Love at First Sip: Kissako Uji Matcha Café

Friday nights are meant for munching and discovering new food. I am not so fond of eating the same food twice as there are just so many restaurants to visit and so many dishes to try. Just thinking about it makes me so giddy.

Last Friday, I made an 8 p.m. reservation for three at Locavore thinking that my sister’s last class ends late. But we all got together at 6:30. So to kill time, I asked them if we could visit the new Japanese tea and coffee shop I spotted a few weeks ago.

Hello, Kissako!

The place is quite small and could only accommodate perhaps 5-6 groups at a time. Choices are also limited making it easier for me choose. I went with Strawberry Shortcake (PHP170), Chocolate Mousse (PHP170) and Horiguchi Coffee (PHP130) in medium roast.

The cakes arrived in cute dark colored clay plates. I am already in love without even tasting the cake yet.

Restaurant Discovery: Moku Japanese Cuisine

I have been planning to visit the Japanese restaurant on the second floor of the Korean restaurant Lee Hak but the pull of the other restaurants in Kapitolyo was just too strong. But I finally had the chance to visit Moku Japanese Cuisine a few Fridays back when the crazy traffic made us stay in Pioneer.

I was famished. Crazy famished. In short, I was in my HANGRY state. It took us a while to realize that the only way to get inside Moku is through Lee Hak. The guard told us we have to ride an elevator and there ARE NO ELEVATORS in Pioneer Center. I know. I’m a Pioneer Center girl. Anyway, we circled around the area for 10 minutes or so before we realize that we have to get inside the Korean restaurant to get in the Japanese restaurant. There is definitely a lack of signages. Grr.

Hello, Moku. I had a hard time finding you.

I was delighted though with the set up. It was prettier than I thought it would be. There were three (or was it four) teppan tables in the middle and several tables with comfy couches on the side.

I quickly ordered the following: Teppan/Maki/Sushi (PHP1180), Salmon Sashimi (PHP290), Cold Soba (PHP250). My sister ordered Oyakodon (PHP220) as she’s not too keen with teppanyaki. We also ordered house iced tea.

The iced tea arrived first and it was… bland. Oh well. At least it won’t make us thirsty.

The teppan master (I’m not really sure how they are called) asked us if we want a “performance” and we said yes. Hey, take advantage of it! Teppan meals are not cheap. (Well, he failed a few times but it was still entertaining.)

 

We enjoyed watching him throw stuff in the air while we munch on our crisp salad. I liked it so much that I also ate my sister’s share.

 

The miso soup was your usual miso soup.

They then served some Korean side dishes. I got slightly confused there. But hey, free food!

The salmon sashimi arrived next and it was thick and fresh. I enjoyed it a lot! It was bliss. <3 However, they seem to have some intense hatred with wasabi. They placed too much on my dip.

The bean sprouts and the beef teppan went well together. The beef was juicy and was cooked well. It doesn’t even need to be dipped in the sauce.

Love at First Bite: The Breakfast Club

I love visiting new restaurants. It makes me so happy every time I get to discover a great fdish or a nice restaurant perfect for mini reunions or some alone time. And I’m really lucky that I’m just a few blocks away from one of the foodie destinations, Kapitolyo. But even Pioneer is starting to pick up. Just a few months ago, I spotted two new restaurants, Takeshi, a Japanese restaurant and one of my new favorite dessert places… The Breakfast Club.

Hello, The Breakfast Club!

Okay, The Breakfast Club is not exactly new as it has another branch in Quezon City but it’s still new to me. Owned by celebrity Erich Gonzales and her boyfriend, The Breakfast Club is known for its breakfast staples. (Duh!) But they also offer Korean dishes, a few Japanese dishes and steaks. But when we visited, we only had room for desserts as we just had dinner at Takeshi.

We first noticed the Fallen Cake (PHP155) and it sure look like it fell and was slightly stepped on. It still looked delicious though but my mom was iffy to order that. So we ended up with Lava Cake in (a) Cup with Vanilla Ice Cream (PHP170) and Mango Caramel Panna Cotta (I forgot how much this one costs).

