Rowena Wendy's posts with tag: food
 | JAPOK! | Jul 22, '08 9:29 AM
for everyone |
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | Japanese / Sushi | | Location: | E. Rodriguez Ave. cor Broadway Ave., Quezon City |
Japok is a small, open-air eatery just across McDonald's E. Rodriguez. There was a long line at McDo's drivethru so we just crossed over to Japok.
Their menu is very simple and straightforward, in fact the whole thing is posted on the counter wall so you can tell the order-taker what you want right away. I opted for their Jappy Maki (P70/4 pcs), which is crunchy maki topped with mayo and shredded crabsticks. Hubby ordered the Gyoza Bento (P65), which was comprised of rice, veggies, and about 4-5 big pieces of Gyoza. We also got a Miso Ramen (P75) to share.
The food was okay in general, except for the Miso Ramen. Although it came in a huge bowl, they should really have called it Oily Instant Noodles because that was what it was. Shredded veggies and instant noodle-like noodles steeped in tasteless oily soup. Suffice to say we couldn't finish it.
If you're eating at Japok, forget the ramen. Get a bento meal, it's really cheap and satisfying. Plus points: The staff was honest enough to admit to serving tap water from the sink and using it to make their Japok Green Iced Tea. So we had C2 instead... better safe than sorry.
Get a chance to get your recipe featured on QTV and win a nice gift pack from Aji Ginisa!
Email your recipes using Aji Ginisa and your complete contact details to katoque@gmanetwork.com
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | American | | Location: | Level 4, TriNoma Mall, EDSA cor. North Avenue, Quezon City Tel: 916-9314 |
The last time I dined at Bubba Gump was ages ago in Greenbelt. It was my first time at the Trinoma branch last night and all I can say is... great shrimp! My friend ordered Forrest's Shrimp Net Catch (P600), a BIG serving of shrimps steamed in beer and an assortment of vegetables for us to share. Oh it made me forget I was allergic to shrimp and I kept eating, thinking a dose of Claritin will solve whatever reactions I'll get thereafter... heheh. It's just that good, and I'm not missing out just because I'm allergic. Juicy, tender, smoking fresh off the steamer... YUM! We had a slice of their Chocolate Cake (P140) for dessert and it wasn't as great as the menu made it out to be. It was served cold, obviously just out of the ref, so it's on the hard and dry side.
The place is great -- bright and cheery, perfect for a night out with friends. Service is okay, and in general the food is good. It's just that Forrest's Shrimp Net Catch had the biggest impact on me out of everything that was ordered.
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | Other | | Location: | Robinson Galleria, 4th Level Cinema Area EDSA corner. Ortigas Ave., QC Tel: 687-2107 |
I hate Starbucks Frappuccinos with a passion. They're sickeningly sweet, grossly overrated, and expensive. When I saw the standee for Dark Mocha Frappuccino though, I was intrigued. The smallest size cost P140 but I had some GCs to blow so I thought what the heck.
The Dark Mocha Frappuccino was a pleasant surprise. It was rich in that dark chocolate way and not as sweet as their other frap flavors. I ordered a Vegetarian Jamaican Pie (P70) to go with it. It was pretty good, served warm with a variety of beans inside and it wasn't greasy. I'd say though that the flavor was more Mexican than Jamaican.
All in all I had a good coffee break courtesy of Starbucks Robinsons Galleria. They even gave me a computer code I can use to answer an online survey and be rewarded with another free drink. Nice!!!
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | Italian | | Location: | Lower Ground Floor SM Megamall Bldg. B, Mandaluyong City - Tel: 6330660 |
Spaghetti Factory kind of impressed us at first because the waiter said we could choose from any of the 8 pasta types available (spaghetti, spaghettini, capellini, linguine, fettucine, fusilli, penne, and farfalle) and then match it with our desired sauce. The seemingly endless list of sauces are classified according to base -- tomato-based, cream-based, etc. All the pastas cost P159 and are served with focaccia bread and grated parmesan cheese. It seemed like a good deal.
I ordered their Famous Sundried Tomatoes linguine, while hubby opted for their Italian Sausage Mafia Style spaghettini. Well, I've officially just had the WORST tasting sundried tomatoes ever. They were tasteless and seemed old and wilted and just plain gross, something like rubbery cardboard marinated in olive oil. I was imagining the people in the kitchen getting the sundried tomatoes from those decorative bottles filled with oil and assorted veggies. Eeew. Hubby's pasta was spicy and was ever-so-slightly better than what I had. The sausages in his sauce tasted like they had just come out of the freezer and the olives also seemed old and bland. The focaccia bread they served alongside our pasta were tough and not even toasted. We had a hard time biting and chewing the bread. Again, I suspect the bread is also old stock.
