The Heat's Featured Dessert

During the latest visit in the Heat (Shangri-la Plaza Hotel), I was able to try their featured dessert: Raspberry Molten Brownie Double Shot Vodka Cheesecake.

The name is a mouthful but I don't mind.  You really have to include all of them because it does contribute to how good it was.

I took just a small slice from the small squared cheesecake but it was more than good enough for me.  It was so rich and thick that I even have to slow down to taste every bit of it.

With the pipette, you can drizzle it over the cake, inject the fluid or squeeze them in your mouth.

Through the years, I've noticed that there are a fewer people eating in hotel buffets after the emergence of more affordable restaurants with their own smorgasbord.  But sometimes, it's okay to splurge on the better stuff.

KitKat Uji Matcha

This is probably a late post for almost everyone since people have tried the Japanese green tea version of KitKat already.  About two years ago, my parents came from their trip and they bought the a bag of bite sized KitKat with different out-of-this-world flavours.  

I'm usually open when it comes to different kinds of food.  It doesn't mean that I have to like them.  I've tried and I've made up my mind that I don't like the green tea flavoured KitKat.  I'd rather stick to the original chocolate version.   

More than a week ago, my brother and sister came from Japan and they bought home boxes of Uji Matcha flavoured KitKat (that makes me the only one in the family that hasn't been to that country). Everyone liked the green tea version which until now, could not understand.  

During our visit to her grandparents house, she got this from the small fridge upstairs.  She wanted to try these because she thought it will turn her into her favourite Clumsy Ninja.  I didn't know she could identify the Japanese characters on the box and relate it to her Clumsy Ninja app.  

When she tried it, her face crumpled in disgust but she swallowed them anyway.  She said she didn't want it because it tasted like leaves.  I didn't even know that she knows how leaves taste.  

Shakeys Onion Rings: Once Is Enough

My daughter loves pizza especially Shakeys Friday's Special thin crust.  

When my husband and I picked her up from school, we headed to the nearest branch in C.Raymundo Ave, Pasig.  We were really looking forward to just eating pizza for lunch.  No plans in ordering anything else, not even a soda to go along with the pizza.

However, the waitress encouraged us to try their new onion rings which caused PHP99.00 "only".  

After trying it out, I thought it was overpriced at  PHP99.00.  

I honestly was looking forward to trying out their Onion Rings with the regular onion rings in my mind.  I got all excited when I saw so many onion rings in their big basket.  It was really a big disappointment.    I even stopped my husband from finishing it all. 

Pizza is fattening enough.  Some people would consider it belonging to the Junk Food category.  I kind of agree.  But this new addition to Shakeys menu would belong to the Health Hazard category.  It's too fatty and it's too salty.  Their batter is comparable to the instant chicken batter people use at home.  The mayo dip was a must because it kind of hide the saltiness but definitely won't wash the salt on each piece of onion rings.  

On the second photo, you could see the oil dripping from each one.  I had to tap them on my plate just so I could let go of the excess oil.  But I know that wouldn't be enough.  Better squeeze each one before putting them in your mouth.  

I wish they would improve the recipe.  I would love to try it out again if only they could guarantee that it's not going to be too salty.   

Trail Mixes

I'm a fan of trail mixes.  However, the branded bags that we get to buy in the supermarkets are either non existent or too pricey for any regular Juan.

Yesterday, I had a big pack of Sugo spicy peanuts from home.  Before going up to the office, I passed by MiniStop to get some energy boosters (since work starts at past noon - the unholy hours).   I grabbed two packs of M&Ms (along with Kopiko which is my favourite coffee drink at the moment).

I didn't know that I had a trail mix in the making in my bag.  During our 10-minute break (yes, being a part-timer, I only get to enjoy 10 minutes break time), I decided to mix my Sugo and the chocolate candies.  While munching, I was thinking that in my next trip to the supermarket, I'll probably look for other things to mix with this one like salted pretzels, crunchy breakfast cereals, corn chips etcetera.   The list is limitless.  

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Tokyo Cafe: Omurice

Valentine's Day is a big deal for me and my husband.  We make sure that we stay out of the house and join the rest of the huge population of Manila to dive in all that traffic and long lines in the mall.

Even if we are on a very tight budget, we were able to spare some for a movie and a late lunch.

This year, we decided to dine in the relatively long-standing small Japanese restaurant in the bridgeway of Megamall: Tokyo Cafe.

I had previous encounters with omurice in other restaurants but it didn't make that much impression on me as much as their version of the dish did.

Sticky rice was made more stickier with the chicken ala pobre that they mixed in their omelette rice.  It was so tasty that it was good by itself.  The serving is for two to three people.  The egg was cooked just the way I liked it - cooked midway to well-done (if there's such a thing).

Ambiance:  3 out of 5
I prefer to dine in a quiet place to enjoy the food and company.  However, it is in the most crowded part of the mall and the restaurant is so wide open, you can hear the noise from outside.  However, I love their white furniture against the white walls (and from what I remember, some apple greens).  The seemingly clean place is totally appealing.  

Taste: 3 out of 5
I haven't tried all of their dishes.  The omurice gets the 5 out of 5 score.  However, the food presentation in the photos in their menu (particularly the sandwiches) wasn't the actual thing you'd get.  We also ordered the interesting-looking sandwich, but when it came to our table, it was poorly prepared.  It was a far cry from the photo in the menu (which was the main reason why I ordered it).

Service:  5 out of 5
I didn't have to ask for anything.  They provided all that we needed.

Cost: 3 out of 5
The price is affordable.  However, if the other dishes was like the sandwich we got, then they are over-priced.

Victorino's

There are so many homes turned into restaurants around the metro.  And I've encountered one more last night.  It was the second one I've visited in the QC area (the first one was Romulo's which was years ago).

