Bulgogi Brothers

These food groups have a knack for finding good niche markets.  Take the Bistro group, which has Italianni's and TGIF under its belt--they've launched an restaurant called Bulgogi Brothers, which I understand is a Korean franchise.  Located at what used to be a seafood restaurant in Greenbelt 5, the modern interiors carry some touches of the traditional Korean in the paintings that adorn the entrance wall.  I immediately felt at home as I walked in, and gave a chuckle to myself seeing lots of stainless steel tableware--chopsticks, plates, rice bowls, pitchers.  I love good stainless steel tableware, which i think make for better day-to-day use than silverware (naturally this always tastes funny with calamansi or vinegar).

Seeing that Andi was with us, the staff gave her a special plate of her favorite TV character, Strawberry Shortcake!  Just a coincidence or what?  I guess they serve a lot of kids, and this probably makes the eating more fun.  The meal starts off with lots of appetizers--

Traditional Kim Chi

Vicky love the camote, soft and sweet, while Andi and Monique had the quail eggs!

We had both beef bulgogi and pork bulgogi, just to taste the difference.  The beef broth was quite satisfying, the pork dish was slightly spicy and carried a lot of oomph!  These are cooked by the staff right in front of you, so be prepared to savor the aroma of the dishes!  I was bit cautious about the spice level of the food though, and I had to take the spicy sauces in tiny portions, lest I get tongue-burn.  The kids didn't seem to mind, though.

Beef, thinly sliced, very tender...

Pork, as delivered, right before cooking...

The mando (fried dumplings similar to the Japanese gyoza) was quite crunchy on the outside, and had tasty morsels of pork as filling.  I especially enjoyed the sauteed seafood that was served at the center of the mando display.  Chap-chae (glass noodles) was similarly tasty but I thought the serving portion was a bit small (I didn't get to have a second serving).   The beef stew was definitely the big hit of the lunch--Andi and Monique enjoyed this immensely.  I probably over ordered, as I was already bloated trying to finish the noodles, and we couldn't finish the bibimbop at all.

Mando dumplings

Chap Chae noodles, yummy but was gone in 60 seconds

A1 Beef Stew which Andi wolfed down!

Bibimbop, not the traditional dish of leftovers...

Noodles were firm and tasty, and the seaweed roll gave a lot of flavor

Our meal came to around P800 per head, but we were quite stuffed.  It seemed to me that the place was 70% full, and for a Saturday lunch, that wasn't bad at all. I wonder if lines would form for Saturday nights and Sunday lunches... Probably!

Chicago Popcorn Shop

My colleague brought a bag of caramelized popcorn from the Chicago Popcorn Shop over at SM Mall of Asia.  I like this munchie, not that sweet, surprisingly.  It's a crunchy munchie, nice as an all-day snack, and tastes even better with almonds!  I love the copper tin packaging (I understand that one sells for around P200) and the simple but elegant brand inscription.  Oh no... I'm gaining weight!

Bugong

Bugong's Roasted Chicken is one of my favorite hole-in-the-wall eating places in Makati.  Located along the ground floor of the Valero carpark, this store opened a few years ago, and quickly gained my patronage for fast and tasty roasted chicken.  The quarter chicken with rice combo which I had for lunch today costs only P77, truly worth the price as the chicken is packed with lots of flavor--hot, tender, well-timed roast that keeps the juices inside. Most people queue for take-outs, but I always take a seat at those four aluminum chairs shown above.  Even without air-conditioning, I still enjoy the street-side ambiance and the delightful aroma of roasted chicken! 

The store also has fried chicken and other chicken styles like teriyaki, but these don't interest me as much as the roasted chicken.  If I remember correctly, the regular chicken size goes for P230 while the jumbo chicken goes for P290.  When I buy whole chicken, however, I don't have it chopped, as the juices run out; I prefer to chop the chicken on the table.  The whole chicken makes for nicer presentation too!

Nanos

I was in SM Manila over the weekend, and came across this new pizza place called Nanos at the basement level.  The interiors were warm and inviting--I liked the brick lined wall and the wicker tables.  I understand that this is the only store that the brand has, but according to the lady, they probably will expand their outlets since the sales are quite good.

Their pizzas are quite large, with prices ranging from P550 for the basic cheese pizza, to P1,200 for their deep dish specialty called the Italiana (they have both white and red versions).

