January 1 of this year fell on a Sunday and since The Boyfriend and I were out with his family, he decided it would be best to try out a new place while everyone was with us. He took care of most of the ordering and here are the dishes that we had:

We started the meal with a complimentary bread basket. The spread that came with it was tomato and olive oil. The photo above is the piece of bread The Boyfriend “prepared” for me.

The appetizer he selected was the Chorizo Bilbao (Php235.00). There were six pieces in a serving and it was a good thing that there were just six of us as well, so everyone was able to try it out. I found this a bit too salty for my liking. I remembered the choriza al vino which we had in another Spanish place in Greenbelt and decided I prefer that one way better.
After we’re done with the appetizer, the rest of our food started to arrive on our table. First up was the Paella Negra (Php375.00), which The Boyfriend absolutely liked. He said he liked how soft the grains were and how all of them were well-coated by the squid ink. I found it just okay, but probably because I was never really a fan of this type of paella ever since I was young.

By the way, he ordered two different types of paella since each serving was just good for 2 to 3 heads. The Paella de Marisco (Php595.00) was the second one and was the one that I enjoyed better. I found it flavorful and I liked seeing all those seafood piled on top.

The Boyfriend also ordered the Costilla de Adan (Php395.00): It was pork swimming in barbecue sauce. I found the sweetness of this dish too overpowering, so I have to be honest and say this is the dish that I least enjoyed. After I tried a piece of the pork, I couldn’t taste anything else even after trying to wash it away with lots of water. The sweetness just killed my sense of taste. The Boyfriend, on the other hand, liked it a lot.

The last dish for the night was the Chef’s recommendation: Huevos est Jamon (Php295.00), which consisted of potatoes, slices of ham and two eggs. If I’m not mistaken, they were also sprinkled with paprika. The Boyfriend said that this was a really good dish and was really raving about it, but since I couldn’t taste anything else anymore at that point, I couldn’t agree or disagree with him. I am willing to give this another shot on our next visit so that I could give it a better rating.

There’s no doubt about it that if only my taste buds were still at tip-top shape, I would’ve requested that we order the crema catalana, which is a dessert quite similar to the well-known crème brûlée. Although I have an inkling on what that dessert would taste like, I’m still curious about it since I saw one being made on one of the programs from Discovery Travel and Living (TLC). There’s always a next time so I won’t be disappointed just yet.

**Barcino has branches at the following locations: Greenbelt 2, The Fort, Ortigas Town Center and Rockwell.

I know it’s already a couple of days into 2012 and my greeting’s a bit late. I’m hoping that everyone is having a great 2012 so far, and that things would just get better and better for all of us.

My first dinner for 2012 was at a place that I haven’t been to before, and I’ll share my experience with you on my next post.  For now, I’m just itching to let you know that I’ve been hearing about Gong Cha for months, but was only able to try it out yesterday after my shift! A new branch just opened a block away from my office so it was pretty easy for me to get my brother and I something to drink. I was glad that even if it was already almost 7 p.m. when I dropped by, the queue wasn’t very long and that the staff were friendly. Service was definitely quick as well!

My brother was fast to decide that he wanted the Taro Milk Tea, but I had some trouble coming up with a decision on what I should get for myself. After some time, I decided to try their Winter Melon Alisan Tea with only 50% sugar. The best way to describe the drink was that it was very clean and refreshing. It’s best for cooling down a person’s body.  It was actually pretty good and I’m already looking forward to buying another one in the next few days.  I would like to try their other products too; It won’t take that long for me to go through most of their drinks since their product list is noticeably shorter compared to the other tea places in the metro.

Winter Melon Alisan Tea (冬瓜阿里山茶). Php85.00 for a Large serving.

**Gong Cha has branches in the following places: Glorietta 4, SM City North Edsa, SM Megamall Atrium, Robinsons Place-Manila, SM Mall of Asia and Shopwise Cubao.

Miso Chasu Ramen

It sucks that we live far from the only two Ukokkei branches in Manila.

