Pass the Plate: A Cooking Demo with Knorr and Yummy

Learning new recipes is always fun as nothing beats seeing your family enjoy your own homemade cooking. But there are times when thinking about the prep work makes you want to just dine out or buy something to go. Then again, delicious food need not take hours to prepare and cook. Knorr and Yummy will teach you how.

Get a chance to learn some easy-to-do dishes and cooking tips from one of the resident chefs of Knorr and Chef Katherine Jao, Yummy magazine’s contributing chef and food stylist as they whip up meals the family will love.

Restaurant Discovery: Kokoro Ramenya

Some colleagues and I decided to attend the launch of Summit Media’s newest baby, Elle Décor Philippines at the MET Museum and since we were around the area, we decided to stop by this ramen place called Kokoro Ramenya.

The place was quite empty when we arrived as it was already around 9 p.m. that time but we noticed that a handful of customers come in every 15 minutes. Not bad given it was pretty late already.

 

Happy Late Lunch: Cibo

I just realized that I really play favorites when I am at Shangri-La. Well, there are limited options but my top picks are always Cibo and Pages Deli. (I miss Fish & Co. though.)

One Sunday afternoon, my family and I decided to have lunch before heading to a kiddie party in Makati. Since we plan on having lunch somewhere near, we opted to drop by Shangri-La which is just 5 minutes away from our place and headed straight for Cibo.

 

It was already past lunchtime when we arrived and we were really famished. I opted to order Pappa Al Pomodoro (PHP173), Porchetta (PHP390) and a glass of Pomelo Shake (PHP119). My mom and sister on the other hand decided to share a Parmigiano Pizza (PHP325).

Lunch out destination: Mad Mark's Man Sandwich + Frozen D

I just loooove lunch outs! It is refreshing to see, well, something aside from the office pantry from time to time. Thus when an officemate suddenly planned a lunch out a few days ago, I immediately said yes even though I have packed lunch (which was also my breakfast!). 

 

Since we only have an hour to have lunch, we decided to go somewhere near… Kapitolyo! It wasn’t hard for us to choose a restaurant as we have been exploring the nearby neighborhood since last year and with lots of restaurants (such as Milky & Sunny, Ramen Cool, Poco Deli, Thai Dara, and NAV) to choose from, you’ll never run out of options (except for a parking space).

 

Hello again, Mad Mark’s Manwich and Frozen Desserts!

 

We decided to have lunch here instead as A2 wanted to buy a cup of Half Baked Madagascar for the longest time!

 

I was really hungry that day so instead of a sub, I ordered one of their steaks, 11oz Cream Mushroom Steak (PHP270), a glass of their house iced tea (PHP50), and a scoop of Javan Hot Chocolate (PHP68).

Konnichiwa, Roboto San!

It has been quite a while since I last saw some of my college block mates given that some of them moved to the other side of the world. So, when I found out that R will be visiting Manila, we took the opportunity to somehow catch up. It was also the perfect opportunity for me to ask for a travel itinerary as I will be traveling next month (and I am so excited to explore and try new dishes!!!).

 

I find it odd that every time I meet a balikbayan friend, we always end up dining in a non-Filipino restaurant. Last time was way back February where N (boy) and I had dinner at a Korean restaurant. This time though, R and I had a mini reunion at… Roboto San.

Konnichiwa, Roboto San!

 

N (girl) had coupons that were about to expire and I just can’t stand wasting a good deal. R and I were originally planning to meet up for brunch and I thought that a Filipino restaurant would be a brilliant idea but the coupon entered the picture and changed everything. To make things more fun, I invited A as well as she knows R.

The Healthy Slice

After a long walk and a bit of side shopping (as our attempt to digest what we ate from Nolita), A and I finally decided to sit down again and eat… just in time for BGC food stop #2. We decided to stop by Slice, a quaint café owned by Pia Cayetano. 

I’ve been hearing a lot of good reviews about this place. Healthy yet oh so yummy food has been the constant phrase I hear every time people talk about Slice thus I just have to include that in my list of must-try restaurants.

Hello, Slice!

 

The place was quite packed that day and since we were trying to project “demure ladies out for some tea” we chose to get the seats near the window with comfy chairs and coffee table (and eventually realized that it was a bad idea as the table is too low).