Service is kind of slow and dead, the waiters moved like zombies and the restaurant wasn't even half full. They have this ongoing Merienda Super Saver promo which you can avail from 2pm-6pm wherein you can order Birdy (chicken) & Spaghetti Bolognese which comes with a free drink for P89. We were there less than 10 minutes before 2pm and they would not let us order it.
I'm not EVER going back to Spaghetti Factory to spend money on OLD food, that's for sure.
| | Pics from Madison Grill at Trinoma. |
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | International | | Location: | 3rd level, Trinoma Mall, Edsa cor. North Ave., Quezon City - 9341572 |
Love the place -- modern and classy yet comfortable and unintimidating at the same time. We ordered their promotional meal (available until May 31, 2008) which is a set menu for 4 people. For 999++ you get a 10" Barbecue Chicken Pizza, Beer Battered Fish Fillet w/ Madison Fries (aka Fish and Chips), Hickory Smoked Barbecue Ribs, and 4 tall glasses of iced tea. Alas they ran out of the Hickory Smoked Ribs and replaced it with Australian Beef Ribs instead, which is cheaper by nearly P100. Still, we took the promo meal because if you order all the said items it would normally set you back at least 1.5k++, so 999++ was a nice deal. The serving portions are huge -- the family size of each dish can be shared by at least 3 people. Even the iced tea was served in a shockingly tall glass, the contents of which you can easily split between 2 regular glasses. They also give you complimentary hot freshly baked bread with a variety of spreads to tide you over while you wait. Service is great as food arrives quickly and they give you glasses of cold water without you having to ask for it. The food? Well, it's a mixed bag. The Beer battered fish fillet tasted like it was coated entirely in beer and nothing else. All I could taste was beer. My kids actually tore away the crispy beer batter and just ate the fish inside. The fries were okay, but the red curry mayo didn't really complement the strong beer taste. I loved the buttered vegetables on the side though, the carrots and string beans were really crisp and fresh. Barbecue Chicken pizza was okay. I liked the thin, non-greasy crust but the pizza itself as a whole was just okay... nothing to write home about really. Australian Beef Ribs, although really tender, tasted strangely like buttered corned beef, I suspect the Hickory Smoked Barbecue Ribs would've been better. Oh, and the iced tea tastes like water. It was an interesting and filling meal, but judging from the food we had I wouldn't call this the best resto on the block. It's pretty pricey to boot. Plus points for the interiors, ambiance, and service though. I rate Madison Grill 3.5 stars, but since there's no half rating... I have to mark down 3 stars. More pics HERE.
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | Pizza | | Location: | #11 Dona Hemady St., New Manila, Quezon City Tel: 4165299 |
Amazing Cones is a quaint little pizza / ice cream parlor along Hemady St. in Quezon City. I've long been curious as to what a "pizza-in-a-cone" is so I decided to give it a try.
I ordered a Screaming Garlic Amazing Cone and it was good. A soft, chewy dough is molded into a cone and filled with different ingredients. In my case the Screaming Garlic pizza cone contained garlic, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. It cost something like 80+ pesos though so I could not help but think I may be better off ordering a full round pizza from somewhere to curb our hunger pangs.
My son had their gigantic Amazing Swirl ice cream cone. Basically you pick some ingredients and have them blended into vanilla flavored soft-serve ice cream. It cost a little less (60+ pesos if I remember correctly) than the Amazing Cone but I felt it was still a tad too pricey just for an ice cream cone. Hubby in the meantime had their Buko Pandan Ice Slush. The ice slushes are the least expensive things on the menu at 40+ pesos but they weren't really anything special.
Overall, Amazing Cones offers decent but overpriced eats. The bright and clean interiors are an additional plus though...
