Marcianos, UP town center

02/09/2015Leave a comment

Unfortunately this place is not going to be here any longer. They serve good food here but nothing out of the ordinary. You get your usual pasta and other different fusions of flavors and dishes. For only an amount of Php 2178 we got a set meal which included a side dish, a salad, 2 different kinds of pasta, a pizza, steak and chicken. Pretty cheap, but i guess the business is not doing so well. The location is also pretty bad and it is not so visible to people from the outside.

Iced tea and water in mason jars. I guess they’re just a thing right now.

Starters. Calamares!

Garlic Roasted chicken with mushrooms and gravy, this was my favorite dish of all the dishes.

Carbonara, just the usual tasting kind of carbonara. The other seafood chorizo pasta tasted better.

I have no idea what salad this was but it tasted good because of the glazed apple and caramelized onions. Shame though that they didn’t even bother to cut the lettuce. It was in there as a whole so we had to cut it up ourselves.

Our food was good in fact i think that if they would market the place more, people would come here too. But unfortunately they were very empty on a Sunday night as compared to the other restaurants in UP town which were being lined up for. They will be changing their restaurant soon into Sumo Sam according to what the waiter told us. Its unfortunate but at the same time I am confident that people would love Sumo Sam more as people in Manila love Japanese food.

MARCIANOS, UP TOWN CENTER

2nd floor UP town center
Open from 10am-11pm

Salt Bakery, Katipunan

02/05/2015Leave a comment

Salted Egg Custard Cupcake.

This should be on top of every bloggers list this month.

It’s hard to even think of things to say about the place because I was so impressed with the taste of the baked goods being served here. I have always enjoyed the things that my friends sister, Sam would bake. During the rare occasions when we would visit her house there would always be something new we were told to try. You can always tell when someone is really passionate about something. It shows in her food how much she loves it, the taste alone (no exaggerations) I would say is something that speaks for itself.

Cheesecake, Php 130 per slice, Php 1150 for a whole. Smooth soft and light with a hint of lemon. That was one of the best cheesecakes I have tasted.

We ordered a cheesecake, chocolate chip cookie and a SALTED EGG CUSTARD CUPCAKE. (Which I would definitely come back for again)

Salted Egg Custard Cupcake, Php 55. Lost for words after eating this.

Chaz, Garth Vader, Cheesecake, Chocolate cake and Tosi. I like that her soft opening menu is comprised of cakes that we love and other new kinds of cakes that look and sound amazing. I wish that she would open their own place soon as she currently shares her space with Go Salads. I find it funny to be eating a salad and at the same time craving for the cake next to it.

Try their Salted Egg Custard Cupcake. I’ll say this again. Try their Salted Egg Custard Cupcake. ❤

Salt Bakery

FB dela rosa street corner Katipunan ave
open from 10am-10pm
Facebook them: Salt Bakery
#saltbakerymnl

Mama Lou’s Italian Kitchen, UP Town Center

01/25/2015Leave a comment

I am so happy that UP town center is just as much as a few grand jetés away from our village. I had been wanting to try Mama Lou’s since it opened here in Katipunan. You’ll find a lot of good reviews about this place especially about their branch in the south. You’ll even find a certification of Mama Lou’s displayed before their restaurant featured in Philippine Tatler as one of its best restaurants in 2014. The best I’ve read about the place is on Appetizingadventure.com they even have a full history and story of how the place started. (Linked in case you are interested)

We were first served with bread which came with pesto and pomodoro sauce. It was free and unlimited, my sister ate a whole basket and even asked for another basket of bread. The menu was comprised of all things Italian of course. They serve Pasta, Risotto, Carne, Pollo, Pizza and Seafood. I like that they have a good menu its not as confusing when you eat Italian food because you can always share!

Quatro Formaggi Pizza Php 325 small size 12″. I loved the blue cheese in this pizza. It’s probably the first time I ever thought “wow” on the first bite of a pizza.

Lasagna, Php 295. Wow that cream sauce is something to come back for.

Spaghetti Seafood Olio, Php 315. This was one of my favorites, if you love seafood you will love this. This pasta was cooked perfectly.

Amatriciana, Php 275. SPICY! But it was really good. I love the homemade pomodoro sauce that they make here. It was definitely a good spaghetti!

