A Taste of Japan in Tondo: Hapon Suzuki Japanese Carinderia

Paolo felt a bit adventurous so off we went to find Tondo's treasured Japanese carinderia.

We had a bit of hard time looking for the place since the sign board was tucked inside their makeshift room made out of tarpauline(?) my memory is pretty hazy with the roof. But we found it and we were so happy.

Ordered tonkatsu, katsudon and yakisoba. The orders are small but hey, so is the price so you can't complain much.

Tonkatsu coating is crunchy, the meat is soft and tasty  haven't tried the katsudon though. The yakisoba is super yummy, there's not much sahog but they compensate it with a fried egg. Reminds me of my college days when I'd snack on Lucky Me pancit canton with a fried egg on top 

The downside is that it's in a carinderia setting, you'd eat with tricycles passing you by and the place mildly smells like sewer. If you're not so picky with the place or you just feel adventurous, then you'd enjoy this cheap thrill.

Hapon Suzuki Japanese Carinderia

Clemente St. cor. Hermosta St. Tondo, Manila 

Cibo

Was supposed to go to Tender Bob's in Greenhills but the available tables are on the al fresco area. With our extremely humid and rainy bipolar weather these days I think it's unhealthy to go al fresco so we ended up in Cibo where there's a table indoor. 

Costolette D'Agnello is a dish made up of grilled lamb chop, red wine mint sauce, parsley rice pilaf topped with an additional order of organic egg. The lamb chops where done medium so I felt it was a bit icky. I love well done meat. It was reeking with the gamey odor I dislike. The red wine mint sauce did a good job of covering the smell though. 

Mozarella Tegameno is love! This is made out of mozarella, white cheese, tomato, anchovies and basil, this comes with thin Sardinian bread. This reminds me of Cyma's awesome flaming cheese called Saganaki. Tastes like I'm in cheese heaven! The tomato gives the cheese flavor a contrast while the anchovies give it an edge. Yummy! 

I personally ordered this Linguine alla Ghiotta. It's a white sauce pasta with mushroom, bacon bits and toasted bread on the side. The white sauce is pure love! It smells heavily of mushroom aroma. Pasta is cooked al dente and I agree with Paolo, I wish they'd put more bacon bits in this dish. 

Cibo 

Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center

Ortigas Ave, San Juan

Tel: 727-3359, 7272426

Sebastian's Ice Cream: Mango and Bagoong

Mango bagoong ice cream!!! 

Everybody was saying yuck! Or eeew! But being an avid fan of mango and bagoong, I tried it anyway with much pride. 

'Twas okay, the green mango ice cream wasn't as sour as I thought it would be but the bagoong was delish! They warm the bagoong up before topping it on your ice cream but it immediately becomes cold so I'm not so sure if I want to eat it cold next time since I find bagoong yummier when eaten warm.  

I honestly think this doesn't taste like mango and bagoong. It tastes more like those chewy sampaloc sweets wrapped in cellophane. It's sweet, mildly sour(for my taste!) and salty all at the same time. If it's more sour and less sweet then it might have tasted more like mango and bangoong. 

I also felt a bit squeamish with those bagoong bits in my mouth when the ice cream has melted  I guess my tongue is looking for the real green mango 

Overall this is an ok ice cream, I really like how creative the flavors are and this is really a must try. 

Pancake House Beef Tapa and Peach Pancake

I"m not a morning person but if there's one breakfast food that will wake me up, it's beef tapa. Just imagining that flavorful beef strips, garlic rice and sunny side up egg makes my mouth water.

Even though it's dinner, I opted for Pancake House' beef tapa and it did not disappoint. Turns out, it's one of their best seller. Beef strips are soft, juicy and flavorful. Instead of plain vinegar, this is served with pickled tomatoes and onions giving it a mild sweet and sour taste with a crunch texture courtesy of the onions. The sunny side up egg is cooked perfectly well, I don't usually eat the egg yolk but when this is served, I can't help it but to mix it all in. The garlic rice is a bit bland, I like my garlic rice with strong garlic flavors but it's okay considering how flavorful the tapa is.

We also got the peach pancake, topped with peach slices, whipped butter and peach syrup on the side. The whipped butter is so good that we ordered another dollop of it. The peach syrup is really good! It's not too sweet and yet the peach aroma stands out. I honestly prefer Pancake House' pancakes over IHOP's. IHOP is really dry and crumbly but Pancake House makes the perfect ultra soft and fluffy buttermilk pancakes. Yum yum!

