Joey vs. Juanita

Joey Pepperoni
Pioneer, Mandaluyong
Here's a shot of the menu. Food is good and affordable. The staff are friendly and accommodating . Some of their items though (rice meals) you'd have to wait a little longer for (well, that time that our project team went there - maybe there was a queue, it was, after all, lunch time).A left-over brown bag doubles as lamp cover...
And wall paintings look like they're watching you eat... (One, two, three, four, five foreheads!)
Carbonara, bread, and chicken fingers...
Meatballs...
And pesto pasta...
We went back on a date and ordered salad, pasta, and pizza, and had a nice time again. Since we were repeat customers and we had this flyer, we were given a free dessert - cherry on vanilla ice cream on a brownie. Yummy!

Cafe Juanita
Kapitolyo, Pasig
Their table setting.
Everywhere are decor upon decor that are also for sale.
Here's a nice spot on the second floor for lovebirds. :)
But our project team came for the food so... here's fried lapu-lapu...
And adobo... They thoroughly enjoyed the cassava cake!
I was content with the free food :) But I just might come back on August 2? :)

Anyway, both restaurants are very nice to take your special someone to. More affordable at Joey's. But if you're after a unique experience, go to Juanita's. Although, after you've been there once, I don't know... unless you got served something you think you'll never get tired of or will never find anywhere else, then treat yourself and your partner. But now that times are a bit rough, with food prices sky-rocketing alongside fuel prices, and with the push to hold back on rice consumption, it may be a good idea to try to save some.

My personal choice- I'd eat at Joey's more than at Juanita's.

Spiral vs. Seven Corners

The dinner was just exquisite! Tons of food to choose from! Food from all around the world! Great setting, great service, and the drinks are free. Well, you pay a hefty sum though. But it's oh so worth it, specially if you're celebrating an anniversary or monthsary or a graduation or a proposal even. This place is highly recommended! Better start saving up for next year's super special date. And you can lay off breakfast and lunch on that day and just binge during dinner. Which isn't very nice to see when you're with someone whom you're not married to (yet). Best behavior first. But seriously, I don't think you'll be able to not control yourself when everyone else around you is properly eating their dinners, and it's not like they'll run out of food. Just note they supposedly close the kitchen up at midnight.

SPIRAL @ SOFITEL PHILIPPINE PLAZA in Manila
Type of cuisine : International
Opening hours : 06:00 - 00:00

Air conditioning
Non smoking area

Head Chef, Mr Christian WERDENBERG

There's not as much food during lunch as during dinner they said. There were at that time a lot of decorations near the 'kitchens' or 'corner' which there are seven, of course where they serve different cuisine until you reach the 7th corner where the desserts are - homemade ice cream that you can opt to have mixed 'japanese style'. I'll just have it in scoops, thank you. There being a minimal selection, this restaurant looked like a spruced up cafeteria minus the trays. And the cost is almost as expensive as in other 5-star hotels/restaurants. Hmm... Oh, there was a band playing though. They were pretty ok.SEVEN CORNERS Restaurant
Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel - 3rd Level , Ortigas, Pasig City
Serves: Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner
Type of cuisine : International

Hands-down and get-eating winner: Spiral.

Sanctuario @ Metrowalk

Nice. Nice ambiance. Nice food. All in all nice. Nice place to bring your special someone. Red is nice.Tabla setting.
You could bring your friends too.
Different pasta dishes... Carbonara...
I think this is Bulalo pasta... interesting, huh?
And here's some seafood pasta...
And you got to have meat too... Some chops...
Spicy chicken wings...
And then desserts. The desserts I didn't like so much. It was too fancy and not too tasty to be as nice as everything else in Sanctuario.
Sanctuario at Metrowalk, along the sex toys shop. :)

Postrio Cafe @ One Acacia Place

So across the hotel where I was staying at in Cebu was this bakeshop that had a fantastic cheese and garlic loaf. My co-workers whom I had let in on my find loved the loaf as well.Postrio, its name was. And it served bread and cookies and cakes and coffee and pasta and burgers too.
I only tried their breads and the ones I tried were pretty good. Here's their product display.
And their poster of a humongous burger... But when I asked about it, they said it wasn't really that big-- just for promo purposes, they said. And I suddenly craved for the big Bite Club cheese-y-you-can-feel-your-heart-palpitate-with-just-one-bite burger.

