Boracay Trip

Kim and I went on vacation in Boracay last September. I don't know why but we haven't gotten around to sharing some of the good eats we had in the island. So we're doing that in this post. Nothing in depth, just a quick description of each dish and food spot we decided to show you (we're not posting everything, just the ones that caught our fancy).

We arrived at around lunch time and our room in Nigi Nigi Too in Station 1 wasn't ready yet because it was still early for check- in. Rather than wait to be checked in, we just left our bags with the front desk and walked over to Station 2 to grab lunch. We decided on eating at Titos (yes, Titos and not Tito's) which is just a few steps away from D'Mall.

 

We were really hungry since we had a very early breakfast. We usually take our time in scanning through the menu of every restaturant but this time we ordered the first menu items that caught our fancy.

Sugpo sa Aligue.

Kim likes shrimp, so she ordered this. This looked like a winner based on the menu's picture and description. Who wouldn't be excited for some good sized Tiger Prawns in crab fat? In reality, it only tasted okay. It seemed like it lacked a little something, like that finishing touch to make this a really great dish.

Adobo with Kesong Puti.

We ordered this because we love trying out new food. This is the first time we ever heard of kesong puti being added to adobo, so we were really excited to see how it would taste. The kesong puti added a subtle saltiness to the adobo and it also had  a nice soft texture that went well with the pork.

Boracay Rice.

This is their version of the fried rice. It is mixed with Chorizo and beautifully topped with scrambled egg. This can actually be a meal in itself since it was really packed with the chorizo.

The price in Titos is not for those looking for some cheap eats in Boracay but I think it's more than justified. The food is great (especially the presentation!) and the servers are attentive and friendly. They place is also very nice and relaxing.

   

Titos Resto and Grill

Station 2 Beachfront
https://www.facebook.com/Titos.RestoGrill

After lunch, we walked back to Nigi Nigi Too. They have some of the best staff we have ever met! Always very attentive to your needs, and always cheerful to greet you when you pass by them! Anyway, we checked in and settled into our room then changed clothes to hit the waters afterwards.

Thank God the weather cooperated and we had a sunny day at the beach! But since it was well into monsoon season, the waves were pretty gnarly out there. So after about an hour of battling it, we went back to the resort to enjoy a well deserved meryenda.

We shared a meal of Nigi Nigi's famous burger which is supposedly the best in the island.

The meal came with onion rings, potato wedges, 2 smalls watermelon slices, a drink (we got beer) and of course their burger! The burger was packed! I'd say it's a good 1/3 pount patty topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickles. The patty was really juicy and flavorful that there was really no need to add condiments to it.

We woke up next day to a very heart breakfast from the resort. It wasn't a buffet breakfast, but you can get anything from the menu provided it is worth 300php (per head). Anything in excess of that, you would need to pay. But almost all of the breakfast fare is under 300 so it really wasn't a problem ordering.

Kim ordered Tapsilog.

All of their breakfast meals came with unlimited eggs. Kim just ordered a scrambled egg to go with her meal. The tapa itself was just right. It was cooked well. The tapsilog also came with a drink -- Kim ordered iced tea.

I ordered the Longsilog.

I took advantage of the unlimited eggs and had 3 sunny side up with my meal. It was definitely a hefty meal to start the day with!

Nigi Nigi Too
Station 1 Beachfront
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nigi-Nigi-Too-Beach-Resort/106020676130897

After breakfast, we rode on ATV and walked up the Mt. Luho viewpoint which had a great view of the whole island. We also went around D'Mall and a few of the shops around it to check out if we can take home anything for our family.

For lunch, we went to Aria. I know there's already an Aria in BHS, but we just had to dine in the original one. We ordered the following to share:

Aglio Oglio

This simple oil based pasta always hits the right spot. I haven't had any bad experiences ordering this from any restaurant, maybe because it is so simple to make. Simple it maybe, but it's still a really good dish.

Costata di Manzo

This was a grilled ribeye steak, and came with a side of some veggies and potato wedges.We had it done medium well. It didn't seem like much when served, but it was really filling! Good thing I didn't order another meal since this was more than enough already.