I just realized recently that I haven’t posted a single blog entry for this month. It’s been a crazy month of celebration after celebration and finally, I’ll be able to share one of those events with you. Here’s a quick glimpse of what we had for Christmas Eve dinner last night:

(From left to right) a wedge of Cambozola, slices of parma ham and slices of Gruyere cheese; an entire boat of California Maki; and a plate of salmon slices with onions and capers.

Palabok from Red Ribbon and lechon from Elarz

Cakes from BreadTalk (Thanks to Christine) and from Cheesecake, etc. (Thanks Arlene!)

Drinks for the night: (left to right) Novellino Light Strawberry, Ventisquero Clasico Cabernet Sauvignon, and bottles of soda

I wish everyone’s enjoying the holidays as much as I am. Joyeux Noël! ♥

My brother and I decided to try Akiba Cafe at SM Megamall when we were there with the family last Sunday. We already had our lunch at an Italian restaurant and we decided we’ll have our post-meal drinks there. I didn’t know that Akiba Cafe existed until we stumbled upon it purely by chance. Dhya has heard about Akiba Cafe before, but it was also his first time to actually see the place.  It’s been so long since we last stepped inside Megamall that everything looked so interesting to me again!

Here’s a photo of Akiba Cafe’s stall. It’s really neat! I hope they get their own “real” store space soon! I wouldn’t mind spending my lazy days there. The staff were also very nice – definitely a plus!

Dhya ordered himself the famous Matcha (Green Tea) Trifle Tea, which costs Php100 for the Huge serving. It’s almost the same with Happy Lemon’s Rock Salt and Cheese drinks in a sense that they both have the same delicious foamy top, but Akiba Cafe’s doesn’t have the strong rock salt and cheese flavor. What I love about the matcha trifle tea is that it feels like you’re just eating green tea ice cream; It also cleanses your palate quite well.

Since the bro already ordered the trifle tea for himself, I decided to order the Chocolate Macadamia Ice Blended Coffee (Php120 for Large) instead. It was also very good; I wouldn’t mind ordering this again on my next visit. The whipped cream on top had a bit of sweetness to it, which I enjoyed too.

**Akiba Cafe is located on the 2nd floor of SM Megamall Building A.  

Starbucks was (as expected) packed as well because of the clamor to get the 2012 planner, so off to UCC I went. I rarely hang out at coffee shops on my own, and it did feel a bit awkward for the first few minutes. Once I managed to score a corner booth and started reading through a magazine, I was lost in my own little world and actually enjoyed having two full hours only for myself. No strained conversation with a companion, no distractions. Just me, my meal and my reading material.

Iced Cafe Mocha (Php135.00)

Fried Shrimp Toast (Php299.00). This was just so-so. It was delicious, but after a couple of bites, I started to feel like I was eating too much oil since the sandwich was fried. I enjoyed munching on the potato chips, though. They were salty and garlicky at the same time (always a good combination!). The potato salad on the side was just right, and did provide the much needed break from all that oily food.

…This experience just reminded that I should spend more time alone and just enjoy the things I find relaxing. It’s quite therapeutic. ♥

Dad was still feeling a bit hungry since he wasn’t satisfied with what he ate during lunch, so he decided to order the Seafood Salad (approx. Php350). He gave most of the ebi fry and fried fish to us, but he enjoyed munching on the greens. It was also a good thing that the sauce wasn’t too sweet, or else he wouldn’t have been able to use it at all.

He also ordered the Iced Cafe Latte (Php125) for his drink. He said that it was quite good.

Mom wasn’t feeling too hungry so she just opted to get herself the Mocha Cooler (Php140). She said that it was delicious, but that the serving was quite small. She wanted to have more.

Ahya and I felt like eating some pastries, so he chose the Toblerone Cappuccino Mousse (Php175)…

and I chose the Oreo Coffee Mousse (Php195). Both were delicious! We split the goodies between the two of us, with Mom taking a small forkful from each so that she can try them out as well.

My beverage of choice that afternoon was the Iced Yin Yan Cha (Php189). I was curious because I’ve never tried it out before, and since I already had coffee that morning, I wanted to change things a bit. This drink was actually quite nice and refreshing. Once I reached the bottom half of the glass, I suddenly found slightly bitter. I had to use a bit of the syrup that went with Ahya’s drink and then mix it in with mine. It tasted a lot better afterwards.