Comfort Food at Conti's Bakeshop and Restaurant

 Comfort food for the rainy season! Conti's always has that heartwarming cozy interior that's perfect for the rainy night. Ordered Symphony salad with tomato vinaigrette and Chicken ala Kiev. 

The symphony salad with tomato vinaigrette tastes so so, the vegetables are fresh and crisp. 

Chicken ala kiev is a block buster hit! The photo on the menu is really really tempting that me and my baby brother ordered the same thing. The chicken is crispy on the outside but juicy on the inside courtesy of the herbs and butter stuffed inside. Creamy sauce blankets the chicken is perfect. This is a really flavorful dish that's perfect with garlic rice and buttered vegetables.

Piping Hot Pepper Lunch on a Rainy Night

Paolo Sy was craving for Tajimaya but it slipped our mind that it was a Saturday and we should have called for a reservation so we didn't get to eat there. Him being one heck of a creative person I know, we went to Pepper Lunch instead. Little did I know what he had in mind to get his yakiniku fix: Ordered the usual beef pepper rice and ordered extra beef on a separate sizzling plate. Taddah! Parang yakiniku narin! 

Beef slices were thin and easily cooked on the sizzling plate. And because I'm getting fat, I deliberately removed the fat but I ended up eating all the rice. I can't resist the butter, corn and honey brown sauce mix in my rice.  

Hot beef pepper rice on a rainy Saturday night is perfect.

Wildflour Café + Bakery

Left Quezon City and quickly called up Wildflour to reserve a table for two. Ms. Kathleen told us we're seventh on the wait list and they can't guarantee we'd get a seat once we have arrived. Once we got there we were told we're third on the list but waiting time isn't that bad. 

First impression: There are flies on the bread display! There were a few cronuts left but I saw the flies enjoying themselves on the bread so I didn't bother. 

Too crowded, the noise and chaos is more like a wet market than a nice restaurant where you can sit back, relax and enjoy your dinner. On the bright side this is a very good sign for the business owners. 

On the bright side, the complimentary baguette is really really good, the crust is really crisp, butter with a sprinkle of salt also did the trick. One thing though, since this is served in a wooden board and the servers are so busy attending a lot of people, they tend to press the bread on the board with their finger. If you're not picky with it and your stomach can handle such food handling then it's okay(I think), if your stomach is sensitive then I suggest you skip this one. 

We were ushered in a high table, it was ok until I realized how close I am to the bread stand that I have to carefully squeeze myself into my seat without having to topple the bread stand over. Good thing was when a fresh batch of cronuts were put out, we were near the tray. 

Table was too too tooooooo small, ridiculously small in my opinion. We ordered a burger, tarte flambée, steak and kimchi rice, two newly released cronuts and one chocolate eclair and we had to stuff everything in our belly before our next order comes, just kidding. We had other unnecessary plates removed, combine food in one plate (pastries) and pan (burger and tartes flambée). It was hard to relax knowing how high the tables are and utensils are on the edge of our tables already. 

Tarte flambée is the best part of the dining experience! Bacon, gruyere cheese and caramelized onions. Tarte is thin and crisp. Perfect! Nuff said. 

The burger is really really juicy, heavenly! I was just alarmed on how sharp the knife was! The burger is pinned on the pan with the knife, call me conservative but I had the impression that the one who prepared this was mad lol. Oh and my Chinese parents have taught me not to stick my chopstick on my bowl of rice coz it signifies offering food for the dead. Somehow I was reminded of that when my burger was served with the knife struck on it, not a chopstick but a knife. I just pulled it out before taking a photo.

Steak with kimchi rice was good. When we think of steak, a whole slab of juicy steak comes to mind but we got small slices of steak instead, it was good but not so juicy. Kimchi rice was super delicious! I'm not a fan of hot food but this is great. 

Chocolate eclair is love. Bread quality is not that excellent but the chocolate and filling makes up for it. 

Cronuts tastes like bicho bicho with donut filling and frosting. I had the mixed berry variant. I was just turned off on how oily the cronuts are that I literally swallowed a mouthful of oil. Other than that it's a delicious pastry. Delicious but not so delicious that I'd make an effort to go there and fall in line. 

