BAG OF BEANS

Our first stop at Tagaytay was at Bag of Beans. I was crying out for caffeine so lucky for me my friends wanted to stop here for some brews and some sweets.

Coffee here is good and cheap! Php 100.00 for bottomless Batangas brew..NOT A BAD DEAL AT ALL!!! hahaha

We had Brownies to go with our hot cups of java

Sad to say....this was nasty =( Look at it...really made us wonder what it was actually! hahahah ;P Sorry...maybe we should have had bread with jam and butter..they looked nice as the table eside us was having it with their coffee. Next time maybe =)

Carrot Bread

This was ok..not good as dessert though...maybe as a meryenda bread.

Well, despite the bad sweet treats we had..coffee was good and we were looking forward to our dinner anyway.

In other words...nagpagutom kame habang kumakain?! haahah Yes..that's the way we do it! ;P

Next Door

We planned the plan and schemed the scheme! Saturday and Sunday shall be devoted to Major foodtripping in Tagaytay!

Oli, Atong, Elainey and I had brunch at Next door Noodles...by North Park, at the Metrowalk branch. Yes, I was definitely sleep deprived from the night prior's night out...with only 1 hour of sleep...I went to work early in the morning..so no breakfast..just coffee. Having soupy lunch was indeed agreat idea!

A must! Oli had the Lemonade...

...well, the menu says its a must order...and he followed! ;P (opo Oli! Opo NP! hahaha)

Fried Mantau Bread with Condensed Milk
No how good does that sound? heheehe Soooo yummy!!! It should be like dessert...but when the waiter asked us if we wanted it served already...we all went...ofcourse!!! hahahaha


Fried Wantons and Fried Noodle Soup
Oh yeah..Elaine and I are health conscious alright. We Picked the "healthiest" soup on the menu! hahaha Delicious fried noodles and wontons gave our soup that extra umph of flavore from the added fried babies swimming in our soup! We shared a bowl so makes it half deadly for us =)

Chinese Kikiam
Just a little side dish to nibble on with our soup =)

Potstickers

Like fried gyoza. It's fried so it's good =)

And last but not the least...Chicken noodle soup

This is healthy and good..for Oli =)

Our breakfast really energized us and we moved along to Tagaytay!!!! Yehey!!!! =D

Red Lovelies.... =)

Ah....beautiful flowers again =) They can just brighten up a stressful work day. This time they are lovely red roses. ....

Made me smile...=)

Thank you!!!!

San Sung Korean Restaurant

I am loving a new Korean telenovela.....Daja's Spring! I will tell you all anout it when I am through with the dvd =)

How fitting it is to have a chance to dine in an authentic Korean Restaurant....while I am in my telenovela frenzy? Very! And I was ecsatic when my friend asked me to have dinner at San Sung (or is it Sun Sang? help me who ever knows the correct name of this resto! Korean mental block here! hahaha), located at near JP Rizal and Kalayaan avenue in Makati. I am so sorry, as I am really bad with Makati streets.

Anyhoos, the place is like a Korean house...with tables with grills and there is a part of the resto where you can sit on floors...like that of in Japanese restos.

What I love about dining in Korean restos are the nice free appetizers they serve =)

And they serve quite a number of small plates here. Kimchi, pickled veggies, mini omelets, delicious potato salad etc....which all happend to be quite delicious!

I can honestly get filled up by just eating these. I tried my best not to devour them all! hehehe =)

Pajeon
I love this! It's omelet made of veggies and sqiud. Sooo yummy! It's less starchy than the rendtion of this dish at Kaya


Chapchae

It's like Korean pancit, made with yummy and gummy glass noodles.


Now this facinated me a lot.

We ordered Korean BBQ and their table grill is fired up by charcoal! I think others use gas dire grill. I think this is cool =) Makes table grilling more exciting and gives that added smokey flavor! =)

We ordered Beef Ribs and Pork

I love this..you wrapped the grilled beef and pork bbq with fresh lettuce, garlic and bean paste

like so....

and so....

and enjoy! =) MASHINUN!

Uno Falafel

Just to share....

I am a real regular at Uno restaurant. I love the ambiance..the food..desserts and BREAD! =)

My frist time to the this appetizer....the Falafel...coarsely ground chick peas..made into little baby patties....so good. We had it with pasta and salad. Nice!!!

Lunch at Kikufiji

My first visit to Izakaya Kikufuji, I wasn't very impressed. I had dinner there with a bunch of friends and it was just ok Japanese. However, I have been hearing good things about the lunch experience here, so when my good friend Louie invited me to have lunch here, I was definitely delighted.

The placed was packed when we got there! We were seated at the sushi bar...since we were only two people and no tables were available. I think I even sa Mr. Market Man walk in...was it him? Can someone please ask if he had lunch there last week? ;p hehehe

The menu was limited dunring lunch hours...but they give a lot of freebies! =) Check it out...

Cabbage salad, Tuna, Sashimi and we asked for fresh wasabi!