NYC Pizza in BGC: Nolita

I'm back! It has been quite a while since I last blogged and it sure feels bad not to share my food discoveries. Blogging... why are you so addicting?!? Anyway, about 3 weeks ago, a friend of mine and I decided to go on a BGC food trip since we felt kinda upscale that week. We aimed for at least 4 stops but managed to visit two because my dear tummy wasn't cooperative that day. 

 

Hello, Nolita! 

 

This pizza place was our first stop (we were actually torn if we should dine in Sariwon or here but the cute interior won!) and we were really excited to order since we were really hungry as it was already past 2 p.m..

There were several pizza choices and this place does not just offer the usual pepperoni and cheese pizza. They have interesting ones such as Spinach and Artichoke Pizza, Cheeseburger, Chicken Parmesan and Wild Mushroom Walnut blue. They also have interesting drinks that have ginger in it but it was the Iced Dark Chocolate that caught my attention. 

It took me and A a few minutes before we finally decided to order Spinach and Artichoke (PHP220), Wild Mushroom Walnut Blue (PHP250), and a glass of Iced Dark Chocolate (PHP160). I was tempted to order more as I-just-must-order-more-than-one-dish but since it'll be a food trip, I hesitated.

Café Favorite: Akiba

It took my sister quite a while before she managed to convince me to get out of the house as I was really not in the mood to go out that day as long weekends mean lazy days for me. But since her begging powers seem to be of the same level as Puss in Boots, I finally gave in. We stopped by the usual stores and bought a handful of items but the highlight of that day was my short stop to…

AKIBA :D

I’ve been passing by this store for quite some time now but I never bothered to stop by and try the drinks till last Monday. I got curious with the drinks as the server was really enthusiastic with telling us their bestsellers.

 

In the end, my mom ordered Yogurt Chiru Nutty Macadamia (PHP130, large) while I ordered a glass of Akiba’s Signature Trifle Kohi (PHP130, large). My sister, who was not in the mood for tea or coffee decided to go for one of their chiffon cakes.

Restaurant Discovery: Rollin' & Bowlin'

We had a hard time looking for our last stop for our Katipunan food trip as we were left with mostly fast food chains. Craving for something… different, we walked for about 45 minutes till we spotted… Rollin’ & Bowlin’.  

A new place! *and our eyes sparkled while our tummies smiled*

The place is quite hidden so it’s such a thrill for us to discover it! It’s the perfect place to mount our T3 flag and hold game nights (uh, days) there. We were also told that the restaurant was fairly new then so their menu was quite limited.

Fifties in 2012: Mile Hi Diner

Pizza, check! Pasta, check! Burger, check! Next on the list? Chicken and fries!!! It’s true, friends who eat together… will go on a diet together!

Now on our way to our third (click here for the first and second) stop, we decided to visit Mile Hi, a popular food joint in Baguio which has branches here in Manila. I heard that the best one still is the one in Baguio but the 6-8 hour drive makes it less enticing.

Anyway, we have finally reached our destination (which was just a few steps away from the blue building also housing Moshi Moshi) and I was mesmerized with the Coca-Cola merchandise. I’m a sucker for anything Coca-Cola (I even rushed to McDonalds before when they first sold those limited edition Olympics glasses and I begged for 10 yen inside Narita airport just to buy a can of Coke simply because the can is soooo cute).

 

Since we were starting to get really full, we decided to just order a small basket of Spicy Buffalo Wings (PHP155) with Ranch dressing (PHP20) and Bacon Cheese Fries (PHP130). N and I also decided to order a cup of tea (we know it doesn’t match but hey it aids digestion) while J ordered a can of soda.

Peanut Butter Overload: PB Co.

Walking with tummies still filled with pizzaand pasta (with the sweet calamansi juice trying to work its magic) from our first Katipunan food stop, N, J and I or now known as T3 headed to the new blue building and entered our next food stop… Peanut Butter Company.

It was actually my first time to visit the place so I was pretty much mesmerized that the dishes it offers really do have peanut butter. Curious with the PB Burger Sandwich (PHP185), we decided to order one for sharing. We spotted Dark Chocolate PB Banana Milkshake (PHP185) and ordered that too, also for sharing. Ain’t we sweet? :D (Or we're probably just stingy!)

 

The burger was pretty big but a hungry person won’t have difficulty finishing it but since we were trying to save more space for other yummy Katipunan finds, we thought that it’d be best to just share.