Food Find: Chatime's Kronuts

The Cronut mania is still very alive as I still see long lines in Wildflour, empty racks in Chatime and posts on social media. I got to try the ones from Dunkin Donut (which you have to eat warm if you want to enjoy it), the cute version of Le Coeur (cute because it was the smallest so far), and Chatime’s Kronuts (which at first was sold out 30 minutes after opening). There’s still a lot more to try but my pants are suffering!

My mom called me one night and said that she was buying a few stuff from Pioneer Center and the first thing that came to my head was Chatime’s Kronuts. (They spell it like that since they can’t use the word Cronut as it was trademarked.) My mom asked which flavors and I tried to think for a moment but then decided to say, “ALL!” So much for trying to live healthier. >.<

When I got home, I was greeted by 6 Kronuts and all looked so yummy and saying, “Eat me! No me first! MEEE!” Okay, that was weird but you get my point.

The first one I tried was the sugar raised Kronut and I was surprised that it has hazelnut filling! I really enjoyed this one!

Lunchtime at Chatime

I just love going on a date with my dad! These dates give us the needed father-daughter bonding plus heart-to-heart talk. I find it extremely funny though how much our conversation topics evolved from me being a spoiled brat begging for a new toy or whatnot to us talking about career, life, and everything in between (which mostly involves food and me being shipped to another country!).

My dad randomly called me around 11:30 a.m. on a weekday (which means I was at work). He asked me if I want to have lunch and since I only have meatloaf as lunch that day, I said YES as I normally decline because of the long line to the elevator. We planned to have lunch at Milky and Sunny but there was no parking space. Same for Nav and Poco Deli. We then decided to have lunch instead at Chatime as they now serve food.

 

We were lucky as the line was still short when we arrived. I ordered two orders of Pepper Salt Chicken Chops with Annatto Rice Pilaf (PHP75 for the chicken chops and PHP18 for the rice pilaf) and Parmesan Fries (PHP65). I had my usual ChocolateMousse while my dad tried one of the newest drinks of Chatime.

 

The chicken chops and rice annatto rice pilaf was served in about 10 minutes and surprisingly, it was served lukewarm. My dad had to ask the server for a new bowl of rice as he doesn’t want his rice reheated. 

Chatime all over again...

Just when I thought I was over going to milk tea places, I discovered something that blew me away. Fine, it was a bit of an exaggeration but it definitely made me smile from one ear to the other.

“Do you want some Chatime?” is perhaps one of my favorite office questions. It also reminds me how blessed I am to have great colleagues who LOVE food.

This time, I ordered Chocolate Mousse (PHP85, small; PHP95, large) and had exactly the same specifics as one of my officemates who convinced me to try it.

We ordered via City Delivery and I was surprised that it will take Chatime Pioneer 50-60 minutes to deliver our drinks (to think that our office is just 5 minutes away). But we love 

Chatime so much so it didn’t really matter as long as they deliver our drinks cold.

Another reason to meet friends and chat

 Chatime is good! Chatime is the new Serenitea! Chatime is love.

These are just some of the reviews I heard from people around me that made me so curious about Chatime. What pushed me to check the place out was my boss’ blog about it. The interior of the new tea house in Pioneer Center is super cute and cozy. Chatime also has a lot of tea to choose from.

When I arrived, the crew who attended to me was very helpful. Well, I was the only person they need to attend to then so I think there’s no reason to ignore me.

I noticed that they kept on suggesting milk tea. Well, it is their best seller but I am not very fond of it. So, I opted to order Japanese Sakura Sencha (thinking that since I won’t have the chance to see the cherry blossoms, at least I have the chance to drink it… okay, it does not sound very logical).

While waiting for my drink, I checked the place out and it was just like how it was described by the blogs I read. It was really cute.

Finally, my drink was served. It was quite sweet (probably because of the tapioca balls and because I asked for 50% sugar). It was really good. Love love love. It was not like those other teas that tasted like well… juice.

I will definitely go back for more. J