Bigby's @ Ayala Center Cebu

According to the website, they're hiring for a Megamall branch. That's good news because if the prices would be the same to the Cebu restaurant, then this would truly be an affordable TGI-Friday's alternative.Look at the ceiling... amazing! And these hanging lamps-- ok, looks a little grade-five-project-ish.
And their table setting...
And their menu and by-line...
And here's where I apologize for not posting any food pictures because the two chicken pieces I had were big and delicious and it was under two-hundred bucks, I believe, and my officemates who were with me were also engrossed in what they were having that I completely forgot to take pictures. Anyway, I recommend and commend this restaurant. If you know where Bigby's is at at Megamall, leave a comment. :)

Super Bowl @ MOA

Restaurant. Check. Seats available when we went there. Check. Seating a little cramped. Check.Pictures of the ceiling and/or lighting fixtures. Check.
Complimentary cracklings. Check.
Waited a bit to be served our food. Check.
Food was ok. Check. Mmm, maybe an ok place to bring your wife or husband or partner to for a not-so-romantic date or maybe your family for a celebration of a graduation or birthday.
But for a romantic date, some other place. Hmm, maybe it's because it's at the Mall of Asia... or you just do romantic at a place where people have group or family dinners. Could be wrong.
To each his bowl of Chinese food.

Taco Bell @ Gateway Ground Floor

One of our favorite places to eat at. Late night when we don't have anywhere else to go or we couldn't catch a movie screening, we stuff ourselves. Here're wall decor for the restaurant.And nice lighting. The balloons were a little looney though, I think. Was half expecting them in animal shapes.
But the food was "Aight, dawg." Nachos and burritos and tacos of course and cheese-y potato squares and quesadilla too.
For filling meals not too heavy on your budget... I have got to say this: "Think out of the bun!" There, I said it. :)

The Golden Prince

A shot of Golden Prince from my office. It's 7 minutes and 770 steps away.I still have a microwave and a bigger refrigerator. And now, a sink!
My "entertainment center."
And the bed. Two single beds pushed together to make one bigger, un-bouncy bed.

Banapple @ Katipunan

Breakfast before going to the airport, January 6. Free refrigerator magnet, yay!Table top.
Wall racks and some satisfied customers...
Yummy chicken. Oh, and they have great cakes and muffins! I didn't like their cookies though.
Banapple is located along Katipunan Avenue after the "Labor" hospital and before Katips and Biteclub if you're coming from Ateneo.

Mexicali vs. Cyma

Mexicali @ Greenhills Promenade. Nice inviting wall decor...
My first time to eat a burrito. Very nice. Especially since I had the vegetables and any other dressing taken out. Just cheese, the rice, the beef, and the wrap, please. Very nice.
Cyma @ Shangri-la Edsa Plaz's The Ledge. Definitely a special place to have dinner with loved ones, for a special occasion and not just because a co-worker is resigning, or to go on a special date.
Above, a hanging lamp with hanging fish. Yes, I heard those fish are fresh from the morning's catch. Below, flaming cheddar cheese. When the waiter served it, he put something on it to make it burst into flames and he and his co-waiter co-chanted "Oppa!" Something something percent on service charge. Lamb chops. Looked big. The second piece at the bottom was just about the size of what your eyes can see. It's called an illusion.
Salmon. Not very tasty at the beginning. And then half-way through, maybe the sauce had seeped in and it was a little more tastier. And then after I finished the whole thing, um, it was just fish in my stomach. And you know what they say about stomachs... They have no memory.
No one said that. I just made it up. So, the winner for this round... Hmm, Mexicali for snacking. Cyma for impressing whoever.

Mr. Choi vs. Teriyaki Boy

Mr. Choi's Kitchen @ Robinson's Place Pioneer. Dark place. Makes for waiters and waitresses you have to holler at to get their attention.
Crispy pork in lemon sauce.Braised fish.Teriyaki Boy @ Medical City's The Strip. The menu.
The table-top setup.The overhead.The maki.The pork-topped "I should have gotten plain rice because this one has bits of vegetables in it" rice bowl.At Mr. Choi's, you have to be a little more patient. And I think it's more suited for the small "nicer" lunches or dinners, like when a team mate is resigning... With Teriyaki Boy, you get a filling let's-go-out-and-grab-something-to-eat-meal-hey-how-about-Teriyaki-Boy-ok-
what's-this-on-the-menu-hey-waiter-what's-this-ok-i'll-try-that meal. You do get the difference, right?

