SAY CHIZU AT TORI CHIZU!

         Fast-casual restaurant chain Tori Chizu opened late last 2017, bringing an exiting slew of Japanese dishes, given the Western treatment! Japanese classics such as Chicken Teriyaki, Beef Yakiniku and Kani Takoyaki are turned into mouth-watering Baked Rice Meals that are... wait for it... topped with MOZZARELLA CHEESE! 

APPLEBEES PHILIPPINES: FANNING THE FLAME IN EASTWOOD CITY!

        One of the biggest restaurant Chains in the world has opened up their second branch in the Philippines, bringing yet a new dining option to the ever growing Eastwood City! Already one of the hottest dining spots in the country, the fun loving people of QC will be happy to know there's a new place in town where you can celebrate everything!

BRUNCHING AT CAFE ENYE!

First off, let me apologize again for the quality of the photos. It's not on par with my previous work, and that is because my DSLR has been broken for quite some time now. 

Trust me, the food tastes so much better than it looks in these pictures!

           It was genuinely heartbreaking for me when a few months back, I was unable to visit the launch of Cafe Enye- A restaurant that specializes in Spanish Cuisine. What Cafe Enye did was take traditional Spanish favorites, and give it a modern day twist that would be more appealing to the Millennials of this generation.  

     When I saw the photos that my blogger friends were posting, I knew I should have moved Heaven and Earth to have made it to the launch. Despite missing the opening, I was set on visiting Cafe Enye on my own time, with it's Eastwood location relatively easy for me to get to since it's not too far from where I live. Unfortunately, all my plans were one way or another, always thwarted by life.

        Thankfully, I received another invite from Cafe Enye, and this time I said I was definitely going to make time for it.. And I'm so glad I did because they revealed their Brunch Menu, that is absolutely amazing!

GIVE ME LIBERTY: LIBERTY ASIAN REFUGE AND BAR

 

          I still remember the first time I met Chef Jonvic Mangibin. It was for a dinner at the old Olive Kitchen and Kitchen Bar a couple of years ago, where he was the Sous Chef of Chef Rob Pengson. Being the second in command of a celebrity Chef would seem like a daunting task, but I was impressed with how Chef Jonvic seemed to have the full trust of his boss.

       We were happy to meet Chef Rob, however we weren't expecting him  to stay long because of his busy schedule. Lo and behold, Chef Rob just made sure his guests were settled in and comfortable, but by the third course, he bade us all adieu, and left for his next schedule, leaving Chef Jonvic with the reins of his kitchen without a second thought. Mangibin did not disappoint, as he masterfully churned out one dish after another, each dish better than the next.

     Chef Jonvic and I crossed paths once again late last year when I visited Lola Cafe, where he had added his own twist to its classic Filipino menu.

     During my visit, Chef Jonvic kept gushing at his newest baby, which he called, "Liberty". As much as he enjoyed his work at Lola, he was incredibly excited to unveil to his new restaurant, where no pun intended, he had the "liberty" to infuse his own, original ideas. 

    Months later, I got the invite that I've been waiting for. Liberty Asian Refuge and Bar has opened in Eastwood!

BACK AT MESCLUN: THE JAPANESE A5 WAGYU SIRLOIN STEAK

        I first went to Mesclun last year, and was very much impressed with the dishes that Chef Katrina Alcantara has whipped up. After starting at the Linden Suites, Mesclun expanded to Serendra (which was the branch I visited), and now, their newest branch at Eastwood. 

       Last week, I was invited to try their newest items of their menu.. 

      I was really looking forward to what Chef Katrina had up her sleeves this time, but deep down, I honestly had no idea how she could top her earlier dishes.

       Then she brought out a Japanese A5 Wagyu Sirloin Steak.

COOLING DOWN AT SWENSEN'S

                Last weekend, Rina, my brother, my cousin Neil and I trooped over to Eastwood so I could finally watch The Avengers. A movie like The Avengers is something that I would normally watch on the first showing of the first day, however since Rain's Yaya hasn't isn't back from her vacation, we had to nix that idea (Word of advice: In the future, check movie schedules before allowing your daughter's Yaya to go on leave). 


