Food-Stars

#FoodStarsBreakfastPlaces: Cafe Mabini, A. Mabini, San Juan, Philippines

2023-11-29T11:01:00.004+08:00

When your everyday routine includes bringing kids to school; you know that you’ll be needing quite a few of good breakfast places in your belt.

Priority goes to places that opens at 8 in the mornig; offers coffee; has ample parking and is within the vicinity of San Juan.

Let’s start the list off with Cafe Mabini.

This is a 22-seater space with ample parking and internet access.

The best spots are the booths at the back, where the indoor garden adds to the view. Call buttons are also made available on the tables.

Table shot of our first visit.

Hubby went with their Grilled US Beef Tapa (Php 425) while I got their Beef and Tendon Mami (Php 395).

This sticky jelly-like beef broth truly hits the spot. All the meat pieces were cooked ‘til tender, making every mouthful a delight. Squeezing in some calamansi & mixing in the chili garlic bring in the sour & spicy notes into the dish. Serving the wanton chips on the side rather than on top of the soup made for a very nice added crunch to the dish.

At first glance, this plate didn’t look like much; US Tapa on the side, rice & Hubby’s choice of 2 sunny side up eggs with a pesto tomato on top.

But this is the perfect example of “f*ck presentation, its the flavor that counts!” kind of dish. Trust me and add this now to your order list. The tender beef pieces had the right amounts of sweet & garlic flavors that I’m not ashamed to say that we practically inhaled this dish. Food-Stars Verdict? LOVED this!!

Continuing with our other Cafe Mabini Days…

Table shot of our second visit at Cafe Mabini.

Hubby still had the US Grilled Tapa while I tried a different dish from the menu.

This is the DTE or Danggit, Tuyo and Espada (Php 345) served with my choice of 2 poached eggs. Authentically Filipino flavors although too salty for my liking.

Since we loved their Wanton Chips (Php 120), we got a whole order this time. Every order comes with garlic aioli & chili garlic dip; go crazy with both.

Table shot of our 3rd visit.

Again making an appearance at our table is the US Beef Tapa. For this time around, I got The Chorizo Hubad (Php 375). This homemade smokey sausage was my least favorite dish among all those that I have tried.

Food-Stars Verdict? Not a fan.

Food-Stars Tip: Each breakfast order (from 8-10am) comes with a steaming cup of brewed coffee.

Our Cafe Mabini Favs: US Grilled Beef Tapa and Beef & Tendon Mami.

** I would like to note that for every visit, the serving size for Tapa & Garlic Rice were inconsistent; it literally became lesser & lesser. **

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SERVICE: ⭐⭐ ⭐ ⭐ - Just look for the male servers, the female ones have quite a bit of an attitude.

TASTE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Get their US Grilled Beef Tapa

VALUE FOR MONEY: ⭐⭐⭐

Cafe Mabini

Address: 863 A. Mabini San Juan

Phone numbers: 87779777/ 09171444395

Instagram: @cafemabiniph

Mother’s Day 2023 at Antonio’s PGA Cars, Metro Manila, Philippines

2023-05-12T12:00:00.039+08:00

This is a post about Mother’s Day so please, expect a bit of cheesiness.

I remember the times when my siblings & I planned how to best show our mom, at least once every year, that we appreciate her. Fast forward to today wherein I am a mom myself and I see the need for the fuss. I see why “being seen” is important. It’s a welcomed high when days starts to feel endless. This realization coming from being a mom for just 6 years; I can’t imagine the feeling when it begins hitting the 2-digit mark.

For my mom’s Mother’s Day, my husband & I decided to bring her to Antonio’s PGA Cars.

Up the stairs we go!

For our party of 5 (yes, we brought the kids with us), we were seated in a booth nearest to the bar. The kids were becoming a bit restless and the bread came out just in time.

We wanted my mom to experience the tableside serving of Roast Ribeye so it was unanimously decided that all 3 of us would be getting the Trolley Lunch Set Menu (Php 3,100/pax).

While waiting for them to prepare the Lunch Trolley, we also had their Escargots De Bourgogne (Php 650).

This is baked shelled snails slathered in a pesto-like sauce. You can eat it by itself (which I personally prefer) or with crusty bread; either way you go, Antonio’s got this right. Every bite yielded a soft chewy gelatinous texture swimming in herby garlic butter goodness.

C’est delicieux!

With the escargots happily settling in our tummies, out comes our hot French Onion soup. These warm hearty bowls of caramelized onions were such a nice surprise.

The kids practically inhaled their order of Duck Fat Fries (Php 200).

After clearing our plates, the wait staff quietly pushed the trolley to our side.

*drumroll please*

Behold this thick slab of USDA Roast Ribeye served with Potato Gratin and Yorkshire Pudding smothered in Au Jus Sauce, topped with freshly grated horse radish. This was a tender juicy slice of meat that slices off easily with the knife. The potato gratin deserves a special mention as well. Food-Stars Recommendation? Ask for more Au Jus.

Halfway through, I was feeling quite full but I made sure to save some room for dessert. Since my mom can’t have coffee & I wanted to share with the kids, we both got the Chocolat Pot de Creme.

As the name suggests, this is a cup of custard-like chocolate or as my mom puts it “Parang ice cream but not cold”. My children were asking spoonful after spoonful of this sweet pudding.

This is Antonio’s Panna Affogato. This glass of roasted pistachios and honeycomb topped with the rich thick chocolate brought a smile to hubby’s face.

A pot of TWG Tea for Mom who is allergic to caffeine.

Food-Stars Verdict:

It came as no surprise that Antonio’s PGA Cars served delicious food; what surprised us actually was the service that we had. After informing the receptionist that this was a double celebration (Mother’s Day + son’s birthday), they assured us that they were going to prepare something special. We were reaching the end of the meal and still no wait staff approached us. We simply chalked it up to a miscommunictaion between the kitchen & the receptionist.

The waiter also neglected to mention that we can have our pick of coffee from the menu. Being his ever enthusiastic self, our waiter made the decision for us. He made it seem that Americano is the only coffee option. Lucky us, right?

What really pushed our buttons was when we haven’t gone a few steps away from our table and the same waiter blatantly checked the tip we left and made a face. I mean really? Irregardless of the amount we left (*we tipped generously*), I think part of their training should include sensitivity. Here’s to hoping that Antonio’s PGA Cars takes note of this in order to offer a much better dining experience in the future.

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14th Wedding Anniversary at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, BGC, Philippines

2023-05-05T20:00:00.002+08:00

Celebrating being married for an X number of years is always special.

It’s an opportunity to look back on the days that you’ve been a part of each other’s lives and how you’re looking forward to more.

Last May of 2022, we celebrated our 14th year of being married. Hubby planned a special dinner with 2 important details; enjoying a damn good steak at a quiet & intimate place; terms that I happily agreed with.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House is at the 2nd floor of the ORE Central, 31st Street BGC. Ride up the escalators and turn left, you can’t miss it.

The receptionist will usher you into a dimly-lit hallway leading to a more spacious dining area. We chose a booth for more privacy.

To start us off, we got their Sizzlin’ Blue Crab Cakes. This delicate thing of beauty packed quite a whallop. Served in a hot plate and swimming in lemon butter, every mouthful was pure crab heaven.

This is the Ahi-Tuna Stack; jumbo lumps of crabmeat nestled between layers of seared rare tuna. This had fresh and interesting flavors that just melts in your mouth.

And for the highlight of the evening, Hubby got Ruth’s Chris’ Ribeye in all it’s 16-oz glory. Seared ‘til medium, you can see that they did it pink perfect. *chefs kiss*

Hands down one of the best steaks we’ve had and will definitely be coming back for again soon.

And to cap it all off, Ruth’s Chris was sweet enough to serve us a piece of their Caramelized Banana Cream Pie… on the house.

This evening made me look back at the life we’ve had for 14 years.

The longer we stay together, the more I get to know you & realize that there is still a lot more to learn about ourselves… not just as parents but more importantly as partners in life.

And all I can say is; I can’t wait to find out what’s next for us ❤

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Birthday Surprise at Icho Japanese Restaurant, Greenhills San Juan, Philippines

2023-05-02T17:38:00.001+08:00

This is a throwback post (pre-pandemic days) wherein Hubby surprised me with a birthday lunch at Icho Japanese Restaurant.

Back then, eating out was fairly easy; all we had to take note of was whether the restaurant had available high chairs and if there was space for our stroller. Al fresco dining was way low on our list of seating preferences and “the more people in the restaurant the better” mentality was still very much alive.

Hubby was in charge of the ordering that day.

To start off my birthday feast, he got 3 kinds of sushi (makis & aburi ones);

a hotpot dish;

Huge ass oysters (see pix below for reference);

and some grilled beef on sticks.

Also ordered Karaage for the kids.

Lastly, a glass of Avocado juice to wash everything down.

Having Japanese for my birthday was such a great idea. Thanks Hubs! ❤

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Icho Japanese Restaurant

#6 Annapolis Street, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila

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Hotpot Session at Gloria Maris Shark’s Fin Restaurant, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines

2023-02-18T20:37:00.001+08:00

For our family, hot pot is always a good idea; bring us good broth with tons of balls and we’re good to go. Another thing that excites us would be the quality of their dipping sauces; peanut sauce for the kids (who are real sticklers on the taste) & sate sauce for the husband. Anyone would agree that these are the trifecta of any good hotpot experience.

