Portico, Serendra

Porticco 1771 is one old time fave. With so many new restos mushrooming left and right...highe end to low end....we may neglect the oldies but goodies.

A trip to it's branch at Serendra...let's just say hello and see how Portico today =) It has been so long that I don't vene remeber what I liked in the place! hahaha

So let's just have an espresso

a small cup with a glorious load of caffeine!

Tuyo Pasta

A nice pinoy pasta here! Tasted like a garlic-chili-anchovy in oliveoil pasta---a pinoy Contadina here. How versatile our humble tuyo is...good with sinangang...excellent with pasta and olive oil!

Still good here! Portico --check! hahaha

Cafe Via Mare, Morato

On to classic Filipino fare...Cafe Via Mare still serves great all time favorites with the same quality since time immemorial. They opend a branch in Tomas Morato...finally close to me! hooray! ...and just in time for Christmas since they serve THE BEST BIBINKAS----as far as I am concerned =)

Some of the things I like here...

Guinomis

Gulaman at Sago with coconut cream and pinipig! Served with shaved ice....a beverage or dessert...good and refreshing! I love nibbling on the baby sagos, gulamans and pinipig. I just think the different textures in my drink makes for a well rounded "palamig" experience =)

Tortang Alimasag

A hefty serving of Alimasag meat omelet, served with fried lumpiang ubod and rice. How truely pinoy! They omelet was generously stuffed with yummy Alimasag meat which makes it soooooo good! I love tortas in general!=D

Puto Bungbong

Served piping hot with a side of niyog, muscovado sugar, butter and grated cheese! How could that be not good?

BIBINKA with Laguna Cheese Be it this kesong puti bibinka or the salted duck egg variety...I LOVE 'EM BOTH! Soft and piping hot...served with niyog na may asukal and butter. It's like a taste of Christmas, available whole year round!

Pinoy comfort food classic. Yummm!

Pino Update...

I was reading my archives, and found I few comments that I wasn't able to acknowledge. One of them was a comment by a reader who was asking me to recommend a nice fusion Filipino resto. Hmmm...I have had quite a numerous experiecnes with restos serving the classics...but at this moment all I could think of is Pino. MENTAL NOTE: back track on places visited and re-think FILIPINO FUSION! ;P ---- C2 at shang mall perhaps! =)

This reminded me to post an update on my recent trips to Pino...Filipino Bar and Resto...located along Maginhawa St., Q.C. Since discovering the place, we have hung out here quite a number of times already, so allow me to share some of the new fares we have tried

FIRST UP....

COKE ZERO!

Coke ZERO??!!! Yes--I happen to LOVE COKE ZERO! Zero calories with the SAME COKE TASTE! I couldn't agree with the ad tagline more. I was no soda fan until I met ZERO...and fortunately or unfortunately I am hooked! Why post this one? Apart from my fondness of this drink...this is the FIRST TIME I MET IT IN BOTTLE FORM---an 80z bottled coke zero! I thought it was cool =) hehehe

Ok..on to the food...

Inadobong Ribs with Potato Wedges

I forgot the actual name of this dish, but it was like a dry version of Korean Beef Stew. The meat was tender and tasted quite nice...we were kinda expecting more funk, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

Pinoka Platter

We are the kind who likes variety when we eat...we like lots of things to nibble on and try not to mention we like volume as well ;P hehehe. This platter consisted of potato wedges, pork-chicken-shrimp kebobs skewered on lemon grass (yummy!), classic calamares, nori cheese sticks (your average cheesesticks made funky with strips of nori and a drizzling of strawberry sauce) and sweet-spicy buffalo wings =) A very nice melange of pica-pica goodies.

Corned Beef Croquetas
3 yummy balls of mashed potatoes filled with corned beef, battered, breaded and deep fried! Very nice and noveau! Like a recipe picked from Yummy magazine---which I happen to love for their twisty renditions of classic treats.

see what's inside...

corned beef alright! Like corned beef and hash...in ball form! We wished they put in more beef. It was served with a variety of wasabi-mayo, mayo and honey mustard.

