Momo Cafe

August 24, 2012. Friday.

We've practically eaten together at almost all restaurants inside Eastwood City, but we haven't been to Momo yet. Ironic since it's one of the most visible restaurants due to its location just beside the entrance. So last Friday, we decided to finally eat there.

The restaurant provides a homey ambiance -- or at least it aims to, with its personal home- like interiors.

Kim ordered the Old Fashioned Beer Battered Fish and Chips.

Fish and Chips. 395php.

The Fish and Chips is served with sweet pickled tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, malt vinegar and lemon, and corn on a cob. The first thing that comes to mind when it is served is how big it is for just one person to go through. The fish is covered in beer batter that is fried to a golden crisp then topped off with sweet tartar sauce. The fish itself is very moist and soft. The only downside to having a deep fried dish this big is that it tends to be very oily. And once it gets cold, the oil overwhelms your tastebuds. The chips taste like KFC's bucket of fries which we love.

I ordered Longganiza "333" Vigan, Lucban & Hamonado.

Longganiza "333." 220php.

I love breakfast food at anytime of the day, and upon seeing that they served breakfast meals all day long, I was ecstatic. Each meal is served with spring onion omelette, salted egg and tomato, garlic rice and achara. The meal I ordered which was the Longganiza "333" was a combination of different kinds of Longganiza, namely Vigan, Lucban, and Hamonado. The sweetness of the Hamonado provided a nice contrast to the garlic flavor of the Vigan and Lucban.

Overall, the food was reasonably priced for a restaurant like this. We would come back here just to try the desserts which were on display but not really for the other dishes.

Momo Eastwood

Eastwood Mall
Libis, Quezon City

+632 900 1006 or 1007

reservations@eatmomo.com

11:00am to 11:00pm, 7 days a week

The Chocolate Kiss Cafe

August 21, 2012. Tuesday.

When we're in UP Diliman, we usually eat at Rodic's. But since I wasn't really in the mood for Rodic's tapsilog and we wanted to try something new for the blog, we went to The Chocolate Kiss Cafe inside Bahay ng Alumni. We both have been to Choc Kiss before, but not together as a couple.

Choc Kiss is known for their desserts (cakes mostly) and iced tea. It first started out on the 2nd floor of the Bahay ng Alumni near the UP track oval. It has since expanded to another space downstairs for early diners wanting to get coffee and breakfast.

We ate at the one located on the ground floor. It hasn't really changed that much since my college days, a good 5-9 years ago. 'Di ako Isko pero maraming tropa na taga dito eh, kaya madalas rin tambay ng Diliman dati :)

We ordered Chicken Quesadilla as our appetizer

Chicken Quesadilla. 225php.

This is actually very, very filling even when it's shared by two. The flour tortillas are really heavy, plus add in the chicken, bell peppers, cheese and onions and this could have been one's main entree. But those are my only qualms about this dish, since it really tasted good. The tortilla was really crispy, and the chicken tender inside. One tip: eat this while it's hot, you wouldn't want the cheese to build up on you. And as usual, Kim had to pick out the bell peppers and onions.

Kim ordered Beef Salpicao.

Beef Salpicao. 295php.

295 might seem to be a bit steep to shell out for just one single serve dish, but this one was really worth it. This was, in Kim's words, "the best beef salpicao." This is part of the house specialties, and it really deserves its place there. The beef strips were really tender and the smell/ taste of garlic was really appetizing. And as you can see on the picture, there was a good amount of oil on the plate. Any dish that has just the right oilinessto it, has got to be good.

I ordered Tapsilog..

Beef Tapa. 185php.

I know, I know we went to Choc Kiss since I didn't want to get tapsi from Rodic's. But the weird kid in me just had to order tapsilog. There's something about breakfast food (not just tapsi), that I want to eat it at any time of the day. I was kinda disappointed with my order, though. Don't get me wrong, the tapa was good, but it still pales in comparison to the one from Rodic's. I really should have known better that I was setting myself up for disappointment with this order, because I will be comparing it with Rodic's no matter what.