Oh, a table can order just two cronuts. People who are falling in line just for the cronuts can only order two and if you want to order more, fall in line again and start all over. This is a fair system so everyone who falls in line would get some but it also has a downside, I think this is just a fad, like in my experience I tasted it once but I'm not going to buy again, if they didn't limit the purchase I would have bought more to bring home for my family but since this is almost inaccessible, I was discouraged to buy. I don't think the taste is so special and unique anyway. If I'm the one selling these cronuts I'd try to make more and sell more, make this product more accessible and gain more profit before the craze dies down. 

Wildflour Café + Bakery

G/F Net Lima Bldg, 4th Ave cor 26th, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City

Tel no. 856-7600

Relish: Hello, Happiness!

Dined here once and boy, parking in this area is always full! A lot of people swarm the place so I thought this restaurant might be really good. We had to drive two or three times around the area before we got a space. 

This is a super cute and dainty restaurant. It's very girly and it reminds me of those cute Kamiseta boutiques. We were escorted to the second floor and this lovely display pops up before my eyes. Cuteness! Hello, happiness indeed! 

I had hickory smoked barbeque pork belly for Php395.

The Good

• Pork belly is really soft 
• Served with sweet corn 
• Served with 1 additionl side dish, choices are: mashed potato, rice and salad 
• Barbeque sauce is yummy, perfect balance of sweet tangy and smokey 
• Mashed potato is heavy on the butter, minced garlic goes really well with the potato

The Bad

• Fatty pork, approx. 60% meat, 40% fat 

Paolo and I shared a slice of cheesecake for dessert and it was so good! This is purely creamy and tangy cream cheese topped with a dollop of blueberry jam. Perfect! 

Overall I love this restaurant and will come back to try the truffle oil pasta, it looks and smells good!

Relish Restaurant Address:

74 Sct. Limbaga St. Tomas Morato, Quezon City

Tel no. 3525492

Rufo's Famous Tapa Boo Boo

Had a take away of Rufo's tapa from the R Place branch for lunch. I guess I had such high expectations considering this is a famous tapa place. The heck, they even used the word 'famous' in their tag line. 

I was so excited to open my box, my belly was growling in hunger but when I opened it, meh I found the tapa serving small. So much rice, so little tapa. 

The cooks might have been rushing as the tapa sauce was under my paper-wrapped rice leaving my tapa dry and my paper-wrapped rice soaked in sauce. Also, the wax paper covered my overcooked egg.  I find their service disgusting. 

The only thing they got right was that wax paper over my egg went under my tapa. Wow. 

This is my first time trying Rufo's and I'm not impressed even with the taste. Garlic rice is bland it's as if they just added fried garlic on top, tapa was not that bad but not that good either. Egg is really overcooked. 

Ugh. Never again. 

BRGR: The Burger Project

Went to the Teacher's Village on a Saturday night to catch some grub when we chanced upon Burger Project. I initially wanted some pizza and pasta from Fruili Trattoria but after seeing how packed Burger Project was, we got curious why everyone never seemed to mind the long lines and lack of table just to get some burger from this place.

We had an order of huuuuuge onion rings to share. It was ok, so so, nothing special. The batter was pretty tasteless unless you count the oily deep fry taste but you have to give credit that they fry this perfectly crisp and golden brown. I wish the onions were a bit sweeter and flavorful. 

The concept is pretty cool considering you'll be making your own burger according to your own taste. I got one patty of ground beef, sesame seed buns, garlic cream cheese, Canadian bacon and lettuce leaves. Paolo ordered two patties of of Angus beef, sesame seed buns, bacon, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese and caramelized onions. 

I somehow didn't enjoy my order, I felt that the burger patty was drowned in overused oil that it has an overpowering stale or fishy smell. Buns were soaked in oil. Eeeep! Lettuce are really fresh and crisp, I didn't taste the garlic cream cheese that much due to the overpowering stale oil smell. Canadian bacon was delish! 

Paolo's was much better. He really enjoyed his food, according to him, angus beef patty has chunks of beef. The oozing mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese combination is heavenly! Uuuurgh.

We also ordered blueberry and strawberry milkshakes. By the time I claimed these I heard one attendant saying to another staff  'Si Chelle nanaman?' Lol. 

Blueberry is super duper delicious. No wonder it costs Php150 each, they use pure vanilla ice cream to make these shakes, blueberry has a semi sweet  Strawberry milkshake is a boo boo though, it tastes like cough syrup. Eeep! 

The place is really packed so come here earlier to get some seats. Tip: Sancho Churreria Manila is just beside Burger Project! You may get some seats there provided that you'll order their food, they won't let you sit though if you'll order just a slice of cake and order the rest of your food from Burger Project. That is pretty understandable. 

