Colognes

Dada Cologney has always monitored my colognes, and helps me out in my selection.  My present set of 10 include (from left to right):

1.     Jacques Fath Pour L' Homme

2.     Halston 1-12

3.     Oscar for Men

4.     Xeryus by Givenchy

5.     Ferrari Uomo

6.     Paco Rabanne Pour Homme

7.     Fendi Uomo

8.     The Different Company--Sens & Bois

9.     Ferragamo Pour Homme

10.   Diptyque 34

Scents for older men... I think the set signifies a shift in my tastes--is my age starting to show? Hahaha....

Figaro

I was invited to an afternoon meeting at the Emerald Avenue branch of Figaro, a local coffee chain that has consistently gained and retained a following despite the onslaught of foreign powerhouse brands.  I understand that the company is around 20 years old, and that the number of outlets has grown to around 50 all over the country.  Instead of the hip interiors of some other coffee shops, the interiors here are a bit more conventional, reminding me of a more genteel time and place.

Although I didn't order coffee, my friend says that the coffee here is much better than that of some of the foreign coffee shops.  However, I can't say much for their hot chocolate drink (which I got).  The tuna turnover was not bad, although I wish it had a bit more filling, but I must warn you--the spaghetti lacked taste altogether.  I think this coffee shop not for foodies, but is really best suited for the serious coffee lovers--it must be the barako beans that is mixed in with the robusta and the arabica beans!

Citibank Tower Canteen

Before we get caught in any misunderstanding, this is about the canteen located at the 8th floor of the Citibank Tower in Makati, and not about the bank.  Anyone who has a chance to make it to this canteen can get their tummy full at a range of P50 - P150 per head.  The food is pretty good, and they have a wide variety of dishes to choose from.  In the nineties, Kong Kong used to hold office in this building at the top office floor, right below the Top of the Citi restaurant.

I understand the place is open Mondays to Saturdays, for breakfast, lunch and merienda and they close at around 7pm.  Originally, the canteen was structured as a membership club open to employees of building tenants, but I think that due to the  high turnover of tenants, they have relaxed their rules to allow visitors to dine in.  The canteen is operated by Cater Pro.

The canteen has 3 main counters, the first shown above serves the executive combo meals (P100 to P150 range) which normally includes a viand, a vegetable dish and dessert.  The second counter is a specialty counter serving pasta and mongolian BBQ, and the third has the regular offerings carinderia turo-turo style (P50 - P100 meal range).  I frequent this canteen whenever I am around the area--fast, hot and tasty meals in a jiffy!

Magnum

Selecta's partnership with Unilever has been quite successful, and the brand has been carried in various countries such as Hong Kong and Australia.  Their newest offering is the much talked-about Magnum ice cream stick, rumored to be truly rich, flavorful and covered in thick Belgian chocolate.  I learned first-hand that the rumors were true!  I was lucky enough to find this bar in SM Manila, and for P50, I was able to enjoy the almond flavored bar which is shipped in from Australia (the bar has ice cream in several flavors--chocolate, vanilla ice cream, white chocolate, dark chocolate and caramel).  While the bar is more expensive than the local and the Korean brands, I must say that the richness of the chocolate speaks for itself!

Smint

This is one pocket candy that Vicky just loves--Smint!  Super cool flavor that freshens the breath, made by Van Melle, the same people that make Mentos.  Vicky likes this sugar-free product; I understand that they use Xylitol instead of cane sugar.  Relatively inexpensive, I think that a canister can be bought for less than P100.

Louie's Buko

Went around SM Manila with Becca over the weekend, and we spent some time looking at the winter clothes for Ryan on the basement floor.  I came across Louie's Buko and being the buko (young coconut) freak that I am, I just had to buy the biggest glass they had (P45).  That was absolutely fantastic--they chill the buko juice to near freezing levels, and the taste is quite refreshing!  No sugar added, just plain buko juice with a minimal amount of buko meat.  I got the buko juice craving during our younger days, vacationing in Dumaguete, where buko is so abundant and easily available.  I've been a fan every since--summertime, here we come!

Pancake House

I remember the original Pancake House near Sulo Hotel in the Makati Commercial Center, a favorite lunch hangout of the office crowd in the early eighties.  Whenever we would eat there, the focus of conversation would inevitably meander towards the movie posters that would dot the restaurant walls.  When the Lorenzo family bought the company a few years back, the movie-poster tradition was kept, but the branch count was increased and the menu offerings were expanded--from just pancakes, waffles and easy brunches, to the 6 page menu list they have today.

I must say I'm a fan of the classic taco, the pan fried chicken and the roast beef--all original offerings since the seventies.  A couple of days ago, I had the opportunity to schedule a meeting at a Pancake House branch, and I stuck to ordering my favorite taco, a throwback to years of habit.  Approximately P250 per head to have a light lunch or snack, and P700 per head to have a full blown feast.

