Icebergs

June 8, 2013. Saturday.

One very rainy Saturday, we decided we wanted to have dinner in... Icebergs! Weird, right? While most people would look for places that serve some good hot soup during this weather, we ate in a place that is known for serving cold and refreshing treats. But we didn't go to Icebergs for their desserts, we went for their main meals.

Icebergs in Eastwood is relatively new. It is located on the 2nd floor of Citywalk 2, just right beside Reebok. It has 2 floors, but you can enter from either floors. But because it had 2 floors and the number of waiters were not enough, the service was a little slow -- both in them taking orders and serving the food.

Kim ordered the Pesto Penne with Grilled Shrimp.

Pesto Penne with Grilled Shrimp.

This was served late.. later than our other orders which were also served a good 20minutes after ordering. They bungled the order at first, serving Kim pasta with chicken instead of shrimp. The server then took the plate back, and replaced it a good 15minutes after. They got it right this time, it had grilled shrimp, but it was burnt. Kim was too hungry to care, but this wasn't a satisfying meal. The shrimp was burnt, the pasta was dry, and the pesto was too bland.

I ordered the Golden Lechon Kawali.

Golden Lechon Kawali.

The lechon kawali was served with steaming hot rice and sarsa, both perfect compliment to the deep fried golden goodness of the liempo.

And despite the weather, I just had to order their Halo- Halo.

Kim doesn't eat Halo- Halo, because she finds it weird that people want different flavors mixed in their dessert. I don't like sweets that much, but I can' resist getting a good cup of Halo- Halo whenever possible.

We might give Icebergs another try despite our experience with the slow service. It might just have been a bad day for them, but then again there were only a few diners around.

Icebergs

2nd Floor, Eastwood Citywalk 2,

Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City

Icebergs, Quezon City

02 4156778, 02 3528290

Pepper Lunch

Everyone might be familiar with Sizzling Pepper Steak but not everyone might be familiar with the franchise it copied from – Pepper Lunch. Pepper Lunch is a  Japanese original that has been around the Philippines for 5 years. It recently opened a new branch inside Eastwood Mall.

Pepper Lunch is famous for serving their meals on a hot plate/ pan. The customer then has to (finish) cooking the meal on the hot plate. It’s a novel idea that might not be for everyone. I, for example, tend to overcook one side and undercook the other. And since I paid good money for my food, I would want it cooked perfectly upon serving. Despite that, Kim and I still frequent Sizzling Pepper Steak because we like the food. So when Pepper Lunch opened a branch in Eastwood, we naturally had to give “the original” a try.

Pepper Lunch has a unique ordering system. You pick from their visual menu, line up and order. What’s unique with that, you ask? Well, you only get assigned a table after ordering. So don’t bother looking for an empty table to save before ordering.

Kim ordered the Teriyaki Beef Pepper Rice with Egg.

Teriyaki Beef Pepper Rice with Egg. 235php.

Kim likes that the teriyaki sauce came separately with the dish, so she had the chance to cook the beef to her liking. She liked that the beef was tender and seasoned well, and that the egg proved to be a nice complement to it.

I had the Beef Pepper Rice.

Beef Pepper Rice. 198php. +40 for upsize, +60 for a meal

 

First off, I had my Beef Pepper Rice as a meal, which came with a drink and mashed potato (you can choose also either the miso soup or ice cream. And I also had it upsized. My first impression when it was served was visually it looked really small as compared to Sizzling Pepper Steak’s serving. But it was very flavorful!

We also noticed that the beef didn’t burn that easily inside the pan as compared to Sizzling Pepper Steak. But since it was our first time there, we can’t definitively say that it was due to the pan or just sheer luck on our side.

Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Pepper Lunch. It’s not as expensive as we thought it would be compared to Sizzling Pepper Steak. We’ll surely come back and try their other meals.

Pepper Lunch

4th Floor, Eastwood Mall,
Eastwood City
http://www.pepperlunch.com.ph/index.html
https://www.facebook.com/pepperlunchphil

Club Tara (Surigao)

May 28-30, 2013.

Kim and I went to Surigao at the end of last month. We stayed at Club Tara, Bucas Grande Islands. It was this serene resort right on the edge of one of the islands. Aside from swimming, kayaking and island hopping, the other main activity in the resort is eating! Reservation for staying on the island already comes inclusive with full meals all throughout your stay. The meals were really nothing special and different, but they were good and the servings were more than enough.

Day 1 Lunch (with mango)

Day 1 Dinner

Day 2 Breakfast

Day 2 Lunch

Day 2 Dinner

Day 3 Breakfast

Club Tara
Bucas Grande Island, Socorro,
Surigao Del Norte

http://www.clubtara-surigao.com/ppc/?gclid=CKey5fOC8rcCFTF34godJAgAWA
https://www.facebook.com/clubtararesort

Stella

May 22, 2013. Wednesday.

It was Kim's birthday and she wanted to eat out somewhere we haven't tried before. After researching and reading up on the net, Kim decided she wanted to try Stella. We've always seen Stella whenever we eat in Cue or Nolita, but have never ever considered going through their doors. From the outside, you can already see that Stella (and Rocket Room, its sibling) looks more posh compared to the other restaurants around it. That in itself would have been a deterrent if it was me who was deciding, but it was Kim's day so she gets to decide. It's not that I don't like spending money on food (if you've read this blog for the past year then you'd know that's totally the opposite), it's just that I have an aversion to going to most upscale looking places.

Stella is under the Raintree Restaurants group. Included in Raintree's umbrella are Chelsea Market Cafe and Momo Cafe among others. So while the food might be priced a little high, at least you are sure to get quality food based the reputation of their restaurants.

We ordered the following:

Lamb Cochifrito. 295php.

This was actually from Rocket Room's menu but since they're under the same group, you can actually order from the other and vice versa. We felt that the lamb was a little overcooked since it was a little tough on the outside, but its taste more than made up for it. It had that herb-y aromatic taste going on without it being too overpowering.

Salt Baked Gindara Fish Fillet. 395php.

This is exactly what it says. It's Gindara baked in salt but we were so surprised when it was served. It came in a clay pot and from the looks of it. A generous amount of salt was used to envelop the fish then it formed a crust upon baking. They did a good job of presenting this with half the salt crust/ cover cut open and placed on the side. The presentation is awesome, but the taste so-so. The outer layer of the fish was salty, but the inside was bland.

 

 

 

Yellow Basmati Rice.

This smelled great and tasted even better. Couldn't resist pairing this up with the Lamb Cochifrito.

Wood Fired Roasted Sweet Pumpkin. 75php.

The Pumpkin was roasted nicely, giving it a nice toasted outside with a soft inside. The Ricotta on top of it added a little more sweetness.

 

Stella

Bonifacio High Street Central
http://raintreerestaurants.com/stella.html
https://www.facebook.com/stella.rocketroom