BRGR: The Burger Project branches:

122 Maginhawa St., Maginhawa, Quezon City

The Grand Towers, 790 Pablo Ocampo Sr. St., Manila City

38 Jupiter St. cor. Planet St., Jupiter, Makati City 

Spiral Buffet at Sofitel is the Best!

Spiral Buffet at Sofitel remains one of my favorite buffet places, I can still remember the first time I've been here, it was my grandmother's 80th birthday and as a kid, I was at a loss on where to start! It wasn't that much food choice back then but it was definitely overwhelming for a kid. I remembered eating a lot of marshmallows dipped in the chocolate fountain and ended up having a serious sore throat the day after lol.

Fast forward to the present to celebrate Paolo's birthday and wow! Spiral has definitely stepped up its game and impressed me with 21 ateliers. Spiral now boasts a wide variety of food choices, from Chinese dim sum to roasted duck, Korean barbeque, freshly cooked Japanese food to tempura, Indian station complete with tandoori to cook naan bread, the gorgeous cheese room, fresh bread, salad bar, fresh pizza, seafood, cakes, ice cream, crepe and candy bar. It's really overwhelming! I wanted to try and taste everything they have to offer but sorry, my ever growing waistline can only accommodate so much.

Spiral's Olive bread is the best bread I have ever tasted. Remembering Ratatouille? How'd you know if a bread is good? Not the smell, not the look but the sound of the crust. Upon cracking the olive bread's crust, it sounds really crunchy, aaaah... Music to my ears. It's really really good bread and this comes from a person who doesn't really like bread that much. Served warm, pat on the pesto and butter spread to melt and it's heaven! I highly recommend the pesto spread as you can really taste the pesto's freshness.

Paolo and I headed straight to the Japanese section to get our freshly grilled beef slices. I got some ready cooked food such as tempura, tonkatsu, bacon rolls and Peking duck. Tempura is really fresh and crunchy, tonkatsu was a bit hard to chew, Yabu or Katsu Cafe might be a better choice but this is still a good one. Bacon wrap is heavenly! Bacon strips are not so salty, just the right saltiness for my taste buds. Peking duck is a bit salty but really aromatic as if I was roasted duck eating in Hong Kong. Love it!

For my second plate I headed to the pizza section, that's when I noticed that the pizza counter tops are heated. Amazing! Sushi bar's counter tops are chilled counter tops I think. Pizza was extremely aromatic. I also had a slice of potato with mushroom bits. I'm not sure as what it's called because some buffet stations don't have proper labels. Korean beef barbeque is sweet and savory, can't stop chewing on 'em. Fresh lobster was grilled and laced with butter garlic sauce. Perfection! I also went to the famed cheese room to sample some cheese, the first thing I noticed was how salty the air is inside that my eyes started to sting and water lol. Just be prepared for that when you enter this cheese chamber. There were a lot of cheese choices, aged meat, dried fruit and nuts. I also tried the fried spring roll filled with seafood salad but I didn't like it that much. 

Third plate's the dessert plate, my favorite! Unlike most buffets where they offer you attractive cake choices but let's be honest, I don't like their cakes, it's just sweet colored mousse but Sofitel has the real deal. They really offer you quality ingredients that will truly satisfy your sweet tooth. Nutella cake is my favorite, better than Nutella as I can taste stronger hazelnut flavor in this one. Next favorite is the salted caramel puffs, I actually had 4! It has this strong sweet buttery salty taste that I just can't get enough off. Tastes a lot like Bizu's caramel fleur de sel French macaron without the extreme sweetness. The chocolate tart is filled with bitter sweet liquid chocolate. Chocolate cream puffs tastes really good but I like the salted caramel puffs better. I initially wanted to get the chocolate truffles but I was too busy picking my salted caramel puffs, when I went back to get my chocolate truffle, the plate was empty! But when I saw Paolo's plate full of chocolate truffles, AHA! Lol he gave me some when we got to the table, really sweet of him. My least favorite was the pistachio cake.

Overall it was such an excellent dining experience that I can't really pin point glaring flaws, just small minor details(or the lack of it) such as putting proper food labels. Everything else is just excellent and perfect. Spiral is definitely Manila's best buffet. 

Ajisen Ramen

I was having colds when I craved for Ajisen Ramen. The thought of sipping warm broth entices me to sooth my nasal discomfort. Good thing there's an Ajisen Ramen in Sto. Domingo, Quezon City!