Stuffed Chicken Roulades with Sweet Potato Mash

I wish I took a pick of the stuffing. Bacon, it was very good and the best part was the sweet potato mash! Sooo good! I love sweet potatoes! I think sweet potatoes aren't given as much credit as it should be. Why glorify Potatoes...when we should patronize our PINOY CAMOTE!!! Its one of the highest ranking food, when it comes to nutrition! It has more fiber, protein and rich in Vitamins A, C, E and K not to mention Vitamin B6 and minerals to boot!
Anyhoos...a great way to enjoy the humble yet noble camote =)

Crispy Tenderloin Tapa with Mashed Potatoes and Fried Quail Eggs

Sooo cool! The breakfast fave tapa...breaded and fried....like nuggets of chicken fried steaks! The fried quail eggs were a very nice twist to this tapsilog. Oh, it was supposed to be served with garlic rice...but we opted for mashed potatoes. The yolks from the quail eggs made the mashed pot taste richer and naturally---yummier!

Kinare-kareng Bagnet

Crispy bagnet in a yummy peanuty, kare-kare sauce! A nice twist. The sauce was delicious...our only complain...the bagnet "taba" part was too big....it would have been excellent with a nicer cut of pork (meaning more balanced meat to fat proportion). The bagnet remained crispy even being in the thick peanut sauce...which was great.

Vegetarian Pita Pizza

Pita bread topped with bell peppers, tomatoes and cheese. It was ok, but it would have been better with more veggie variety and perhaps they could have used real mozzarella. A sprinkling of Toragashi added a nice zing to it.

Always fun dining here =)

Zensho Japanese Buffet

The mention of Zensho on my prior post...made me think of...well...ZENSHO!
A very good and quite long standing Japanese resto along Tomas Morato. They have nice teppanyaki tables here where you can eat as you watch your food being prepared. They also have EAT ALL YOU CAN BUFFET!!! TO ORDER....not buffet style...which we like better =)

Php 485.00 for lunch...Php 585.00 for dinner. A pretty good deal for Japanese food lovers like us. So what it worth it? Let's see...

You are given this check list of items included on the buffet.

You just put the number of orders of each dish on the list, classified into sashimis, sushis, makis, teppanyakis, robatayaki, yakiniku and furais.

Our picks:

Mixed Sashimi Plates

Salmon, Tuna, Lapu-lapu and Kani sashimis. our first sashimi plate had pretty raggedry cut up pieces...but the next plates looked better. Just because we caould have all we could eat doesn;t mean they could just dish up un-carefully prepared sashimis....we want quality with the massive volume we wanted to consume you know ;P

Salmon Sashimi

This was a special request...the waiter let us have a serving of pure Salmon sashimi...but one of the buffet rule was sashimis are served mixed.

Beef Yakiniku

The serving was kinda small...and the beef pieces kinda fatty...nevertheless...edible =)

Fish Teppanyaki

Again a small serving of fish teppan..with garlic...a bit cooked to oily.

Beef Tenderloin Teppanyaki

The tenderloin pieces were bigger..yet fatty too.

Baked Oysters

Perhaps not a good choice. They didn't taste anything like oysters.

Ebi Tempura

Nice and served with Kakaiage. I ate this myself...except for the Kakaiage which he could have =)

Oyster Teppanyaki

Kinda seemd to have stewed in it's juice as opposed to being stir fried.

Lamb Robatayaki

The lamb pieces were kinda tough.

Mixed Seafood Fried Rice

I think the teppanyaki guy forgot to shower it with salt =)

Kimchi Fried Rice

Just like japanese fried rice that had some sour spoonfulls when you get the kimchi bits =)

Chicken Yakitori

Nice and sweet chicken thigh meat pieces.

Squid and Asparagus Teppanyaki

The Asparagus were "stalky" the squid was ok.

