Painting Makati... PINK!

I was pretty excited when I saw a huge tarpaulin over a vacant space in Greenbelt 5 with the words “Pinkberry Swirling Soon”. At that time, I haven’t tried Pinkberry yet but since a lot of Hollywood celebrities love it and assuming that some of them are picky eaters, then Pinkberry must be good. And I was able to confirm it myself when I tried it during my vacation. Pinkberry love!

I was determined to try Pinkberry here in Manila on its first week of operations to the point that I braved the Christmas rush and the dark night just for it. Paranoid, I was speed walking from the MRT to the malls and back. My travel time going back was less than 20 minutes.

Anyway, I was glad that I was able to meet with some friends on my way to Pinkberry as I might have spent half an hour finding my way to the store (as I have absolutely no sense of direction). 

One Cheesy Sunday: Elbert’s Cheesesteak Sandwiches

I always frequent Rockwell ever since my internship days in one of the companies nearby and one of the things I noticed was that it houses several good restaurants. I promised myself to try all of the restaurants. So far, I have visited 19 food establishments there and one Sunday afternoon, I was in the mood for sandwiches.

My sister and I were on our way to the Rockwell Tent to visit the Moonlit Bazaar (again on that same weekend) as I was on the lookout for a costume for a Christmas party. Since we ate lunch pretty early, our tummies were grumbling at exactly 4pm. 

I had my eyes on the sandwich place with pink neon lights for the longest time. I often pass by it whenever we were on our way to the parking lot but I never got the chance to try it till my sister and I craved for something light yet filling (if there was such a thing).

Finally, Elbert’s Cheesesteak Sandwiches! 

And the winner of the In-N-Out vs. Tommy's match is...

“In-N-Out is nothing!” That was what one of our hosts in the US told me when I told him that we ate at In-N-Out and loved it. Of course I was shocked with his comment convincing me to believe that there’s a way better burger. Well, I know that for sure there is but on the fast food level, In-N-Out was pretty good. “You have got to try Tommy’s,” he added.  As a foodie, that sentence intrigued me… a lot.

While on our star hunt, we spotted something else as well… a Tommy’s branch! Finally, I could taste the so-far-I-was-told-that-it-was-better-than-In-N-Out burger! 

I was still pretty full that night as I had a heavy dinner and we came from a birthday party as well where I attacked the salad bar (aside from my slices of pizza and chicken drumsticks).  But gluttony took over and I ordered cheeseburger… with fries and cola. (Well, the ad was tempting!)

Greetings from California... Pizza Kitchen.

My sister have never tried to dine at California Pizza Kitchen before so one random Sunday afternoon, we decided to go to Rockwell and have one late lunch there.

I’ve never dined in CPK’s branch in Rockwell so it felt so weird that the place was quite small (as I was used to the [former] spacious Shangri-La branch located at the ground floor). There were only a few diners when we arrived so we got a table right away. We got the one with a couch! Yey!

Let’s Paint the Town… PINK.

One chilly night, we decided to brave the cold winds and bend down to look for stars… at the WALK OF FAME area in Hollywood. But this is another story. The Tommy’s trip after the long walk is also another story. What I wanted to share in this entry is how we painted the town… pink. Or how the wind made our noses pink.

Another must visit place according to my friends was Pinkberry. I’ve heard a lot of good reviews about this place… that it serves really good yogurt, that the place is über cute, and Kim Kardashian loves hanging out here (uh, where did this come from?).

We were supposed to go home already as it was already past 12 midnight when we finished posing with the stars… on the floor of the Walk of Fame. But our eager tour guide R wanted to tour us around Burbank. As he was the one who does the driving, we just sat back quietly as he drove to the place he called his “favorite hangout”.

With our toes curled and noses turning pink, we strolled around Burbank and saw… PINKBERRY. Well, they were about to close already when we arrived yet they still welcomed us with smiling faces. I love you already!

Good Mood Food: Arby's

Don’t you just hate it when you realize that you only have a few vacation-galore days left and that you still have a lot of things to do, explore, and most especially, eat? It happened to me during my 3 week vacation, 4 days before flying back to Manila. 

ACK! That was the only word, uh, sound, that came out of my mouth when I realized that I still have a lot of places to check and food to eat. There was still IHOP, Arby’s, Denny’s, and so much more!!!