I got a free Tiramisu cake when my mom mentioned that I would blog about the place. This cake was really good and it was wet. My mom said that Italians like to put a lot of syrup in their cakes. I really just enjoyed the really good free dessert. They know what to serve and how to make “sip sip” 😉

The staff were a bit all over the place at first but I think food wise this place really impressed me. For the price we paid it was really worth it. My parents also mentioned that the pasta was cooked Aldente. A lot of restaurants here in Manila make the mistake of overcooking pasta. I guess it’s really easy to mess up the cook on pasta noodles.

They have a best seller, the Risotto. That I’ll surely try when I come back here. It’s a good place for some pasta and comfort food. Its a very friend and family friendly place. Definitely a new go to place for me here in the north.

MAMA LOU’S ITALIAN KITCHEN, UPTC

Facebook: Mama Lous Italian Kitchen
Twitter: @mama_lous
Instagram: #mamalous

Wing Stop, Katipunan Regis Center

10/19/201410/19/2014Leave a comment

I expected too much from Wing Stop, based on its reviews. 3.5-5? Really? I could rate this place a 2 if not for the good ambiance maybe a 2.5. I could get a lot of better wings at a better price from my friends restaurant Burger Company Ph or at my favorite Sunrise buckets. You’d think that a place that only specializes in wings would have great wings right? I mean thats the only thing they serve plus some sides. So its the thing that they are expected to perfect, not to mess up.

When we went here they had 8 people in the kitchen area and 4 people at the counter. So I was expecting really quick service, but it still took them 20 mins to cook our food and there were only 3 tables filled. The staff though were friendly so thats a plus and another plus for the nice use of space. Since they could accommodate a lot of people.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings

Lemon Pepper and Louisiana Rub, Chicken Wings

Texas style fries, Side

So back to the food. Of course I was expecting beautiful and delicious wings. They did look good, but the flavors were just too salty for me. We got the Louisiana Rub, Garlic Parmesan and the Lemon Pepper. Chicken wings are priced at 5pcs 235php, 7pcs 325php for 2 flavors, 11pcs at 495 for 2 flavors as well and 20pcs at 875 for 2 flavors. I’m sorry but after eating at sunrise buckets where it is a lot cheaper to eat. I just have to compare the size of their wings and the flavoring. The flavor here was too salty, the lemon pepper was so oily. I got the flavor on top of the chicken cooked beautifully but very bland inside.

We also got the fries for the side the Texas style flavor. I was also expecting good fries, instead I needed more flavor and just opted to use ketchup. I also found it funny that they have ice by the counter but they don’t have water by the counter? So If you get Ice you’d give a confused look like… “Where’s the water?” This place still has a lot of room to improve. It already does have good ratings, so I guess people seem to like it. There’s no competition for good wings around Katipunan so all they have to do now is improve their wings and service.

WINGSTOP

2/F Regis Center, Katipunan,
Open Daily 10am-10pm

Third District Cafe, Katipunan

09/11/2014Leave a comment

I should be talking about coffee, but I am not much of a coffee fan. So I’ll leave the other bloggers to talk about their coffee and I will be talking about their breakfast menu. ( I love breakfast food ❤ ) Although I know that they are more known for their coffee so you should definitely give it a try if you go here. I ordered the Chicken Waffles with bourbon maple syrup, Php 249. Then my boyfriend tried the BYOB build your own breakfast menu.

B.Y.O.B, Build your own breakfast

Food was pretty pricey but I really loved what I had so I will not complain. You must try their Chicken Waffles with bourbon maple syrup, Php 245 which is one of their bestsellers and their Third district Frittata with stove top BBQ beans, Php 250. I would come back to eat both those dishes. Almost everyone was eating Chicken Waffles. The chicken had a really good crunch and their waffles were really soft. Although a bit expensive since I found their servings small. Even their Build your own breakfast dish was a bit disappointing for the price, the 2 scrambled eggs we ordered just looked like one egg.

B.Y.O.B.

Third district Frittata with stove top BBQ beans, Php 250

Chicken Waffles with bourbon maple syrup, Php 245

There is also a problem with their seating and table sizes. Its a shame that they lose so much customers because of bad spacing. There was this girl seated on a table where there were 6 chairs and she was alone, and another man alone on a table with 4 seats. Most tables were only filled with 1-2 people for a big table table that could seat 3-6 people. They are also understaffed and it takes them a while to clean out the place. Also they should have a menu for us to browse, its pretty difficult to look at the wall for the menu.