          I wanted to make it a special, relaxing experience for Rina because she's been so stressed out at work and taking care of Rain by herself while I'm at work, so I got her tickets to the Ultra Theater, which is famous for it's comfortable Lazy Boy Chairs. Since it was a blockbuster movie, we got there by 10:30am to get the tickets for the 2:30pm showing, which gave us enough time to eat and go around the mall without feeling rushed.


       2:20pm came along and we made our way to the Ultra Cinema Lobby, only to find out that the cinema kept going through power fluctuations, so they cancelled our viewing. If we wanted to watch, they would give us a refund but we would have to line up once again to get new seats at the other Eastwood mall..defeating the purpose of going to the mall at 10:30am. we ended up missing the 3:30pm showing, and had to wait for the next one at 5:30pm. 


      As you can imagine, I was pissed off. What was supposed to be a relaxing day out for Rina turned into us walking around the mall for seven hours just to wait for a movie!


     Whilst we were waiting for the 5:30pm showing, Rina found out that the international Ice Cream Parlor, "Swensen's" was having their soft opening that day as well. Since I was in a serious need of "cooling off', I thought with how I was feeling, some Ice cream would be absolutely perfect. 

FINALLY.... MOMO CAFE!

Find the hidden Richie

           Sometime last year, our cousin Rosalyn came back from the states for a short visit and asked Rina if she could take us and the rest of the clan out for dinner. Rina was already looking to spend a day with Rosalyn, so having dinner with her was a no brainer. After finally finding a schedule wherein most of the cousins could make it, they settled on Eastwood as the meeting place, since it would be most convenient for everyone. Naturally, Rina said is everyone was asking me for suggestions on where to eat at Eastwood. I told Rina that I had been wanting to go to Momo for quite some time because I've heard some very good things about it. 

        Since it was a weekday and I work in Makati, you can imagine how my drive to Libis was at the height of rush hour. While I was on my hellish ride to Eastwood, Rina called me up to ask what I wanted to order, so that it would be there when I arrived. Since I was busy maneuvering through C-5 traffic, I told her, "Babe, you know me.. You'd know what I'd want to order when you see it." 

       I finally get to Momo and everyone had settled in. Rina tells me that she ordered me the Slow Roasted Herb U.S. Roast Beef Fingers. That would have been perfectly fine and it was definitely something that I would have ordered.. Had I not seen the dish that was listed two items just above it.. 


      3" Thick Sweet Glazed Double Smoked Bacon. 


     I was actually quite shocked that Rina didn't instantly think of me as soon as she read it (everyone else did), but she was just so excited to see her cousin again, that she managed to miss out that item completely. 


     Though I enjoyed the Beef fingers, I couldn't get the thought of the 3" Thick Bacon out of my head. I swore that it would go against every fiber of my being if I wrote a Cafe Momo post that didn't include it. 


     So here I am, true to my word, nearly eight months later.. 


     Ladies and Gentlemen, this is my Momo Cafe post. 

QUICK PICK: HAPPY LEMON'S COCOA WITH ROCK SALT AND CHEESE

     What can you say about the whole Milk Tea craze? No disrespect to those who have been totally captivated by it, but I personally find the stuff disgusting. If you say the words "Gong Cha" or "Serenitea" in my office, everyone loses their frickin' minds, and BAM, it's a given.. They have to order delivery. 


     It's not like I didn't give it a chance either. During a monthly meeting, everyone was asked where we wanted to order merienda, everyone inexplicably answered "Gong Cha". I was baffled because I was thinking to myself.. "But.. That's not.. Merienda...". The fact that we wouldn't be eating any form of solid food (except for the pearls in the bottom of the drink, of course) wasn't an issue. I was suggesting San Lo's Famous Emapanadas but they wouldn't hear it. They wanted their Milk Tea, and nothing else in the world mattered.