Steak Plus @ Metrowalk

An alternative dining experience if you're into getting served smoking hot steaks. Steak Plus at Metrowalk is a small corner restaurant that serves meat. Enough said.And before snapshots of the food, here's their hanging ornament that gives the whole place a rustic, western, dim, dusty, and dingy feel.But you forget the surroundings once you're served the meat. If you're really hungry. Ah, meat! The taste is in the eating you. Too bad you're kind of thin... Oh, T-bone stands for thin bone?There's another steak place somewhere in Kalayaan Avenue in Quezon City which recently changed its name... another post...

Holiday Inn @ Clark, Pampanga

Attended a conference and more than a hundred of us were booked two in a room at the Holiday Inn at Clark in Pampanga. It was around 2 hours bus ride from Makati. The rooms were small, cozy, and looked exactly like any other double-occupancy room (I only saw the insides of three rooms).From some of the rooms, you can see the pool and poolside. There's a pool table too but it's further to the right of what you see in the picture.
Rooms have cable, standard. And I caught Prime starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep on HBO, while waiting for the dinner call. Funny movie. Funny Meryl Streep reactions whenever Uma relays sex stories with Meryl's son in the film.
The ballroom ceiling.
And since Christmas is near, the hotel has a theme to its decor in the lobby- African Savannah Christmas. O-k. Everywhere you look, there's a lion or lioness resting from a day's worth of hunting Christmas dinner meat. And while the carnivores go idle and pose for tourist photos, the hip huntees wear Santa hats and hang purple balls on branches they eat the leaves from.
Buffet meat for myself.
If you're not staying for at least a weekend to play casino or sight-see volcanic ash somewhere, I suggest the Holiday Inn in Ortigas...

heaven n' eggs @ Tomas Morato

This would be the second time I tried heaven 'n eggs. And if you noticed, how I typed the restaurant name in the entry title above is not exactly the same as the restaurant name on its tissue. Yes, oh you with 20/20 vision, I misplaced the apostrophe. Who cares?So this is their menu on a thick, heavy-stock cardboard.
And on their walls are these wall-pop-outs of famous landmarks from around the world. You have the Pisa tower leaning beside the Eiffel.
And then the windmills from Dutchland.
Straight from Dinerland are these plaid covers. Ooh, separate holders for syrups and sauces!
This time, I had piglets in a blanket (I forgot the exact menu item name)- a sausage wrapped in pancake. The pancake was dusted with some hardly sweet white powder. Definitely not cocaine. And some scrambled eggs for good measure.
And my measure for this restaurant? A consistent average. Oh, and the night guard falls asleep on duty. Bring him a blanket?

Spaghetti Factory @ Megamall

Pretty affordable especially when eating in groups and ordering their samplers (photos below). The staff were friendly, even the owner (I think), who decided to bring out the Christmas decor and begin decorating. :)With samplers, you can choose one type of noodle and three types of sauces. This one has seafood.
This one a mix of spicy tomato-based sauces and a cream-based sauce.
Here's a shot of some of the drinks my companions ordered.
Spaghetti Factory is located at the basement of Megamall building B (the side with the supermarket and not the food court (correct me, if I'm wrong- I still can't memorize which side is which!)) just across Onesimus.

Tender Bob's @ Greenhills

Tender Bob's @ Greenhills Promenade! I remember like it was yesterday... I was still working in Makati and Greenbelt 3 had just opened and they had a Food Court the same level as the Cinema ticket counter...And my officemates and I would go there for lunch and we would, half the time, buy food from Tender Bob's... It had the longest line of people and their meals were affordable, reasonably priced, and you'd get your sizzling hot plate rather quickly, and it was delicious!
Now, this branch at Greenhills is a restaurant with a menu (above) and a table setting (like below)...
And I still order a plain Salisbury steak with egg! What's my problem?!? I like simple things...
And it was indeed simple. It wasn't outstanding, just so-so, like a regular Salisbury steak from any other steak joint. Ok, my fault. I'll try to come back and order something else.