Aria
D'Mall, Station 2 Beachfront
https://www.facebook.com/AriaBoracay

Of course no Boracay trip would be complete without eating those side street cart delicacies known as chori burger. Kim liked it so much that she had a couple of them just by hersefl! We also ordered some isaw, barbecue and tenga to go with it. Sarap!

Boracay might be known for their powder perfect beaches and clear waters, but this island also houses a lot of great restaurants and food joints. I'm everyone has their favorite when they go here, but each visit also entails the chance to try something new and different.

Jollibee Cheesy Bacon Mushroom Champ

October 19, 2013. Saturday.

Jollibee recently launched the Cheesy Bacon Mushroom Champ. This is in line with the soon to release in cinemas Thor 2: Dark World movie. Now, I don't think we've made a post featuring a fast food chain before. But this was just too good not to blog about.

*Again, we apologize for forgetting to take a picture of the signage. But hey, you know Jollibee's logo by heart! :D

I love the regular Champ. It has maintained its quality throughout the years and several price increases, which I can't say about its direct competitors from the other food chains. So how can you improve an already great burger to being with? Put it in a Thor themed packaging? Well that makes for novelty. But it's really simple. Just put melted cheese, bacon and mushroom in it!

Non-veggies would certainly love this incarnation of the Champ, as it maintains the same juicy 1/3 pound patty and replaces the lettuce and tomato with cheese sauce, bacon and mushroom! It's certainly not cheap for a burger from a local joint, as it's priced at 129php ala carte and 165php for a value meal, but who cares! It's a 1/3 pound patty, melted cheese, bacon and mushroom in one awesome package!

And keeping up with the Thor theme, every purchase of the Cheesy Bacon Mushroom Champ (ala carte or value meal) entitles you to buy Thor's Mjolnir for 95php! Mjo- what you say? It's Thor's hammer! It's not the real article, but instead a miniature that houses a 1G USB inside. A 1G USB is kind of obsolete today but for just 95php it's a good deal. And it does work, as my brother already used it to copy files.

I'm not sure if this will be a regular menu item or just a special burger for their Thor promotion. Better not wait and see! Get to the nearest Jollibee and try out the Cheesy Bacon Mushroom Champ for yourself!

Boon Tong Kee

October 5, 2013. Saturday.

We visited the newly opened UP Town Center in Katipunan recently. The place was packed since it's fairly new and has different restaurants, which most are making its mark in Quezon City for the first time. We were there at around 8:30 PM to get some late dinner with my family. Almost all establishments still had waiting lines. We settled for the restaurant with the shortest queue which was Boon Tong Kee.

*We apologize for forgetting to take a picture of the signage. We were very hungry then. :( 

Boon Tong Kee is a Singaporean export that specializes in -- you guessed it right, Hainanese Chicken. It has branches in Power Plant Mall, Mall of Asia and Tomas Morato. The UP Town branch was small, but it didn't feel cramped. But the small space could have played a part in the very poor acoustics of the place. And considering it was dinner time, they were undermanned. The waiters were courteous enough, though. They were still on soft opening so maybe they can still improve on the service and acoustics. More staff during peak hours and some acoustimats behind the wall perhaps?

We ordered the following:

Boiled Seaweed Soup with Bean curd. 195php.

This actually tasted better than it looked, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. The cloudy broth wasn't really all that special, but taken in together with the meat, seaweed and bean curd, it created a great mix of subtle flavors and textures in one's mouth.

Signature Boiled Chicken (Whole). 845php.

Almost everyone I know likes Hainanese Chicken which really puzzles me since I've always found it bland and tasteless. And this meal was no different, everyone in the table raved about the chicken while I still couldn't see what's so great about it (I still tasted it despite my aprehension about it). Since my family and Kim loved it, I'll take their word for it that it's a great dish. They loved putting copious amounts of the different condiments (crushed ginger, soy sauce, chili) at the table on it.

Crispy Roast Chicken (Half). 425php.