Gloria Maris Hotpot has been in our to-go list ever since, even before the pandemic. Experiencing the traffic along EDSA made us all famished by the time we arrived. Hubby was all business and without any qualms, ordered one of the pre-sorted sets for 4 people (Php 2,800).

Yes, you read it right. We got a set for 4 and all of the servers were going,

“Sir, madami yan. Kaya for kahit 6 people. Baka hindi ninyo maubos kasi 2 bata po kasama ninyo, technically 2 lang po kaya in Ma’am”.

Pork bone on the left; Sate on the right

Veggies, tofu, corn, Gabri, noodles

Shrimps, balls, meat, kani, and maybe a few of Ariel’s friends

And they were right!! Hahaha

Pretty soon, we were feeling all sorts of full; our belts were getting tighter and all of us were getting sleepy and we still hadn’t made a dent to our shabu shabu.

But no regrets whatsoever since we got loads of take out and their hotpot reheats really well so definitely a win all around.

Gloria Maris Hotpot still hits the spot really well. Funnily enough, the set though doesn’t come with any soup so you pay for it separately. It does come with unlimited refills after so at least there’s that.

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Yum Cha Unlimited at Shanghai Saloon, The Podium, Philippines

2023-01-19T22:45:00.007+08:00

We have always been game with trying out anything unlimited, but we also find ourselves less than satisfied with the experience more often than not (low quality of the meat, slow service, etc). Another thing that you should know about us is that Makati City is our comfort zone meaning, each drive out of the city limits ups the ante for our expectations for the restaurant. Simply put, it had better be worth the drive.

Enter Shanghai Saloon at The Podium.

This particular restaurant ticks both of our boxes above, placing it in a much higher standard than usual.

We made reservations for their 2nd seating of the day (1:30-3:30pm). We arrived at exactly 1:30 just to be told that our tables were not available due to several differing reasons (the previous seating was not yet done; the table was given to another party).

To remedy the situation, the manager had us order from the Yum Cha list so that they could start preparing our dishes while waiting.

We were soon led to our seats at around 1:45pm. I had only a few minutes to look around when our orders started pouring in, clearly they were making up for the earlier mishap.

Towers of freshly steamed dim sum flooded our table. Notable ones were the Hakaw, Siomai and Chicken Feet. We also tried some from their Fried/Oven Baked section. Food-Stars Recommendation? Get the Prawn Prawn Roll with Cheese (this gets out of stock quickly). Stay away from the Pork Dumplings.

I’m a sucker for Hot & Sour Soup so I just had to have one. I ended up getting 2 bowls :)

What I really liked about Shanghai Saloon’s Yum Cha (Php 888++ per person) offer was the fact that their entrees are unlimited as well.

I only managed to get a few pictures before our group started devouring the ordered dishes (understandably so since it was already 2pm).

Kung Pao Chicken

This dish was on the average side compared to the others that we had.

Sweet & Sour Pork

If I was to choose the dish that I would definitely come back for, it would be this. Shanghai Saloon’s Sweet & Sour Pork can give the other restaurants’ versions a run for their money. Crunchy and nicely coated, everyone was raving about this dish even days after.

Their Salt & Pepper Squid was also a crowd pleaser; that lightly breaded crunchy coating together with the tender squid meat makes for a perfect bite every time. The vinegar that comes with it could’ve been better though.

If you’re looking for carbs, their Efu Noodles is not one to miss as well.

Overall, Shanghai Saloon did not disappoint. There were dishes that easily became our favorites (as seen above) and they did try to make up for the delay.

One thing to note though, they informed us that the Yum Cha is until 3:30pm but by 3pm, service did not just go downhill, it came to a screeching halt. The kitchen suddenly had no stocks of the Buchi & the Egg Tarts were served cold. Good thing the vanilla ice cream helped cool off our heads.

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SERVICE: ⭐⭐⭐

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Shanghai Saloon

IG: @shanghaisaloonph

Filipino Flavors at Sawsaw, Rockwell Drive, Poblacion Makati City, Philippines

2022-09-08T20:19:00.001+08:00

The seldom times that my husband and I do get to go out, we try to squeeze in our lunch at a new restaurant. It’s a simple perk-me-up and quality time all rolled into one.

After a much stressful morning, we knew we needed to take a bit of a break and have a somewhat slow paced lunch. We settled on a place in Makati since we didn’t want to travel away from our neighborhood.

This is Sawsaw by Chef Sau.

On the first floor, the open kitchen let’s you see how your dishes get prepared. We were supposed to sit here but we opted to have a more quiet atmosphere upstairs. The receptionist “helpfully” pointed out our table from across the room instead of leading us to our seats. Thanks for the assist Sarah.

We were lucky to have the whole 2nd floor to ourselves; though that meant that there were also no servers present (as evidenced by the 2 uncleared tables). It also meant that there was no one there to give us menus so hubby took the initiative to just get menus from the uncleared tables, which I then proceeded to hose down with lots of alcohol (“self service”).

Moment of truth, if this happened at any other time, these would be enough to make us walk out already. But since our dates/eat outs happen rarely, we didn’t want this to be marred by something negative.

Waiting it out turned out to be a good thing since it was at this point that the service turned around for the better.

Our assigned server finally handed us our menus and was eagerly explaining the best sellers.

This is their Paku Salad at Sugpo, Kesong Puti, Itlog na Maalat (Php 675). We don’t usually order salads but since this dish got high marks from a fellow foodie, we decided to take the plunge… and remembered the reason why we don’t go for salads. Everything was fresh, crisp and light but there was not much going on taste-wise. I would’ve preferred more kesong puti.

Another dish that was foodie recommended was the Sugpo Bicol Express (Php 695). I should’ve listened to my gut (of getting a different dish instead) when I learned that an order only has 2 pieces of prawns. This was a sad plate of a pair of slightly overcooked prawns swimming in coconut cream.

By this time, Hubby took over and ordered two more meat-heavy dishes (he had an inkling that both of my choices would leave us unsatisfied).

This is Sawsaw’s Slowcooked Lengua with Creamed Mushroom (Php 895). The rich buttery sauce did it for me. We were dipping our spoons and rice in it ‘til the very last drop. The ox tail was fork tender and worked really well with the rice.

Last up is the Kurobota Pork Chop (Php 950). This simple pork dish was definitely executed well; no frills, no fuss just straight up good quality pork cooked good. Food-Stars Recommendation: Ask for the Soy Calamansi sauce.

** All main dishes comes with your choice of side dish. We got 2 mashed potato and garlic rice to match our entrees (carb loading at its finest). **

Food-Stars Verdict: Sawsaw offered both familiar and new dishes which meant that there were dishes that I liked due to the fact that it tasted how it was supposed to taste like (in simpler terms, they were “safe dishes”) whereas the more unique ones did not quite make the mark. The pricing for the dishes were on the high side as well since the serving sizes were pretty small.

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SERVICE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

TASTE: ⭐⭐⭐

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Roastings High at Mott32, Hong Kong

2022-08-31T21:29:00.001+08:00

With news of the opening of Mott32 in Cebu this September, it made me remember my own Mott32 experience in Hong Kong last 2016. This was our sort of “honeymoon/ getting-away-from-it-all” trip coming into our 8th year of marriage. Mott32 was our lunch choice for our 3rd day in Hong Kong and the husband came Boy Scout prepared.

Using only Google Map, he was able to devise a route that would make us exit at the exact spot from the subway station wherein we only had to cross the street and voila… right at the doorsteps of the Standard Chartered Building.

After the initial tingles of both excitement & curiosity, we opened the doors.

Can it get any more “bank-y” than this??

A vault right in the heart of the restaurant.

The display case of their ducks and geese all lined up.

Mott32 Hong Kong made use of high ceilings, huge centerpieces and dim lighting to give off a vibe of oppulence and sophistication. It made you feel that you were a part of an exclusive and elite group about to undertake a unique dining experience.

Hubby made reservations weeks ahead, for both the lunch slot and for an order of goose. Mott32 don’t just serve those birds for walk ins. We requested for an intimate area in order to fully enjoy our meal.

We kept our order simple, we were there for the world renown goose, char siu pork and pork buns.

This is the Signature Crispy Sugar Coated BBQ Iberico Pork Bun (HK 65).

As promised, it was indeed crispy and flakey. The meat to bun ration was also just right that you get to enjoy a saucy Iberico pork in every bite.

Next up is their Barbecue Pluma Iberico Pork, Yellow Mountain Honey (HK 295). Thinking back now, maybe we should’ve ordered something different since this was pretty much the same as the pork buns. We just couldn’t not order Char Siu (aka Asado) when in a Chinese restaurant.

I saved the best for last. Here is the Roasted Traditional Cantonese Goose (HK 180) which is available by advance order and during lunch time only. Succulent cuts of goose that were so juicy and tender that you just don’t mind the glistening juices that dribbles off the side of your lips.

Halfway thru our meal and we could feel that pork fats and goose juices were starting to build up. We were getting a “roastings high” that made it increasingly difficult for us to finish the meal. The walk to the subway, albeit a short one, helped to settle our stomachs a bit. Our Mott32 lunch made us so full that we skipped on our planned dinner and just slept our “roastings headache” off.