Gelato

Lastly, you should try their Gelato. Their Gelato comes from Afters Coffee shop in Tomas Morato and I love their dark chocolate flavor and the white chocolate one. I forgot what they were called but it was really good, kind of reminded me of Haagen Dazs Vanilla.

THIRD DISTRICT CAFE

Price Range: Php 120-340 for food
Address: #41 Esteban Abada, Loyola Heights, Katipunan
Recommendations: Third district Fritata with stove top BBQ beans and Chicken Waffles with bourbon maple syrup

Barkin’ Blends Dog Cafe, Katipunan

09/09/201409/09/20146 Comments

My understanding of a dog cafe, such as like the ones in Japan. Is a place where you could bring your own dog and exercise with them, bring them to the dog spa and or feed them. Unfortunately in this case, it was different. You are not allowed to bring your own dog to this dog cafe. More humans than dogs, unfortunately there were too many people here. For a price of Php 180, Single entry. You get to enter the “Dog Zone” with your choice of the following drinks.

Drinks allowed in the “DOG ZONE” Php 180 with additional depending on your drink.

Food is also served here which you could eat at the human zone. There are Spaghetti and Meatballs, Chicken Teriyaki and Some sandwiches, which I would try the next time I visit this place. You get to stay in the dog zone for 2 hours, which is really cheap for only Php 180, if you do not plan eat here.

Dog Residents

Not all the dogs were present in the dog zone. There were only 8 dogs being passed around by the 30 or so humans in the dog zone. They really should rethink the system in this place. There were too many humans to the number of dogs, and by the time we entered the dog zone the dogs were already so tired from all the playing earlier that day. You could tell that they looked very sleepy and stressed from being passed on from human to human. In short, they were all just sleeping.

Smile, the pug

Playing with some dogs

Sleepy and tired dogs

If you are a dog owner you would understand what I felt about this place. I think that they should just allow the dogs to roam free as the people sit and drink their drinks. The humans were too excited to take their selfies and pictures with the dogs, and I understand that too. It is exciting to meet dogs. However towards the latter part of my 2 hour stay I felt really bad for the dogs that have been there since 12pm. They should also consider a rotation/ shifts for the dogs so that they could rest well. A lot of people were not able to touch the dogs as most of them were sleeping, and according to the rules you are not allowed to wake a sleeping dog.

The place when it was “less crowded”

Otherwise I think that the whole concept of the place is okay and they do bring a lot of customers. I would love to come back here when the rave is over. It would be great if you could come here to sit and write while the dogs roam around free. There is much room for improvement, and their staff also should be trained in handling the dogs. A lot of their customers are not even aware of how to handle a dog. I asked one of their staff if he is a dog trainer or if he knows anything about dogs and he told me that “tagabantay lang siya ng aso”. It’s a bit sad that a dog owner would bring their dogs into this kind of environment. I sure hope that their system improves here.

Barkin’ Blends dog cafe

Located: right beside Shakeys Katipunan, on the street with Mcdo
Operating hours: Monday to Sunday, 12:00 nn – 9:00 pm
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/barkinblends

Sip and Gogh, Capitol Hills

08/20/201405/09/2015Leave a comment

My second time here and it never disappoints. If you’re looking for something to do on any day and the common “food trip” outing is getting old for you. Here is something interactive and fun that you could try! Anyone can come here even with or without any experience. Channel your inner artist and book your visit. You could come here either for an open session or a specific session. Just check out their website and bring a friend with you as you guys paint and dine to some cheese and crackers, and your choice of drink such as wine and juices. Anyone can come here to paint. The staff will be there to help you and to assist you into painting. I believe that it is very therapeutic to paint, and it is very fun too. The experience is very different from just painting at home our somewhere outside your house. So the next time you have got nothing much to do and you are free, check out their website and give them a call. You might just create a masterpiece, or maybe this could be something that you could cross out of your bucket-list.

Budget per person: 900-1200 depending on the session you are joining. Please check their website for the schedule.