The place looked ancestral with traditional furnitures and fixtures on the inside.  However the facade was a bit on the contemporary on the outside.

Since it was our first time, we asked the waiter what was his recommendations.  And that was what we ordered.  The waiter seemed to know what were the dishes that would make us come back for another round.

I liked the Fiesta rice most of all.  It was good on its own.  The next one was the adobong baby pusit.  Crispy bagnet was a general favorite on our table.  The Poqui-poqui dish earned a good laugh with its name but we were quiet consuming the vegetable dish made of eggplant since it was really good despite the fact that I didn't like mushy things.

Poqui-Poqui

Adobong Baby Pusit

Crispy Bagnet

And their dessert choices were not something that would disappoint.  In fact it was the perfect finish.

Lemon Torte, their best seller!  I LOVE THIS!

I ordered this but I preferred the lemon torte somebody else ordered.  :)

 
Ambiance:  5 out of 5
They got the "homey place" I think they're trying to give.

Taste: 5 out of 5
I eat out to try something different from our traditional dishes.  However, I realized that I haven't tasted everything that our country has.  Thanks to this restaurant, I tasted Ilocano meals that I didn't know they had.

Service: 4 out of 5
I think they are undermanned. However, the staff did their best to accommodate people.

Cost: 4 out of 5
Price was pricey but reasonable since they were all sumptuous since they were all cooked perfectly.


Located at:
Scout Rallos Street cor. 11th Jamboree st.  Sacred Heart, Quezon City

Sisig Hooray

Yesterday, I tried Sisig Hooray for the first time.  When BF asked what I wanted for lunch, I couldn't think of anything so I dragged him down to the food court.  We round up the stalls like we usually do.  I asked him to say stop if he sees something he likes.  But like before, I usually do the honors of stopping him in his tracks.  He doesn't have the chance (to choose) when he's with me.  (Now that I'm aware of it, I'll probably have to let him the next time.)

Sisig Hooray got me at "Sisig".

This man was making a lot of noise.  Well, not exactly noise because he was beating his wood chopping board like he was beating drums.  I'd say he was performing to get noticed and I'd say it worked because there were a bunch of customers that came after us.  

He was chopping pork cheeks to the smallest pieces possible.  

Most of the time, I have to know what's on my plate before I actually eat them.  So I asked the one on the front, what pork parts do they serve and they showed me a pile of cooked-to-golden-brown meat and told me they were pig cheeks.  Deciding that it was safe enough, we ordered two sets of pork sisig.  

They charge reasonably well. 

It cannot get more oily than this.

You can see bits of green chili and they topped it off with generous amount of ground pork rinds or chicharon.  

I loved their sisig.  Even though I know it wasn't good for anyone's health (because it is practically oozing with saturated fat and cholesterol ... and probably trans fat), it is just too good.  I'm not kidding.  

I know I'm going back there.  Maybe once a month of their sisig is not so bad at all.

Hooray for Filipino Sisig!

C2 Classic Cuisine

I have considered Classic Cuisine a.k.a C2 as a family restaurant.  We have been visiting their Shangri-la branch for the past two years.  And now that they have opened a branch in Megamall Atrium, there are more chances that we are likely to dine over and over.

Food:  5 out of 5

This restaurant serves the best of Philippine cuisine.  It serves meals that even most Filipinos haven't encountered yet unless they have been all over the country and get to taste each one of the delicacies.

My ultimate favorite is the Crispy Kare-Kare, although it is an ultimate no-no for those who are trying to lose weight or starting a healthier lifestyle.  The traditional crispy pata is served in a large plate with the kare-kare sauce separate from the rest.  The vegetables are also good if you can find them underneath the crispy pata. 

Also, it is frequent that I order something healthier like fish.  They include in their menu (boneless) Tilapia seared in coconut oil immersion.  It is best eaten when the fish has just been cooked.  The fish is tasty on its own.  It gets better when it has some gata on it.  There are also crunchy potato strings on top of it that you can start to chew on.  It is the only plate wiped clean in every visit.

A Filipino meal wouldn't be complete without good old warm rice.  C2 kicked it up a notch when salted egg is mixed with it.  It is only in C2 that I know that serves salted egg rice.  There might be others but I haven't had the chance to visit them.  The salted egg rice is good to eat on its own. 

In this particular visit, we were able to order Tokwa't Baboy but I wasn't able to try and taste it myself.  I'm sure it taste as good as it looks. 

I ordered Tsokolate Eh for myself.  I have never tried it out before.  Instead of the usual preference for cold drinks and fruit shakes, I opted to try something different.  I wasn't able to finish the whole cup.  I thought it was too sweet for my taste.  There were also lumps of undissolved cocoa that you get to dissolve in your tongue.  I'm not sure if it's supposed to be that way but it made it more interesting.

For dessert, leche flan is our top choice.  The serving is relatively small but it didn't matter because it was so good that you get more than what you need in a bite.  It's one of the softest leche flan there is.  For something that could melt like that in your mouth, you'd wonder how it hold up in the first place.

Service:  4 out of 5

There is nothing bad that I could say about the service in both C2 branches that I know of.  They make you wait for as little time as possible.  You can not also complain of them being undermanned.   

Price:  2 out of 5

The price of their food ranges from around Php100 to Php700.  I thought it is was too pricey for my usual budget.  Hence, if I was paying, I would reserve dining in C2 for special occasions only.

Ambiance: 3 out of 5

The branch in Shangri-la is a bit noisy especially during lunch time.  Sometimes, it would seem that you're dining in the food court.  On the other hand, Megamall Atrium branch is a bit quieter because you get to eat in an enclosed area.  Their restaurants are not cozy like some other restaurants of the same rank but still provides a place for a pleasant conversation over really good food for any group of diners.