I got the house specialty Ajisen(Php235) and it hits right on the spot! Even though I can't fully taste the soup, I can still appreciate the different seasonings used to make this bowl of ramen. All the Ajisen oil, pork broth, Okinawa natural sea salt and the "Ajisen powder" mixing together to create a flavorful soup, mmm! 

The noodles kinda looks like pasta doesn't it? Unlike other Ramen places that serves chewy and uneven ramen noodles, this stands out because this is smooth and cooked al dente! Really looks and feels like pasta noodles. Perfect!

The shredded fungus, leek and slices of cabbage adds more crunch and texture in this dish. Chasu is a bit fatty but super tender and tasty nonetheless. Egg is tasty and flavorful on it's own, was it cooked in a certain kind of broth? Seems like it, yummy! Egg yolk is best when mixed in with the soup to give it a thicker consistency.

My father doesn't like drinking soup from restaurants because he said he doesn't know what kind of seasoning or how much MSG is thrown in so I also don't drink soup from restaurants but this one I'll make an exemption, I managed to slurp my way down to the bottom of the bowl leaving not a single drop. *feeling guilty*

Ajisen Ramen
43 Tirad Pass St. cor Sto. Domingo St., Quezon City
Tel.: 3549235

Shi Lin's Xiao Long Bao

One of the yummiest xiao long bao(soup dumplings) in Manila!

An order of 10 pcs is priced at approximately Php265. The soup is divine! The meat and skin is drool worthy. Yum yum yum! Served with a small plate of sliced ginger, I kept on looking for the black vinegar to no avail. The table's condiments only has soy sauce, I looked around and I just saw people putting sliced ginger on top of their xiao long bao so I thought this is new. 

Xiao long bao's not as big as the ones in Taiwan I've had but this is still perfect on it's own accord. The skin has the right thinness that pairs well with the soup and meat. Everything is well proportioned for you to take one big bite. It's not too big that you have to bite a portion and see all the soup drip all over your Chinese spoon and plate and it's not too small that you can't taste the soup anymore. One xiao long bao is just right for one big bite, there is just enough space for you to chew and appreciate the dimsum's flavor. We (meaning 2 people) were able to chow down 20 pcs. of xiao long bao. 

Interior wise, this is a well lit and spacious place. However, I think they lack manpower because everyone is multi tasking and they can only accommodate so much. Nevertheless, I appreciate the staff's hard work. 

Power Plant Mall branch (near National Bookstore and TWG)

Tel. 8900005

Masatami Shave Ice in Chocolate

I was craving for something sweet when I checked out looloo and Masatami Shave Ice came up so I decided to give it a try.

Swiss cheese is their best seller but since I'm not into cheese, I opted for a small cup of chocolate ice shaving (Php60). It tastes just like Milo! The ice is thinly shaved so it looks really interesting and it instantly melts in your mouth. A lot say swiss cheese is creamy but this one is not as smooth though, I can feel the texture of ice melting in my mouth but I'm not complaining, they did market it as ice shaving. To be fair, it tastes creamier and smoother than regular ice shavings but not too smooth to be considered ice cream. Yummy! I was able to finish the whole cup within a few minutes.

Might try swiss cheese next time if I'm feeling a bit adventurous just to see what everyone is raving about.

Rosemarie's French Macaron: Salted Caramel and Nutella

I was taking a stroll at Robinson's Magnolia while waiting for my scheduled Pacific Rim viewing when I chanced upon Rosemarie's French Macaron. I wanted to give a newly opened famous macaron place a try but this was tucked at the food bazaar at the food court, I thought this might be a hidden gem. 

And I found treasure! I tried the salted caramel and Nutella for Php35 a piece. It has a soft initial bite with a chewy core. It's something good to nibble on while you're resting your feet from the long walk. 

The salted caramel is not too sweet, the hint of salt balances out the sweetness which was perfect. I ate this pretty quickly as I was so excited to sink my teeth into one. The Nutella is my favorite! I really love Nutella and I'm biased towards this, what gives this a nice kick is that I can taste the nutty fragrant hazelnut flavor more than scooping a spoonful of Nutella from the jar. Perhaps they added real hazelnut to this? It's really good! I really enjoyed the two and I will try the other flavors when I go back. I even wanted to drink some hot tea with this, tea will bring out the macaron's flavor really well. Other macarons within the same price range are just too sweet that you can't distinguish the flavor anymore but this hidden gem is bang for the buck. 