Dinner at Tagaytay

Along a strip of restaurants is a place that's like an outdoor food court, sort of, well, not really... Maybe there were 2 restaurants there and then a couple of small food shops from where you can order burgers and ice cream, and there's Cafe Breton too.The lake can't be seen at night. There are lights far out maybe from towns that line the mountain ridge whose shores kiss the lake. So visitors can marvel at the lighted trees within the compound instead. A bit romantic. But families brought their children and children run around and stumble and keep on noisily running around. Kills romance. Murders. Had chicken parmesan at Massimo's. It was tender enough and you can really taste the cheese. For that alone, it was ok. But you will almost surely despise the rice. They give you a small ball of rice you have to cut with a knife to eat. I told the waitress about it when we asked for the bill. When she came back, she had a plate of 3 scoops of gelatto. And it was on the house! Still...
I think I'm unraveling something about eating in Tagaytay... The prices may be for tourists. And I may not be used to eating out much.

Hawaiian Bar-b-que @ Tagaytay

Late lunch on November 1... Here's their menu...And their viewing deck... great view of the lake and the volcano... It was a nice sunny day too...
Hanging lights and fan...
Onto the food! The baby back ribs were tender and moist. Their fries were too small yet fiery hot.
The verdict: the only thing spectacular was the view; the food was ok but way too pricey in my opinion and speaking as a regular-salaried employee.

Mannang @ Megamall

So guys from my batch at SVI where I used to work and I met again for dinner this time at Megamall. We all met at the Food court but finally decided on Mannang just beside their sister-restaurant, Mann Hann.We ordered sisig.
Their iced tea is delicious and real lemon-y.
We also ordered some squid.
And tofu.
And this bacon-wrapped something (I forgot).
We also ordered some liempo for the late-comer. Fun night reminiscing and talking about where we are now and why {he} didn't continue courting {the girl}. Here's a picture of some of my SVI batch-mates in their ordinary yuppy identities...

Chili's @ Greenhills

Some were in their Halloween-party garb. Teens and their horde abound. Two rich families having dinner together- one family having two sons and the other family having two daughters. Could the parents be talking about pairing off their children to keep their wealths 'intact'?And then there was us, diving into our food. And I kind of agree with the restaurant's tag line.
We enjoyed our meal. We were full afterwards. And the Mucho Mango shake was not bad at all.
Only thing was that it arrived before our main meals. And I thought since it had ice cream, it was a dessert. Apparently not. And the waiter didn't ask me if - slash- I didn't tell the waiter that I wanted the shake after I've had my chicken. Oh well, I put it in the comment card even though I could've been wrong there...
I'll just come back.

Outback Steakhouse @ C5

As a birthday treat to my dad last October 24, me, my mom, and dad had dinner at Outback Steakhouse along C5. First of all, I think their prices are too high, period. But that's not why we only had water to drink.
We ordered calamari, seafood linguini, and chicken breast in mushrooms and cheese. I specifically told the order-taker that I wanted the mushrooms on the side. But when my chicken arrived and I had already cut some of it into pieces and I had already put some in my mouth, I see the mushroom are still on top of the chicken and in the cheese. I pick off the mushrooms- which was a little difficult to do what with the cheese already melted, then proceeded to eat. But when a customer service lady came by to ask how our dinner was, I told her about my issue. She apologized and told us that she'll give us their signature dessert on the house. First I declined but she was insistent.
The calamari wasn't particularly nice too. Dad had a little bit of an allergic reaction to it and part of his cheeks turned red and mildly itchy. And while mom was twirling some noodles on her fork, she sees it- a piece of clear plastic in the linguini!!! We quickly called the customer service girl again and showed it to her. She just as quickly took the plate and examined the plastic, profusely apologized, said they'll get us a new plate, and scurried back to the kitchen with the half-eaten plate of seafood linguini before I could even take a photograph of the plastic. When she came back, she verified that it was plastic and that it could have probably been from the calamari that was cooked. Aha, I thought so the calamari came in plastic bags and wondered how long had it been in stock already. The customer service girl volunteered to give us a discount card on top of the free dessert. Part of me would've wanted to ask that our meal be free but out of pity for whoever might be charged for the meal or might get sacked, I just took what they offered. Another man who looked like an assistant manager came by and also apologized. We had the linguini wrapped for take-out and just ate the dessert before we paid and left.
The 15% discount didn't make a dent on the bill due to Vat and service charges coming up to 22%.

