Saturday, July 13, 2013

A FOODIE.PH DELIVERY: RUB RIBS & BBQ


         Perhaps the best compliment I could get as a Food blogger is, “Your blog made me hungry!”.That’s exactly what a food blog is supposed to do, so that means I did my job right. I love it even more when they say, “I hate you! Now i’m hungry!”. I know you don’t really hate me (wait.. do you?), but the
mere fact that the hunger my blog caused was so severe, it transformed itself into hatred, is a testament to my it being effective. However, even though I may have made your tummy growl and mouth water with the tantalizing pictures and tempting descriptions of the food, one thing you readers must
understand as well is.. If you think reading my blog is difficult.. Imagine how hard it is to write it?

         I’ll tell you this.. I’m most comfortable writing at home.. that’s where I feel most of my creative juices flow.. but.. At home, we don’t have a cook. No Joke.. our helper almost burned soup. Rina, bless her soul, is still in the process of learning simple recipes, but she’s been going to so many events she hasn’t really had the time to practice yet. So what I’m saying is, more often than not, after a session of writing, I don’t exactly have a gourmet meal waiting for me.

         Sure, it’s easy to call a food delivery service, but you’re often relegated to the major ones with hotlines. Nothing wrong with that, but as a blogger, obviously, I’m on the net a lot. Since I’m already online, I found it to be much easier to have food delivered with establishments that allow you to order
online. I stumbled onto Foodie.ph, a online delivery service that has an impressive selection of restaurants in its roster.

While I was contemplating whether to try it or not, I checked out what restaurants were available in my area, and the only one was the popular Rub Ribs in Kapitolyo.. Which worked perfectly for me, because everyone knows I love me some good ribs. Not to mention, I’ve been wanting to visit Rub for the longest time but never got around to doing so (#FoodBloggerProblems).




          After a quick sign up, I went to the Rub menu to check out what Rina and I wanted before we placed our order. Once we were ready, we just hit the “Order Now” button.





        The site then took us to a screen wherein we may select the delivery time. This is actually quite helpful for advance orders.


     
     When you select your item for the menu, you get the option of putting any special instructions (medium well, no tomato, no veggies.. etc) and not Who the item is for.




        Since my order of ribs came with a choice of side orders, a window was also readily available for me to select which one I wanted



         When we were done, Foodie.ph gave us a recap of our orders, and gave us an option to edit and add orders if needed. The page also included the running bill, and an option to tip your driver (Nice option).

        Once the order was placed, I was taken to the status window, where it confirmed that my order was indeed in the foodie.ph system

        A minute or so later, I got an email from foodie.ph, confirming that my order was placed.

        The brilliant thing about foodie.ph is that every step that your order goes through.. from your driver arriving at the restaurant.. enroute to your house.. you will be notified of its status. As a customer, that’s very important. The wait won’t seem so long, when you’re getting constant updates of
what’s happening with your order.

      Another couple of minutes later, I got a call from the Foodie.ph operator, who confirmed my delivery details. Although everything was already listed in the website and email, this step is necessary because it provides the human element that gives customers that needed assurance that their order is
being attended to.




       The food arrived after around an hour, which was more or less the estimated time that they had stated. I really liked the huge boxes the food was packed in which environmentally, was much better than packaging it in Styrofoam. If you weren’t at home and no utensils available, these boxes would be ideal. Something that disappointed me though, was that the boxes weren’t labelled “For Richie”, for Baby Rain, etc.. making that entire exercise of them asking who its for pretty much useless.

THE FOOD

        I won’t lie to you.. The Rub Ribs Solo wasn’t my first choice. I was honestly contemplating ordering the Beef Fingers or the grilled pork belly, before I came to my senses and realized you can’t order from “Rub” without trying their Ribs.

RIBS



      Funnily enough, the ribs was actually the dish I liked least. Don’t get me wrong.. Im not saying it was bad.. Because it was actually quite tasty and packed with so much flavor, I didn’t need the extra side of sauce that it came with. What Im saying is, it wasn’t anything mind blowingly different from the others I’ve tried. What makes Rub stand out more than anything is its price, which is extremely reasonable. I’ve got to hand it to them though.. the meat tore cleanly off the bone, and like I said, it was very flavourful. On the whole, it’s great value for money.