And of course you have to order the house blend iced tea when you dine here.

Iced Tea (Bottomless) 70php.

I also got a cup PLATE of extra rice. Look at how effin' huge that thing is!

Extra rice. 35php.

Too bad we didn’t have much room for desserts because of the “plate” of rice and the overfilled quesadilla. Well, it’s a reason to come back and at least now we know how to pace our eating here.

Choc Kiss hasn't really deviated that much from what made them successful. As the saying goes, why fix something when it's not broken? This old Diliman favorite still provides quality food and service as it did before. So, if you have money to spare and willing to spend a little extra, you can't go wrong with Choc Kiss.

The Chocolate Kiss Cafe

Ang Bahay ng Alumni,

R. Magsaysay Street, UP Diliman Campus,

1101 Quezon City, Philippines

G/F: 921-8663/ 921-8659
2/F: 332-3502

Open everyday, 7AM to 10PM

http://thechocolatekiss.com/index.html

https://www.facebook.com/thechocolatekiss

Crazy Katsu

Special Note: For this blog entry, KiMiguel are joined by Migs' friends Brent, JT, and Joseph as they were out hunting folding bikes in Makati :)

August 19, 2012. Sunday.

We were in Makati getting a couple of folding bikes and parts, and it was already past 12 noon! We couldn't decide where to eat in Makati so the best and most logical thing to do is.. to travel to Concepcion, Marikina to have late lunch. That's how crazy we are. At around a little past 1PM, we finally made it to our destination which is Crazy Katsu.

Photo from chadsenga.com, since we didn't take a pic of the signage :|

Yes, there is a Crazy Katsu in Maginhawa Street in Teacher's Village. And yes, this is the same Crazy Katsu.

Crazy Katsu is a simple Japanese restaurant with a one pager for a menu. Its interiors are very minimalist, from the walls, to the tables and chairs. But I like it. It has a very zen- feel to it. It is owned by Shinji Tanaka (the drummer of local indie band, Gaijin), so CD's of some indie artists are available for sale on the counter. And don't be surprised to see some local musicians pop up from time to time. We saw Raimund Marasigan during our visit, 'di lang kami nakapagpapicture, tagal niya kumain eh, haha. Now on to our orders!

Joseph and JT ordered the Katsu Curry.

Katsu Curry. 190php.

Joseph said it wasn't really that spicy, that's why he was pouring Japanese spice powder all over it. And that was their only comment on it.. 'not spicy enough.'

I ordered the Chicken Katsu, which the wait staff said is their best seller. Brent ordered this too.

Chicken Katsu. 145php. This comes with rice, too.

For the Chicken Katsu, you can have it sweet or spicy or a combination of both, sweet- spicy. We had it made in sweet- spicy. The chicken was really tender and it was fried just right. I love spicy food, but I found the dish to be swimming in too much red chili's that it sometimes overwhelmed the taste of the chicken. If it's any consolation, it's served on top of shredded lettuce to temper the sweetness or spiciness of the dish.

Kim played it safe and ordered Katsudon.

Katsudon. 150php. Photo from spot.ph.

Katsudon is one of those dishes you order when you really have not preference,. It's a dish you order when you just want a sure-fire good meal. I haven't really come across a bad Katsudon, and this one was no exception. The pork cutlets were tender, the rice moist enough, the egg runny enough and the glaze (soy sauce, mirin, sugar, etc.) sweet enough.

We also got 4 orders of Gyoza, one each for the guys and one for KiMiguel.

Gyoza. 120php.

For the longest time, I've wanted to try Crazy Katsu because of all the good reviews. I must admit, the experience is a little underwhelming. While the food was good, there's really nothing special and different about it. On some days, good food is more than enough to fill an empty stomach. But if you came a long way just to try something new, you expect something more than good enough. With that said, Crazy Katsu serves good food for good prices. I just don't think we'd be coming back here except if it's the most convenient place available to eat at.