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | Japanese / Sushi | | Location: | Level M1 Trinoma, Tel: 9167040 |
Sizzling Pepper Steak is brought to us by the same person behind the Teriyaki Boy chain. It is more or less based on the Japanese chain called "Pepper Lunch" which will open at the Power Plant in Rockwell soon. We couldn't get in the Pepper Lunch when we were in Tokyo because it was always packed full of people. When we saw Sizzling Pepper Steak in Trinoma today, we decided to give it a go. I was struck by the bright, clean, and cozy interiors. There were LCD monitors and paper placemats demonstrating how you should eat your pepper rice and steak. Tables were also equipped with individual exhausts so you won't smell like food afterwards. Anyways I order Beef Pepper Rice (P185), hubby ordered Saikoro Pepper Rice (P175), Kenshin had the kiddie meal with spaghetti bolognese, crisscut fries, fried chicken, and iced tea (P155), while our helper had the Pork Pepper Rice (P165). The pepper rice meals are served on hot plates with the meat only slightly cooked. You'll have to finish cooking it yourself before you can eat. After the meat is cooked you're supposed to mix it all together with the rice, and you can add sauces (available on your table) if you wish to make it more flavorful. The servings are sizzling hot and hearty, you'll surely be satisfied after one plate. Very tasty! Service is also very good, the servers were very courteous, attentive, and quick on their feet. We were asked to fill out a feedback form after the meal and given a complimentary chocolate crinkle. We'll definitely be back Pictures here - http://animetric.multiply.com/photos/album/37/Sizzling_Pepper_Steak
| | I let Ken and Kei decorate the Goldilocks round mocha cake we won from the Disney's Princess Magazine's anniversary party... |
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | Asian | | Location: | Unit C3 Thompson's Square, 165 Tomas Morato Ave. cor. A. Roces Ave., QC / Tel: 3766108 |
My sis has been raving about this place since it opened a little while back, so when our cook decided to take the day off today, I thought it was the perfect time to sample what Nasi Lemak had to offer.
The place is cozy, immaculately clean, and had excellent airconditioning -- cool and comfortable. We ordered their best-selling appetizer Poh Piah (P140, good for 3-4 people) which is like fresh lumpia with a twist. The filling is made of crushed peanuts, prawns, and assorted veggies wrapped in lumpia wrapper and topped with "sambal", a flavorful brown-colored sauce. For our main meal we had Malay Fried Rice (P180, good for 3-4 people) which was rice mixed with assorted veggies and crunchy dilis, Kang Kong Blachan (P180) which is chinese kangkong sauteed in sambal blachan (our hands-down favorite dish), and Hainanese Chicken (P250, good for at least 3 people) -- steamed tender chicken served with a bowl of tasty concentrated chicken broth and an assortment of sauces. We also had this green and white cake for dessert (the one on the leftmost corner of the top shelf in the picture) which I can't remember the name of. I believe it was made of pandan and coconut cream.
Yummy, reasonably priced, and healthy (they have a No MSG policy), Nasi Lemak is one restaurant to try out. We saw so many good things in the menu we're determined to go back soon.
 Normally I don't blog about something as trivial as claiming prizes I won, but today is different.
I recently found out that my letter won as one of Food Magazine's letters of the month (December issue). They usually have one grand prize winner and one runner-up prize winner. The grand prize was a Fujidenzo coffee maker, while the runner-up prize consisted of two cookbooks from Powerbooks namely "Nigella Express" and "The Raw 50". Anyways I got the runner-up prize, which is fine by me since I didn't really care for the coffee maker and much preferred the books. I called Food Magazine and they told me I had to personally claim the books so I asked hubby to drop me off at ABS-CBN Publishing's office after work. Anyways when I got there Ms. Bernie immediately came out with the books and then told me to wait because Food Magazine's editor-in-chief wanted to meet me. After 5 minutes the ed-in-chief herself Ms. Norma Chikiamco came out and introduced herself. I was so surprised because usually in these situations you just claim your prize and go home. She told me she really liked my letter and that they were currently conducting kitchen tests for the next issue. She urged me to go inside their office and try the food but I told her my hubby was waiting for me in the car. Undaunted she quickly went in and came out with a styro pack which contained a portion of the triple chocolate cheesecake which is going to be featured in their February issue. She also told me not to miss the Feb issue as it is going to be her last -- she had already resigned and was going freelance. After our short meeting my son Kenshin (who was with me the whole time) got ambushed by the Super Inggo team and instantly got recruited into the Super Inggo Club. I didn't have the heart to tell them Ken has never watched a single episode because he has trouble understanding Tagalog. They said there were going to be giveaways and activities or something... We had the triple chocolate cheesecake for dessert tonight and it was really yummy! Even my hubby who doesn't really like cakes and pastries loved it. Kudos to the Food Magazine people, who were soooo nice to us.