      One thing I was very disappointed with, was the “Texas Toast”, mainly because.. well.. It wasn’t Texas toast. It was slices of French bread with butter on it. So it was “buttered toast”. If they said that from the start, I wouldn’t have ordered it. From the thickness of the bread alone, it’s clear that this wasn’t Texas toast wasn't Texas as Toast at all. I wouldn’t recommend it as a side. 


Go for the Grilled Corn instead :)

CHICKEN


            I actually enjoyed the fried chicken much more than the ribs. It was coated in a light batter with a touch of spices into it, and fried nicely, giving the skin a beautiful crunch, but keeping the meat juicy. The gravy needed a tad bit of salt, but had a lovely creaminess to it.


        Not to mention, the order seemed close to a “bucket meal” than an order for one person.

FISH & CHIPS


           The Fish and Chips was ordered as an afterthought by Rina. She wanted a fish dish that we could order for Rain, that we could eat ourselves afterwards since she probably won’t finish it by herself.

           It turned out to be the best thing we ordered that day. The fries had some sort of coating on it that gave it a little bit of texture, but needed to be cooked a little bit more so it would be crispy. A shame, because flavour wise, it was delicious. The fish was amazing. The coating was a bit on the heavy
side, but it was fried to a gorgeous crisp that gave way to an immaculate white fish meat that felt like it was melting in your mouth. The fish went perfectly with the creamy aioli sauce that offered a bit of a garlicky kick. After my first bite, I was actually contemplating telling Baby Rain I’ll buy her a pony when she’s eight years old in exchange for letting me have the last few pieces of fish.

       Foodie.ph provides an easy and convenient alternative to ordering food delivery, in a manner so efficient, you can’t wait to plan your next order! 

 Thanks to Foodie.ph, delicious food delivery is just a few mouse clicks away!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Scrumptious Spanish Dishes, Mario's Way! - RinaZ

Rain enjoying her Minnie balloon I bought for her from the streets of Tomas Morato :-)
            It's funny, because I have been familiar with the restaurant Mario's for as long as I can remember, but I never really recall actually dining there. Don't ask why because I'm not sure why either. And when we recently got the chance to try their specials at their branch in Tomas Morato with our little baby girl Rain, I questioned myself more. Their dishes truly are special in their own Mario's way!
          



           Marios has a simple but definitely classy Spanish feel to it's interiors. It's a place where you can have intimate dinners but at the same time a nice place where you can treat your family to a hearty meal! 
          


We started lunch with Mario’s signature Ceasar Salad (P255). You might be thinking, what’s the big deal about a starter Caesar Salad? Well, Mario’s Caesar Salad, is THE BEST Caesar Salad I have ever tasted! It’s so special that they even prepare it table side! 



After tediously making the dressing, it's tossed with fresh lettuce!


 It's then drizzled with bacon and Parmesan cheese! Yum! For the complete step by step, check it out here at Rina's Rainbow!



I took a sip from our friend’s Cucumber Mint Slush. And to my surprise it was quite refreshing! The taste of the cucumber is not as strong and the drink itself is not too sweet. Just right.

Everyone ordered their own dishes and so we didn’t get to try all of it. But here are the photos nonetheless:


Gambas Con Chorizo (P345) is also one of their signature dishes. Shrimps and chorizo combined in garlic olive oil. What’s not to love?


The Millenium Platter (P245). Enjoy a meal of garlic rice, two eggs, and Danggit + Vigan Longanisa! They also have a Daing na Bangus and Chicken Pork Adobo. Choose your pick!



They have Steak and Eggs (P290)! Can't go wrong!


Of course they also have Batangas Beef Tapa (P220) for tapsi lovers!

(FRIED CRABS NA MAY KALABASA SA SIDE)

Soft Shell Crabs in Coco Cream Sauce (P495) looked really good as well! This is one of Mario’s Seasonal Dishes. It is served with plain rice and vegetable of the day.


The Barbecue Spare Ribs (P400) is a sight to behold. Marinated and smothered in Mario’s very own barbecue sauce and served with garlic rice.