My officemates reading the menu of Gong Cha

      My grumbling tummy, however begged to differ. Nonetheless, I decided to not let my pickyness spoil their Milk Tea Party so I played along and asked for a chocolate one, hoping the overpowering taste of the chocolate would blend beautifully with the tea. 


    It did not. 

      It became highly evident that, unless it's "C2 Apple" or "Nestea", I'm not a tea person. 


     So when I heard about "Happy Lemon", I brushed it off as just one of those Milk Tea places. A few months ago, I was reading up about it, and I heard about their famous drink, "Cocoa with Rock Salt & Cheese", and was immediately intrigued, and a little bit weirded out. 


     In my mind, I imagined a glass of the chocolate milk tea I had tried during our meeting, topped off with grated quick melt cheese and a sprinkling of salt. Weird, right? 


      I asked my friend, the lovely Donna, if she tried had tried it already, and she said she had, and she loved it. I then asked my officemate, and Serenitea addict, Chi, if she had tried it. She said "Yes, but I like Serenitea more". So I asked her why, and she replied, "Because Happy Lemon's Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese isn't tea. It's chocolate!"


     It seemed my disgust with milk tea clouded my thinking so much, I hadn't realized that Happy Lemon's Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese does not have the word "tea" in it at all. 


 Problem Solved.  


     So one fine day, when Rina and I were at Rockwell, we came across a Happy Lemon, sat ourselves down and decided to give the popular drink a try. 


    And so began our addiction to Happy Lemon's Cocoa with Rock Salt and Cheese. 

THE FOOD GODS SMILE ON SAMBOKOJIN: YAKINIKU SMOKELESS GRILL

          As a food blogger, a question I have been asked many a time is.. 

"What's better: Sambokojin or Yakimix?" 

       Considering one has the exact same smokeless grill buffet concept as the other, there's no way you can mention one without mention the other in the next sentence. The comparisons are simply inevitable. 


      Sambokojin is actually the name of a Japanese Kitchen God that came down to our planet to save us from hunger.

A RAINY VISIT TO ZAO VIETNAMESE BISTRO

Believe it or not, this was shot in the early afternoon, yet it was so dark..

      I'm going to do a magic trick for ya.. Quick! Think of the first Vietnamese Restaurant here in Manila that pops up into your brain! Lemme guess.. "Pho Hoa", right? Yeah, I thought so. If not, was it Pho Bac? or Pho 24? (If you thought up of any other restaurant, leave the name on my comment box please?) My point being, choices for Vietnamese food here in Manila aren't exactly easy to come by, unlike, say, Chinese or Japanese. 

    Zao Vietnamese Bistro was one of those restaurants that somehow flew under my radar. In fact, if it wasn't for their Barbecue Platter deal on Groupon Philippines, I wouldn't have even known they existed- Which is strange because, their two branches are located in Eastwood and Serendra - two places that I frequent quite often. 

   So on a gloomy Monday morning, Rina and I braved the rains and trooped over to Eastwood once again, to make sure we use our ZAO voucher before it expires!  

SO-SO O'SONHO

Game on

         After getting the gender results from our trip to the doctor, Rina and I were so happy about hearing that our baby was healthy that we decided to treat our companions, Chaikka, Don, and my sister Raquel (Same people from our Yellow Cab breakfast) to lunch out at Eastwood. Since I had my trusty Voucher from Groupon Philippines for O'Sonho (I only paid P200 bucks for P400 worth of food!), that was pretty much the default choice (Hey we were paying so no complaining). A work friend of mine, Osh, had also mentioned this place to me in the past, as a suggestion for my next destination. Since she is also a notoriously Picky Eater herself, I instantly knew that there weren't going to be any vegetables involved in this food trip (which was totally fine by me).  

         I still remember the first time I noticed O'Sonho. Its right beside Cookbook Kitchen, and I didn't think twice when I passed by it at first, because I thought, for some reason, it was a Japanese Restaurant (I could imagine a Japanese man shouting out, "OSONHO!", like it meant "Delicious!" or something). A closer look revealed that it was actually a Portugese Fusion restaurant. 