Tajimaya Charcoal Grill in SM Mall of Asia Review

Beef lovers rejoice. The Mall of Asia(MOA) branch offers unli beef!!! Almost tried the Rockwell branch but luckily we didn't push thru because Rockwell does not offer the unli beef. 

Price is at Php580 per head to avail unli beef, pork, sausage, shrimp, squid, Japanese rice, salad and appetizers. There is a cheaper price for non beef eaters, I think it's around Php420.

For the appetizers, I really like the lettuce with sesame oil dressing and beansprouts laced with sesame oil. Kimchi is a bit too hot for my taste since I really shy away from spicy food. Squid was sweet and tender. There are other food choices such as fresh shrimp, sausage and pork slices but we mainly concentrated on the beef. Beef is fat marbled, I personally don't like fatty beef, I grew up throwing fat away because I think it's icky but Paolo Sy really loves marbled fat beef so I also dug in and lived a little lol, dip it in the sauce provided before grilling. Yum yum! Smells really nice and heavenly. Now I understand why people love their beef with fat, it's sinful but it's really melt in your mouth goodness. I just downed green tea when I got home to wash the grease away.

Tajimaya Charcoal Grill
2137-2139 2/F SM Mall of Asia
Tel no. 5568929

Pancake House Cookie Butter Pancake Surprise Review

A few nights ago I asked my brother if he had tasted cookie butter, he said 'Yeah, it's delicious but I won't spend a lot of money for that, I'd rather spend it on Nutella' so I wondered why a lot are raving about it but I held back in buying a whole jar because I trust my brother's taste buds.

Now I know why and I think this cookie butter craze is just overrated.

I went to the Pancake House to try their cookie butter pancake surprise (Php258) just to get this curiosity over with.

So they served me a stack of fluffy buttermilk pancake with layers of cookie butter in between then topped with a dollop of Trader Joe's Speculoos cookie butter, sprinkled with caster sugar, corn flakes and grounded walnut with cinnamon. Looks really good!

I initially tasted the cookie butter, at first I was at a lost at what it tastes like, parang ha? Ano 'to? I took a second dollop and my taste buds led me back to my kindergarten years when I had marie biscuits as my baon. A-ha!!! That's what cookie butter tastes like. Sorry to say I never liked marie biscuits, it makes me gag. Good move I never bought an expensive jar of cookie butter.

Nevertheless, I still love Pancake House' pancakes, I just poured maple syrup all over my pancake to drown the cookie butter taste. The cornflakes and cinnamon walnuts are to die for!

Cookie butter vs. Nutella? I'd rather spend my money on Nutella.  

The Aristocrat's Lumpiang Shanghai Review

This is one of the most expensive lumpiang shanghai I've had! If my memory serves me right, this is around Php260. 

I was thinking, what's so special with this lumpia? Lumpia ingredients aren't that expensive and most restaurants offer this simple dish at a fraction of the price. 

All it took was a bite from these rolls to find out why it commands such a steep price. Meat quality is excellent. According to Paolo, it's more like siomai meat. They won't offer you minced meat with a lot of extenders and fillers. They prepared whole lean meat cut into smaller pieces to fill the roll. It was that so good! 

Had this at Aristocrat's Banawe branch: 518 Banawe St. Sta. Mesa Heights Quezon City (near Philippine Orthopedic Center).

Tel. 7089772

Lam Tin Tea House Review

This place never fails to hit the spot!

No frills, gimmicks, posh ambiance or over the top food presentation, just plain good food at a good price to tickle your taste buds. 

Ordered their lechon kawali rice topping and it was really good! Meat is not too salty, pork skin is super crispy, yum! This is served with Mang Tomas sauce and atchara on the side. Had my plain rice upgraded to Yang Chow rice and it is bang for the buck, it has a lot of pork asado bits, shrimp and mixed veggies which technically makes it a rice topping on it's own. 

Vanilla Cupcake Bakery's Red Velvet

Super love the red velvet cupcake! My previous favorite was Sonja's but it's too far away but lucky me! My new favorite Vanilla Cupcake Bakery has a branch in Trinoma. <3 div="">

Cupcake is moist and not too sweet. The cream cheese on top is simply the best! It has the right amount of sweet, salty and tangy taste that compliments well with the cupcake itself. Perfect!

Where to find Vanilla Cupcake Bakery branches:

2/F Trinoma

Glorietta 3

Glorietta 4

Alabang Town Center