Love at First Bite: Melt Grilled Cheesery

It has been a few days ago when I saw Chessie T’s review on Melt Grilled Cheesery and I have been pestering R ever since. I would call out his name and when he looks, I would say, in my most whiny voice, Meeeeelt~ And after a few days of being adorably annoying (or maybe scratch adorable as I was just plain annoying according to the recipient of my puppy eyes), he finally gave in.

Hello, Melt Grilled Cheesery!

Tagged as the cheese lovers heaven, this restaurant sure knows how to attract foodies like me. Cheese on almost everything turned me into a fly lured by light. 

We arrived around 7 p.m. and the place was quite empty with only two other tables occupied. 

After browsing the menu and struggling to limit my order, R and I settled with Tomato Soup (PHP185), Mushroom Truffle (PHP300) with additional Parma Ham (PHP160), Big Buff (PHP395) and The Dulce de Leche Cheesecake (PHP235). 

We sat farthest the open kitchen and watched the crew prepare some dishes for other tables and perhaps ours too.

After a few minutes, the server approached us and mentioned that they do not have enough parma ham for one order and that the chef we talked to will just give us the few left for free. Yay for free parma ham!

In about 5 minutes, our tomato soup was served.

I loved the consistency of this soup. It was thick but not too heavy. It had a nice tangy tomato taste and the grilled cheese croutons made the dish even more delectable. Gooey cheese on my piping hot soup! 

R's mushroom truffle pasta was served next and it was soon followed by the parma ham.

The serving size of the parma ham made us realize why they hesitated to charge us. It was indeed too small to be priced at PHP160.

But those bits of toasted parma ham made the the dish so much better. It balanced the creaminess of the mushroom truffle sauce and it complemented the parmesan cheese. It also added texture to the soft pasta. Ordering additional parma ham is not a bad move at all even if it will cost you PHP460 total for the dish.

Last savory dish served was Big Buff. The chef we talked to actually recommended The Classic Melt (PHP265) since it is lighter and it is also his personal favorite. But the chicken lover in me won and I went with what I really want to try. And I sort of regretted it.

Love at First Bite: Karen's Kitchen

When you get older, Christmas is no longer about getting gifts. It is now all about getting... fat. But if I get to stuff myself with good food, I am a-okay with it! And thanks to the long break, I finally got a chance to visit the restaurant in Kapitolyo that I have been eying for almost a year... Karen's Kitchen!

Hello, Karen's Kitchen!

The place is oozing with charm. Each corner is Instagram-worthy and every piece on display has a story to tell. I have never been to a place as warm and beautiful as this one. It was definitely made with love and a lot of thought. 

Since the place is small, I made sure that we get a table and dropped Karen a message to reserve one for us. She then suggested that we pre-order as some of the dishes take time to prepare. (Some dishes take as much as 45 minutes to cook.) It sounded like a great idea. Less waiting, more eating! 

I ordered Squash Soup with Squash Flower (PHP175), Mushroom Truffle (PHP395) and Karen's recommended Dalandan Chicken (PHP345). We also ordered Strawberry Juice (PHP165), Red Velvet Cupcake (PHP96) and Sticky Toffee Pudding (PHP144). Karen insisted we try Raclette Japanese Cheesecake (PHP205) and gave us one on the house.

First served was the squash soup and it was divine! It was the perfect texture for pumpkin soup. It was thick and creamy, sweet with a bit of spice. The bread stick was perfectly soft and flavored too! We were off on a good start.

Next served was the mushroom truffle pasta and it smelled heavenly. You could undeniably smell the aroma of truffle.

First Bite: UCC Clockwork

Estancia is becoming a foodie destination with more and more restaurants opening. One of the restaurants that caught my attention was UCC Clockwork which apparently isn’t that new anymore. (I really have to explore the south!) But since I’ve never tried its famous corned beef, I had to visit.

Hello, UCC Clockwork!

The charming café/restaurant had a warm and cozy vibe; but what really attracted us was the buy one, take one cocktails (a deal they offer on Fridays).

Aside from our Lychee Mojito (PHP220), we ordered Mushroom Truffle (PHP150) and Pumpkin Soup (PHP120). We also got Fresh Corned Beef with Kimchi Rice (PHP350), Threesome Breakfast (PHP380) and Clockwork Cookie Cup Screams (PHP190).

The Lychee Mojito was refreshing but the lychee’s taste overpowered the rhum making it taste like juice.

Next served were our warm bowls of soup.

I wasn’t able to take a photo of F’s bowl but he finished his without any complaint so I’m assuming that it tasted okay. My soup on the other hand wasn’t the creamy kind that I like. It was just okay but I enjoyed it with the complimentary buttered bread.