This is basically a roasted version of their Hainanese Chicken/ Signature Boiled Chicken, and it was ordered especially for me. LOL. Now this is more to my liking. I find this way more flavorful even without the crushed ginger, soy sauce and chili sauce.

Crispy Cereal Prawn (Large). 655php.

This certainly didn't look like anything we expected it to be. It actually resembled the floss breads from Break Talk and similar establishments. Despite how it looked, it actually tasted great and didn't feel oily at all despite it being obviously deep fried. The cereal outer was crispy and the prawn inside was moist enough.

Coffee Pork Ribs. 295php.

The Ribs had a nice aroma to it when it was served. You can certainly smell and taste the coffee in it. It was more sweet rather than being bitter which is how coffee more often tastes like. There weren't really a whole lot of meat on it since it was ribs, but it was flavorful.

Fish Fillet in Soya Bean Paste. 445php.

This really didn't stand out over any other fish fillets we've had before, but it was still cooked nicely and tasted good.

The food were a little pricey but considering we don't have a whole lot of Hainanese Chicken restaurants around, I'd say it's justified. The location of Boon Tong Kee, and UP Town Center as a whole, would certainly guarantee more than enough diners on any day of the week so it's best to arrive early or late during peak eating hours. We'll certainly consider eating here again, but probably after trying out the other different restaurants inside UP Town Center first.

Boon Tong Kee
2nd Floor, UP Town Center,
Katipunan Ave., Quezon City
https://www.facebook.com/BoonTongKeePH
http://www.boontongkee.com.sg/

Shawarma Guys

September 21. Saturday.

Kim and I love our shawarma and kebabs, so when an opportunity comes up to try a new shawarma spot we don't pass on it. We were in The Fort Strip with our good friend JT to watch a late show and it just so happened that Shawarma Guys was located there. Since we haven't had dinner yet, we decided to dine there.

We've read good reviews about it online and have always kept a mental note to try it out. But I'll warn you now, this has got to be one of the worst dining experiences we've had. From the food to the service, everything was just bad. First the wait staff was really slow and inattentive. Considering there was only our group and another group dining, then they should really be efficient and attentive but that just wasn't the case. The waiter took his sweet time to get to us to take our orders, but was such in a hurry to clean up that I haven't even finished my food yet and he was already going to take my plate out. Yes, he asked if I was done already, but only AFTER he has lifted my plate off the table. Disgusting behavior. On any other occasion, I would've smacked the living hell out of him but I tried to keep my cool since we still had a long night ahead.

Then the food. It was burnt and overcooked. And for the price of the meals, really just a quarter of a teaspoon of butter? I was just really hungry to complain and the staff really didn't seem to pay attention as they just chattered about themselves.

Kim ordered the Lamb Kebab.

Lamb Kebab. 250php.

The lamb was tough and chewy. It was burnt, and the sweet taste of the sauce and lamb itself really made for an unappetizing meal.

JT and I got the Beef Kebab.

Beef Kebab. 190php.

Compare the picture from their menu and Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=220035614837860&set=a.125795090928580.24173.125513780956711&type=1&relevant_count=1
And take a look at what we had. Just disappointing. The kebabs were very dry and tasteless (except for the burnt taste).

I also ordered a Beef Shawarma.

Beef Shawarma. 150php.

Kanto shawarma stalls serve better shawarma than this! Bigger and meatier at half the price, too.

Considering Shawarma Guys is from the same group behind URBN and Relik, this was really disappointing. Maybe it was just a bad night for everyone in their staff, but after dining I saw three of their kitchen staff just lounging outside and smoking looking relaxed. So maybe they really don't care about the service. To anyone looking for their shawarma and kebab fix, I'll just tell you to consider other joints. You'll be better off spending your money on Mister Kebab, Uncle Moes, or even Tri Mo Shawarma Co.

*We forgot to ask for the waiter to get a photo of us, maybe because we were so hungry then or we were so dismayed.

Shawarma Guys
G/F The Fort Strip
BGC, Taguig City
https://www.facebook.com/ShawarmaGuys

Gaucho

September 9, 2013.


