THE BURGOO BLUES

The calm before the storm

                  After a week-long absence from blogging, I'm back for the next chapter of my adventures! My next stop was during a trip to SM Marikina. First of all, I was surprised that the mall itself was a lot nicer than I thought it would be. But then again, it's SM, so how different could it be, right?

               But since one of the newer malls, the place was still lacking in restaurant choices. I already went to TOSH, and I wasn't planning on doing a post on Burger King, so the next best choice was either Burgoo or Teriyaki Boy. For some reason that I cannot understand, I chose Burgoo. 

                    A decision I would eventually regret.

THE WONDER THAT IS COOKBOOK KITCHEN

 I hate when I leave my beanie.

              A workmate of mine told me about this place called "CookBook Kitchen" in Mandaluyong that supposedly has phenomenal food. Naturally, I immediately did a little background check to see if they had anything that would interest me and interestingly enough, there was. Their ENTIRE MENU. It's quite rare that I see a menu of a restaurant online wherein I want to try every single pork and fish dish on it. If you remove the "Garlic Shrimps" from the appetizers, that would make it 3-0, while getting rid of the "Menudo" from the Beef Dishes, would make it 4-0. That's still a pretty good ratio, though.

      Ahh.. but does it taste good? That's another question. As fantastic as their lineup of food was, I knew I'd never know the answer unless i tried it myself. As we were driving home from Schatzi's day out in Eastwood, I saw at the front of the new building the sign of "CookBook Kitchen". I was curious if that was the same one that my workmate was talking about. I used my detective skills (read: Facebook) to find out if it was the same thing, and as it turns out it was, saving me a trip to Mandaluyong. (It's not that far I know, but like I said, Rina and I enjoy going to Eastwood)

     So would their menu that sounds so perfect on paper live up to the standards of The Pickiest Eater In The World? Well, let's put it this way.. *Spoiler Alert* (That was for you, Kim).. I found out that within the walls of Cook Book Kitchen lies a dish that made it to my list of One Of The Best Things Ever..

   

THE GUSTAVIAN "SPECIALS"

        Before I go any further, lemme just say that this will be the very last post with pictures from my old Facebook and Rina's old Multiply albums. From here on end, It's going to be new adventures posted, with kick ass pictures care of RinaZ! Early into the blog, a friend of mine said she wondered how long this will last.. 3 months and 32 posts later, (not to mention with material good for at least another month backed up), I think it's safe to say I'm here to stay! Thank you for being part of my eating experiences! I've got a whole bunch of exciting food trips lined up, so I hope you'll all continue to stick around for the ride :)

               Enough with the sentimental crap..Today we visit...

 Nice Euro feel to it.

                      I first heard of The Gustavian from one of my bosses. He heard me asking around what's a good place in Eastwood to eat at. He immediately chimed in about The Gustavian.. "Very good food, great deli selection, at an affordable price", was his comment. Of course it didn't sink into me back then, that what may be termed as  "Affordable" to a boss, may not fall under the same category to said bosses' employee. 

                   Rina and I met up with my buddies Ted and Mark for dinner at Eastwood and my bosses' words, ""Very good food, great deli selection, at an affordable price" kept ringing in my head.. I was half expecting a ghost image of me to pop out behind me like a Safe Guard commercial saying the same words.. So it was inevitable.  

                         As I walked toward the door, It said in their "Specials" chalkboard "Greta Garbo Steak P195", giving credence to what my boss had said earlier. So thinking that the coast was clear, Rina and I headed off with my two friends through the doors of The Gustavian.. where we were in for quite a surprise.

TRIPPING OUT ON BIGBY'S

Disclaimer: Once again, this is a very old post so please forgive the photography. 

Rina used her old Sony something-something Phone Camera.

 

From Cagayan to Cebu to Bacolod and finally Manila!

                    As I've mentioned before in my previous posts, I lived a great deal of my younger years in the beautiful island of Cebu. At that time, though, the food choices weren't as vast as it is today. If you wanted Filipino food, you went to either Golden Cowrie or Lighthouse. If Chinese is your thing, You went to Ding Qua Qua or Ding How Dimsum, and Japanese food lovers could go to Ginza or Mikado. The annoying thing about Cebu for me, is that the city's boom seems to have coincided with my departure to Manila. It's almost as if my presence in the city caused the economy to stagnate for so many years. 

                  In all seriousness though, I feel the big boom had more to do with SM and Ayala setting up shop there, than me being a jinx to the whole city (Fingers crossed).When those two establishments opened up, an influx of businesses came into the city, and local businesses saw potential to expand their market. 

                  During a Mall tour that I was tasked to direct a few years back, I noticed the sign of "Bigby's cafe & Restaurant". The design had an "New World" feel to it.. where it kind of looks like something off a map of Christopher Columbus. At first glance, I honestly thought it was an international franchise. I suggested this place to the client I was with, and luckily (for me), she said that when she had gone around the mall herself earlier, "Bigby's" had caught her attention as well. 

                So dinner at Bigby's was set. 

MR. JONES AND ME

The Smile on my face says it all..

           I don't know why i'm attracted to Diners so much. Maybe it's because I don't really consider myself a "Picky Eater" as much as I do a "simple eater", and to me, Diners are basically a place where you can find a whole bunch of simple dishes that you could actually make at home. Short stack of pancakes, omelets, bacon, sausages, etc. (Ok fine, I probably can't make them by myself at home, but the cook at my mom's house can, happy?) And they're most likely the greasy/unhealthy type of food that i'm known to famously love. 

      Even before it opened, you could easily tell from the outside that Mr. Jones was going to be a Diner. Perhaps it was the prominent red booths and vintage soda bottles. Or maybe it was the Americana decors that gave it away. But the bottom line was, it got my attention, so I watched out for the opening. Then one weekend, whilst Rina and I were strolling hand in hand (pa sway sway pa) along Greenbelt, I saw they had their soft opening. They were giving out flyers of their menu, and reading it was like looking at the map of Disneyland. 

              All the dishes sounded so good, I had no idea where to start.  

                     

TWO TIMES BANNAPLE

 I heart Banapple too, but I don't understand why the smiley has to be sideways "text" style..

               One evening, Rina was out with her high school friends, and I was home alone as usual.. (I don't like going out at night.. only to eat hehe) She texted me asking if i've heard of the restaurant called "Bannaple", because she was there at that moment, and felt that i would love practically everything they have on their menu. I saw the colorful Banapple signage along Katipunan, but I had no idea it was a restaurant. I actually thought that it was just a Bakery who sold a "Banapple Pie" (I guess I didn't really think things through). It intrigued me but i never got around to trying it. I did a lot of research, and everyone I asked, and all the sites I checked had rave reviews for the place, so I had to go try it myself.