Here’s a photo of my brother’s drink and the main reason why we all trooped to UCC: the Kori Kohi Coffee (Php195). Personally, I found it to be the most interesting thing on our table that afternoon.

The kori kohi coffee is a glass filled with frozen brewed coffee ice cubes. You have to pour the warm milk over the cubes to melt them, and then when they’ve been mixed, it’s time for you to drink it! Ahya seemed to enjoy it since I didn’t hear any negative comments about it.

I liked that particular afternoon because it was a chance for the four of us to bond with each other. It would have been nice if we stayed there a bit longer, but Mom said that we were supposed to head home soon after we settled the bill. I definitely hope we can do it again one of these days…with Dhya/Pointyman and The Boyfriend joining the group!

We took our time browsing through the menu and deciding what we should try out first. We were served complimentary breadsticks while waiting for the food, but I only took a bite off one of them since we noticed that the bottom part of the glass where the sticks were served was wet – and it wasn’t olive oil covering the bottom; it was just water. We weren’t sure if it was clean or not.

While we were amusing ourselves with the menu, there was one thing which caught my eye straightaway and I knew that it was something that we were going to order, no matter what:

The Escaargots baked with garlic butter (Php385)! I used to dislike the mere thought of eating snails, but I think I warmed up to the idea after watching my  Dad and brothers munch through several of them when we used to eat in one of the local Filipino restaurants. Dad has always said that they were delicious.

Here’s a look at the snail once it’s out of the shell. I really loved the chewy, meaty texture and how the garlic butter sauce was just light enough to complement the snails. The Boyfriend and I had three pieces each.

For his main dish, The Boyfriend chose the house specialty: Beef Strogranoff with Buttered Rice (Php375). The buttered rice is being covered by the blanket of egg. The Boyfriend said that it was a pretty good dish, but that the beef could use a little less salt. He was raving about the buttered rice though. 

The photo above is the Garlic Chicken Steak served on a bed of mixed vegetables (Php295). This was just an okay dish; it would have definitely been better if the vegetables were served freshly cooked and if they still had that crispness to them, rather than at room temperaure and already wilted. When this dish arrived, I was a bit surprised. I remember specifically ordering for the Chicken with Cream Sauce so I was wondering where the cream was. After taking a bite and confirming that it definitely wasn’t the dish I ordered, I decided not to complain or have it changed to avoid any more delays. We’ve already waited for quite some time.

The Boyfriend enjoyed his refillable Iced Tea (Php110). It tasted like it was home brewed so it’s a two-thumbs up for him!

My drink was one of the restaurant’s specialty drinks, and if I remember it correctly, it’s called Orange Black Tea (Php125). It was very refreshing and not too sweet. I’d highly recommend this to other people.

There were several things which I liked about our experience, but there were several others which irked me to the core as well (I’m going to try to be a bit more understanding than usual, since I learned that the place just officially opened the day we visited and that the staff just underwent their training the day before):

The place itself was pretty nice; I found it very homey and romantic, but there weren’t really a whole lot of space to move around in, so it was a bit cramped. It would also be nice if the doors could be closed most of the time to avoid having flies buzz around the dining area. We managed to have two of them flying near our table and landing on the wall next to The Boyfriend’s seat.

The staff were okay, but our server was just too eager to serve/please that it was already bordering on annoying. I wasn’t too comfortable with the fact that she was hovering near our table the entire time and that she interrupted the conversation I was having with The Boyfriend several times. There’s a very thin line between being helpful and being intrusive; I hope Ma Maison’s management learns to properly train their staff about this.

Service was a bit slow, but still tolerable. This will probably (hopefully!) improve once everyone gets used to how the business runs. I am hoping that the servers would also ensure that they serve the complete set of proper utensils to the customers, depending on the dish that was ordered. The snail forks were not provided until after we’ve already consumed half of the escargots. I honestly don’t mind using toothpicks, but it would be nice to have the forks ready if they’re available.

Will I still go back? I might. I’m still thinking of trying their other dishes anyway, and I’m curious to see how much they could improve after a couple of weeks. It seems that the Ma Maison in Singapore has quite a big following, so I’m hoping that their branch here in Manila would perform pretty well too.

