Jatujak

Thai Resto

Fish Fillet - they didn't tell us that it was catfish. :(

Eggplant salad

Bagoong Rice

Chicken Satay

Spring rolls

Mint and Lemongrass Iced Tea and the weird but yummy Thai Iced tea

the place

Location: SM MOA
My verdict: Nice, clean place. We were the only customers left since we went in at almost their closing time (after my christmas shopping! haha!). They were nice enough to still accommodate us. But mind you, though it was almost closing time, the food's still fresh and hot. So, that's already a 'plus' point for them. The crew were accommodating and nice, though I can sense that they want to shue us away coz they have to clean up and close the resto. Seriously, though, the food's great. I love the Thai iced tea - in a biiig glass full of ice. Haha! It tastes weird, but it's nice. More of like sago't gulaman, but still, different. The eggplant salad is a winner for me. I love it's sour-vinegar-y taste and the hard boiled eggs balanced the taste. The satay and the spring rolls and the bagoong rice are also delicious. The fish fillet is also a winner, but I got surprised that they used catfish. I don't eat catfish. And I don't intend to taste one coz of a horrible story I heard about catfish. :( But nevertheless, it's ok. It's actually yummy. But if you ask me, the next time I order fish - I may have to ask first the type of fish they use. :)
The price: Just right.

Royce Chocolates

Chocolate is one of my weaknesses. I could pass up a full meal for a bar of chocolate. Now that's exaggerated. Anyway, from local to imported chocs, to plain, milk, dark, with nuts, fruits, mint, nougat, orange.. anything, for as long as it's chocolate... chocolate-chocolate, or chocolate ice cream, cake, pastries, drink, chips. Anything. Ok, did I say I love chocolate?

Anyway, I've tasted different kinds of chocolate- from Japanese to Swiss to American. I couldn't say that I am an expert, but i sure can recommend one gooood chocolate. Royce. There are a lot of variety to choose from. There's nama (my favorite - there's mild cacao, white, bitter, champagne, etc), potato chips (yes, chocolate flavored), chocolate bars, square type (sooo addicting), and many others.

To date, Royce is only available in Singapore (Takashimaya mall) and Japan. I think it's also available in HK, I'm not sure. One nama chocolate costs 14 SGD.

Currently, there's this Japanese store in Connecticut in Greenhills that sells Royce... I've also read in the paper that Royce store will be opening in Rockwell. Not sure when though....

other afforda-meals

craving for rice and some grilled stuff? or maybe the ever favorite tapsilog? then check this out:

mang inasal

my bf after ordering. haha!

rufo's tapa - i love the tapa they sell. not your typical beef tapa. it's the tapa with a twist.. well, with sauce, that is.. the one in makati still has the old carinderia type, but mind you, they already have computerized way of getting your orders and listing down your bill. sosyal. i just hate their service, though.

chiggy's

if you're up to biiig servings of liempo (thus, the name 'jumbo liempo') and rice, then try chiggy's. at affordable prices, you're sure to get the satisfaction you want. you'll be full in no time. perfect for lunch, dinner, and maybe, after having some booze. haha!

kopiroti

nope, this ain't the bun. but this tastes good, too.

the concept originated from singapore for the coffee buns and the type of coffee they sell. i love the buns, especially if it's hot from the oven. not too sweet, not to salty coz of the butter. just right. pair it up with coffee. perfect for afternoon snack. too bad, i don't have a picture of the coffee bun. tsk.

burg-errr!

i love burgers. i suddenly remember this documentary about fast food chains shown a few years back. now it makes me feel guilty....

anyway, i can't really say where to find the best burger in town. so i'll let you decide.

wham! mushroom burger (in tagaytay)
hotshots
brother's burger
burger machine (yes, hahaha!)
burger king (whopper jr!!!)
wendy's (the size is smaller now. darn it!)
mcdonald's (cheeseburger)
jollibee (spicy chicken burger with cheese, please!)
kfc (i love the zinger!)
gram's diner (the all american burger is delicioso!)
any other suggestions?

where to find siopao?

there are a lot of siopao-an sprouting around. i can deal with the siopao from 711 or mini-stop. even if there's siopao-scare (they say that the meat inside is made out of cats!), i don't really care. i mean, for as long as you trust the store that sells them, i guess, one has nothing to worry about... here are the places where you can eat good (and safe) siopao:

chowking
hen lin (i guess, their siomai's better)
kowloon house
ma mon luk
manosa in binondo (hmmm, i think the pansit's better, too)
PVL in mandaluyong city - they claim to have the biggest siopao in town. for PhP 120, you'll be able to feed 6 or more people. and the taste is not bad at all. :)

turning japanese, chinese, korean.. and oh, pinoy!

i love jap food. as i've posted in one of my entries, i love going to saisaki for jap food. but i also like eating in other jap restos around, such as:

sushi-ya
tempura
teriyaki boy
tokyo tokyo

i love asian food, and there's grill asia in tomas morato that i love, too. kaya restaurant for korean cuisine.

for chinese food, i recommend the ff:

mann hann
north park
luk yu wen
superbowl of china
buddha
mandarin wok
good earth (well, i think this is more of a combo of asian and other cuisines)
won ton (in promenade in greenhills - winner!)
president's (main resto and dimsum house in binondo, manila)

for other good filipino dishes - there's C2 Classic Cuisine in Rockwell (their lumpiang lucena and bicol express are great), and KKK in west ave., kalye juan, via mare (their longsilog is great!), RSM in tagaytay and laguna, leslie's in tagaytay (their bulalo with refillable soup's the best!), josephine's also in tagaytay and many many many others.