Food-Stars Verdict:

We were actually expecting to be blown out of our minds with the flavors that Mott32 had to offer. But after sampling their bestsellers, we were left somewhat disappointed; none of the dishes were special enough to warrant another visit nor another try. Add to the fact that they might’ve been heavy handed with the MSG (hence our headaches after), this was not how we envisioned our Mott32 lunch was going to be.

Here’s to hoping that the Cebu branch would offer a much better experience.

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Father’s Day 2020 with Mendokoro Ramenba Take Home Ramen Kit

2020-06-21T12:00:00.000+08:00

When the restaurant that has a “no takeout” policy decides to change the rules a bit this lockdown season; we get these cups of goodies not just to take home but ones we actually make-at-home.

Say hello to Mendokoro Ramenba’s Take Home Ramen Kit.

Since Father’s Day was just around the corner, it was decided that celebrating it slurping hot bowls of ramen sounded perfect,

Our 4 orders of ramen (2 Tantanmen, 1 Super Chashu & 1 Shoyu) plus extra Chashu came in 2 brown paper bags. Each ramen was encased in its own cup labeled for convenience.

With nervous excitement and apron at the ready, I opened the first cup.

Nice to see that all the components are vacuum sealed to ensure freshness. The Shoyu Ramen Kit comes with broth, noodles, chasu & oil.

Instructions were pretty much straightforward; too simple that I couldn’t believe that it only had 3 steps.

Open the soup packet.

Add 1 cup of water.

Bring to a rolling boil.

Add noodles to the broth.

Transfer contents to a bowl. Drizzle in the oil then finish with the topoings.

And voila! Mendokoro Ramenba’s Shoyu Ramen in all its glory. I took a minute to pat myself on the back and proceeded with the 3 other bowls of ramen with renewed confidence.

The Tantanmen Ramen Kit had 4 components too (broth, noodles, oil & toppings).

And it pretty much came out looking exactly as the ones we had in the restaurant ❤️

My bowl of Super Chashu came out beautiful as well.

Lastly, I opened the packet of Extra Chashu which didn’t come with instructions!!

At the last minute, the Hubby & I decided to heat it up in the pan for a few seconds.

Father’s Day 2020 with Mendokoro Ramenba’s Tantanmen Ramen, Super Chashu Ramen, Shoyu Ramen & extra Chashu kits was pretty much a success. No compromise on taste nor quality; its just good as we remembered it. Good job Mendokoro 👍

Food-Stars Verdict:

The ramen kits were such fun to make; almost like instant noodles but what you get in the end is a gourmet bowl of yummy ramen. Easy to do and no special euipments nor skills needed.

Ordering from them was easy & hassle-free. After completing our online form, a rep soon called to confirm our order. A day before the actual pick up date, they also call to remind you about it. And it doesn’t stop there, they even text you on the day itself.

Food-Stars Recommendation:

We found the amount of broth yielded per kit was lesser than the soup we had in the restaurant. I think adding 1/4 cup of water would be best.

Are we ordering from them again?

Yes, we most definitely will 🙂

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SERVICE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TASTE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

VALUE FOR MONEY: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mendokoro Ramenba

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Burgers, Fries and Shakes at Shake Shack, BGC, Philippines

2019-06-18T12:00:00.000+08:00

Here’s how our first visit to Shake Shack went.

Since Hubby volunteered to stay with our newborn, my toddler & I quickly got dressed and head on out to Central Square. The lines were taking up almost half of the ground floor. They hand you their menu while you wait. Good thing, we had priority so it didn’t take that long before we got to the order counter.

Shake Shack Counter

We decided to get 3 burgers, 2 cheesy fries and 2 ube shakes to go. They hand you this rectangular buzzer that lights up & vibrates when it's time to pick up your food. It didn't take long (about 15 mins) when I felt the burgers "calling".

Love the Star Wars reference

They pack everything in a brown paper bag for easy handling. Maybe providing a cover or at least sealing it a bit (especially since I will be walking outside to the car) would be better so that the food would be safe from the elements (such as smoke & dirt). The burgers and fries were too exposed for my liking.

When we arrived home, we basically skipped up the stairs and excitedly handed one of the paper bags to my husband (luckily our baby girl was still sleeping). We each unwrapped one of the burgers, while our toddler happily waited to see which ones we will be letting him try.

I got the SmokeShack Single (Php 365) which featured an Applewood smoked bacon. The smoky flavor carried all throughout the burger which would've been a good thing except it kinda masked the beefy taste of the patty.

Hubby got the Shackburger Single (Php 250). We both liked this version better. They kept it simple with just lettuce, tomato and their ShakeShack sauce; highlighting the satisfyingly good solid juicy patty and rounded it all up with their soft potato buns. Yum!

True to its name, the Crinkle Cut Cheese Fries (Php 180) comes in thick crinkle cut shapes making it fun to eat. The cheese dip gets pretty cold quickly, making it hard to coat on the fries. Overall, a nice complement to the burgers.

Lastly, we had an Ube Shake (Php 190) each. I'll start off by saying that neither one of us is an Ube fan but seeing how these shakes were dominating my IG feed & was being marketed as a Manila exclusive, I knew we had to at least try it out. This tasted like a slice of ube cake was ran through the machine, shaken until it turns to liquid and then placed in a cup for easier eating. Halfway thru sipping this rich, thick &creamy ube; we were beginning to feel full. We will definitely just be sharing one cup next time.

Food-Stars Verdict: Suffice to say, the drive to Shake Shack was worth it.

Food-Stars Picks: Shackburger Single; Crinkle Cut Cheese Fries & Ube Shake.

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Shake Shack, BGC

G/F Central Square,

5th Ave cor 30th Street,

Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Philippines

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Brown Sugar Milk Tea Fix at Tiger Sugar, Bonifacio High Street

2019-01-11T14:00:00.000+08:00

It's been awhile since I've had Milk Tea on my mind and in my belly. In my former life (aka Fatty Days), I can chug cups of Milk Tea in a week with no remorse whatsoever. Fast forward to the last 2 years wherein I've managed to cut down my milk tea intake to once a month to almost none at all (*pats back*). But I'm afraid because of new circumstances, I am now back to my milk tea habit and it certainly did not help that new tea places have cropped up.

After having lunch at Bonifacio High Street, it seemed as good time as any to visit this newly opened Milk Tea place. First thought that came into mind? "Ang haba ng pila!" ("The line's too long!") See picture below.

Panoramic View

The line was snaking around the stall up until almost to the doors of Fully Booked; and it was already 2 in the afternoon. It seemed like drinking Tiger Sugar's Brown Sugar With Cream Mousse was in everybody's agenda for the day.

Good thing that they had priority lane for the pregnant, elderly & PWD; our waiting time was certainly cut shorter because of it. We waited for around 15-20 mins for our number to be called so we can pick up our drink (aside from the waiting time to place your order, you also had to wait for your drink to be served since most people order a minimum of 10 drinks!).

Before the 15 shakes

After 15 shakes

At last, we had in our hands the much coveted Brown Sugar Milk Tea in 2 variants. Shake it 15 times until most of the brown sugar "stripes" disappears within the drink. Food-Stars Verdict? Not bad although it does remind me a bit of the arnibal (syrup) used in taho. The hot pearls mixed with the cold drink made for a nice texture. A truly sweet ending to our lunch out at Bonifacio High Street.

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Activity Pod X, Bonifacio High Street,

11th Ave., Fort Bonifacio Taguig

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Father-In-Law's 60th at Blackbird, The Nielson Tower, Ayala Triangle Gardens, Philippines

2018-09-29T12:00:00.000+08:00

This isn't our first rodeo; we have been planning surprise parties/ events for countless of times already but I have to be honest, this surprise party for my father-in-law (FIL) by far was the most stressful of all. Because aside from the fact that we had to keep it a secret from the celebrant, we also had to keep it from his wife (aka my mother-in-law). Yup, instead of having her on our side & helping with the planning, she was kept in the dark as well. We chose to do this to prevent "leaks" of any kind.

It took a few number of late night talks; planning before we finally settled on the venue. There were a number of choices such as Gloria Maris, Umu & Mendokoro Ramenba (who unfortunately didn't allow rental of the whole place) but we felt for his 60th, we wanted it to be a unique experience; some where he hasn't step his foot in while still still keeping it intimate & classy. With that prerequisite plus good food, we knew we wouldn't go wrong with Blackbird at the Nielson Tower Ayala Triangle Gardens.

We were able to try out some of their dishes during Hubby's birthday (click here for the link). Although there were a few hiccups in the service, the food was simply good enough to compensate for it all.

We decided to reserve The Cabin, their 2nd-floor 20-seater private room accessible through the spiral staircase.

Privacy such as this does not come cheap. There is a standing 30k consumable rate for lunch (an amount we were sure to be going well over); that's already hotel buffet dining rates right there (for those with hotel membership cards at least). So you can just imagine how much we wanted this event to go as smoothly as possible.

Blackbird offers a selection of a pre-selected tasting menus but we wanted to be sure that no guest of ours would leave hungry therefore we arranged our own 4-course ala carte menu.

After several emails with Jeffrey, it was finally The Day. Hubby was stressing over the latecomers (you know who you are); coordinating with the appointed contact person (Hi Carol) to prep the other guests and making sure that FIL & MIL would have no excuse but to come with us for lunch. Finally, the stage was set.

