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

Red Buffalo Wings & Pizza

September 3, 2013. Tuesday.

By now everyone knows how much we love buffalo wings. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that we were eager to try Red Buffalo in Eastwood. We've spotted it being under construction a few months back and have been checking on when it would open.

It finally opened last month, and we finally had a chance to try it out. We tend to be very loyal to a certain name when it comes to food and it's not any different with buffalo wings. We're big fans of Buffalo Wings N' Things, so we try to temper our expectations when trying out other wings joints.

The interiors are very simple and urban. Almost all the walls are bare, and use of  metal is predominant all throughout. Their menu is very simple, and ordering from the counter is very easy. After ordering, you can choose to seat on the ground floor or upstairs. Each table has its own set of condiments which includes hot sauce, ketchup and parmesan. A box of disposable gloves are also provided for those who wouldn't want to get their hands dirty.

We ordered the following from their menu.

Double Wings 320php. (Original Buffalo - X-Hot and Parmesan Garlic)

A Single order of wings is 5 pieces and costs 165php. But since there's 2 of us, we just got the Double which is 10php cheaper and you can still get 2 different flavors for it. We chose to get X-Hot and Parmesan Garlic. The X-Hot is their extra hot version of the Original Buffalo flavor. It was the right combination of hot and tangy. The Parmesan Garlic on the other hand was really flavorful! It was coated with a rich and buttery sauce, with the slight saltiness of the Parmesan providing a nice contrast to it. It also had just the right amount of garlic to it. One thing we really loved with these was how well cooked the wings are. They are tender and moist inside, while still maintaining that crisp skin outside. I think these has got to be one of the better wings we have tasted lately.

Three Cheese & Garlic. 295php.

I love simple cheese pizzas, that's why we ordered this. I was expecting a cheese party in my mouth from every bite, with the mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan providing different flavors but it came out lacking in flavor. It was a little too plain, or maybe it's because we had a go with the wings first and those overpowered the pizza.

For drinks, Kim got their House Blend Iced Tea and I ordered a Rootbeer Float.

Kim found the Iced Tea a little to sweet for her liking. As for my Rootbeer Float I was pleasantly surprised that they use A&W for it, since I haven't seen those in a while.

They also serve other food aside from wings and pizza. They have some pasta, burgers and ribs. Majority of the items on their menu are actually great beer partners so naturally they serve beers too!

We finally found another great wings place! One that could be an alternative to our favored BWNT. Price is just right, and the wings are great. We just might drag the whole gang to their Greenhills Towncenter branch after an afteroon game at San Juan Arena.

Red Buffalo Wings & Pizza
G/F Eastwood Citywalk 1,
Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City
https://www.facebook.com/redbuffalowingspizza
http://www.redbuffalowingspizza.com/

Happy 1st Anniversary to KMEATSOUT!

Saboten + Cupcakes by Sonja

August 17, 2013. Saturday.

We have been looking forward to try Saboten since it opened its doors more than a couple of months back. We wanted to see how an authentic Japanese tonkatsu chain compared to Yabu, since we are unabashed fans of the local chain.

The interiors of Saboten has a very zen feel to it with Japanese artwork, stone paths and plants adorning the place. It looks very traditional compared to the hip vibe that Yabu exudes. I love that it is very will lit and very conducive for conversation.

Same with Yabu and other tonkatsu chains that have been opening up around the Metro, Saboten offers unlimited cabbage and rice with their meals and you get to mix in your own sauce! Wanting to sample a little bit of everything that they have, we opted to order their Special Sharing Set.

 

  

Special Sharing Set. 995php.

The Special Sharing Set is good for 2 persons and is filled with a nice combination of different items from their menu. It has 2 shrimps, a loin cutlet, 2 crab cream croquettes, and 2 rolled cutlets. For the rolled cutlets we chose cheese, but you can have asparagus or plum for it if you'd like.

Everything was prepared expertly. The shrimps were deep fried perfectly, with the outer a golden crisp while maintaining a nice moist inside. The loin which is the fattier cut of meat that they serve was a little chewy and tough. The crab cream croquette was a little too rich for Kim's liking since the cream was too overwhelming that it overpowered the crab. Our surprising favorite from the set was the rolled cheese cutlet! It was really flavorful. I really didn't expect it to go well with the tonkatsu sauce.

Overall, it was a very satisfying meal at Saboten. It's priced the same way Yabu is and you get expertly prepared food and efficient service with it. For those who want to try an authentic Japanese tonkatsu brand, you can't go wrong with Saboten. It didn't win us over from Yabu, but we also weren't disappointed with it. Some people might love one brand more than the other, but at the end of the day you can't go wrong with either.

 

Saboten
G/F Serendra,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
https://www.facebook.com/raintreesaboten
http://www.saboten.ph/

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After dinner, we had dessert at Cupcakes by Sonja. We got the Death by Chocolate and Strawberry Cheesecake.

Both cupcakes were a little expensive, but once you take a bite out of it then you'd understand why each cupcake was packed and filled, and were actually heavy for their size. It's unlike other cupcakes that are airy in the middle. Both were also very rich in flavor -- a sure hit for those with a sweet tooth!

Cupcakes by Sonja
G/F Serendra,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
https://www.facebook.com/CupcakesBySonjaOfficial