I chose the Italiana based on their recommendation.  The white cheese was quite flavorful, but my only regret was that this variation had pineapples, which to my mind made the pizza classify as a Hawaiian pizza.  Don't get me wrong, I like pineapples, but as a dessert, just not in my pizza!

I was slightly in a hurry, and wasn't able to find out more about the brand--where it was first established, is it homegrown?  I'll probably visit the place again, ask the girls a few questions and try the other flavors.

Sweet Inspirations

We went back to the main house to eat the cake that Erika had gifted her sister.  This was a nicely decorated Peach Walnut Torte (P675) from Sweet Inspirations, a bakeshop located along Katipunan Avenue (somewhere across from the Ateneo de Manila University).  The torte was cream filled, and the icing was decorated with a lot of meringue that Anita complained about it being too sweet.   I, however, thought that the peach flavor wasn't quite enough, since the peaches were merely the topping (I was expecting bits and pieces of peaches and walnuts inside the cake).  The kids?  No worries there--the torte was gone in 20 minutes....

F. I. S. H.

Martin & Michaela celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary, and invited the clan to Fiesta International Seafood Hub (F. I. S. H.) at the corner of Visayas and Congressional Avenues in Quezon City.  The restaurant is a cozy place, serving tasty Filipno food at popular prices.  While the main dining room is air-conditioned, they also have an open air veranda and garden tables at the back side.

We were lucky to get in early, before the place started to fill up.  Our food came in right after we munched some salad greens, and we enjoyed the wide variety of favorites that was prepared:

Salad greens and pomelo, which I think was Thai-inspired

Salad greens, round 2--truly Pinoy style, with lechon kawali and salted eggs

Salmon sashimi for starters

Hot Beef Bulalo with a twist of yellow corn sweetness

Lechon Kawali was good, but I wished the skin were crispier

Crispy fried tilapia, with the traditional soy-sauce dip

This was a good find, something new for me--catfish sisig!

Pancit Habhab!  The shrimps provide lots of flavor

This stuffed squid was the night's top-notcher for me--succulent and full of flavor!

Steamed Maya Maya

Fried Chicken never fails to elicit smiles from the kids

For dessert, there was a wonderful variety to choose from, and the kids enjoyed the creamy goodness of home-style leche flan and other traditional panghimagas...  My guess is that the meal came to around P600 per head, and that was quite a feast!

I haven't been around the Visayas Avenue area for some time now, and I was quite amazed that the night life in the area was thriving--both sides of the road from the Quezon Memorial Rotunda was packed with eating places of all sorts.  Looks like this is another place that I'll be spending some more time to explore!

EDSA Shangrila

This 5-star hotel in the Ortigas area is most memorable as the place where we celebrated the 50th Wedding Anniversary of Kong Kong and Gwammy in 2010.  Time flies so fast, and when I visited the place yesterday for a business meeting, I just realized that two years have come and gone since that occasion, and it's been a little bit more than a year since I started this blog, which has been a wonderful de-stress activity, much to my delight and happiness.

As we sat at the lobby lounge, I started the afternoon merienda with refreshing ginger & herb tea, which cooled me down considerably!   My adobo sandwich came in soon enough, this was alright, but I must say, that this didn't really have the wow factor.  I liked the banana chips though, as an alternative to the usual potato chips that come with burgers.

Unlike its ornate sibling in Makati, the hotel interiors are simpler, and the ambiance has a laid back feel to it, probably because it was conceptualized as a mini-resort situated in the middle of the concrete jungle of Pasig's business district.  Amenities and services are top-notch, as expected from my esteemed friends and colleagues connected with the Shangrila chain.

Donna Summer

Whispering Waves


       By the shore of the sea searching for his memory
       Sifting sand through my hand weighing what he means to me
       In the early morning haze seagulls seem to cry my pain
       And the ocean feels it too sighs his name on whispering waves

       Wrote his name next to mine big and deep there in the sand
       Till the earth tends to flow and our names will be drowned
       All the birds sing harmonies to the top line of the breeze
       While the ocean breathes his name on whispering waves

       There's a bistro where we would dine each evening
       Candle light and California wine
       Love is holding hands across the table
       I still go past each night
       Look for his car outside

       At the foot of this cliff we spent days weaving our dreams
       Making plans building homes raising kids and coloring scenes
       Then one morning he was gone and our story reached an end
       But his words still linger on on whispering waves

       By the shore of the sea searching for his memory
       Sifting sand through my hand weighing what he means to me
       All the birds sing harmonies to the top line of the breeze
       While the ocean breathes his name on whispering waves

Donna Summer, 63, passed away from lung cancer yesterday.  The Ultimate Disco Queen gave me the ultimate bar, club & discotheque memories of Manila's night life in the seventies--Q, Stargazer, Cellar, Jungle Bar, El Camarote, 1571, On, and Where Else?  And yet for me, the most haunting memories are brought forth not by the boom-boom beats of her greatest hits, but by her most intimate ballad.