Sip & Gogh – Paint and Sip Studio

Address:
1 Capitol Hills Drive, 1119 Quezon City, Philippines

Phone Number:
(+632) 961 – 1248
(+63999) 887 – 6190

Studio Operating Hours:
Tuesday to Friday, 4pm – 11pm
Saturday to Sunday, 10am – 11pm

Stacy’s, Capitol Greenstreet Commercial Center

08/20/2014Leave a comment

Very cute and homey feel. Stacy’s looks like it just came out of a place from a storybook. I enjoyed our visit here, and the staff were very friendly too. I would love to come back here when I am no longer “fasting” and eating like a normal person. For the next few months however I will have to be basing my food critiques on my friends palettes.

Free Popcorn, Pretzels and Marshmallows

Mr. Miyagis Beef Bowl ( Php 235 )

I love that they have an all day breakfast menu. I’m a sucker for breakfast foods. My friend ordered the Mr. Miyagi’s beef bowl. I couldn’t help but notice that there were a lot of Japanese inspired food on the menu but it was kind of a 1/3 Filipino, Japanese and an American menu. No common theme on the food except that everything was just very sunshiny or cutesy. They give free popcorn and pretzels before you eat the food which I bet kids would like. They even have a playground for your kids, so for parents it would be a wonderful place to bring your small children to not bother you so much as you have your meals.

The food was not bad and the serving was big so it was okay for the price that my friend had paid for her food. Like I said, I would have to try this place out for myself. After I finish my fast. However for everyone out there who likes eating out, this is a nice place to come to try out. A nice place to spend with your friends and family.

Budget per person: 300-500 Php

Stacy’s Capitol Hills

Capitol Greenstreet Commercial Center, 1 Capitol Hills Drive Matandang Balara, Quezon City (0927) 326-2244

Wooden Spoon, Katipunan

05/10/2014Leave a comment

Nothing beats a restaurant that can serve good Filipino food. I absolutely loved wooden spoon and the dishes that we tried here. Our personal favorite was the Dinakdak na lechon. We came here early for dinner around 6pm on a Saturday and i think we came at the right time while there weren’t much people. The place can get pretty crowded as it gets later.

Garlic Rice (Good for about 3-4 people)

Stir fried Kangkong (Php 120)

Pan Grilled Tuna Belly (Php 245)

Dinakdak na lechon (Php 215) AMAZING. We ordered two of these

Crab Pancit (Php 165) Good for Sharing

Because the dinakdak na lechon was so good we ordered another one and just ate it even without the rice. For the three of us, we only spent a total of 1200 pesos which is really cheap considering the amount of food that we had ordered and consumed. The food tasted amazing and I would definitely come back here to try more of their dishes. There was just too many to choose from to try in one visit alone.

WOODEN SPOON, Katipunan branch

329 A Katipunan Rd, Loyola Heights QC (Across Miriam)

Telephone number: 4260044

Open Daily 10:30am-9:30pm

RECOMMENDATIONS: Dinakdak na lechon and Crab Pancit

BUDGET: 300-400 a person, We spent a total of Php 1200 for all of these dishes.

NOTE: Definitely worth your money!

8 cuts burger blends, UP town center Katipunan

03/01/201403/01/2014Leave a comment

Speculoos Cookie Butter Shake

I’ve tried this burger store once a month ago at SM megamall. I just can’t get enough of their onion rings and their shakes. Although this time I wanted to try their burgers. This time I brought Carlo Along with me! In this picture is the Speculoos Cookie butter shake and although I wasn’t able to try the shake, I noticed that almost everyone orders this. I am however not a fan of Cookie butter I’d like to try this the next time that I visit again maybe.

Lamb burger Php 385

Cheeseburger Php 195

Onion Rings! Php 65

Sweet Potato Fries, Php 65

: Nutelloos Shake, Php 220 for the 12oz

It wasn’t exactly what I’d call super special. I’ve eaten better burgers. Not bad but not good either, but good enough to satisfy your burger cravings. My friend mentioned though that their “lamb” didn’t exactly taste like lamb at all. My cheeseburger although good just tasted like a regular cheeseburger. Maybe if we tried something other than what we ordered we would have liked their burgers. They were made well but I think we had higher expectations of the place. The onion rings though are something that I’d go back for again and the Butterfingers and Nutella shakes.