Crazy Katsu
#48 Lilac St. Hacienda Heights,
Concepcion Ⅱ, Marikina City
https://www.facebook.com/crazykatsu
http://www.crazykatsu.com/

T.G.I. Friday's

August 18, 2012. Saturday.

To celebrate the last day of Kim's airbrush makeup class, we went to BHS to eat at TGI Friday's.

For starters, we ordered Fried Mozarella.

Fried Mozzarella. 315php.

This is best eaten as soon as the plate hits your table. Grab a piece even while it's very hot, dip it generously in the Marinara sauce, then take a bite. Forget about your burnt tongue. You'll thank me later. This might seem expensive for an appetizer, but then again mozzarella ain't cheap.

Kim got Jack Daniels Triple Treat Barrel Chicken, Chop & Shrimp.

Jack Daniels . php.

The set included porkchops, quarter chicken, and shrimps. All cooked/ glazed in Jack Daniel's sauce. Kim's regular order at TGIF is something similar to this, just without the porkchop. She said she loved how crispy the shrimp was, and how the Jack Daniel's dipping sauce complemented it with its sweetness. The chicken and porkchop was just okay. It was tender and juicy but the signature sauce was too sweet or weird for it.

I got Friday's Cheesburger for myself.

Friday's Cheesburger. 375php.

The patty was cooked medium rare. I should have asked for it to be medium- well. But even with that, the burger was great! I love burgers and Friday's has never disappointed me with theirs from all my visits here.

We each had a bottle of San Mig Light.

SMB Light. 85php.

Dining at Friday's isn't cheap. But the ambiance -- American diner/ steakhouse full of Americana, and the quality of food more than makes up for the dent in the wallet.

T.G.I. Friday's
Quadrant B3, Bonifacio High Street Taguig City
Contact No - 8562996 | Fax No - 8562997
http://fridays.com.ph/
https://www.facebook.com/welovefridays

Johnny's The Fried of Marikina

More often than not, we usually spend more than we intend to when dining out. And it seems like 400++php per head is becoming the norm for us. So, it's really a good feeling when we go dining at somewhere where we don't have to break the bank. And lately, our favorite place to go to for that is Johnny's The Fried of Marikina. We haven't been to any of the original Johnny's branches in Marikina, but we frequent the one in Cybermall in Eastwood City.

In Johnny's, our 400php would be more than enough to feed both our heavy appetites plus another person. But that isn't a problem, since we always usually eat for 3. So, read through as we spend our regular Thursdate in Johnny's.

I'm still a little confused as to what kind of resto Johnny's really is. It says in their history, that they are a Chinese restaurant. I guess if you browse through their menu you could see some traces of Chinese food. But then most of the dishes are Pinoy staples.. and then there's tempura. O_O But yeah, as long as the food is good and it gives you good value for your money, who cares?

Everytime we eat here, we order the Lumpiang Shanghai (sharing for 2).

Lumpiang Shanghai (for sharing). 98php.

I got introduced to Johnny's becuase of the lumpiang shanghai. Kim said they have very good lumpia here, so we tried it once. And then I was hooked. I love lumpia especially when it's crispy and has a good sauce to match it.

We also got a quarter of Fried Chicken.

Quarter fried chicken. 84php.

This has got to be my one of my favorite deep fried chicken (without breading). It's fried to perfection each and every time we eat here. The skin is crispy, the meat tender and juicy. And it has just the right amount of oiliness to it. You might say that Max's has perfect deep fried chicken too, but on more than one occasion Max's has disappointed me with the chicken being too dry. But so far at Johnny's, the chicken has always been perfect. And then partner this with banana ketchup... game over.

And Kim wanted something soft.. so she got Tempura. I don't know when Tempura started to be soft, but that was her "soft" craving for the day.

Tempura. 138php.