Your music lives on in my heart.  Farewell.

The Tofu Store

Vicky usually goes to the Tofu Store along J. Abad Santos St. in Little Baguio, San Juan, in order to buy freshly made tokwa, a bean curd cake that she cuts uip, fries and dips into an insanely addicting mix of soy sauce, sugar, crushed garlic and a little water.  This time, she came back with some Tofu Chips (in various flavors like cheese, BBQ and sour cream).  Now, compared to your off-the-shelf chicherya (junk food), this invention is packed with a lot of protein, and Monique just loves the taste.  I, however, have a mixed reaction--the crunch was just right, but why is it tinged with sweetness?  I don't know if that's inherent in the tofu, or if some sugar was added.  Anyway, the packs are less than P50 each--go ahead, try it and be the judge!

Don Benito's

Kakanin lovers, unite!  I don't know if cassava cake classifies as kakanin (Filipino sweet desserts), but I've always had a soft spot for this.  It's gooey, sticky, sweet and the grated cheese topping usually provides the counterpoint saltiness to the palate, and I simply love it!

I came across the Don Benito cassava cake shop along Sanchez St. in the Sta. Mesa area; the shop is located just across from the Lourdes Hospital.  12" x 12" cassava cakes are very reasonably priced at P180 and they even have flavored ones--macapuno (coconut sport), for example, for just a little bit more (P200).  Unlike the ones sold in most carinderia stalls, these cassava cakes are freshly made--so evident when you can feel the gooeyness in your mouth!

Costa Brava Cakes

Mother's Day is easily one of the most popular of the minor holidays, and the kids showed their affection by giving the bouquets pictured above--Lola, Vicky and Becca were tickled pink!  We celebrated the lunch with tempura from the Macapagal Highway stalls (3 kilos gone in 60 minutes!).

Dessert was topped by the delectable cakes of Costa Brava, a bakeshop located along Polaris St., in Bel-Air, Makati (party size for P1,200 each).  As you can very well see--I arrived a bit late to take the photos:

I took a little piece of the white cake, which had a lemony zing to it (you can see my piece right under the letters "pp").  The chiffon cake had even texture, but the white icing was a bit too sweet for me (then again, one can say that of most white icings).  The caramel cake was fluffy, and with its smooth filling, this one suited my taste buds very well.  I understand that one of their cakes was included in the list of the top 20 residential bakeshop cakes by the Philippine Inquirer, and now I can say, rightfully so!

Zark's

I normally don't rave much about restaurants, but this Zark's Burgers is a real find.  Located along Taft Avenue right across from the De La Salle Unviersity, this burger joint has been popular with the Lasallites since it opened around 4 years ago.  This afternoon, Monique and I, together with the Callars, rode home in a jeepney with our tummies full of their giant burgers!  Take a good look:

Miguelito got a different kind of burger--Deep Fried!  Of course, with BBQ sauce on the side...

Angela munched on the Shaq!  With crunchy onion rings and bacon on top...

Monique tried the Jackhammer--stuffed with melted cheese inside the patty!

Kenny had the Stone Cold Stunner--double bacon cheeseburger with caramelized onions

My choice? Zark's Ultimate Burger - with bacon and cheese toppings!

Why do I rave?  These giant burgers taste very good, and come at affordable prices ranging from P100 to P200 (with iced tea and french fries0, true value for money, I'd say.  Their two wildest creations?  The P250 Jawbreaker, which is a triple cheeseburger and the P500 Tombstone, which has patties weighing in at 2 pounds... Yes, 2 pounds....

If you finish the Jawbreaker in under 5 minutes, your picture gets posted on their Wall of Fame (the burger is free).  If you can finish the Tombstone in under 10 minutes, your picture gets posted on their Survivor Wall, and you get a Zark's T-shirt for free!  Do you think you can hack that?  I get dizzy just thinking about it... hehehe.....