**Ma Maison is located at the ground floor of Greenbelt 2, right next to Cyma.

We started the meal with a serving of their Pumpkin with Malunggay Soup (Php90.00/bowl), which my Best Friend highly recommended. The Boyfriend and I really enjoyed this soup. It had that sweetness that’s a characteristic of pumpkins and had just the right amount of creaminess in it too. It was really delicious and I would surely order this again. By the way, the photo above only shows half of one serving. We just ordered one bowl, and the servers had it split into two without us telling them.

For appetizers, The Boyfriend decided to order Cerchio’s Pork Sisig (Php230.00). I was initially hesitant about this because I wasn’t in the mood to eat sisig, but I’m glad I decided to go with his decision because we both found it to be very enjoyable as well. It was really good and the crunchy bits stayed crisp even after it’s been sitting on our table for some time (we were trying to eat it very, very slowly :p). Each mound was topped with what we assume as fried quail eggs, which I found really cute to look at. Cerchio’s food presentation is something I like a lot; Too bad the photo I managed to take doesn’t do it much justice.

We ordered two main dishes for us to share, thinking that the serving wasn’t going to be big; I’m afraid we underestimated the place. The Boyfriend’s Bourbon Ribs (Php490.00) was quite a lot and it was really good for sharing. This dish was just okay since some parts of the meat was really tough to chew on.

My choice for the evening was Cerchio’s Chicken BBQ (Php390.00), which was said to be one of their bestsellers. I really liked the java rice and the chicken itself was okay. However, after several mouthfuls of the chicken meat, I noticed that the taste of the sauce was just sweet and there was no oomph factor. Unfortunately, this wasn’t exactly up my alley. I think I made a mistake in choosing another barbecued dish after The Boyfriend already chose the ribs. If I went with something else, I could’ve enjoyed my main dish better since there’s going to be a change in taste and texture.

We washed everything down with their Iced Tea (Php55.00) each. This was so-so for me; still couldn’t beat the one from Cyma though! (I’m so biased when it comes to this. )

Oh, and to end our meal, The Boyfriend decided to order the Bailey’s Panna Cotta (Php90.00). This was a great dessert! It was creamy and not too sweet. I loved how each spoonful just melted in my mouth. The Boyfriend obviously enjoyed this a lot too since it was evident in that signature big grin of his.

I think that our visit to Cerchio definitely had some hits and misses, but overall it was still pretty good. Two big factors that made me like the place was the ambiance and the high level of service provided by the staff. I really appreciated how attentive most of their staff members were and that they were consistently polite to us during the entire night. They would not just remove the empty plates from our table without asking for our permission first; and they also didn’t interrupt our conversations without saying “excuse me” when they need to serve the next dish. I’d probably bring the rest of the family there so that they can enjoy the experience too- and I’ll have to keep in mind that I need to make better choices for our main dishes so that there would be a variety of flavors to savor.

**Cerchio is located at #76 Scout Limbaga Street, Quezon City.

From left to right) Cafe Leigeois for me, Caramel Leigeois for Dulz and a tall, steaming cup of calamansi juice for The Boyfriend who was also feeling a bit under the weather. I happen to like the Cafe Leigeois, which is made up of cold espresso and coffee ice cream. A sure winner for caffeine enthusiasts like me!

The group and I also shared a serving of Le Magnifique, which is a crepe filled with sliced bananas, smothered with Nutella, and then topped with whipped cream, sliced almonds and chocolate syrup. I remember eating the same thing when I first visited Cafe Breton, and it’s still something I enjoy today. Dulz didn’t like having the bananas inside though, so she settled with just getting a bit of the crepe and then concentrating on her caramel drink.

We spent an extra hour or two talking about everything since we haven’t seen each other for almost a month and a half. Being able to bond with Ms. Louisa and Dulz was such a pleasant way to spend my work-free Saturday. I hope to see them again soon, and am also hoping that Ms. Rose will be able to join us the next time.

**Some of Cafe Breton’s branches are located at the following places: Greenbelt 3, Robinsons Place-Manila, Trinoma, Tomas Morato, SM Mall of Asia, UP Ayala Land TechnoHub and The Podium, Ortigas.