The Tempura wasn't really that great. It tasted like it supposed to but it was nothing special. Plus you have to go through about half of the thing before you get any shrimp at all. But I think at 138php, 5 pieces of shrimp isn't bad at all.

All in all, we paid 430php for that spread. That's why we'll always come back to Johnny's again and again. It's just a wise thing to do!

Johnny's The Fried of Marikina
3rd Floor Eastwood Cybermall

Sunrise Buckets

Kim and I were looking for a new place to have late dinner in last Saturday. At first I was leaning towards going to Citizen Pub and Burger Bar in City Golf, but it was a Saturday and I really wasn't in the mood for crowds. Then I remembered there was a Sunrise Buckets inside the The Grove by Rockwell. So, after picking her up from her airbrush class in Ortigas, we went straight there.

Being a chicken wings fan, I've wanted to try Sunrise Buckets for the longest time. But Buffalo Wings N' Things was just more conveniently located, so we always went there for our wings fix (and by always, I mean more like weekly!). It wasn't until recently that I found out that there was a new Sunrise Buckets conveniently located in The Grove!

The place was hip and cool to say the least. I love Americana or any memorabilia that's about the US, so needless to say I loved the place with all the organized clutter lying around.

The wall beside the main counter.

The wall adjacent to the restroom.

This corkboard full of personalized post- its was in our booth :)

While this one was in the restroom.

Despite the "high-end" feel of the place, self service is king here. You have to line up to order. You have to get your own plates, utensils, plastic gloves (para sa maselan ), etc.

Sunrise Buckets has the most number of wings sauce to choose from than any other wings place I've been to. They have 3 groups of sauces, one for the Pinoy taste, one for that classic American wings flavor, and one that has the unique/ crazy flavors. Each sauce group in the menu vary in price per pound. To play it safe on our first visit, we opted to get the standard buffalo wings sauce. We settled for the Mild Real American Buffalo Wings... all 2 and a half pounds of it!

Surprise.. they serve the wings in a bucket!

2 1/2 lbs of Mild Real American Buffalo Wings. 655php.

It tasted good, it had the right blend of being tangy and spicy. The wings were also generously covered in the sauce, which for me really makes or breaks the hot wings experience. Eating wings should be messy! I actually expected it to be hotter (spicier) than it was, but I guess I was used to BWNT for the longest time that I hold their hot wings as benchmark. Maybe next time we'll try the spicier sauces.

I don't usually get rice with my wings, but Kim does. It was really late for dinner and she was really hungry. They had 3 (or was it 4) kinds of rice to choose from, but settled for the plain, steamed rice for 50php since we were both cheapskates.

We also got Boracay Grilled Hotdog.

Boracay Grilled Hotdog. 60php.

It has a sweet and spicy taste at the same time. Despite the simpleness of it, I liked it. If you've been in Boracay, you know that carts selling this (plus chorizo's, and your other usual kanto bbq fare) are at every corner.

And to wash the food down, we had a couple of Sunrise Iced Tea.

Sunrise Iced Tea. 75 php each with 1 refill.

The iced tea has a weird taste to it. I'm not saying it's bad, but it's different than most house blend iced teas I've tasted. Parang may pait sa dulo. And for an extra 20php you could get one refill for it, which isn't bad at all.

Service was a little slow, and they seemed to be undermanned for a Saturday night crowd. I later found out that some of the crew didn't report to work because of the recent flooding in Pasig and all over the metro.

So, will we be coming back here? Probably. BWNT is still the go-to wings place for me, but if you want a nice alternative in the same area, Sunrise Buckets is more than capable enough to cover your wings fix. You'll probably end up having to spend more but the difference in ambiance, and overall location is a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of BWNT's location in Home Depot.

Sunrise Buckets
The Grove by Rockwell, C5, Libis, Pasig City
(across Tiendesitas & SM Hypermart)

Reservations 0917-5949044
https://www.facebook.com/sunrise.buckets
http://www.sunrisebuckets.com/