. First stop MOA, second stop, The Collective. Yes, The Collective, the place I have been dying to visit since last year. Finally, I can try on some wigs (that story will be on another blog though). 

I’ve read about this cute noodle place called Wabi-Sabi from so many blogs and the quaint interiors and good reviews made it very interesting to me that I just have to suggest it to my food loving friends.

They agreed! Okay, the organizer did! Yey!

October 1 was a gloomy day thanks to a typhoon that made things worse for some provinces. But it did not change our minds to check Wabi-Sabi.

 

My Food Love: The Fruit Garden

I was never a jam person. I grew up addicted to Nutella, cheese spreads, and peanut butter. I thought that I’ll never like jams till I discovered The Fruit Garden.

I first saw The Fruit Garden during Yummy Eats. But since I was running around like crazy, I wasn’t able to sample The Fruit Garden’s jams. Good thing, my mom bought a bottle of Pineapple Mango jam. 

I usually picture jams with bread but this one seems best with the ultimate cracker… Skyflakes. It was a sweet combination. 

7 Wonders of... Longganisa

I’ve heard of this longganisa place for quite a while now. I never tried to visit the place though even though it was just near where I worked and work now (no, I do not have separation issues with locations). But one Facebook announcement finally convinced me to visit this restaurant.

I visited Sonsi around 8PM and it was pretty dark around Madison Square. Armed with my thermos to protect myself (hey, it’s better to be paranoid than… well, unconscious), I asked the guard for help since I am practically blind at night. I was led to the left side of Madison (if you are coming from Pioneer St., you have to go down a bit to reach the place). No wonder it was a bit hard to find.

One Yummy Project: Creating your own burger

If only school projects are as tasty as this, I would have been a straight-A student from preschool to college.

We were now on our second stop of our Teacher’s Village Food Trip and the next destination was The Burger Project. With an attempt to burn some of the samgyeopsal we ate earlier, we decided to walk. (Well, the joint was pretty near the eat all you can place. Let’s say about 100 steps away?)

We were greeted by a plain looking signage with The Burger Project name on it. It didn’t really make me utter wow or anything. I just knew that I was in the right place. 

My Tea Love: Moon Leaf

I’ve first heard of Moonleaf from a colleague and she was so excited when she told me, “This milk tea is soooo good! You have to try it!” This enthusiastic statement made me promise myself to stop by this tea store if ever I get to pass by Quezon City. And I just didn’t walk through QC last weekend; I explored two streets full of food finds.

  

A leaf! A leaf! I felt my heart skipped a beat when I saw the signage of Moonleaf. Finally, after all these (uhm) months, I get to try this store’s milk tea

Pork Heaven: Don Day

My friend told me about this eat-all-you-can samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) place a year ago but I never tried to visit the place because it was a bit too far from where I live. But for the past three weeks, I’ve been craving for this Korean dish and I know that I just have to give in.

It took me three rides before finally reaching this pork heaven but it was worth it. Don Day, a Korean restaurant in Malingap St., Quezon City is right across another noteworthy restaurant… Pino RestoBar but that’s another story.

Anyway… back to Don Day…

My friends and I were greeted by a whiteboard menu—stating its very limited options but you’ll surely leave with full tummies.

We decided to go with the samgyeopsal buffet for obvious reasons—we could eat anything on the buffet table plus unlimited supply of samgyeopsal.