First up is the Prawn Scotch Eggs (Php 280). Instead of having it for sharing, we had a full order for each guest and it did not disappoint. The crunchy exterior with wet yolky center of the quail egg plus the betel leaf is a definite explosion of flavor. The spicy kick at the back of your tongue comes from the coconut chili sambal sauce. A perfect starter for things to come.

In lieu of bread platters, we decided to have as our 2nd course their Buffalo Mozzarella, Tomato & Oregano Pizza (Php 480); with a little bit extra... we had them add some shaved prosciutto (add Php 140). All the flavors worked well together, starting from the salty prosciutto to the light & fresh oregano. To make sure everyone would have their fill, we had 6 orders of this dish. Food-Stars Tip: Ask this to be served in thin crust instead so you can really immerse yourself in the flavors.

Next up is their Porcine & Porcini Mushroom Cappuccino served with Tartufata Panini (Php 390). Earthy and hearty seemed to be the words that come into mind after taking in a couple of spoonfuls. The panini was actually quite good but was gone too soon.

And now for the main courses. We designed our menu in such a way that everyone's dietary restrictions were met so we had a total of 3 options; Lamb Shank (for the non-beef eaters), Wagyu Hanger Steak (for the beef eaters) and Tiger Prawns (specially chosen for the mom-in-law).

I had the Dry Rubbed Wagyu Hanger Steak with Mustard Butter & Twice Cooked Chips (Php 980) and it certainly did not disappoint. All my hesitations of having the steak cooked well done flew out the window, it was just that good. The Twice Cooked Chips was also a revelation.

Hubby had the Mussaman Lamb Shank (Php 860) and it was still as good as we remembered. This particular dish was specially ordered for our lunch since this was only available for dinner. The falls-off-the-bone lamb meat plus the tangy orange sauce; that bowl of of Thai Jasmine Rice was just not enough. Don't forget to spoon in the pineapple cucumber relish, this cuts into the flavors and brings in the much needed light & refreshing break from the heaviness of the sauce. **

** These photos were taken during Hubby's birthday. During FIL's surprise lunch, we were too busy hosting that I wasn't able to take pictures. Was a bit disappointed with the presentation which was totally different from our previous visit. Jeffery explained that they don't have enough of the boards/ cast iron pot to accommodate all of our guests therefore they opted to serve them in plain bowls & plates. Sayang, wanted to wow our guests pa naman. **

And to cap off the 4-course meal, we had the kitchen whip up their famous off-the-menu Baked Alaska (Php 380). To be honest, this isn't for the faint-of-heart, the sweetness of the Italian meringue plus the vanilla ice cream & raspberry jam all makes for a super sweet treat. The fresh strawberry and passion fruit on the side helps in giving a break from the saccharine high.

The guests also enjoyed cups of specialty teas, juices & coffee specially recommended by the wait staff.

No birthday celebration is complete without some birthday cakes!

Thank you Achi Anabel :)

Our customized "floating" cake for the FIL :)

With the happy faces all around & people not wanting to leave, this surprise birthday party was indeed a success!

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Blackbird at The Nielson Tower

Ayala Triangle Gardens, Makati Avenue cor Ayala Avenue,

Bel-Air Makati

(02) 828 4888 / (0917) 889 2782

Facebook Page: Blackbird at The Nielson Tower

Lechon Fever at Zubuchon Makati, Philippines

2017-04-17T12:30:00.000+08:00

The much awaited arrival of one of the lechon heavyweight contender from Cebu has finally come to Makati. A new lechon place right in our neighborhood? There's no way that we would let this pass and pretty soon, we found ourselves driving to Talisay Street near the Makati City Fire Station.

Welcome to Zubuchon.

Making reservations and coming early are definitely encouraged, especially when you're hoping to have their famous lechon. They do run out of this roasted glistening porcine and the next one takes at least 5 hours to cook. Also the parking lot gets filled up pretty quick.

There's a warehouse kind of feel to it; open-spaced and airy with wooden tables. The pop of red comes from the plates set on the tables.

We immediately flipped through the menu and went straight to the lechon page. You can get it in 2 flavors; plain or spicy. And for the more adventurous, they can even have it served on a sizzling plate (which was inadvisable according to our server since the lechon gets a bit soggy after awhile because this is served with sauce). Too many bones? No problem, you can order it in boneless variety as well. Seems like they've thought of pretty much everything.

As you wait for your orders to come out, they give you a mini-tutorial on how to use the condiments as dipping sauce. From left to right, that's vinegar, soy sauce and chili oil that you mix up in portions to your liking with pieces of onions, tomatoes, chilies and squeezes of calamansi. You won't see the all-too-familiar bottle of brown sauce with white cap on the table because they turn their nose up to liver sauce here (but if you're really having a hard time eating without it, don't worry, they will give you Mang Tomas for dipping).

It didn't take long for the food to come out. Time for a #tableshot.

We got one dish from their appetizer section; the Baked Scallops (Php 230). What came out was this luscious garlic buttery goodness of freshly baked scallops. A tasty seafood dish from a restaurant that hails pork as their bestseller? Unheard of but raves are totally warranted in this case.

We orderd a medium serving of Boneless Lechon (Php 590), split into two flavors before we noticed that ordering two small ones (Php 290 each) was much cheaper by 10 pesos. Funny way of pricing don't you think?

Here's a shot of their Plain version. This is 150g of tender meat with almost crunchy skin. Dipping it in the vinegar-soy sauce-chili oil sauce worked well. Instead of the usual heavy flavor of the liver sauce, this was lighter and the juices from the lechon (which was usually overpowered), comes out naturally, bringing bursts of flavor in every bite.

Their Spicy version comes out looking pretty much the same as the plain one, this just had chili flakes and an orange tinge from the added chili oil. It wasn't as spicy as I thought it would be although there is a bit of a bite of heat in the end, just enough to make your taste buds tingle.

Meat is also tender while the skin was a bit inconsistent in texture, some were crunchy while others were not (or simply put "makunat"). All in all, our first taste of Zubuchon wasn't bad but wasn't memorable either. It was a surprise to find out that their baked scallops were the ones that stole the show.

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Zubuchon Makati

135 Talisay Street,

Brgy. San Antonio Village,

Makati City, Philippines

(02) 728 3931

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#FoodStarsAtConradHotel: Bijin Nabe, S Maison, Conrad Hotel, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City, Philippines

2017-03-28T01:46:00.000+08:00

With shabu shabu on our minds, we decided to drive out to Conrad hotel and try the widely known "collagen soup". More than the health and skin benefits of the said soup, we were more intrigued to find out how it tastes like.

The drive there was fortunately pleasant, roads were somewhat clear and traffic was minimal.

Each table is obligated to order at least 1 serving of their hot pot. Take note that the photo on the menu is 2 portions already. This particular hotpot is loaded up with vegetables of all kinds and the only proteins you get are the 2 pieces of chicken, handmade chicken balls and shrimps. Definitely a far cry from our usual hotpot which we fill up with lots of meat and balls.

After taking our orders, the server comes back and the unique Bijin Nabe experience begins.

They serve up the pot with this jelly-like substance which is actually the Golden Collagen Chicken Soup. This is what it looks like after several minutes of boiling.

The soup changes into liquid form and has a creamy yellowish tinge. We were quite surprised to see that hidden underneath the jelly earlier were the chopped chicken pieces.

Before serving you the soup, they let you taste it in its purest form. They ladle you a teacup-sized shot for tasting. Taking care not to scorch your tongue, tiny sips are highly advised. It is as creamy as it looks, with a large dose of chicken flavor that I like.

By this time, they also set on the table a myriad of spices namely; homemade chili oil, leek oil (for the chicken), yuzu pepper (for the veggies) and soy sauce to be used to as you see fit. They also serve you this mini boat of veggies and protein to be cooked in the collagen broth.

Your server then proceeds to swirl the ladle around and portion the chicken pieces on each bowl.

I got the wings part while Hubby got the leg one.

Here's a closer look of the mini boat which consists of Tori Tsukune (handmade chicken balls) served in a bamboo stick and a few sprigs and pieces of Sunflower sprout, Red radish, lettuce, Enoki mushroom, Baby sweet potato leaves, Baby corn, Deep fried tofu, Lady's fingers, Zucchini, Fresh black fungus and Prawns.

Every serving of the hotpot also comes with a choice of carbs; Egg Noodles, Mochi Mochi Noodles, Rice Noodles or Zosui (Rice). We played it safe and settled for the Egg Noodles.

To complement our hotpot dish, we decided to get an order of their Chicken Nanban in Original Flavor (Php 295). This is 4 pieces of chicken fillet breaded and fried 'til crispy then coated with an egg salad-like sauce (almost like a tartar sauce). It doesn't sound like flavors that could work but trust me it does. You'll be asking for more of that dressing once you've bitten into that crispy chicken.

Here's how our pot looked like with everything dropped in. This gets cooked quite fast, about 3-5 minutes. In case you get worried of overcooking it, just call the server's attention and they'll be the one to check and serve it up in bowls. At Bijin Nabe, they make your dining experience more personal by having each step of the cooking and serving by the staff so don't hesitate to have them do it for you.