Now what have we learned from this exercise? Well, the quality of the food was greatly dimished with the trade-off for volume. I have dined here ala carte and it was a good dining experience. Value for the buck...well, you want to fill up on Jap food...this is a pretty good deal....but for us...we would rather pay a bit more for less quantity than paying a bit less for more food but losing the taste and quality. The food we love like sashimis should be prepared with care...properly served and most of all freshness assured...so I guess with what we had here...the dining "pleasure" was a bit lost...though I must admit...it was FUN ticking off all the food on the menu and having the food parade in (though the food came in a slow rate) as we eat our way to satiety.

Som's Noodle House, Mandaluyong

There was much rave about SOM's Thai noodle house, when word got out about it's yummy and very affordable Thai cuisine, served ala Carinderia style along Rockwell. Then they put up full blown restos in Makati, somewhere in Nicanor Garcia, if I am not mistaken (which I haven't been to and not sure it it still stands to date) and one at Tomas Morato, beside McDo and above Zensho Japanese resto. The later, I have had a chance to meet and eat with some of the very nice blog-foodie friends I have made here (you know who you are =D ), has already been closed for quite sometime.

I got the chance to have SOME SOMS.....at their branch in Mandaluyong! I didn't know they had a branch here...near the Mandaluyong rotonda. So how is Som's here?

We had to have SPRING ROLLS naturally!

What is Thai without springrolls! We love springrolls...Vietnamese or Thai. They were cripy and we just love the vermicelli inside...though I think they put in quite too much....but still well enjoyed here as we dipped in the yummy and chunky sweet thai chili sauce.

Tom Yum Soup

This is what he came for =). He just loves good Tom Yum! I personally don't fancy the dish so much...but I'll still eat some! hehehe He loves the sweet-sour-spicy taste of the cocunut cream ladened soup. All in a perfect balance...with seafood and cilantro. He is allergic to prawns...so I got to eat the two big prawns in the soup! =D

Chicken Salad with Thai Fish Sauce and Calamansi Dressing
A big plate of iceberg lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes with a very light patis-calamansi dressing...topped with boiled chicken breast pieces. You can opt to have them with prawns or even beef or pork.

Red Curry Rice with Chicken

This is a real goodie!!!! A generous plate of red curried fried rice with string beans, tomatoes and hefty chicken pieces. I remember the price of this one..HA! Php 130.00....not bad at all! Again, you can opt to have it with prawns, beef or pork too...I would have liked it with the prawns...but under the circumstances...we have chicken =) Can be a meal on it's own...or perharps with the spring rolls on the side! hehehe

Real value for your money still...food good still. Som's noodle house still good to visit, specially when really hungry and inthe mood for lots of RICE!!!!

World Class Persian Cuisine

There are restos that serve Persian cuisine..and there are restos with Persian cusine....but have you had WORLD CLASS PERSIAN CUISINE? hahaha

Yes my friends...what a claim huh? World Class Persian Cuisine...can be found along E.Rodriguez Avenue, cornering Tomas Morato. So do their food love up to their name? Let's see...

The place is very casual...with the same feel as that of Mister Kebab and Berrouhz.

Hummus with Pita Bread

The dip was kinda dry and gritty and the oil seemed like that of COOKING (meaning: cooking oil) ;P It was edible still

Tuna Kebabs

I think this is the first time I have tried Tuna Kebabs..it was ok...lean tasting yet enjoyable with the garlic sauce =) Oh and the serving size was quite generous.

Chicken Kebabs

Yummy yogurt marinated chicken breast...grilled to a tender. Enjoyable.

Grilled Tenderloin
The meat was nicely cooked...done yet still tender.

In general the food here is pretty good and the price very affordable...I apologize for not noting the prices of the dishes (I always seems to forget that) but I am sure that the prices here are at par of a bit less than the price range of Mister Kebab...and the serving portions a bit more =)

So can we say it's world class? ;P You be the judge but the price, quality and serving portions of the food here are very satisfactory.

Delicious Ilonggo Cuisine at Freska

My first visit at Freska, Promenade Greenhills, was a good experience. Now backfor more of their yummy Ilonggo food....