It's our blog's 1st anniversary and we decided to celebrate by trying out a new restaurant! (As if that's totally new to us.) Anyway, we ate at Gaucho Cocina Y Vinos Argentinos at Robinson's Magnolia. It was only through blog hopping that we came to know about this place, which was odd since we always frequent Robinson's Magnolia. Gaucho is located at the third floor of the al fresco area of the mall.

Gaucho is an Argentinian restaurant. Although we have already tried Argentinian/ South American cooking before in Cocina Juan, we were still quite excited to eat at Gaucho upon reading the positive reviews. Kim was personally excited to the baby lamb they serve and I was just excited to eat, haha.

We haven't been to any authentic Argentinian restaurants before, so we can't expertly say that the interiors were proper for the theme. The checkerboard floors, pastel colored walls, and stuffed animal heads hanging around the dining area all together made the ambiance interesting but remains cozy. 

 

The place is actually bigger than it looks outside since it has 2 floors and a very spacious round dining area, which we found out that is transforms into some sort of a dance floor every Tuesday for their Tuesday Milongas where everyone is free to tango. The main attraction for everyone though is the glass enclosed fire pit! Everyone is free to see and watch different meats/ animals get roasted. (Pardon for the vegetarians.)

For started we ordered the Chorze de Cerdo.

 

The chorize was roasted in olive oil and garlic. It was very aromatic, and tasted good. But there were parts of it that tasted a little burnt. Another thing is this was really very oily, and this is coming from a very unhealthy eater.

Kim was excited for her lamb, but to her disappointment they only start serving it at 7PM during weekdays (wholedays during weekends). We got there an hour early for dinner since we were really hungry. Kim had to settle for a different dish. In place of the lamb, we ordered the Falda a la Cruz.

Falda a la Cruz. 550php.

The Falda a la Cruz is US Beef Shortplate. This is from the El Pozo De Fuego (Slow Roasted from the Fire Pit) part of their menu, just like the lamb Kim was looking forward to. Everything from that part of the menu came with chimichurri sauce, organic pickles and unlimited steamed or garlic rice that can be shared. The beef was juicy and just had the right amount of fat on it, considering shortplate is usually a little tough and very fatty since it comes from the belly. The chimichurri was a great partner to the beef, as is always the case with grilled meats.

We also ordered Pollo Asado.

Pollo Asado. 360php

The Pollo Asada is a roasted half chicken. It's roasted in a coal brick oven, with just olive oil, lemon and garlic. It came in a clay pot and was swimming in some of its juices. This has got to be the most tender chicken we have ever had-- the meat can literally be taken of the bone! We tried putting chimichurri sauce on it also, and it works!

We'll surely try to come back here to get a taste of the roasted baby lamb they have. And I'm sure there's more to the menu that we would love to try including some of their desserts! Hmm, maybe we'll try to drop by on a Tuesday and see how people tango.

Gaucho Cocina Y Vinos Argentinos

3rd Floor Al Fresco, Robinson's Magnolia,

Quezon City

(02) 654 3184

https://www.facebook.com/gauchomanila

KKK Pinoy Food Revolution

September 7, 2013. Saturday.

It was a gloomy and drizzling Saturday and we were already both very hungry. So we decided that we would eat at the first restaurant we see that agree on. We passed by a handful of different restaurants, but nothing caught both our fancy. Thankfully, we came across KKK Pinoy Food Revolution and immediately agreed to try it out.

KKK Pinoy Food Revolution serves traditional Filipino fare in non traditional ways, thus the name. Not quite fusion food, but more of Pinoy food with a twist. The restaurant's interiors is of course Filipino themed, with the use of local materials seen all throughout. The servers are dressed in traditional Filipiniana, making you feel really at home. And there's even half a jeep displayed in front!

 

 

We ordered the following dishes to share.

Ilokanong Bagnet. 290php.

I don't get why there is a need to label their bagnet as being Ilokano, since it is a dish already known by most as being Ilokano. Little puzzled look on my face aside, this was fried to crisp and oily perfection! The KBL (kamatis, bagoong, lasona) was the perfect partner for this, as it tempered the fatty richness (and goodness!) of the bagnet. Take a piece of the bagnet, couple it the KBL and hot steaming rice -- mmm, this is what dinner dreams are made of!