When you're more than halfway through the pot's contents, in comes your carbs (which in our case were the Egg Noodles). One advice to remember is to lower the heat level or else you'll be left with almost less to no soup to cook your carbs in. This unfortunately happened to us and you can see that the server had difficulty cooking the noodles, she had to continuously flip to ensure that all the noodles were thoroughly cooked.

Once you've finished the whole pot, they place in the prawns for that last bite. The smoky picture is due to the fact that our collagen soup was almost non-existent (this is what happens when the induction cooker continues to boil with almost no liquid left). The constant flipping continued. It doesn't take take too long and before you know it, your prawns are ready. Your server then proceeds to peel them off their skin and serves them with the sticks still on for easier eating. Don't expect too much, the prawns are kinda thin.

The Bijin Nabe experience is something definitely unique. The silken chicken broth, especially when served in its purest form in the sake cup, was pure bliss. This is actually the only time that I got to eat that much veggies in one sitting which in itself is already a good thing. But the 750 peso serving of hotpot (that they say is good for 2 people) warrants an order of side dishes since it leaves you not quite full.

** Food-Stars Note: Soup refill is only available for 2 and above ordered portions of the hotpot. **

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Bijin Nabe by Tsukada NojoLevel 2, S Maison, Conrad Manila,Seaside Boulevard cor Coral Way Pasay(02) 809 1268
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Brick Oven Goodness at Gino's Brick Oven Pizza, Serendra, Taguig City, Philippines

2017-03-10T19:00:00.000+08:00

It takes a special kind of place to make us go on a carbo-loading binge on pizza and pasta. Gino's Brick Oven Pizza is one of those places.

We've been to their Salcedo branch before so for this visit, we decided to go to their Serendra one. With almost the same interiors but with more comfortable booths and shorter waiting time (since they accept reservations), it was a great start to our evening.

Browsing through their menu is actually a pretense; we already have our favorites. For this particular dinner though since we were a party of four, we left the additional pasta and pizza choices to the other guests.

It was unanimous; everyone was in the mood for Burrata.

Trying to at least keep it healthy, we got the Burrata Caprese (Php 405). A dish, no matter how simple, when served with the freshest ingredients will always be a hit. The luscious cherry tomatoes plus the herb-y flavor of the basil worked really well with the burrata and pesto. This was easily polished off by everyone.

Pictured is their Salted Egg Pasta (Php 225), our go-to pasta staple whenever we're at Gino's. The fettuccine noodles were well-coated with the salted egg mixed with cream and then topped with bacon bits and Parmesan cheese. The salted egg flavor is subtle, it neither overpowers nor underwhelms. I was actually looking for the added saltiness by the bacon but that was sorely missing. To make it a cheesier dish, ask for more Parmesan cheese.

Lemon Mushroom (Php 335) was the other pasta dish of the night. Fettuccine noodles coated with cream then mixed in with thinly sliced fresh mushrooms topped with parmesan cheese. It's the lemon that brightens up the flavors of this dish so don't forget to squeeze in some.

And now for our favorite Gino's pizza, here's the SMEGG (Php 475) or Sausage, Mushroom, Egg, Gouda and Cream. We requested to have the egg cooked through so instead of biting into slices with rich runny yolk, this had a drier texture. You can still see the brick oven goodness, especially on the crispy crust. Folding the slice sideways is still advised (Neapolitan style); it's too big to bite if you don't. Gino's chili honey is still the star of the show; don't forget to pour some on.

And we also got an order of their Four Cheese Pizza (Php 375). This is a medley of mozzarella, ricotta, blue cheese and parmesan cheeses drowned in tomato sauce. The presence of the tomato sauce tames the saltiness usually brought about by the cheeses so this actually a milder type of 4-cheese pizza. You can eat it as is (it's already pretty tasty), but I prefer a little bite of heat courtesy of Gino's chili honey.

It's good to know that one of our favorite pizza and pasta place still serves up consistently good dishes. We now have a new addition on our order list (I'm talking about you Burrata Caprese).

We ended our dinner on a sweet note. Grandma's Chocolate Cake by Purple Oven (Php 680) still brings the same yummy dark chocolate high as always.

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Gino's Brick Oven Pizza, Serendra

G/F Serendra, Bonifacio Global City,

Taguig City, Philippines

(0915) 3459509

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Persian Recovery Massage at Aramesh Spa and Wellness, Salcedo Village, Makati City, Philippines

2017-03-08T18:30:00.000+08:00

In line with our #RoadToGoodHealth journey (peppered with weekly runs and a healthy diet); I would like to take this time to emphasize the need for a good recovery regimen. Aside from resting and eating the designated post-workout food, I believe getting massages or at least foot spas are a must for any runner. You can choose to have a session after every run or once a month, it's really up to you; but nothing comes close to the feeling of relief after having your tight and overworked muscles kneaded by professionals especially after hitting your PR (personal best).

For this particular massage recovery session, we decided to try the Aramesh Spa & Wellness. Tagged as the 1st one to offer Persian massage in the Philippines and ranking top 1 in TripAdvisor, these were reasons enough for us to try them out.

Notice the Fashion Smile Dental Clinic signage? Yeah, we did too. It is a bit unconventional and unnerving to see a spa place right beside a dental clinic.

But they do their best in alleviating your apprehensions by showcasing their awards and trophies all lined up in a row for all to see.

To fully immerse your sense to the relaxation to come, they serve you this hot delicious tea served in a pot and cup adorned with intricate details. Then they give you a questionnaire wherein you check your choice of either soft or hard massage and which part of the body you wish your therapist concentrates on. This is an efficient way to communicate your massage expectations without the need of speaking later on during the actual session; they want you to fully enjoy the service in tranquil silence.

The Persian theme continued all throughout the place. Lights were dimmed as well to further relax your senses.

Finally, they escort you to your bed (with curtains for dividers). Unlike other spa places, here at Aramesh Spa and Wellness they don't provide shorts or a change of clothing for the massage so we suggest you come dressed accordingly.

Hubby went for the Aramesh Signature Massage (Php 1250) since this was the closest they have to a deep tissue one. They let you choose from two kinds of massage oil; he went with the citrus-y scent. Before they start, they clean your feet with wet towels for hygienic purposes.

And now you're ready for 90 minutes of kneading away the tension from your body.

They end your massage session with another cup of their delicious tea.

Aramesh Spa and Wellness definitely promises a place of sanctuary; the therapists were all professional and well-trained that you won't hear unnecessary noise that is quite present in other spa places. Their main focus is to take away the knots from your body and to have you leave feeling refreshed.

They do have some low points though; such as cleaning of the feet before the massage. It would've been better if they wash it rather than just wiping it with wet towels alone. This won't be a big adjustment for them since they offer foot spas already; the wash basins they use there can be used for washing the feet.

Also it would be best if they finish up all the minutes of the session as promised; a 10-minute deficit for 1250 pesos massage is already a lot (it comes down to 200 pesos).

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Heart Tower, Unit 601

108 Valero, Salcedo Village, Makati City , Philippines

(02) 478 7738 / (0917) 509 2010

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Business Set Lunch Offerings at Vask Tapas Room, Bonifacio Global City, Philippines

2017-02-10T12:30:00.000+08:00

Lunch menus are all the rage nowadays. Restaurants offer "tasting menus" or set lunches which are smaller servings of their ala carte dishes, so you don't actually get to save money since you get what you pay for (they cut back on the serving sizes) and sometimes even less. We fell into that same trap when we saw Vask Tapas Room offering a 3-course business lunch set. Thinking that perhaps this place would be a bit different and it would be nice to try out a new place; we decided to schedule our lunch here.

At the lobby, we found some interesting sculptures.

Vask is located at the 5th floor of the Clipp Center which is easily accessible by elevator.

We made reservations for 12:30pm but seeing the place almost empty even during lunch time when we arrived, it was apparent that there was no need to. One advantage of that is I get to take better looking pictures of the place.

The walls were covered with interesting fixtures and the ceiling too was eye catching.

Here's a shot of their lunch menu*.

After considering some of our server's suggestions on what dishes to try, we decided to kill time by taking pictures of their al fresco area.

Food didn't take too long to come out of the kitchen. We both got the Conchinillo Taco as a starter because of the promise of Spiced Suckling Pig Served in an artsy accordion-like silver plate, it definitely looked interesting enough.

As for the taste, well we were expecting an explosion of flavors but it just wasn't there. All I could taste was the "mango salsa" or the cubed onion-tomato mixture sans the mango.

The extra sour cream helped but not by much.

And now for our main course.

Hubby got the Cachopo de Pollo or simply put, one piece of chicken cordon bleu cut into bite-sized pieces with a spoonful of homemade gravy. The Jamon Iberico was nowhere in sight. With a serving this small (too late when I found out that this was actually part of their appetizer section), it felt like a joke but no one was laughing. It literally took less than five bites to finish this. The only good thing I can say about this dish was that the breading was crunchy and well-seasoned.

I had the Pork and Porcini. This is two thumb-sized pieces of pork tenderloin that easily cuts with a knife, with porcini potato foam, apple and watermelon radish topped with a few micro greens. The real stars of the dish were the foam and fruits; the apples and radish were fresh and crunchy while the potato foam was light and airy. You have to get a bit of everything on your fork to fully enjoy the dish.