        Since Spanish food is a family tradition, I have a high standard for it, and I imagined that Portuguese food wouldn't be very different, so I didn't feel any urgency to try O'Sonho out.

       Then on my way back, I passed by the place once again, and I saw their huge menu outside. There was one dish that totally caught my attention: Coffee Marinated Roast Pork. 

THE EARLY BREAD CATCHES THE YELLOW CAB

Me going to Yellow Cab with my acidic stomach is like 

Frodo taking the ring into the heart of Mordor

         
     Right after posting a "Hole In The Wall" discovery to redeem myself from my brother's accusation of being too "Mainstream", leave it to me to fall back into the same hole by writing about one of the country's most popular pizza joints, Yellow Cab Pizza Co. 


   But of course, me being me, I won't allow this to be just a simple review of the pizzas that Yellow Cab has to offer. This is me, telling you, that Yellow cab has something amazing to offer than just kick ass Pizzas.. but the catch is, are you willing to wake up for it? 

THE FLYING PIG HAS LANDED!

 I'm a "Flying Pig".. get it? A "Flying Pig?... never mind..

         So I'm sure by now, you all know I won the online contest of myfoodtrip.com, right? Meaning, yes, you lucky devil you, are reading the actual written works of Mr. Myfoodtrip 2010, himself. Please.. try to control yourself. (from hurling?) hehe..

       A few days after the winners were announced, I got an email from the lovely Leslie of myfoodtrip.com, congratulating me and as well as coordinating the pick up of my prize. My options were to either have someone pick it up, have them send it through "Snail Mail", or if I would be picking it up. Rina wanted me to pick it up so she could take pictures, ya know, for memories sake. I thought it would be a cool thing to blog about as well. Of course, I asked permission first from Leslie if I picked it up in person, if they'd allow Rina to cover it for my blog, which she of course said was no problem. So Leslie and I set a date to meet over at Eastwood so I could pick up my prize. 

     Picking our meeting place for me was easy. What kind of carnivore wouldn't be drawn to a restaurant with a name like "The Flying Pig"?                     

THE LITTLE LA CREPERIE BY THE CORNER

In a cozy corner of Eastwood

           Somewhere in the new building of Eastwood, lies La Creperie, a small cafe that specializes in - wait for it - crepes. I'm not really a big fan of Crepes. I don't hate it, but i'd prefer to have a pie or a hot fudge sundae instead. As we passed by this place during one of Schatzi's day's out, she asked to go there for Dessert, so I was glad to oblige. 

        From the outside, you can imagine that you're in a cafe on the sidewalk of the streets of Paris. (Of course, I've never actually been to Paris, so like I said, "imagine" it) It had a certain charm to it that would raise your curiosity and grab your attention.

THE KOGI BULGOGI INCIDENT

Not to be mistaken for..

          The first time I saw the sign for Kogi Bulgogi in Eastwood some time last year, when the restaurant itself was still under construction. I went with Rina to meet up some of her high school friends at The Coffee Bean, which was on the ground floor of the next building (across the new Eastwood Plaza). While Rina was sipping on her favorite "Frozen White Chocolate Dream" while swapping stories with her friends, I was looking out the window for a place to eat.

           Rina says I have an uncanny ability of spotting signs on the road of new menu items from fast food places, so with my eagle eyes, I scanned the area and saw the "Kogi" sign. Instantly it caught my attention. Not because i'm such a Korean food lover (I'm not, In fact apart from Kalbi, Bulgogi and Bibimbap, I don't know any other Korean dishes) but because "Kogi" is the name of a very popular Korean BBQ food truck in LA, that I've been dying to try ever since i've heard of it! In fact, my Ninang Pochay in L.A. got me a shirt!

...The original.

         As soon as I saw it, I sprinted to the second floor of the other building, leaving Rina and her baffled friends behind. I was heartbroken (not to mention exhausted) when i got there and realized it was just another Korean Restaurant that ripped off the logo. And though they removed the "flame" from their logo now, I can assure you that their logo on the "Under Construction Tarp" had it, making it look nearly exactly like the Kogi BBQ truck logo (I can't find the pic I took, darn it).