Tenderoast @ Megamall Foodcourt

Whenever I would eat at Megamall Foodcourt, I would usually head to one chicken place- Kipp's with its heart-pumping cholesterol-rich chicken servings. And then I discovered World Chicken with their nice combo-meals. And then, very recently, I chanced upon this wonderful find- Tenderoast!Similar in concept to World Chicken, with Tenderoast you can also choose which components you want in your meal: chicken, beef, or pork-whichever style or flavor; pasta or rice; various side dishes...
On its flyer, Tenderoast boasts of "over 1,000 meal creations". And it all comes at a reasonable and affordable price range.
But primarily, I'll come back because the meal I had was yummy and filling!
Branches:
Araneta Ave; Wynsum Ortigas; SM Fairview Annex; SM Southmall; SM Manila; SM MOA; Rustan's Makati Supermarket; Rustan's Taft Supermarket; Rustan's Shangri-la Supermarket; SM Makati Foodcourt; SM Megamall Foodcourt; Glorietta 4 Food Choices

North Park Kopi Tiam @ Santolan

Midnight. We were hungry. We drove to Santolan near Horseshoe Village and there it was- North Park Kopi Tiam. Except for a couple of tables occupied, the place was all but deserted. It was nearly closing time. So we readily ordered.
Meat, above. Rice, below.
And some calamari.
Plus soup for me- I was still down with a bit of a flu.
So... it was pretty good. Food was filling. It's a restaurant you could bring your parents to. Or if you're craving for something heavy at an unholy hour before 1AM...

Peri Peri Chicken @ Greenhills

It was ok. Comparable to Kenny Roger's. Here's their menu cover... Here's a panorama shot of the place...
Their "signature" sauces beside their table setting...
An overhead lamp and fan...
Their nacho platter... the tomato-based sauce was flavorful. On the upper-left corner is my chicken noodle soup...
And here's my lemon chicken and garlic rice...
Yeah, just ok.

Butter Diner @ Araneta Center

At the heart of Araneta Center lies the old building that used to house Fiesta Carnival. Now, it is home to Shop Wise and along its side are restaurants , one of which is Butter Diner.My second time to eat here, I was excited to re-experience the American Diner-ing experience it touts of.
However, I was both disappointed and not disappointed. The above shy waiters and waitresses bring out food which I quickly understand could be how food really is served in diners along the highways of America. I could be wrong but my plate of chicken wasn't the tastiest I've had.
For its price, my meal wasn't very "filling". There are more reasonably priced chicken plates in other restaurants, plates of chicken that are really tasty. The nacho stack helped wile away the time, though.
And here: boneless ribs.
Oh, well. My feet won't be dragging me to return here anytime soon. Anyway, there are lots more places to eat in at the Araneta Center...

Kimono Ken @ The Podium

The menu... Well, the front cover of it.A Japanese-looking plate with tissue and chopsticks artistically laid out. Yeah, ok.
Way inside the restaurant, at the bar and counter, where the kimono-clad waiters and waitresses hang-out.
And there's always a nice hanging ornament or lamp to raise the ambiance and/or the cost.
We were hungry. I forgot to take pictures of the food I ate.
But indeed, Kimono Ken serves affordable Japanese food. And from the look of my bowl, it was quite tasty too. So if you're near the cinema area of The Podium, check out Kimono Ken's menu. You might see something you'd like.

Cocorama @ Shangri-la Mall

At the cinema level of Shangri-la Mall in Edsa is this cool pancake place that also serves fried and grilled goodies: Cocorama.Here's their groovy VW van design of a counter... and a counter-girl...
The disco ball solidifies the disco theme... disco at the beach- quite a mix.
Nothing says "I love you" better than a table-top ceramic vase with three fake orange flowers.
A table setup in front of the VW van counter...
The lucky golden cat waving its arm charm... Charming.
The paper placemat...
And now, the food: Ooh, big plate goodness! Buttery rice (actually, Star margarine which is why it's named Star rice) and a big boneless piece of country-fried chicken. Gravy-licious!
And here's two pieces of chops with two eggs any way you want them, scrambled or sunny-up, plus bread.
Next time, I plan to sample the pancakes.

Bubble Tea @ MegaMall Foodcourt

A cramped snack and dessert place. You could sit outside along where the rest of the MegaMall crowd passes going to the Foodcourt though. Nah.A nice lemon-green hanging lamp.
"Ooh, I love the cake!" We didn't have cake that time.
A listing of what they serve... and a server...
A bubble tea. I didn't like the bubbles (those sticky sago balls) and the large straw. Was never into the Zagu fad.
Wtf?! There's a finger in my pasta! Oh, it's just a finger pointing at my pasta not a finger IN my pasta. And it's actually pointing at the awful looking shrub growth in the middle of my pasta. It was ok, nothing spectacular.
Still, if you want to impress a girlfriend with an upscale-looking tea-with-sago stand, this is the place to bring her.