Salt and Pepper

location: Rufino St., Makati City
place: modern
my take: at first i thought it's expensive here, but when i saw the ad that says 40% off from 3PM onwards, i thought to myself - not bad afterall. the food's ok, too. the place is hip, modern and neat.

KaffeCaffe

location: Banaue, QC
my take: an alternative tambayan. the drinks and pastries are ok. but what i like the most about this place is the cozy, homey feel of the place. friendly staff awaits you, and the manong guard's nice as well.

Amber vs Buddy's

whenever there are gatherings in the office - treats for birthdays or despedida, the ever dependable Amber's and Buddy's are always on the top list. Both has delicious pansit, barbecue and pichi-pichi. so it's up to you where you want to order. so, i will let you choose. Amber or Buddy's?

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza

i love pizza. and for people like me, for sure you want to know where to find good pizza. abroad, i've had a taste of good pizza from Amalfi Pizzeria in Frankfurt, and a pizzeria somewhere in Vienna, Austria.

carlo's pizza (tagaytay) - price is ok, food's ok too.
pizza niro - yummy. biiig pizza at affordable prizes. they have a lot of choices too.
jugno's - biiiiiig pizza, best for office treats or meetings or parties. you can have it sliced by squares.
yellow cab - aside from their (oily) pizza, you should also try the charlie chan's.
shakey's - their pizza, chx and mojo's are great.
pizza hut - well, nothing really special, except maybe for the cheese or sausage stuffed crust.
aveneto, don henrico's - their bacon cheeseburger pizza are a-must-try.
sbarro - they have the best stuffed pizza - biiig slices, for sure you'd be full.
lotsa pizza - it is a cheap pizza but their ham and cheese pizza is a classic.

other restos such as grappa's, italliani's, cpk, cibo do serve pizza. but i guess a true pizza lover won't really enjoy 'em that much. :D

STOOPS

location: Vito Cruz (Pablo Ocampo St.)
place: ok. well, the place is kinda small, though
service: ok.
my take: if you love Ilocano dishes, then you should try their bagnet and other delicacies. their set up is like a food corner/small canteen - meant for students, employees and other people looking for home-made dishes at affordable prices.

Five Cows

location: Trinoma
place: cute.
service: ok.
my take: if you want to eat a full meal, then i don't suggest you come here. their food is ok, but not ok-ok. you get what i mean? anyway, if you decide to eat dessert, then you must try their belgian chocolate mint or the ferrero crunch supreme.

places for lunch around the office

sometimes its hard to choose where to eat your lunch - at work. either you bring packed lunch, or buy at the ever dependable food park in TEC, or maybe the ever ever dependable jollibee or mcdonald's or greenwich or kfc. there's always NYFD, where i enjoy the fries with a variety of dips to choose from. or maybe tapa king for tapsilog. there's also bacolod chicken inasal in paseo center but if you're not up to walking a few steps, then this is not for you. we also have some choices nearby such as kimchi, world chicken or joey pepperoni or mom and tina's or teriyaki boy or ineng's or pancake house. you can also try going to glorietta for mann hann or dusit thani. there's also recipe for their own version of gising gising, tilapia, sweet and sour pusit. you can also go to kitchen for a variety of rice meals or pasta or salad. try their head master for appetizer and you won't regret it. their cure all and on barbie's que are my personal fave. so there. it's actually up to you where you wanna eat. afterall, you might end up eating at your workstation with just a hotdog sandwich from mini-stop. :P

Tacsiyapo!!!

tacsiyapo

location: Isdaan - Gerona,Tarlac
place: nice - 'kubos' afloat the water. you will see a lot of things around.
service: ok.
my take: authentic pinoy food - fresh, delicious and fair-priced. they also have this portion where you can release your angst by throwing cups, plates, bottles, and yes, even a television set - for a price of course.

Gelatone

my boss and my colleagues enjoying our scoop of gelato

location: Greenbelt 3
place: cozy/comfy style
service: ok.
my take: i love love gelato. although, theirs is not the best (i find the ones in Germany the best for me :>), or at least the ones in Amici the best here in Manila. but i would say, they're ok. for only PhP 100 per scoop, you'll get a big doze of gelato. yummy!

Starbucks

One E-Com

West Ave.

Vito Cruz

UN Ave.

Tomas Morato

The Columns

SLEX

Tagaytay

MOA

Greenbelt 1

this is my favorite coffee shop in the world. i mean, i've tried other coffee shops like gloria jean's or seattles best and the others, but this place surely place a special place in my heart. whether i'm with my friends, my best friend, my boyfriend, or officemates, starbucks is a guaranteed fave-o-rite of mine. :) i've been to different branches already - from vito cruz, to UN ave, tomas morato, MOA, trinoma, 6750, glorietta 2 (before it exploded), greenbelt 3, greenbelt 1, glorietta, or anywhere in makati; libis, congressional, berlin (haha! yes!), tagaytay, SLEX, NLEX, and to so many other branches. but the one in west ave. (westlife bldg) tops the list. :)