I ordered the Filet Mignon (P640) because I saw the description that it was wrapped in bacon, but completely forgetting the fact that filet mignon has zero fat. Pure lean meat. But I still enjoyed it nonetheless especially the mashed potatoes and the bacon.


Another beautiful classic is the Rack of Lamb (P850). Cooked charbroiled and then served with port mint sauce. This one’s pricey but for sure the quality will give justice to it. (I didn’t get to taste sorry!) This is actually one of Mario’s specialties!



The Chicken Parmesan (P350) also looks promising. Looks like a really good creamy comfort food! When I saw this I admit I actually wished I ordered this instead. I just hope they used thigh part instead of breast haha! I’m a red meat kind of person. The chicken breast is topped with a creamy cheese sauce, and fettuccini al burro. 


They also have a steak version which is the Steak Bearnaise (P635). It’s a top grade tenderloin steak served with fettuccine al burro.


And last but not the least, our favorite! Included in the Chef’s Special menu: The creamy and very flavourful Three Mushroom Pasta in Black Truffle Oil with Bacon! Richie is a fan of oil-based pastas (basically because he can’t eat tomato-based ones because of his hyper-acidity). The bacon serving is not bad too! Huge chunks actually. It’s dishes like this that deserves to be framed and displayed. (Oh by the way it also has Shiitake, button, and oyster mushrooms. Was so focused on the bacon that I forgot to mention that. After all it IS called Three Mushroom Pasta haha!)


Okay... this is not a photo of the eye of Sauron or a fire breathing dragon. This is actually DESSERT TIME! And there’s only one way to have an awesome dessert, and that is to do it FLAMBE style! (Ole!!!)


They have three types of famous flambes, Crepes Suzette, Fruit Crepes, and Jubilee (P350) which is what we had. It’s mango, banana or strawberry (depending on season), immersed in liqueurs and then flamed over a delicious vanilla ice cream! All of their flambés are good for two. An inexpensive but very impressive dessert to offer your date! (pogi points!)

Trust me when I say that ordering in Mario’s is hard as everything looks delicious! Mario’s years of experience is apparent in their dishes. You really get what you pay for!  Can’t wait to try their Great Sunday Lunch Buffet! You can check for their latest promotions here. (http://www.marios.com.ph/promo.php)

         Here are just some more mala-"family" photos of our fun luncheon at Marios! but it's not a photo of me, Richie, and Rain. They're photos of our fun blogger friends and adorable Rizzo, the son of the one and only Marty and Tin of Mad Meats who was able to join us that day! Fun fun fun!:-)

Rizzo and Tito Spanky (Pwede na Spanks! hehehe)

Rizzo and Tito Gerry
Having a discussion on what else to order hahaha!

191 Tomas Morato Ave. cor. Scout Gandia
Quezon City

Telephone Numbers:
372.0360 / 415.3887 / 376.6210

Fax Number:
372.0352

Email Address:
mariosqc@marios.com.ph






  





Tuesday, July 9, 2013

TERIYAKI BOY DELIVERY!

Reviving my series on Delivery Services in Metro Manila.. Hope you enjoy! 


            Being a food blogger for nearly three years, people are often surprised to hear that neither Rina nor I know how to cook. Basically, all we really know how to do is eat. It's actually how I fell in love with her. I finally met a woman who can match my appetite. 

         Anyway, during the weekends, if we don't go out to eat we're usually stuck at home with canned goods or something processed. But when we're really lazy (which is pretty much every weekend), we order food delivery. 

        I went online and found out that Teriyaki Boy now delivers! I hadn't been to Teriyaki Boy in YEARS, so I figured this was a good time to revisit their Japanese food.

Monday, July 8, 2013

SHAWARMA GUYS AT THE FORT STRIP!


             Truthfully, I'm not a very huge fan of Mediterranean food. I feel that sometimes, the ingredients they used is a bit too far out for my simple, Joe Shmoe Palate. But I do have to admit, I'm a fan of a good Shawarma. I pick out the tomatoes, and cucumbers and whatever vegetable they may have thrown in there (Or request it with no veggies hehe), drizzle my meat packed wrap in the garlic sauce, and BAM, i'm good to go (Did that sound weird?). 

