MAIN STREET'S AWESOME NEW MENU

          To me, Main Street Restaurant in Kapitoly has always been one of those restaurants to me that I go to when I'm not in the mood to explore new places. Every time I visit, I know i'm in for an amazing meal. I've always felt that the style Main Street's Head Chef Adam Tan really appeals to my personal palate, making me excited when I find out he has whipped up something new. 

       Chef Adam recently unveiled new items to Main Street's Menu, so I couldn't wait to troop to Kapitolyo to give it a try! 

FEELING RIGHT AT HOME AT BAKERE CAFE

            I've never been one to go for fine dining. I really much prefer, simple, homey comfort food, especially when done right. I recently discovered one such restaurant that epitomizes everything I love about comfort food, almost to the point where I felt the menu was developed specifically for me in mind. 

         Guys, I'm really excited to tell you all about one of my favorite new restaurants of 2017, Bakere Cafe! 

BAO WOW AT DON BAO!

            I am a huge fan of Baos. In fact, when I visited New York in 2012, one of my first stops was the popular Baohaus, perhaps one of the restaurants that helped catapult the Bao into international attention.While Rina, on the other hand, is a rice girl through and through, so whenever we go out, there usually needs to be a promise of a decent rice meal some way or some how. During one of the KTG's eating adventures, I discovered a cozy little place that specializes in not just Baos, but Japanese "Dons" as well.. Meaning rice bowls. The marriage of the delectable Dons and those breathtaking Baos became the the foundation of a a charming little restaurant in Pasig.. Don Bao. 

                

MAIN STREET: THE MAIN ATTRACTION AT KAPITOLYO

No, i'm not wearing a hair clip, smartass.

 (I only wear them at night)

             I don't think I've ever made a secret of my heavily Western influenced palate. People call me Picky, but I've always seen myself as more of a "Simple" kind of guy. A plate of Burgers and Fries make me happier than Foie Gras or Escargot ever could.

    This is one of the reasons why I enjoyed Main Street at Tuscany at Mckinley Hill so much. It has got that simple comfort food that I look for, but executed in a manner that makes it clear that this isn't something you can just throw together with stuff in your fridge. And yet yet there is something familiar about it, that makes you feel right at home. 

     After three years of taking Tuscany at Mckinley by storm, Main Street expanded further out into the metropolis, by opening a branch at Kapitolyo, Pasig. 

    And the good news? IT'S NEARER TO ME!!

GO BIG OR GO HOME: SIZE MATTERS KAPITOLYO!

      Flashback to 2011: Rina and I heard about a small place in Quezon City that served up massive burgers, including one made with breakfast sausage patties. That was pretty much all I needed to hear to schedule a visit, but what made it more serendipitous, was that I immediately found a great deal on Groupon for it!  

      Cut to Present day: The QC branch is no longer there, but thankfully, there's one just a few minutes a way from my house. I actually found out about this place late in 2014, during my company's Christmas Party, which was held at the same building where Size Matters is located at. Although it was a party with food all around, I abstained from eating a single bite, because afterwards, me and a couple of office mates decided to head down here for a late night bite. 

    After all these years, Size Matters proved that when it comes to burgers.. Well.. You know what's next!

A TASTE OF PORTUGAL: GOSTOSO PIRI PIRI CHICKEN

Bad hair day.

            I never thought I would be interested in anything "Piri Piri". My first impression of the term would be that the food would be so infused with Chilis, a single bite would be enough to scorch my tongue, and have me running out to the nearest canal just to dip my tongue. Fortunately, a trip to Gostoso Piri Piri Chicken changed all that. 

          Through their simple, yet incredibly tasty dishes, I discovered that Piri Piri isn't merely just about heat, but all about flavor. 

LUNCH AT POCO DELI WITH A NEW FRIEND!

           Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that this blog of ours would reach so many people, in such a short amount of time. Which is why every time someone tells me - whether through Facebook, Twitter, or in person - that they read my blog, I can't help but beam with pride. 

     Tiny is one particular reader that reached out to me through Instagram. It's a funny story how it happened, because nothing like this has ever happened to me before. Instagram alerted me that I got a mention from a user that I was not friends with. When I clicked on it, I wasn't allowed to view it because her profile was set to private. I was actually in the middle of doing something so I thought nothing of it. The next day, when i was fiddling around with Instagram again, I noticed the alert was still in my notifications. I took a good look at the little thumbnail and noticed something. 

      It was a picture of me!

     Of course it got me wondering if I knew this person or not, and what my picture was doing there, which I recognized from an old blog post. I added her as a friend, and I saw that she was a Pinay reader that was based in another country, and was just telling everyone that she enjoyed reading my blog. 

     I'll tell you this right now.. It was a truly wonderful feeling. 

       Since that day, Tiny and I have been corresponding through Instagram and Facebook, and have become friends. We made plans to finally meet when she came back to Manila for her Christmas vacation. 

    When she asked where we could meet up I couldn't but think to myself.. "Where else would you meet up with a girl named "Tiny", but at "Poco Deli"! 

JUST FONDUE IT AT ELEVEN TABLES

         While the entire country was on the Holy Week vacation, Rina's job unfortunately required her to work. Luckily though, her shift doesn't start until 3pm, and she can do her work from home. (I should seriously start looking into that. Imagine how much I could save on my water bill, not needing to shower before going to work!) I told her that I wanted to take her and Baby Rain out for lunch so we could get home before her shift started, so we don't go all "The Shining" staying in the house throughout the break. 

     Chaikka, who was getting bored out of her mind at home, had said that should we have any plans, to let her know right away, and no matter what it was, even if it was a midnight Magnum run to our villages' Mini Stop, she was in. 

        I had done a little research before the break began, so I had an idea of what restaurants would be open during the Lenten season, and one stuck to the back of my mind. After a leisurely driver around The Fort and Ortigas, I decided it was time to give that restaurant a try..

      "Eleven Tables" at Kapitolyo. 

MAN UP AT MAD MARKS!

            I've been curious about what exactly it is about the Kapitolyo area that just made it suddenly boom with some very interesting "Hole In The Wall" restaurants. Ever since Charlie's Grind and Grill exploded unto the burger scene, an eclectic selection of food choices have popped up in the area, making it somewhat of a food lover's Mecca. 


        Though Kapitolyo is actually quite near my place, I've never gotten a chance to go to any of their restaurants just yet.. Something I knew I had to rectify right away. I actually made a list of the restaurants in that area that I wanted to try, and ranking high on the list was Mad Mark's.