Hula-Hula @ Shangri-la Streetscape

Hula-Hula Seafood and Barbecue House at the Shangri-la Streetscape.Here's their chopsticks holder, a totem-piece head thingee. You'd make the same face if you had a chopstick lodged in your skull.
A hanging lamp that looks like a barrel somewhat.
What's a bar without alcohol (um, 40% isopropyl?)?
And a barmaid, dressed up and ready to go. No, she's not for take-out.
The food's great. The bill was a thousand and that's for two people already and all the food you see below.
The maki-looking rice roll and the foot-long barbecue...
Baby-shrimp (shrimpies?) rice.
And bangus belly which, be careful, there are still some fish bones.
All in all a nice dinner or date place. Go check it out.

No Luk-Yuen-joy will not.

I think Luk Yuen has been around for quite a while. I think Luk Yuen has had this menu when it first started. I think Luk Yuen should think about new things to offer. Or maybe I'm wrong and Luk Yuen wants to remain how it is. And I think it is now a so-so Chinese restaurant. There are better noodle houses with better food. I can't find much on their menu that would make me want to go back and dine there, I'm sorry.
No, not this fish wrapped in seaweed.
Nor the braised beef and broccoli.
Oh and I noticed they no longer serve shark's fin siomai. Aw.

Iceberg, right ahead!

So I was craving for some ice cream that night. And Metrowalk was nearby...The ice cream parlor was a third full. It was already late. And by the looks of things, the shop will close down for the night very soon.
While waiting for our orders, we can't help but look around. The color scheme is mostly red and orange. I heard a lot of food restaurants use red because it somehow entices people to eat. I then think about toros and the red flag/cloth toreadors wave at them...
Anyway, the pictures of ice cream and splits and parfaits are enticing too.
So I have a mango parfait.
And here's a cappuccino sundae, I think.
Yummy!

Adobo Republic @ Metrolane P.Tuazon

Everyone loves adobo! Nuff said.

Med-Express, Ortigas

What a convenience! Because there are no lines of people waiting to be served. I tried to have some medicines delivered and the service was ok. I went to a branch and the attending pharmacist was congenial. Their prices are supposedly less than the leading drugstore. And they will give you a card to track your purchases and you get some rebate for every peso spent. I now have about 8 bucks worth. Oh and I also heard that they can keep track of your medicine supply for you and you can have them follow you up when you already need a fresh supply. Now that's great. So if you're ever in need of medicines or other medical supply stuff, stuff you buy at drugstores, and you're in the Ortigas area, the Med-Express branch is at the Automoville compound. 634-3333 is their number.

DO NOT go to Aruba Bar in Metrowalk

I had a bad dining experience at Aruba Bar in Metrowalk recently that explains the post title. Simply put, they starved me. I came in before 9PM and ordered pizza and Tom Collins. I specifically instruct to hold any and all kinds of add-ons beside the meat and cheese. An hour later, yes, you heard it right, just before 10PM, and after a couple of follow-ups (and they told me the first time that pizzas come out in just 10 minutes, the second time I followed up they said it takes 15 minutes to cook), the pizza finally arrives, cold, and with olives on top. I had to slowly explain to the waitress that the pizza is cold. Two minutes later, she takes the dish and tells me that they will re-heat it. It wasn't the best pizza I've tasted, doesn't even come close to above average. And it costs around P300. The Tom Collins arrived earlier, didn't taste any better, and costs P80 a pop. I had two just to ease my tension.

Music/Entertainment: 3 out of 5 stars.
Pizza/Drink: 2.75 out of 5 stars.
Ambiance: 3 out of 5 stars.
Service: 2 out of 5 stars.
Pricing - Food: 2 out of 5 stars.
Pricing - Drinks: 3 out of 5 stars.

There must be better hang-out places out there than Aruba Bar and Restaurant (Metrowalk).

World Chicken @ Katipunan Ave.

I love it! De-boned chicken dishes! Tasty! Affordable! Nice ambiance! Look...The mango juice was ordinary tasting...
Here's the counter where the honest cashier who gave back the 20 bucks that we over-paid is stationed.
Here's a bit of the laminated cardboard menu.
And here's one of the affordable meals consisting of chicken, pasta and potato salad. It's a big plate. Filling.
Oh and World Chicken is available for franchise, just like it says in the webpage that would open when you click on the entry title.