          Since I couldn't forgive their earlier attempt at deceit, It took me a while before I finally agreed to try the place. It was only when I realized that they removed the flame from the logo that I decided I'll try it. And when we took Schatzi out to Eastwood, it was the best time to go on our first Korean adventure. 

      

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..

   

SCHATZI MEETS UNCLE CHEFFY !

Uncle Cheffy Gets a Tongue's Up from Schatzi!

                      During a long weekend which unfortunately coincided with our maid's vacation, Rina and I pondered about where we could bring our Shih Tzu, Schatzi. Of course the default option would be to go to my parents place in Antipolo, but I was dead set on doing nothing during the 3-day break but eating. And when my determination sets in like that, I'm unstoppable. (Only with food though. I'm still thinking if I should apply it to work.) Eastwood automatically endeared itself to us because of it's Pet-Friendly attitude. Every time we go there and Rina sees a dog, she gets teary eyed and says "I really want to bring Schatzi here so he can meet new friends." and then gives me a look that would make Puss-In-Boots look like Linda Blair in The Exorcist. (It's kinda not fair, because when I try to pull that stunt, I get thwapped on the back of head.. as you'll see later)

                     So we knew we were going to Eastwood, but WHERE in Eastwood was still a mystery. A workmate of mine suggested Uncle Cheffy, so I immediately looked it up. I was honestly quite baffled that I hadn't heard of the place before.. Not even in passing. After doing a little research, I decided that this was the chosen one for the first stop of "Schatzi's First Ever Day Out"!

A TASTE OF BUENISIMO

       The First official post of the new adventures of The Pickiest Eater In The World, with Photography by RinaZ! See the difference! (Maybe next time I can find a way to do this in 3D hehe)

By Cafe Ysabel.. so you know they know their stuff.

                   Given my love for food, it's quite normal for friends to go up to me with suggestions for places to eat. My good buddy Joel, or "My Giant" as I more lovingly call him because he's a foot taller than me, (Meaning he's freakishly tall.. not that I'm, you know.. ridiculously short.. OK, fine. it's a combination of both. Happy now?) never fails to mention Buenisimo whenever we talk about food. (Of course he called it "Bellisimo", which turned out to be a totally different restaurant) He raved about their awesome food, generous portioning and the reasonable prices, saying it was a favorite of his daughter Gwen. The last time we went to a restaurant that was one of Gwen's favorites, the said restaurant ended up becoming an instant favorite of our group as well (I don't want to mention the name for future post purposes), so hearing his daughter's stamp of approval, immediately piqued my interest.

                  Not that little Gwen (As of writing she's not yet taller than me, but who knows what'll happen by next week) is some "Paul the Octopus" of food, but that's just how pleased with the first restaurant that got her endorsement. So one fine Saturday morning, Rina and I headed off once again to Eastwood (Which has apparently become one of our favorite malls, based on the number of posts in the past and coming up) to find Buenisimo. Rina was excited more than usual because, as mentioned earlier, this would be her first Official Pickiest Eater "assignment".

                 And I gotta say, the pix really look amazing.. (great job, babe!)

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.

STACKERS BURGER CAFE & "RINA'S REMINDER" *DIET SERIES*

Rina: "Don't forget, you're on a diet!" *click*

             My search for the country's ultimate burger led me to Stacker's Burger Cafe in Eastwood. It's a nice cozy place that claims to serve 100% Pure Aussie beef patties on their burgers. Having a 24 hour "Burger cafe" is a good idea, even though i could never imagine coffee and burgers ever going together.

                 
              As I was looking through the menu and trying to decide what burger and sauce would mix well together, Rina lovingly reminded me that I had told her I was on a diet, and no matter what I'd say or do, I wasn't allowed to break it. Of course, she reminded me this, right after we had sat down. As you can imagine, my mood instantly changed.