Pretty soon (a lot sooner than we would've wanted really), they were clearing our table of our empty plates to serve the desserts. Vask Tapas Room's business menu so far left us feeling cheated. None of the plates served did anything for us; it was either bland or too ordinary. We weren't expecting much about their desserts, we just wanted to get the meal over quickly.

And the desserts have come out.

I chose the Deconstructed Carrot Cake. It felt a bit off that they serve this in white plastic bowls; it kinda reminded me of my dog's dish bowl. It was the most un-deconstructed dish I have ever seen. They didn't use elements or familiar flavors to create a carrot cake but rather, they took a sliver of ready-made carrot cake, crumbled it all up, placed it in a bowl and then topped it with strawberries and goat milk ice cream. I was not happy. Hubby, being the good sport that he is, suggested a dessert swap.

And good thing too because his Torrija finally put a smile on my face. How this dish I will definitely go back for. It was like bread pudding with just the right amount of sweetness. It wasn't as heavy as regular pudding which made me like it even more. Each bite was smooth, light and creamy. The anise ice cream too was a delight. Finally, a dish I could rave about.

We managed to try out half of their offerings and the only memorable dish was the Torrija, a dessert. Vask Tapas Room's business menu definitely needs a lot of work. If this was their way of enticing you try out more of their menu, they have failed miserably. The only other upside of our lunch was their more than adequate service; so at least there was that.

*Food-Stars Side Note: The price listed on the menu is still subject to 10% service charge. Total comes to Php 757 each set. Not recommended for people with big appetites, this set will leave you hungry.

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Vask Tapas Room, Bonifacio Global City

5/F Clipp Center, 11th Avenue cor 39th Street,

Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines

(02) 217-6563 / (0917) 806-5292

Instagram : @VaskTapasRoom

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My Birthday Lunch 2016 at Foo'd by Davide Oldani, Shangrila The Fort, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines

2016-12-15T12:30:00.000+08:00

The main reason why Foo'd by Davide Oldani came into our sights was because they offer a 3-course meal by a chef, that owns a Michelin-starred restaurant, at only Php 800*. Yes, that's an appetizer, main course & dessert. Hubby was game to try and timely too since it was my birthday.

Located at the outside part of Shangrila The Fort, it takes a bit of walking but once you see Toby's Estate and Pink's Hotdogs, then you're on the right track. From the outside, the huge black doors looked uninviting but Davide's smiling face (printed on a standee) welcomes you in. We made reservations 2 days before to avoid unnecessary hassles.

The receptionist was busy talking on the phone & took several minutes before ushering us in. A bit of a let-down since there were no other guests but I'm trying not to let that dampen our spirits. Chalking it up to their "soft opening blues".

As you enter, you'll notice that they divided the place into several areas. You can choose to sit by the open kitchen; by the side which looked like a big nook with decorative grills or in the middle part like we did.

Tables by the open kitchen

The Nook

The middle part

As you sit, they hand you their one-page menu. At Foo'd, they make ordering easy; either you get their 3-course or 4-course and from there, you can begin to customize your meal. I got the 4-course (Php 1200*) while Hubby got the 3-course (Php 800*). Yes, since it was my birthday, I get to eat more! :)

While waiting, they give you these thick slices of bread that comes with an olive oil & balsamic vinegar dip. It actually reminded me of a certain Italian restaurant which serves the same dip but with parmesan cheese.

We each took a bite, placed the bread down and pushed the plates as far away from us as possible. It just wasn't good.

Thin salty bread sticks

Then we turned our attention to these thin bread sticks. Now this we absolutely liked. Crunchy and with a bit of saltiness, it was like you were nibbling on a pretzel. We happily munched on these the whole meal.

For our appetizer, we decided to stick with the original menu and got their signature dish, the Cipolla Caramellata. I'll be honest, caramelized onion dressed with all the trimmings still sounds like caramelized onion to me but Foo'd reminds you that looks can be deceiving.

Cipolla Caramellata

After taking the first bite, I was a convert; this was no ordinary onion dish. The sweetness of the onions worked really well with the tart notes brought by the 24-months aged Grana Padana, both in the gelato form and in the cream one. Loved this ♥

Since Hubby ordered the 3-course, they served my Primo dish in the middle of the table for sharing. Cacio E Pepe roughly translates to cheese and pepper, specifically the use of salty Pecorino Romano cheese & freshly cracked black peppers. I'm used to creamy pastas so this was kinda like a new thing for me.

Cacio E Pepe

I really wanted to like this but the only distinct taste that lingers is the lemon, everything else was just not present.

For my main course (from the 4-course menu), I was excited to try their Iberico Pork Ribs with Porcini and Liquorice.

Compressed Iberico Pork Ribs

After listening to the chef's explanation of the dish, I was more than ready to taste the tender pork. Sadly, this dish failed miserably both in appearance and taste.

Chicken and Prawn

Hubby's main dish was Chicken and Prawn. Given that they used Free Range Spring Chicken, the small size no longer surprised us. What caught us off-guard was that the chicken was really salty and the prawn was overcooked.

We were both feeling blue by this time. It felt like the dishes served were not that well-thought off; didn't feel like a Michelin-starred restaurant chef was at the helm.

We were hoping that their desserts would be a different matter. I was supposed to have the Lemon Curd but opted to make a quick exchange with Hubby's Fondant. This would mark the biggest mistake of the afternoon.

But I'm getting way ahead of myself so let's start with my thoughts on their Fondant.

Fondant

If you love dark chocolate then this one's for you. The Fondant was spoonful after spoonful of rich decadent chocolate; add the chocolate sauce underneath and you're in chocolate ecstasy. The milk gelato serves as the light & airy component against the heaviness of the fondant. The toasted seeds were pretty to look at but didn't add much to the dish.

Now let's go to the aforementioned Lemon Curd. After seeing Hubby's face light up after his first taste, I knew I shouldn't have made the dessert switch.

Lemon Curd

Everything on the plate was just divine! From the Lemon Gelato sitting atop the Cacao Crumble to the Curry Almonds decorated with Dehydrated Meringue; this was definitely a medley of flavors that worked really well to bring such an unusual yet satisfying end to the meal. It was a plus too that the almonds & meringue looked like a tiny Christmas tree.

By 2:00pm, we were done with my birthday lunch. The staff of Foo'd were preparing for their dinner service by placing tablecloths on the tables. The manager went up to us and asked about our experience and we gave him the same feedback about the main courses. Much improvement can still be done but overall, a nice experience. Here's to hoping that they took our suggestions to heart.

*Food-Stars Note: Prices posted for the course meals are subject to 10% service charge.

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Foo'd by Davide Oldani

G/F High Street Park, Shangrila at the Fort,

30th Street corner 5th Avenue, Bonifcaio Global City,

Taguig City, Philippines

(02) 246-9069 ext: 620

Facebook: Foo'dbyDO

Instagram: @foodbydo_ph

Latin American Vibe at Empingao, Poblacion Makati City, Philippines

2016-10-18T19:00:00.000+08:00

When talking about Latin American cuisine, the dish I'm most familiar with is tacos. Imagine my surprise when we went to Empingao, which boasts Latin American wares, and find out that tacos takes a bit of a backseat in this place.

With the walls covered with colorful busy artwork, it never felt lonely even though we were the only ones there during dinner time.

The first item on the menu that jumped at me was the dish called Mofongo (which I first heard from Guy Fieri). I was really excited to try it out but at the same time scared to do so. After much deliberation, we decided to save that dish for next time and chose some safer/ more familiar options.

To start us off, we ordered from their Churrasco (grilled/barbecued meats) section.

We ordered a stick each of their Lamb Chops (Php 95/stick). They serve it on a skull plate which was definitely unique. They top each stick with salsa and sour cream. The brown sauce on the side looks weird but works really well with the game-y taste of lamb; so go ahead and dip.

Food comes out pretty fast; they served our Entree (Lomo Saltado) with our Small Plate (Ham and Cheese Empanadita). No complaints here, we got this nice shot of both dishes in one picture.

Let's start with the Empanaditas.

This is their Ham and Cheese Empanadita (Php 250). Crunchy and filled with ham and cheese, this would've been a nice go-to dish if only it was less oily. It tastes good even without the sauce but dipping it from time to time helps in changing the flavor profile; to avoid the dread "umay" (tasting the same flavors again and again) feeling.

Our Lomo Saltado (Php 485) occupied one whole table. It's definitely a meal for sharing, with the flour tortillas and the fries on the side. The myriad of sauces on the side (salsa, chimichurri, sour cream) is again served on their skull plate. We couldn't wait to dig in.

A closer look of their Lomo Saltado yielded cuts of beef tenderloin swimming in their oily goodness. Usually, I have no cause for complaints when having a lot of juices from flavorful meats but in this case, the oil overpowered everything else. We had to load up on the chimichurri, salsa and cream to at least mask the oil taste.

And to complete our Latin American dinner, we had to have their Cubano (Php 325). M y first taste of a Cubano sandwich was not such a good experience. With that still fresh in my mind, I was really rooting for Empingao's version. Alas, it only managed to make me stay away from this sandwich more. The bread was soggy from absorbing all the butter and the yellow mustard was the only thing that I could taste.

Sadly, Empingao's dishes made me dislike Latin American cuisine even more.

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Empingao!