I think I like fresh wasabi better as it is less potent than the prepared kind... =) I really like small plates of food to nibble on before getting into my mains =)

Bacon Asupara

Baby asparagus wrapped with bacon and grilled.....so yummy =)

Gindara Teriyaki

Perfectly grilled to a soft tender! We enjoyed this dish a lot and delicious with steamed Japanese rice (that is bottomless to boot!)

Tonkastu

This one I really liked, even the first time I tried it there. Thick pork...breaded and fried. I compliments our grilled Gindara. =)

To end our very enjoyable meal...FREE ICE CREAM OR ICED COFFEE!!! Guess what I chose? ;P

Love it! Sweet and kinda milky yet I could detect the brew is strong. Perfect ending!

Thanks Louie!!!! =)

Chelsea

Simple meals can be most pleasureable indeed! My second visit at Chelsea's with my friend and we decided to just have bread and pasta to share =)

We ordered the Sourdough loaf..which we only had half of which served..half to go....

It was served with butter and that superb roasted head of garlic spread, that accompanies their free bread..this was not free =) hehehe The sourdough was not very impressive..it tasted just like plain white bread. Mickey's sourdough is waaaay better! hahah

The Seafood Pasta

I forgot what this pasta dish is actually called...but its tomato-pesto sauce with mussels, prawns, squid and fish. This is just half a serving...so as you can see..an order is just perfect for 2 =) Really good and the seafood is fresh =)

A very satiating meal!

A Dessert Discourse

Delicious dessert is always in order..after having a great meal...its never perfect without a sweet ending.

On the look out for dolci...we went to Power Plant to scout for something to sweeten up our palate. I think its nice to look for desserts in nice restos for somethng with a bit more novelty and creativity, as opposed to just having cake at a coffeeshop or ice cream from a scooping station.

Last time I had dinner at Myron's...I didn't get the chance to have dessert...so now is the perfect time...or so we thought ;P

Mango Panna cotta

hmmm...well..it was ok but nothing great here....it's the milky kind..

Molten Chocolate Cake with Mantecado Ice Cream

This is by far.....the saddest molten cake I have ever had in my life =( I am so sorry...but its true..the cake..is like made of condensed milk...not at all molten...just gooey and not nice. Oh sadness! Even the ice cream atop didn't help much to make eating this enjoyable.

Take a closer look....


oh well...you can't win all the time =(

Crispy Pork Knuckles!!!

I can never say it enough..I LOVE MICKEY'S DELI! hahaha I have never brought anyone there who was not happy and satisfied with their food and beers =)

I think everytime I dine here. I always have the bread basket. This time I thought...why not just order an entire loaf and have it served...that way we get more bread right? Absolutely! hahah So here we picked a whole Rye Sourdough loaf and had it warmed and sliced =)

They charge Php 15.00 for extra butter...but I was able to convince our waiter to just give it t o us for free ;P hahaha Thanks!!!! As you can see..this is a whole lot more bread than just ordering the bread basket. The bread basket costs about Php 82.00 but you get pate and d butter with that. The loaf of Sourdough Rye cost Php 105.00 and a little charm for butter =) hahaha so I think it's a better deal, specially if the people sharing food are bread lovers. They have excellent sourdough here I might add....the best I have had...apart from the ones I make! bwahahha (love your own ofcourse ;P) hahaha The sour taste is very distinctive, indicating a well developed flavor during fermentation. The Rye gave the bread a nutty earthy tone...that I really, really LIKE/LOVE! =)

We thought it was ok that we didn't have pate with our excellent bread because we had....

the PORK KNUCKLES!!!

YUMMMMMMY!!! We are in FAT HEAVEN HERE! Crispy fried pork knucles...redolent of our native Crispy Pata. The skin is UBER CRISPY AND CRUNCHY! I tell you...no bite is without a CRRRRRUNCH! hahahahah And the pork meat...still tender and flavorful. I thought to myself..hey..despite it being fried this ain't oily at all...not bad a...then I GO POURING THE GRAVY ON THE KNUCKLES ON MY PLATE....then I thought to myself...yeah..sure..there goes the fat I was missing..right back on my plate! hahahahaha Welps...there is no escaping cholesterol here....what the hey...its mighty GOOD! hahaha

Sourdough bread and pork.....yum..yum..yum!!!!

Sharing Some Dolci =)

Cibo is indeed a fave of mine...for good ol' simple and reliable Italian food. On a nice shopping day at the mall...it's nice that you can run in to the Cibo branch there for a lottle break and for some brew and dolci!

That was exactly what I did once fine shopping day at Greenhills.

Cafe Americano

Good strong brew served with two delicate Palmiers =) A nice touch! I like delicate cookies with my brew =)

Panna cotta

A real fave of my sisters...the mango panna cotta. Simple and yummy.


My Torta Cioccolato-Mati


I am not so sure if I got the name right. It's flourless chocolate cake with walnuts and served with a dollop of Raspberry preserve. I love the chocolate-nutty taste of the cake. The sweet-tart taste of the preserve gave each bite a nice dimension =)

A nice after shopping treat indeed!

