Foodie Finds @ Ortigas

As a number of friends work / live in the Ortigas area, I would often go to Megamall and Shangri-La to meet up with friends to eat or just hang out. Recently, I've gone more often in Megamall and have had a few great foodie finds =)

First stop is Yabu, The House of Katsu.

Yabu, for me, is not your typical Japanese restaurant. I don't think there was even sushi in the menu. The specialty of the house, as the name suggests, is Katsu.

I ate their alone and had to ask the servers to guide me all the way. They first had to ask me the grind the sesame seeds (?) I'd use for my sauce.

Yabu actually had different choices for sauces and condiments which I liked and splashed my food with :)

Then came my food :)

1 Rosu 90g (with soup, rice and slices of fruit), Php 327.60 (with VAT and SC)

At first, I thought, what could be so special about Katsudon? But boy, I was glad I tried this one out. The meat was so tender, it was tasty, and i love the dressings for my cabbage. I'd have to mention that the cabbage is unlimtted! And I'd have to commend the staff; they were very, very cordial and attentive. I spilled my soup, and they hurriedly offered to refill my bowl at no extra cost =) Price was a bit steep, but I'd say it's worth it!

Next - my green tea cheesecake from Akiba Cafe!  

Green Tea Cheesecake, slice, Php130

Hhmmm, I don't find the green tea flavor strong enough for my liking, but I'm glad I tried it all the same =) Note, though, that I haven't been craving it again.

But of course, there's always go-to restaurants like Cibo, this time at Shangri-La.

Cibo is nothing new, but I still like their food just the same =) I'd list them as comfort food, but they can be quite pricey.

Hhhhmmmmm, their Creamy Cabonara is one of my favorites =) I generally order Carbonara whichever restaurant I am eating at if I do not know what to order or if I'm not sure what I want. That said, Cibo's definitely tops my list.

And their Flourless Chocolate Cake is love =) With real slices of strawberries plus the gooey chocolate, aaahhh, the perfect cap to a hearty meal =)

Ok, that's it for the meantime, let's revisit the list soon =)

The Manila Pen Experience

I've been to the Manila Peninsula a couple of times before for seminars or talks, but never really experienced the Pen, at least not how I've read people have experienced it.

Last September 14, Manila Peninsula celebrated its 35th year in Manila, and was selling their famed Halo-Halo and Schueblig Sausage for each Php35. But more than the obvious discounted food, it's the whole experience that I'm really, really happy about.

Dimmed lights, and the live string quartet playing in the background made the experience so nice =)

And the Sun at The Lobby, finally got to meet her =)

A visit to the Salcedo Market

I've been wanting to go to the Salcedo Market for the loooongest time. Finally got to do it a few weekends back. As my tita, who I live with on weekdays, lives in the Makati area, I decided to walk the distance from her place to the Salcedo Market to get my much-needed exercise.

I agree with my Tita's observations, Salcedo's vendors are mostly elders showcasing family recipes while Mercato at the Fort has the young entrepreneurs crowd. Most products are organic and supposedly healthy, but you can find all sorts of things for sale there, like the Sushi selection below.

I really just intended to roam around and see what's it's all about, and I honestly did not expect to have my tummy filled with all the free tastes and samples they were giving out. Had my healthy and organic breakfast here. Haha! I only bought these Mint Chocolate Fudge Cookies which were sooo good =) Each cookie was moist, chewy, with chunky bits of chocolate mint which was sooo yummy! I intend to go back and buy again. One cookie costs me Php35.

I'd probably be back again sometime soon, I want those chocolate chip cookies again! =)

Little Tokyo Adventure

Note: All pictures are by my friend L.

A couple of Sundays back, I had a wonderful bonding time with my girlfriends, L and C for a belated celebration of L's birthday. We were originally going to Binondo, but I suggested that we go to Little Tokyo instead as I've been wanting to try it out there for quite some time. And I'm glad we opted to go there intead =)

Little Tokyo is located at a less appealing place than the more popular, usual Makati hotspots. It's a compound quite hidden from the main road (Pasong Tamo), beside Makati Cinema Square. I like the personality of the place - I've never been to Tokyo but I can easily imagine the city with how the cluster of restaurants are designed and built together. It's a very nice discovery, really.

There are several grocery shops as seen from Pasong Tamo, and the more expensive restaurants are also around the exterior of the compound. It would be nice to go inside - there are 2 Little Tokyo arcs that serve as entrance/exit points leading to a cluster of restaurants, with a small bonsai garden in the middle, lampposts and wooden chairs and tables that give off that Japanese feel.

As there were several restaurants inside, we just randomly chose Hana. And honestly, it wasn't a bad choice at all =)

My favorite was the Unagi Kabayaki, which was just eel with a very tasty sauce. I've tried Unagi in other Jap restos before, but none made quite a mark on me. This one I like very much though =) We had it sprinkled with a Japanese seasoning in a bottle (like the McCormick ones), which the staff gave us. It went very well with the Unagi and I love it. This one's my fave from all that we ate at Hana =)

In some of the blogs I've read, they've mentioned that Hana has the best Takoyako in town. I guess that shoot up my expectations of their Takoyaki. So, what do I think of their version? I'd say it's a far cry from what you get to buy in kiosks scaterred around the metro, and I will probably get that again the next time I go there. However, I don't think it's something I'd regularly crave for.

We also had the Hana Special Salad with Sesame Sauce and their Miso Ramen. To start with, I am not much of a fan of salads and ramens, and sadly, Hana's versions failed to make me a convert either. It's not bad, but I don't think they were exceptionally good either. I can pass up both next time.

Oh, but this, for me, is the star of the night - Green Tea Ice Cream! I love everything green tea and this one is sooo good and so cheap at that! Only Php90 for a size a little larger than the local personal sizes we can buy around. We bought from one of the grocery stores in there which sell all kinds of Japanese stuff. It was the perfect cap for our little foodie adventure. I'd sure be buying more of these in the coming days - I'm going back there even just to get my green tea ice cream fix =))