5739 San Lucas cor P. Burgos Street,

Poblacion, Makati City, Philippines

(0915) 7257378

Facebook: Empingao

Instagram: @empingaoph

Lechon Bites at Pepita's Lechon, Hole in the Wall, Century City Mall, Philippines

2016-09-30T12:00:00.000+08:00

Pepita's Lechon has been on our sights for months but we couldn't commit on ordering one whole pig just to have a taste. Fortunately, Century City Mall's Hole in the Wall held a pop up event to showcase the said dish.

Lechon is all about crunchy pork skin & soft pork meat. Get those 2 just right and you'll definitely be in a yummy albeit sinful gastronomical journey.

Two candelabras with a large silver platter in the middle, this looked like a lechon altar of sorts. But where was the pig?

It was actually moved inside for easier chopping. We got two orders of the Truffle Rice Stuffed Lechon de Leche.

It didn't take that long before they served it up on plates. Instead of the usual lechon sauce, Pepita's serves theirs with spicy labuyo on the side. Those tiny Philippine flags were a nice touch.

At Php 280 per serving, this is a bit pricier than the other lechon brands. The meat they served was in equal ratio to the truffle rice on the plate.

Crunchy pork skin & soft pork meat; Pepita's gets a check on both aspects. It was good but I was expecting much more. My taste buds didn't go into overdrive, no angels sang in the background. Maybe because of the raves in social media but I found myself saying "ok lang, at least I got to try it out". I was actually more of a fan of the truffle rice. I've had truffle pasta before but this is a first for truffle rice & I really liked it. As for the spicy labuyo, although it added the much needed "anghang" factor, it just didn't work for me. I was looking for the brown Mang Tomas-like sauce.

It was a nice opportunity to try out Pepita's Lechon. Hoping for more pop up events at Hole in the Wall.

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Pepita's Lechon, Hole in the Wall, Century City Mall

(Sept 23-25; Sept 31-Oct 2)

4/F Century Mall, Kalayaan Avenue,

Barangay Poblacion, Makati City, Philippines

Instagram: @PepitasKitchenPh

Korean Cravings at Bornga, Alphaland Makati Place Mall, Makati City, Philippines

2016-09-02T12:30:00.000+08:00

I always go nuts over wrapping my freshly grilled marinated meats in veggies and having all the flavors hit my mouth in one go. But you know what's funny about my Korean craving? I hate Kimchi. I know that it's no Korean feast without that sour orange side dish of fermented vegetables but I really can't stand the taste. Serve me all the other side dishes/banchan (bean sprout, seasoned spinach, stir fried radish, braised potatoes) and I'll gladly polish them off in a heartbeat; but no kimchi please.

Okay, enough about my not-so-lovable relationship with kimchi, let's proceed with my review of one of our favorite Korean restaurants, Bornga.

Located at Alphaland Makati Place Mall, it's a place that you certainly have to make a special trip for. The mall looks a bit abandoned, with lots of empty spaces for rent. If this was your first time here, you'll feel anxious and a bit antsy (like we did the first time we went). But the Korean craving in us was too strong so we threw caution to the wind and ascended the escalators to the second floor.

Don't bother to wait for the receptionist to assist you, it doesn't happen. Just walk straight to the tables and pretty soon, a waiter will appear asking if you made reservations (we did). Ask to be seated by the couches, it's roomier and the tables here are designed with the grill on the nearest side to the waiter. This matters as your meal progresses because here at Bornga, they grill their meats for you table side.

After taking your order, they serve you some side dishes. Bornga's banchan selection, though limited, is refillable which is a plus since other Korean places we've been to were a bit stingy with theirs. Go for refills on their fish cakes, salad and watery cold kimchi soup (if you're a fan).

While waiting for our food to come out of the kitchen, their place mat kept me occupied. They've printed on it a short description on what Woo Samgyup is (more on that later); plus a mini-tutorial on how to eat it, which even comes with colorful illustrations.

Bornga's vegetables are the highlight especially when you see their big boat of selection greens for wrapping; which practically takes up half of the table. This was actually what pushed me to try this place. Aside from the fact that they dedicate two chillers to keep them fresh, it's how they serve it up to your table that leaves you speechless. I mean c'mon, just look at it!

And our meats have arrived. We were a bit wary of their serving size so we opted to order one of each and just add more if needed. Here's a shot of their Woo Samgyup (Php 450), which is thinly sliced beef brisket doused in Bornga's special sauce. One order is composed of several strips of beef with two slices of papaya and some rings of onion.

Here's a video of our server grilling up a storm. The pull-down exhaust pipe actually does its job pretty well. The server does leave the grill several times which made us pretty nervous; we were keeping a sharp eye on our beef, hoping that they don't burn. But it was all for naught, our Woo Samgyup was juicy and tender. He serves it in a small platter cut into smaller pieces for easier eating.

Eagerly waiting for our first taste of @BongaMakati's bestselling Woo Samgyup 👅💦 Full review now up on the blog! www.food-stars.blogspot.com

A post shared by Food Stars (@foodstars) on Feb 19, 2017 at 5:15am PST

Time to wrap and we followed Bornga's suggestion to a T:

Lay the lettuce flat on your palm.

Followed by the napa cabbage.

Then the sesame leaf.

Using your chopsticks, place a piece (or two) of Woo Samgyup (which has been generously dipped in the special Bornga sauce) on top of the greens.

And now for the kick of flavors.
Start with the thinly sliced green onions.

Next, add in some of the red radish slivers.

Don't forget to add in the raw garlic. Trust me on this.

Finish off with a spoonful of the soybean paste.

And now comes the hard part (if you can really call it that), carefully rolling everything up and getting all the flavors in one bite. :)

And now we move on to the Mansinchang Samgyeopsal in Soy Sauce (Php 390). Each order is composed of two slices of pork marinated in Bornga's special soy sauce. Oh and that white cube on the side? That's lard for grilling. This takes a bit longer to cook and same as the beef, the server cuts them up into smaller pieces. We eat it rolled in the same greens and sauces we used for the beef; and it works!

Our hang up on whether these two orders would not be enough to fill our tummies pretty much vanished into thin air. Halfway through the meal, we were on the verge of raising the white flag but we soldiered on. Bornga's fares were simply too enticing to give up on. After an hour and a half of dipping, wrapping and having them refill our boat of greens; we were happy campers.

*Food-Stars Side Note: If you're a carb eater, its best that you order rice to go with your meats. The two orders of meat were enough to fill us up because we loaded it up with veggies and had several refills of their fish cakes.

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Bornga

2/F Alphaland Makati Place,

Ayala Avenue Extension corner Malugay Street,

Bel-Air Makati, Philippines

519-6980/ 0928-678-8282/ 0905-318-8282

Facebook: Bornga Makati

Instagram: @borngamakati

Hubby's Birthday Lunch 2016 at I'm Angus Steak House, San Antonio Village, Makati City, Philippines

2016-08-22T12:00:00.000+08:00

It's August & time to celebrate Hubby's birthday! For his special day, he decided that we were going to try a new place out. He was hankering for some fine quality steaks or something fancy at least.

I'm Angus Steak House, Yakal Street, Makati City

From the outside it doesn't look like much. Also seeing that this was located in a neighborhood that wasn't teaming with other restaurants, it didn't give much of a good impression to me.

Imagine my surprise when we walked in...

A semi-open kitchen, a mini bar and all the works of a formal dining setting. Learned my lesson of not judging a book by its cover or in this case, a restaurant by its location ;)

They have a large menu with inserts inside. We found out that I'm Angus offers special lunch menus every month (Php 885 + 10% service charge) which consists of 1 entree and 1 main dish. Seemed like a good idea to try it out.

While waiting, they offer you complimentary bread with 2 kinds of spreads. If you prefer hot rolls, you can request them to heat it up for you.

Aside from the bread, they also give you a single serving of what the chefs whipped up for the day. For today they served up these Air Fried Beef Roulade with Alfalfa Sprouts & Rose Petals.

Cured Salmon (Php 365+)

This is Cured Salmon with Fennel Mousseline, Horseradish & Grapefruit. First time I've tried cured salmon & it tasted interesting. It still tasted like raw salmon that had more bite in it.

Tasmanian Cape Grim Beef (Php 389+)

This wasn't what I was expecting; why does my dish looked pre-chewed? Served cold and with visible pink blobs on the meat, I'm Angus certainly opened my eyes & taste buds to new heights. I suggest you quickly get over its appearance so you can begin your journey to yummy delight. The tender beef with the runny yolk, the crunchy pickled radish and the miso aioli all worked together to bring you a dish that's really something to remember. Loved this.

Lamb Sirloin Chop (Php 985+)

The lamb chops were cooked medium as requested. It had more bones than I would've liked but not bad altogether. I could've gone without the polenta which was dry and did nothing for the dish.

Cape Grim Beef (Php 1100+)

Definitely carnivores by heart, we just had to get this. Cooked medium (pink on the inside with crust on the outside), the knife just slides right through the beef. The potato croquette with the sun dried tomatoes helped in highlighting the meat. Liked this one too.

All in all, Hubby's birthday lunch was a success! I just have to give a shout out to their great service. This is what fine dining ought to be. Keep doing what you're doing I'm Angus, we're definite fans. ;)

'Til our next Good Eat!