Crab Fried Rice

Gerenous with fresh crabmeat, tomatoes, bell peppers and onions. This was so good! Could be a meal on it's own and quite a hefty serving to boot! Value for the buck indeed =)

Pinakbet with Bagnet

I had this dish on my prior visit...and it is still as good then as it was on this visit. We love veggies and as I have commented before...the veggies were cooked perfectly...still having that sutle crunch of freshness...yet being properly cooked. We just wished there were more bagnet pieces (bitin with the baboy! ;P hehehe)

Crispy Hito

Mud fish fried to a wondeful crisp! We love crispy fried fish! Served with bagoong and tomatoes, mangoes and onions (a mango ensalata when combined!)

Inihaw na Hito

This time a healthier version of the hito...inihaw like an inasal. Yummy as I recalled it to be! We loved the inasal oil that they brushed the fish with as it was grilled! Delicious with the toyo-suka dipping sauce

Very good Ilonggo cooking...very happy palates and full tummies here ....we likey a lot =)

Can I Call This Tapas? =)

I sooooo love the Datiles con Bacon at Barcino. They are sweet dates wrapped in crispy bacon! I just enjoy the contrasting textures and flavors of the soft and moist dates with the savory-salty crunchiness of the bacon! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT =) Delicious with a sip of wine that makes the whole experience ....just sexy on the palate ;P

With that inspiration...I felt like whipping up my rentidion of Tapas....tapas from ingredients that I could scrimmage in our pantry and fridge!

I caramelized some onion rings with a few knobs of butter....and seasoned it with salt and pepper...this took about 15mins or so on low heat because I really want my onions to release its natural sugar without burning them. I added some chopped mango slices...and set them aside.

I found some raisin bread...which I cut up ito halves and spread with a little mint-honey. I layered some cheddar cheese slices (left over quezo de bola ;P hehehe) and topped with caramelized onions and mango....and finished with some minced chives. I popped them in a 200 degree F until warm and a bit toasty.

Pretty good!

So can I call this Tapas? hahaha

Cafe Ano, Alabang

Out for dessert...and I mean waaaaaaaaaaay out! We journey to West Gate, Alabang to check out Cafe Ano.

I have heard and read about this place as being part of the LJC group of Filipinos greats and faves of mine...Abe and Felly J's. As I was informed, they are no longer with the LJC group at this time.

We chose the Ice Cream Puffs (I forgot the actual name of this dessert)


Choux pastry filled with vanilla ice cream, instead of the usual custardy filling and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

We had this with coffee....unfortunately not worth the visit as the pastry was floury tasting...we just ate the ice cream filling.

Oh well, nonetheless...the ambiance was lovely...and we manage to enjoy this afternoon trip =)

Muang Thai

Muang Thai, situated at a small street perpendicular to the street perpenducular to Kalayaan street in Q.C ;P Ok I really need to take note of the street names...grrr...please pardon me...this area is around the are where Trellis, Kowloon House, Starbucks, McDonald's and Mocha Blends are located near Sulu Hotel and East Avenue =)

The place is adjacent to a Pancake House branch too and looks like a rustic Thai home...very nice and has an authentic feel!

Tom Yum Soup

I think this is a different variation of the Tom Yum..the broth being opaque white as opposed to the usual reddish broth with a tinge of coconut milk. This is a lighter soup, with a delicious balance of sweet and sour taste. It had seafood and fresh mushrooms.

Krathong-thong

I was very enthused ordering this appetizer, primarily because it is one of the first few Thai dishes I met way back in college. Remember Suku Thai in Megamall?? =) I really loved their verion of Krathong-thong then. I was kinda disappointed when this was served because they lloked like fried wontons, as opposed to the open faced fried shell showing off the the ground meat with corn and other veggies (as I recalled it to be). This was kinda oily andnot as great as I expected it to be. I have yet to meet another Krathong-thong in a different Thai resto to check on which rendition is more authentic =)

Thai Eggplant Salad
A very light and refreshing salad this was. Grilled and skinned eggplants mixed with dried shrimps and topped with soft boiled egg slices with a nice fish sauce and vinegar like dressing

We were out for a light and healthy meal and that was what we seemed to have had here. The food was generally ok...perhaps we should go back for their heartier dishes like the delicious looking bagoong rice and pad thai =)