Relish at Ponte

Today's lunch meeting was at this restaurant along Valero St. in Salcedo Village called Relish at Ponte, and it was a good thing that we had reservations--the place was full!  I understand from my friend that the Almario sisters (both interior designers) are behind the restaurant, and as such, the ambience was nice and comfortable without going overboard.

For starters, we had mushroom bisque, which was nicely thickened and had just the right mushroom flavor without going too earthy.  We quickly went onto one of the best-sellers, roasted chicken with lemon and garlic, and I was all smiles as it turned out to be a half-chicken, just right for my gnawing appetite.  My colleague had hickory-smoked pork belly, which was also a delight.

Being the sweet-tooth that I am, I couldn't resist topping off our lunch with Sans Rival!  All-in-all, prepare for some P750 per head, pretty reasonable for those business power-lunches.  I understand that the restaurant doubles as a resto-bar at night; I was told that a French-Moroccan artist entertains on certain nights.  For those bar-loving yuppies, note that happy hour starts as early as 3 pm.

Cafe Via Mare

Chef Glenda Barrretto's Cafe Via Mare has been a long-time Manila favorite since the seventies.  The restaurant was introduced to me by Vicky in the eighties and I have marveled at how constant the cooking quality has been kept over these years.  At a merienda meeting yesterday, I had bibingka (rice cakes topped with shredded coconut meat, salted duck eggs and cheese) and ginataan (a delicious mix of bananas, camote, ube, and sago, all cooked in coconut creme).  Snack time has always been this yummy at Via Mare, and at very reasonable prices--we spent something like P150 per head!  The restaurant also serves Filipino favorites for lunch and dinner (I particularly enjoy the kare-kare).  Their sister restaurant, Via Mare Oyster Bar, is a great place to spend happy hour sundowns, as oysters (both raw and cooked) go absolutely great with some types of alcohol drinks--and this duo combination just makes me indulge in one of my favorite pastimes!

Pingo Doce

Here's another photograph that I found hidden in my USB flash disk.  We had dinner at Gwammy's a few months ago, and found ourselves trying out some Pingo Doce chocolates that a friend had given her as pasalubong from his trip to Europe.  Pingo Doce is one of the largest supermarkets in Portugal, and I was surprised that this generic chocolate came out quite creamy and flavorful, and was sweetened just right (the American brands have a tendency to be on the sweet side).

Cupcakes by Sonja

Sonja's cupcakes at Serendra at the absolute favourite of Vicky and Monique.  They have a wide variety of cupcake flavours and toppings, each with mouth-watering names and with its own legion of fans.  Our last visit there was sometime last December, and I had all but forgotten to write about their cupcakes.  As a stroke of luck, just this afternoon, I found the above photo tucked away in my USB flash drive.  I guess that you can say that their Red Velvet Vixen (the cupcakes inside the left-hand box) is the most-loved cupcake by  the mag-ina, and as you can see they bought 4 pieces of this one as compared to the one-of-each-flavor cupcakes inside the right-hand box.  Cupcakes vary in price, ranging from P50 to P100.  Somehow, this Red Velvet Vixen cupcake by Sonja makes me think of Bridget Neilsen, swinging her sword around as Red Sonja...

Cafe Juanita

I had a business lunch at the Fort today, and my partners chose Cafe Juanita at the Burgos Circle.  I've heard much about this restaurant from Anita, Kong and Gwammy, and how the eclectic decor makes a great ambience for the well-loved Filipino favorites.  I wasn't disappointed--I felt like I entered an Asian Gypsy home, and my colleagues quickly ordered our lunch.

I was surprised that the menu had a lot of Thai and fusion cooking, but my friend told me that the Filipino dishes were simply the best.  We had shrimp sinigang for starters, then we went on to adobong pusit, singanglaw (fish wrapped in taro leaves, and cooked in coconut creme), and angel hair pasta with taba ng talangka (crab fat) sauce.  For desserts, we had sticky toffee cake and creme brulee, which was a welcome treat to calm down our palates which just experienced a gush of maddening taste overload!

Now I know why people visit the place on a regular basis (Gwammy's cousin and my Uncle Alex was a regular when we has still alive)--the food is simply delicious!  My colleague tells me that the food taste is the same, whether at the branch in Bonifacio Global City or at the original restaurant site in Capitolyo, Pasig.  All in all, we spent something like P650 per head, which was to me was money well spent!

Pepper Lunch

Went to get Monique's new glasses yesterday, and we had a late lunch at the Pepper Lunch, a Japanese DIY steakhouse, at the second floor of the Greenbelt 5 Mall.  The dishes are usually served with rice and vegetable sidings, and on a specially designed hot-plate that keeps the food warm for around 20 minutes.  I understand the hot plate is electromagnetically charged to heat up to 260 degrees Centigrade in just around one minute, and the food is plated and comes to your table in under 5 minutes.