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I'm Angus Steak House, Makati City, Philippines

7431 Yakal Street, San Antonio Village,

Makati City, Philippines

(02) 892 5852/ 8437286/ 275 5938

Website: www.i-am-angus.com.ph

Facebook: I'm Angus Steak House

"Average" Dinner at Xiu Fine Cantonese Dining, Greenhills, San Juan City, Philippines

2016-08-11T19:42:00.000+08:00

We were in the mood for something new and fancy. Heard about the newly opened Xiu Fine Cantonese Dining in Connecticut Greenhills. This was previously Lugang, a restaurant I have purposefully avoided for personal reasons. It was too late when I learned that Xiu was from the same management group. >.<

Made reservations days before and learned that they provide 2-seating schedules for dinner; 6pm and 8pm. We got the 6pm slot and drove all the way to Greenhills.

As you enter, no one greets you or guides you to your table. It took awhile before someone came over to assist us. Soft opening jitters perhaps?

We were seated by the huge windows, near the fountain/waterfall decor. There was a friendly fly that kept on coming back to our table. It was starting to get irritating but they soon offered a candle for the table. Krystle arrived a little after six. While waiting for our dishes to arrive, they served us the traditional peanuts for snacking.

The first dish that piqued our interest was their Honey-glazed Prime Cut Char Siu (Php 680).

Honey-Glazed Prime Cut Char Siu (Php 680)

The name alone makes your mouth water; expectations were definitely high for this one. It didn't take long before they placed this on our table. Serving size is 3-4 people. Right off the bat, you'll notice that they cut the pork much thicker than usual which unfortunately bit them in the ass. This was tough to cut & chew, looked a bit pale and lacked flavor. Needless to say, for something that advertises itself as a "prime cut", it sure wasn't evident in this dish. Food-Stars Verdict? With the hefty price tag & lackluster taste, this was a miss.

Sweet and Sour Pork (Php 480)

The next dish they served was the Sweet and Sour Pork (Php 480). We requested it to be crunchy and they were able to deliver on that. Food-Stars Verdict? More sauce would've made this better.

Pan-Fried Crispy Noodles with Seafood (Php 480)

Since we weren't ordering rice, we decided to get a noodle dish instead. Settled on this one just because I wanted crispy noodles ;). The seafood was diced into itty bitty pieces so as to look a lot. This was a mishmash of mushrooms, shrimps & carrots all tossed together with the noodles and then drowned in the mediocre tasting sauce. Food-Stars Verdict? The noodles were soggy due to too much sauce. This would've been forgiven if only the sauce was tasty; it wasn't.

Prawns with Salted Egg (Php 180/pc)

Curious to see how they played with the salted egg, we got one prawn each. My heart skipped a beat when I saw how HUGE the prawns were... but the happiness didn't last long. XIU Fine Cantonese Dining decided to serve them with the skins still on!!! Yes, all the salted egg goodness stuck to the skin & when you manage to peel the shrimps, it was as naked as a newborn babe! You had to scrape off the salted egg from the skin & then place it on the prawns. Food-Stars Verdict? I couldn't fathom why on earth they left the skins on the prawns when they cooked the salted egg. All three of us were shaking in disbelief the whole night. This was tasty but involved too much unnecessary work.

By this time, after getting served up with 4 dishes, we were all in agreement that we still haven't found a dish worth coming back for. We decided to give their menu one last go and ended up getting their Fried Squid in Chili & Salt (Php 580).

Fried Squid in Chili & Salt (Php 580)

Crunchy & sliced thinly, this was a cut above the rest. The simplicity of this dish kept our expectations at a minimum therefore giving XIU a higher chance of getting this right. Simply put, this was good compared to the other dishes served but was not enough to enter our list of tasty Salt & Pepper Squid.

By the end of the meal, instead of feeling happy, all of us left with a sense of regret. We were really hoping to enjoy our dinner but the mediocre dishes plus the bad service all night were just too much.

Are we coming back? Nope.

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XIU Fine Cantonese Dining, Greenhills

115 Connecticut Street,

Greenhills, San Juan City

(02) 6507189; (02) 6508428

(0947) 7070228

Facebook: XiuPh

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Maki Overload at Ooma Japanese Rice Bar, Rockwell Makati City, Philippines

2016-08-04T19:00:00.000+08:00

When we've found a place yummy enough to come back for, we usual bring friends along to share the experience. Since we wanted to cut down on travel time, we decided to bring Cheryl to Ooma's Rockwell branch instead of their flagship one in Megamall.

Right off the bat, you'll notice that their Rockwell branch is way smaller. Tables were nearer to one another & ventilation was an issue. Suffice to say, we were soon sweating our asses off just minutes into dinner.

It's rare for me to get a shot of our table with untouched dishes but Ooma's service was fast hence this shot. That's the Hanging Tender on the left, Unagi Maki in the middle & Scallop and Tuna Aburi Maki on the right.

But before we get into those, let's start with the first one that came to the table.

Soft Shell Crab Taco-Maki (Php 199)

Each order comes with 2 servings of this open-faced temaki wrap.

A closer look gives you a view of the Ebiko, Aligue Mayo, hints of soft shell crab, rice & seaweed. If you're looking for the distinct taste of soft shell crab, this is not for you. I'm not sure if it's the heaviness of the aligue mayo or it's the quantity of the crab used but it was non-existent. There was some crunch but none of the crab taste.

Scallop & Tuna Aburi Maki (Php 295)

This fared better. This is torched maki and it definitely brought out the tuna & scallops beautifully. Even with a lot of things going on (the menu reads cucumber, sesame seeds, nori crumbs, scallion, teriyaki sauce, spicy mayo & kimchi aioli) this was good. All of the above worked together to bring bursts of flavors in your mouth.

Unagi Maki (Php 299)

Okay I'll be honest, you got us at Unagi. They were trying to pass this off as a high end maki when in reality it's a mediocre maki with eel, cream cheese, fried shallots & toasted rice. But with this price tag & serving it in maki form, what else could be expected.

Shrimp Chahan (Php 145)

Cheryl ordered their Shrimp Chahan which looked devoid of shrimps. Based on the fact that she left half of this on the table, she wasn't a fan.

And now for their Hot Plates section.

Hanger Steak (Php 495)

Meat was tender; the sweet potato mash plus the sauteed mushrooms brought the earthy tones to the dish while the sauces (white truffle oil, herb aioli & ponzu butter) highlighted the meat. This was good although served a bit cold.

Ebi Tempura (Php 385)

Since we were fans of this dish during our first visit, we wanted Cheryl to try this out as well.

They fry the tempura with the heads still intact and that made all the yummy difference :)

This second visit proved that the dishes we liked the first time were still good the second time around. Consistency in food by restaurants is hard to come by but I'm glad that Ooma was able to deliver on that end.

'Til our next Good Eat!

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G/F Edades Tower & Garden Villas,

Amorsolo cor Waterfront Drive, Rockwell, Makati City

(02) 9586712

Instagram: @ooma_ph

Facebook: Ooma

#FoodStarsAtUptownMall: FlatIron 1771 Restaurant, Uptown Mall, BGC, Taguig City, Philippines

2016-06-24T00:34:00.000+08:00

We've had our eye on this place since the first time we were at Uptown Mall. Its black & white facade vies for your attention while the large windows lets you have an unobstructed view of what's going on inside the restaurant. Curiosity kicked in and we soon found ourselves pushing open those big red doors.

Flatiron 1771 Restaurant, Uptown Mall

A server greets you with a smile and ushers you to your seat. The couch looked inviting but were all unfortunately occupied. I was able to get a good shot of the area midway through our meal.

Just in case you weren't handed a menu, they adorned their wall with large framed boards highlighting their best sellers.

They kept it simple with their one-paged menu. We decided to skip on appetizers and went straight for their entrees. Upon our server's recommendation, we got the Flatiron Brisket 6 and the Lamb Shank.

Table Shot

We had them tweak it to our preference. The Flatiron Brisket 6 originally comes with brown rice and slaw on the side; we had them change it to fries & mashed potatoes. After taking the customary table shot, it was now time to eat.

Lamb Shank (Php 710)

Slow cooked in red wine, plum tomatoes, white beans, green olives. Comes with mashed potatoes on the side.

Fork tender lamb shank served in a black cast iron deep dish. Its good to note that the lamb literally swims in the red wine sauce (yummy sauce 'til the last bite!). The green olives brought the sour notes to the dish while the white beans added texture. Food-Stars Verdict? A well-presented & well-thought of dish. Definitely deserves its best seller status on their menu.

FlatIron Brisket 6 (Php 850)

Fork tender US Beef Brisket, slow cooked for 6 hours in aromatics then seared on the griddle to order. Served with brown and red rice & fresh cucumber-carrot slaw.

Without the fixings, the Brisket looked lonely. Fork test revealed that as promised, this was indeed fork tender. Briskets usually have a bad reputation of being tough & chewy but FlatIron's version delivered. Food-Stars Verdict? With that kind of price tag, I was expecting bursts of flavors or at least a dish that would make my mouth water but it kind of fell flat instead. A sauce or gravy on the side would've made this better.

Overall, FlatIron gave a nice dining experience. But to answer the question on whether we're coming back? Based on these two dishes; not any time soon.

** On a side note, they offer lunch-to-go for Php 190. **

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G/F Uptown Place Mall,

36th Street cor 9th Avenue,

Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

(0917) 8544540

Facebook: FlatIron

Instagram: @flatiron.ph