Kare- Kareng Baka. 380 php.

It might not have looked much when it was served, but the serving size of this one was surprisingly big! I'd say it would even be enough to be shared by 3- 4 people. They were generous in the amount of beef in it, and the vegetables too. The beef was tender and the veggies still had the right crunch to them (as there were some that were separated and not put directly in the pot).

For drinks, I had their Calamansi Juice while Kim had Sagot' Gulaman.

Calamansi Juice. 75 php; Sagot' Gulaman. 45 php.

So we went a little safe and ordered two very traditional dishes that any good resto can't possibly mess up, but we don't regret it one bit. Both were cooked excellently. The service in KKK was great; the waiters were attentive and courteous. The food is also priced just right, because the servings were generous enough. We will definitely be back to try some of the other dishes that take a spin on our local faves.

KKK Pinoy Food Revolution
G/F Annex, SM Fairview,
Qurino Avenue, Greater Lagro,
Quezon City
(02) 351-6131

Ally's All Day Breakfast Place

September 6, 2013. Friday.

We love dining in familiar places. Another thing we also love is having breakfast food during anytime of the day. So it was a win- win when we discovered Ally's All Day Breakfast Place in Malingap Street, which is near Maginhawa (it actually intersects it at one point).

Ally's serves breakfast food all day (duh), ranging from rice meals to pancakes to waffles. It's location is perfect because while there are a lot of foodie places in the Maginhawa area, there's really no dedicated breakfast place there aside from the usual tapsihans. It's a little small, but it's interiors are bright and well lit. We loved the orange and yellow motif, and the tile- topped tables. It's quaint but charming.

Kim ordered the Adobo Flakes

Adobo Flakes. 130php.

The adobo flakes, which was copious, came with an egg, rice and a side of tomato and bell pepper. The flakes were a little dry but still tasty enough. The combination of tomato and bell pepper was a little weird, though. We think it would've been better if it was just a little tomato cut in half instead.

I got the La La Longanisa.

La La Longanisa. 350php.

I usually order tapsilog at breakfast places but since I always end up disappointed if it's not Rodic's. I tried to avoid it this time. The La La Longanisa is from the Big Breakfast Attack part of their menu, which is enough to be shared by two. But since I can eat for two (most of the time), I ordered this for my own. This was sort of like a longanisa platter as it came with 2 pieces each of Vigan, Lucban and Cabanatuan longganisa, and 3 pieces of Alaminos longganisa. That's a grand total of 9 pieces of longganisa! Of course, it also had egg, rice and their weird side of tomato and bell pepper. It also came with bottomless iced tea. The different longganisa's each had their own distinguishing taste, but all of them shared one trait -- they were garlicky! I was still tasting and smelling the longganisa on my mouth a few hours after eating. This meal was great since it was big and really filling, but we think that the price is a little high for it even when shared by two.

For dessert, we had our own pancakes made.

Their menu has their Signature Pancakes on it but for those who want to make their own, you are free to do so. They'll just give you a small paper to tick whatever ingredients you want to put on your own creation. We opted for a chocolate batter, topped with blueberry and ice cream. Simple, but heavenly. The vanilla ice cream made for a nice contrast from the slight tartness of the blueberry, and it was heavenly as it melted from the warm, soft and pillowy chocolate pancakes. Oh, and you can name your pancakes too! We named our KiMiguel of course.

Despite being situated in an area filled with a lot of great restaurants, Ally's manages to differentiate itself from the pack*. The place, while small, is inviting and cozy. The staff is friendly and helpful. And the food selection is great, with option for customization as well. It's just like waking up to breakfast served at home.

*We ate here when it was still the only breakfast place in this area, but about a couple of weeks later π Breakfast and Pies from the Pino guys opened almost just across the street.

Ally's All Day Breakfast Places
50 Malingap St., Sikatuna
Quezon City
https://www.facebook.com/AllysAllDay