Once you receive your order, you are supposed to mix and mix!  The cooking concept is Do-It-Yourself, as the heat of the plate cooks the meats as you mix the ingredients for your dish.  The most popular dishes are the beef rice toppings, which roughly come to P300, while the better steaks go for around P700.  For variety, the restaurant also has chicken, hamburger and salmon dishes, available in various popular styles (e.g. curry, teriyaki and teppanyaki).  The restaurant is pretty popular in Tokyo, and has branches all over Southeast Asia and China.

Monique and I had lots of fun mixing our food, and had to wait for the super heated spoonfuls to cool down a bit before we could get a bite.  In the meantime, Andi enjoyed her Beef Teriyaki.  The drawback?  Well, as in all other sizzling plate diners, you end up with clothes smelling like the grilled steak!  Fine by us, anyway...

Moshi-Koshi

Had to work out some bookings with Erica in Makati last Saturday morning, and as soon as our errands were done, we had a fast lunch at Moshi-Koshi Noodle Boss along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong.  Moshi, as most of you will know, means "Hello" in Japanese, while Koshi roughly corresponds to the Italian "Al Dente," describing the firm sensation of biting into properly cooked noodles.  The restaurant is only a few months old, but slowly gaining a following.  The interiors are bright, simple and relaxing.  I understand that both the owner and the head chef are Japanese, which probably explains why the taste of the noodles was very good.

The restaurant not only serves ramen, but also has choices for soba and udon.  Erica had miso ramen, while I had a tempura soba (prices range from P150 to P300 per order).  The soups were very flavorful, and the noodles were exactly as advertised--thoroughly cooked, yet still firm and gooey to the bite.  The chef makes noodles onsite, and the cooking process includes temperature controlled boilers that monitor cooking time--this ensure that the noodles are the right texture each time you visit the store.

22 Prime

I had an impromptu business meeting last week in the Ortigas area, and the Discovery Suites along ADB Avenue came to mind as a venue.  We booked lunch at the 22 Prime steak restaurant of the hotel, located right within the Serendipity lounge at the 22nd floor.  I arrived a bit early, and had enough time to marvel at the view of the Asian Development Bank, SM Megamall and the Wack Wack golf course.  The restaurant was indeed a pleasant surprise for me--an elegant dining place, good for private meetings, tucked in the heart of the Ortigas Center.

The restaurant only serves prime beef, and has a soup & salad buffet for around P400.  Set menus were also reasonably priced, and my Angus steak, with salad, wine and dessert came to P995, while the Surf and Turf combination was P1,600.  I must say that both food and service left a good impression on me.

Papa John's

After all that 3:00 pm ramen, our Happy Friday dinner came a bit late at around 9:30 pm, as soon as Monique & I had walked all around the Makati Commerical Center to generate appetite anew (we made our way past Landmark all the way to Glorietta 5 and back).  We found ourselves at Papa John's Pizza in Greenbelt 3, and since we had not yet tried their pizza, we decided to pop in for one family size all-meat pizza and some seafood spaghetti--

As in a lot of good pizza places, the restaurant has a glass partition so one can watch how the pizza is made.  As advertised, the pizza dough was noticeably fresh and delicious to the bite.  The toppings were flavorful and the pizza came in hot off the oven.  However, the spaghetti was good but wasn't exactly outstanding.  As we were still full, we had half of the pizza wrapped for take-home.  Our bill came to around P450 per head.

Upon our analysis, we realized that price was the competitive disadvantage of Papa John over the other pizza chains, as their family pizzas still hover at the P500+ price range.  For example, both Shakey's and Pizza Hut had promotional offers that will enable a customer to purchase a family size pizza for around P300 each.  Overall, though, the dining experience was a good one.

Kenji Tei

Monique and I spent another Happy Friday at the Greenbelt 5, and we started off with afternoon merienda at Kenji Tei on the 3rd Floor.  Except for a mother and daughter tandem, the place was empty when we got there, so we were lucky to have our snack served in a jiffy--

Our snack turned into a meal when we added gyoza and salmon sashimi; we were simply supposed to have a bowl each of noodles!  We chose a seafood ramen bowl and a pork miso ramen bowl--

On the one hand, the gyoza and salmon dishes were average; the soup broths on the other hand were quite tasty and flavorful.  We spent some P650 per head for our merienda, and now that I think about it, we may have gone overboard eating so much just for our afternoon snack!

Ju.D's

I've always pronounced this bakery's name as Judy's but if you look closely at the spelling, you may have second thoughts on how to pronounce it.  Ju.D's has been around for around for a decade or so, and last Christmas, Gwammy sent us a sampler of their different fruitcakes.  

I was a bit worried that although I had kept the sampler box in the refrigerator, it's already been a couple of months since December.  However, since the mini-fruitcakes were individually packaged, the sampler was still in good edible condition (fruitcakes are generally baked to last some period of time).  The sampler had four variations--the usual Christmas cake, prune cake, butter cake with fruit-glaze, and if I remember correctly, the fourth on was a walnut cake.  I would have wanted the cakes to carry a little more punching power though--and that means moistened with a tad more rum or brandy!