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | Italian | | Location: | 68-69 Gen. Romulo St. Marikina Shoe Expo, Cubao Quezon City / Tel: 9132550 |
Yum! I've never had Italian food this good, fresh, and natural in this country. Bellini's is a quaint little restaurant located in the middle of the Marikina Shoe Expo in Cubao. It's owned by an Italian who married a Filipina. I've wanted to try this restaurant out for the longest time and finally had a chance to last Sunday. We were first served these uniqely shaped breadsticks (pictured here) to be dipped in chili olive oil and parmesan cheese. We ordered Mix Salad, which is mixed greens with anchovies. The waiter makes the dressing and tosses the salad in front of you, which was quite novel. Upon the waiter's recommendation, we also ordered four-cheese pizza, pizza with olive oil, garlic, herbs, and salami (sorry I forgot what it's called), and 3 kinds of pasta in one plate (red sauce, white sauce, oil-based). Everything was heavenly. It was all so good I'm getting confused as to which food I should describe first. The pizzas had these thin, crisp crusts and were not at all greasy. Notice how commercial pizzas like Pizza Hut and Shakey's tend to make your hands greasy the moment you hold them? None of that here at Bellini's. Their pizza is not only tasty but feels light and healthy! Our son actually devoured 5 slices. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. The red sauce tasted of tomatoes, ham, and cheese. The white sauce was seafood-based complete with clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops. The oil-based pasta was the classic olive oil and garlic combo with a touch of red chili peppers. I could not resist their panna cotta so I ordered one but got so excited I forgot to take a picture... it was definitely one of the most delicious desserts I've ever had in my life. All the food we ordered set us back around 1.4k pesos. Pizzas cost anywhere from 160-250 for the small size, and double the price for the large size. Pastas cost anywhere from 200 and up, although the big serving of 3 kinds of pasta in one plate set us back 700 pesos. The salad cost a little under 200 pesos, and the panna cotta was exactly 100 pesos. Service is impeccable. Check out complete pictures of Bellini's interiors and the food we ordered here - http://animetric.multiply.com/photos/album/29/Bellinis_Italian_Restaurant
 A funny thing happened today. My kids and I were on our way out of National Bookstore in Robinsons Galleria when we saw a HELLO! wafers booth giving out free samples of their latest product -- HELLO! Pipers in cookies n' cream and classic chocolate flavors. The Pipers were stored in coolers filled with ice because they're best served chilled, according to the promo girls.
Anyways they asked me if I was interested in having my kids join an on-the-spot photo contest. My son Kenshin immediately hid behind my back and refused, but my daughter Keirra was game. They had a photographer with a tripod and camera on standby to take the picture. The child with the best chilly pose would win a nice gift pack from Jack and Jill, and there would be one winner every hour from 11am to 7pm. Kei was given a pack of Pipers to eat and was instructed to pose as if she was having chills while eating them. To make a long story short, Kei won (she was the 5pm winner). The HELLO! people described her as the "batang mukhang Koreana". The picture on top is her winning pose, it's kind of blurry because Kei's scatterbrained mom (me) forgot to take her pic while she was posing and had to settle for taking a pic of her 5"x7" winning print posted on the HELLO! facade. The picture below was taken via my cellphone cam after Kei was declared the winner. Believe me I tried to ask for the print so I would have a nice souvenir of this day but they said they needed it for their files. Oh well. At least we got a nice Jack and Jill gift pack containing two boxes of the new HELLO! Pipers flavors and an assortment of their classic HELLO! wafers. The HELLO! people said they're holding the same contest in an Alabang mall next weekend. In other news, I recently found out I won in the Mongol Pencils-National Bookstore essay writing contest. :D
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | Desserts | | Location: | Greenhills 7239632 / Taft 5216236 / Katipunan 9282649 |
Even with the advent of Krispy Kreme (which is too sweet by the way, I feel diabetes setting in with every bite and I shiver at the thought of eating another one) in our country, for our family cello's donuts are still the best. We can't seem to get enough of cello's chewy dough and luscious toppings (she uses real ingredients like crushed strawberries in the frosting, Belgian chocolate, etc.). Cello's donuts are not too sweet nor are they nakakasuya. My personal favorite is the cheese donut, by my sister tells me that the chocolate donuts are also very good.
A single regular donut costs 22 pesos, while a box of 6 sets you back 120 pesos. Premium flavors cost 35 a piece (hubby likes blueberry cream cheese). With about twenty different flavors to choose from, you're sure to find a match!
Cello's also offers custom-made doughnut cakes for special occasions, contact cello at 9282649 or 09209614293.
 It's finally out in the newsstands... the Yummy Magazine September 2007 issue! This is where my lola's corn soup gets featured as the Reader Recipe of the Month! Aside from this fabulous one-page spread I get to take home P2,000 pesos cash and P2,000 worth of gift certificates from Little Asia.