I just have to cross at least half of it off my list. I JUST HAVE TO. Thus, with much begging comes great appetite. After eating dinner at Five Guys, we passed by Arby’s so that I could finally try their famous Angus beef sandwiches.

Love at First Bite: The Cheesecake Factory

“VISIT THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY!” That was perhaps the most enthusiastic suggestion I’ve heard my whole life. My friends told me to visit this restaurant when I told them that I’ll be going to the States for the first time. I had no idea what to expect but the weird happy faces and all the jumping gave me the impression that it was a must visit place.

It took me a week to convince my mom to have lunch there. (Yes, my pestering powers are slowly diminishing. It comes with age I guess.) I was thrilled when she finally said YES.

We did a bit of shopping first before heading to the big branch of The Cheesecake Factory in Americana (my favorite place in Glendale). The server Amanda was very attentive and she guided us to our seats the moment she saw us. She also handed the menu and gave us drinks right away. Great service!

I was so excited to order the Hershey’s Chocolate Bar Cheesecake ($7.95 per slice) that it was the first thing I told Amanda. It looked so tempting online. I also ordered Fettuccini Alfredo ($13.50, $16.50-with chicken) and a glass of Green Iced Tea ($2.95). My sister ordered Cheese Pizza ($10.95) as she wanted to have pizza with nothing on it but cheese (yes, she’s such an adventurous foodie!). My mom decided to share with my sister while the friend we were with (let’s call him R) ordered the Smokehouse B.B.Q. Burger ($11.50). 

Vietnam in Makati: Вà Nôi’s

I hate it that I’m easy to bribe. RESTAURANT YOU HAVE NEVER TRIED BEFORE seems to be the magic word. Thus when a friend told me that we’ll be trying this restaurant I haven’t tried before (or maybe I did but it has been years ago and my tummy memory failed me), I begged my mom to allow me to go (yes, I still ask my mom for permission). But, the plan to dine in a Japanese restaurant became… a Vietnamese dinner.

The inner nerd in me usually prevent me from socializing at night thus I lead a home-work-home life (or the level up version home-work-corporate event-home life). But whenever people invite me to try out new restaurants, I AM ALWAYS GAME (as long as it’s near). 

Thus, one Thursday night, we went to Makati, near Greenbelt 2 and walked along the dark streets of Legaspi Village. Some of our friends were already waiting inside Вà Nôi’s, a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant located at Greenbelt Mansion.

Have you tried eating his GF?

My sister was sulking one morning and told me that I do not make time for her anymore as I tend to pig out with friends every weekend. Thus, to make it up to her, we went to the Moonlit Bazaar at the Rockwell Tent last Friday and I managed to buy a few tops and discovered a new food love.

I still remember how my friends told me how much they enjoyed eating their GFs. I was SHOCKED especially since two of them were girls. It took me a few seconds to realize that GF means garlic fries. 

One witty and attention grabbing name plus comfort food almost everyone (if not everyone) loves… what could go wrong? Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try the fries people were raving about during the Ultimate Taste Test 6.0 last September. 

A Date with Chuck

I just love shopping turned food trip with friends. Unexpected. Happy tummies. What’s not to love?

A friend and I planned on checking several bazaars last Saturday but food has always been a concern. “Where will we eat or have snacks?” has always been part of the plan. This time, since I hardly frequent BGC, my friend suggested having lunch at Chuck’sDeli. 

I’ve never been to Chuck’s Deli but I’ve heard that they serve great sandwiches thus I was so excited to finally check the place out. 

We were greeted by cute blackboard walls with very nice handwriting with Christmas greetings, announcements, specials, and the names of the 5-minute challenge winners.

A Fangirl's Heaven: Subspace

Ever since my colleague told me that there was this new coffee shop in town called Subspace (that was oozing in cuteness as one of the co-owners is no other than one of Real Living’s contributors, Wilmer Lopez), I wanted to jump to Ortigas and check it out. However, with a food trip packed schedule, I can’t seem to squeeze it in… until one Saturday.

It was an extremely hot day for me and T. We were sweating like crazy walking from Market Market to the Bloggers United event, back to Market Market to catch the bus going to the MRT and walk from Ortigas Station to Grand Emerald Towers to finally visit… SUBSPACE.

Cute interior. Hongdae feel. Lovely menu. Friendly staff. I LOVE IT HERE!