Emperor's Dimsum

Isn't dimsum just so wonderful? I thinko so =) Small serving of various steamed/fried treats in those cute bamboo steamer things...so nice!

My first time to try Emperor's Dimsum along Wilson St. in Greenhills. How about dimsum in the wee hours of the morn? Why not! hehehe

Chicken Feet

It is very unsual that I, being chinese, don't eat chicken feet!!! Never tried and never will! Sorry to those who adore this...I have personal reasons that explains why...wana know? hmmm I don't know of I have ever mentioned this, but I have a severe phobia for birds and anything bird like...eve feather duster! hehehehe Chicken feet just reminds me too much of the whole chicken ..as it was when it was living still...which scares the living daylights out of me...so pass on this.

Pork Siomai

This I like =) Good ol' siomai..dipped in a soy sauce with a little kalamansi...or I like it too with Hoisin sauce...yummmmm ...anything with Hoisin will absolutely turn out to be delish (for me)

Siaolong Pao

Delicate siopao like babies...that had that very nice soupy surprise upon bitin onto it. How do the chinese chefs put soup in these dumplings? Well, you know how when you make broth made of beef...and as it cools turns into gel from the gelatin obtained boiling the meat and bones...well, the soup gel is the secret! This is what is placed in with the filling and once the closed and sealed dumpling is steamed...the gel turns to soup...hence...the soupy surprise! Genius! =) hahahaha

Hakaw

My favorite! Clear rice paper like wrapped shripms steamed to a soft and slightly gummy goodness. I love this with hoisin sauce and nothing else =)

Yummy yum cha!

Brunch at Bizu

I love Sunday brunches! I can never say it enough =) No matter how late I get home from a Saturday night out, I can always muster an energy to get up and go out for a great brunch=) Well, it was a special brunch Sunday at Bizu! =) I've always dreamed of having delicious Eggs Benedict...but I have unfortunately (or fortunately for my body! hehehe) had this once in my life! Can you believe? Yes! True. I have tried and failed, to have my second Eggs B. at Apartment 1B...but sadly it's closed on Sundays (why o why???) Anyhoos, my first Eggs B encounter was quite disappointing..I had it at Grams diner at Rockwell (if you may...please check out my post on that)

I was more than excited for our brunch at Bizu. The first thing that I love about it? FREE COFFEE WITH REFILL!!! YEHEY!!!! That had me at hello =)

The second thing to love about bizu? FREE BREAD!!!! with butter and orange marmalade!!


Now that is actually breakfast already for me!! hahahaDo I really need to order??? hahaha Ofcourse! More carbs and fat to jump start a perfect day!!! ;P

Here is the French Toast

Ah..thick slices of whote bread..soaked in eggs and milk and freid to a crisp...served with MORE butter and maple syrup! hahaha This should definitely be eaten ONCE A YEAR ONLY...maybe once in a lifetime hahaha Was it worth the calories? hmmmm ..let me think...I think it was waaaaaaaaaay too buttery....sorry for butter lovers..I DO LOVE BUTTER...but it was just way tooo d*mn greasy for me =) Sorry...a bit lacking in taste..say needs a bit more salt and the maple syrup didn't help much...

look at that fat ladened cross-section! Will all go to the hips and thighs! hay-ayay!!! (note: kaya I didn't finish my half ;P hehehehe)


Now to what we came for...EGGS BENEDICT!

There was not one..not two..but THREE (3)! Yes...three eggs cooked over easy covering a huge slice of English muffin layered with Ham and all covred by the oozing yellow hollandaise sauce!
About 1,000 calories per serving (NO JOKE AH!) ....was it worth it? hmmmmsad to say a NO for me =( Not as WOW tasting as I thought it would be...but WAY better that the first one I had. It's over rated I think..or maybe I have yet to try a superb rendition of this brekafast fave. Maybe next year I'll try it in another resto =) hehehehe

It was a pleasing brunch, don'tget me wrong..maybe my expectations were just too much for that morning...maybe not. But I still love dining at Bizu...love the interios...love the service.....love that I am surrounded by cakes and breads (even if I am not much of mousse cake fan)

Maybe next time..I'll just have coffee and bread with butter =) .....I am just a simple girl perhaps no?

Tokyo Cafe

There is this cute Japanese coffe shop called Tokyo Cafe. I've seen this place so many times but just haven't had the chance to dine there...untill now. It's like UCC or the defunct Kohikan at Promenade, Greenhills (which I used to love and frequent). They have very inrestesting food..like Chicken roll with cheese!!! However, we had the

Chili Scampi Pasta

I know..I am no fan of spicy food....so why have this? Well, I didn't read the name while ordering..I just pointed at the picture because it did look soooo yummy. When it was served to us...yikes!!! uber HOT!!! Nevertheless...we managed to eat it anyway..so for spicy food lovers..this is pretty good =)

Margherita Pizza

What do you know...they have pizza here..and pretty ok too. Simple but good =)

Maybe I should try their coffee and desserts if I get to visit here again.