I would like to thank Summit Media for having Benjie Angeles of Shu Uemura and Kiehls do my hair and make-up. He's really great! So friendly, professional, and ma-chika. And he can work wonders on your hair and face all by himself with his amazing arsenal of Shu and Kiehls products. Ganda ng lola mo, o di ba? Get Yummy Magazine now! Super sulit with the easy-to-do recipes even a kitchen klutz like me can manage. And I just loved the vegetarian restaurants they featured in the September issue... because as I've mentioned in an earlier blog post we're trying to adapt a healthier lifestyle here... hehe. Click on the image for a high-res view.
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | International | | Location: | #8 Socorro Fernandez St. Cor. Luna Mencias St. (near Shaw Boulevard), Mandaluyong City |
Cookbook Kitchen was reviewed in the April issue of Yummy Magazine which I passed on to my sister. She and her fiance decided to try it, liked it so much that they decided to treat hubby and I to dinner there.
Cookbook Kitchen is located in a dark residential street wherein your car probably wouldn't be safe if you can't park it in front of the restaurant. Since it's a small place, the available spaces around it fill up easily. Anyways we went there at about 7:15pm and was lucky enough to get the spot right in front of the restaurant window so we could actually see the car from our table.
Cookbook Kitchen's interiors are simple and homey, and the place is rather dimly lit. I immediately asked what the bestseller was to which the waitress quickly replied "Parmesan Crusted White Fish" (P 240). I ordered it while my sis and her fiance ordered their equally popular Pork Steak with Honey Mustard Sauce (priced the same as the fish) and CBK Chicken. Hubby decided to go for a salad, and we had a couple of appetizers which I can't remember the names of -- mushrooms sauteed in garlic and toasted bread type things with pizza-esque toppings.
The verdict? The fish was pretty good. Melt-in-your-mouth soft but overly drenched in cream that it was on the nakakasuya side. I couldn't possibly finish one order by myself so I chopped it up and shared it with my dining companions. Too much cream and too little parmesan... but it was still pretty good. It was served with rice too. The mushroom and bread thing appetizers were so-so. Hubby said the salad was good. The porkchops were okay at best, not as great as they're made out to be but very juicy and tender. For the life of me I can't really remember the chicken. It was stuffed with tomatoes or something but I can't recall the taste. Oh and their definition of honey mustard is mustard + mayo... there just isn't any honey, adding up to the nakakasuya factor since they use this sauce on a lot of their dishes.
We ordered two desserts (pictured in this review), chocolate cake (can't remember exactly what they called it) and Strawberry Overload. The chocolate cake was nice. I liked it. Strawberry Overload, meanwhile, is huge and is obviously meant to be shared. For all its splendor however, Strawberry Overload is just strawberries drizzled with syrup then piled on top of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and dry chiffon cake. So-so at best. I'd rather have Conti's Peach Walnut Cake any day.
Service is decent and you can actually have good conversations at this place because the noise level isn't so high. Prices are reasonable as well. You can call 724-3595 for reservations.
 | Category: | Restaurants | | Cuisine: | International | | Location: | along C5, right across SM Hypermart tel: 914-0833 |
Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe is this quaint and cozy-looking country style cafe sitting by the side of C5, just right across SM Hypermart. My hubby's been curious about this place for the longest time since we always see a multitude of people crowding in front of their pastry shelves whenever we pass it.
We had the opportunity to have a quick bite there and well, it's not as cracked up as it's supposed to be. The food is generally so-so, with a few nice-tasting things in the menu. Of note is the pate (I forgot if it's duck-liver or goose-liver) -- my son slathered it on top of the foccacia slices they served along with it and wouldn't stop eating! Their kani salad kind of sucks, since they use cheapo crabsticks and the vegetables weren't as nice and crisp as I would've liked. Their lasagna (2nd picture on the right) was pretty okay, and it was served with two garlic cheese rolls. I had the roast beef sandwich and hated it, since the roast beef consisted of thinly sliced beef strips with a lot of litid. It was served with mashed potatoes which I'm sure was made from those instant powdered flakes you'd see in grocery stores.
They have a lot of pastries there, which people were flocking to buy. We tried several flavors of cupcakes ranging from 13 to 27 pesos per piece. I liked the Chocolate Swirl Banana Cupcake best, which was a real banana cupcake topped with a rich and creamy chocolate swirl. The Butter Cupcake was on the bland and dry side though, and the vanilla frosting tasted like marshmallow creme straight from a jar. All I can say about the Rum Butter Cupcake is... where's the butter and the rum? It was dry and tasteless as well.
Aside from the ambience, perhaps one of the best things about Mom & Tina's is the price. Almost everything on the menu costs below 200 pesos, so you can pretty much peg a meal there at 250 per head inclusive of dessert.
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