       One time a few years back, I was having dinner at my parent's place. My mom (who loves experimenting with recipes), made a deconstructed Vegetable Shawarma, filled with egg plant, yellow peppers and the like (I say "deconstructed" because you wrap it yourself). Truthfully, when mixed with the garlic sauce she made, it was actually quite good. If there is anyone who is aware that I am a Picky Eater, it's the woman who raised me and had to deal with my picky-ness first hand, so she also prepared a plate of liempo for me to devour, just to make sure I don't complain. 

      As I was watching them wrapping up their shawarmas in the pita bread (she also set aside some grilled chicken breast strips for those who wanted more protein in their shawarma), I realized I was missing out on the fun. The steaming Pitas were too irresistible to pass up, so I decided I wanted to make a shawarma. I had already put a small pile of liempo on to my plate, so I was getting a little guilty (just a little) about double carb-ing my meal.. A chicken breast-veggie shawarma, and liempo with rice? You can't have liempo without rice, can you? You could very well lose your Filipino citizenship! 

      Torn between wanting to make myself a shawarma and eating my liempo, a had a moment of Zen, and did the unthinkable: I made a Liempo Shawarma.  And it was incredible. How incredible? Well.. My companions for the evening.. meaning my brother, my wife, and yes, even my mom saw what I was doing. And guess what? There was loads of chicken breast and veggies leftover that night.. and not a single piece of liempo. 

       I called my creation "Inihaw na Shawarma", and realized that there was so much possible concoctions one could come up with, using that classic Mediterranean wrap. The closest thing I had ever seen to creativity with a shawarma, was when a popular Mediterranean restaurant gave you an option to add french fries into it (Quite good though). But how about a shawarma for the everyman.. the guy that doesn't eat too much veggies.. the guy whose taste buds has been far too influenced by the Western culture.. A guy like me? 

     Enter Shawarma Guys.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

THE WINNERS OF THE OUTBACK GC'S ARE....



Thank you to everyone who participated.. You guys are absolutely awesome!

A big thank you to the amazing people
 at Outback for their generous contribution to my Third anniversary Giveaway!

Without further ado, I shall announce the two winners of the Outback Steakhouse GC's worth P2,000 Each! 


Saturday, July 6, 2013

THE WINNERS OF THE TGI FRIDAYS GUESSING GAME!



            Congratulations, everyone who join T.G.I. Fridays Guessing game got the answer right (except for that one dude that answered finger chickens.. you know who you are)! 

        But unfortunately, there can only be two winners! One winner through the giveaway via the blog, and another winner from the giveaway I held via Instagram! 

Here are the winners!

Thursday, July 4, 2013

KRISPY KREME: SPECULOOS AND MONSTERS UNIVERSITY DONUTS!



Image source 

               Monsters working for a Monster electricity company, using scare as a tactic to gather children's screams, which in turn are used to power up the electricity of the Monster world. But as a little human baby girl accidentally crosses over to the Monster world, oblivious to monsters, top scarer James "Sulley" Sullivan finds himself going out of his way to bring the little girl back home safely to the human world. In the end, the supposedly huge and scary monster and the little girl develop a strong friendship which made it hard for him to say goodbye :')


            And just like that, Walt Disney and Pixar never fails to entertain viewers of all ages, as well as touch the hearts of people. Just like how Krispy Kreme never fails to warm the dessert bellies of all ages!

Monday, July 1, 2013

WELCOME BACK, CPK VINTAGE PIZZAS! BY RINAZ

I still remember the first time I ate in California Pizza Kitchen. It was a certain number of years ago when they had their branch at the bridgeway of Shanrgi-La Plaza. Yep! It was that long ago! And the very first pizza of theirs that I tasted was the wonder that is Peking Duck Pizza! And I fell in love!

CPK has been continuously innovating and experimenting one-of-a-kind pizza flavours (which is awesome) but somewhere along the way, our favorite Peking Duck Pizza faded from the menu to make room for the newbies. Awwww! So imagine our surprise and delight when CPK brought back this beloved Peking Duck pizza and 4 more pizzas and are re-introducing them as their Vintage Pizzas! And upon tasting their new old vintage pizzas, I can’t help but add more of their pizzas on my list of favourites! 

Richie couldn't resist trying the pizzas himself, he skipped out from work for during his lunch break, just to drop by CPK in Greenbelt!


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