Yellow Cab @ Robinson's Galleria

We trooped to Galleria last Friday to have pizza lunch with my officemates. The designated venue: Yellow Cab. We won a gift certificate from an office quiz type of contest. I'm posting the link to the official Yellow Cab website here so you can look at their menu from there because I forgot to take shots of the food again. And we were hungry. And we got lost in the hearty conversation. So, to have something to post here, I took shots of the walls and the lighting fixtures, and the empty boxes of pizza and some spicy noodles we ate... Enjoy!

A nice yellow sign greets the customer. Have you heard about the thing with restaurant signs being mostly red because that particular color somehow affects hunger?
They have a large wall-mounted menu so you won't have trouble pointing to what you'd like to have on a small folding menu.
While waiting for the food, you'll notice the nice set of hanging lamps. More aliens in the metro? :)
We distribute the paper plates and the plastic utensils and the soda. Coke light for me!
Then we chit-chat for a while. And when the food arrived, everything went quiet. Kidding, we got to interview the three new members on our teams... Again, no food pictures. Above is the "before" shot. Following are the "after" shots.
Someone else's plate.Burp.
Yellow Cab in Robinson's Galleria is located at the lower ground floor in front of the escalators and near the Mobile Phone store of Sony Ericsson.

House of Minis @ Shoppesville Arcade

Dinner. Greenhills. And I distinctly remember coming to House of Minis for a sumptuous lunch years ago when I was still at my former place of work. The prices then were, I thought, affordable for steaks, and quite reasonable. Today, nothing much has changed. At least for this branch. Entering the door and scanning the dark room where people are noisily downing what they have ordered, you'll quickly realize what I mean when I say you could have just heard a little voice in your head shout, "Time space warp!"The waiters are old. The cashier lady is just as old. Maybe in their fifty's? I can just imagine thirty or so years ago when I had just been born and House of Minis had just opened their first branch- these waiters and cashier lady now were their young selves excitedly applying for a job at this restaurant. The Christmas lights on the walls looked old as well as the lanterns that adorn the side walls and that hand from the low ceiling. There may have actually been a theme to the design- western? Rustic? And the music was another thing- 60's or 50's ballads? Soothing? To try help their customers wait for their meals? Could be. But there's no need for that. Sure, your steak might get to you after at least 15 minutes, but if you've ordered any of their "complete" meals whose prices range from PHP180 to P300, depending on whether you're ordering the junior meal or a full-sized steak meal, you'd be happy to find out that it includes dinner rolls, soup, salad, and even ice cream for dessert. You could also opt for coffee, if you want.Now you would notice that there are no pictures of the food we ate- we ordered grilled pork chops (2 pieces) and boneless chicken. That's because when it was served, the waiter poured gravy on the sizzling meat and we had to use the old-looking table-top napkins to shield ourselves from the smoke that emanated from the hotplate. After which we just dove into our dinner, pausing occasionally to remark that the pork chops were not tough to slice into, the chicken was pretty good, and overall a pretty ok place to take your significant other to for a date. Try the other branches(Click on the title to go to a site sponsored by Click the City)- they might not be as dark.

Bistro Dining

Pizza Hut Bistro. Cinema level, Robinson's Galleria. Dinner, Thursday. Nice menu book. Nice cozy place. Lasagna was very good. Who doesn't like their pizzas? Their serving of ribs was very very tiny though. Sorry, no food pictures- the ribs might have looked like s small animal's. :)(Note to Citibank Gold card holders: you get a 20% off the bill!)On the other hand, there's T.G.I.Friday's at the ground level of Robinson's Galleria whose servings are relatively larger. Dinner, Friday (Just right, won't you agree?). Menu book ordinary. The restaurant walls are cluttered with rubbish-artwork-type stuff which is their style, I think.
Only miff was that they charge you for everything but the water. They mistakenly put cheese and bacon on my fries (that came with the chicken fingers) and they charges us for it. They put cheese and bacon (probably splashed there when they were putting the same on my fries) on the salad and we got charged again! Oh, well. Remember to ask for a discount coupon when you eat there so you can have P500 off your next bill that reaches a thousand bucks.The Verdict: I probably won't be running towards another T.G.I.Friday's anytime soon unless the meal's completely free, while I recommend Pizza Hut Bistro for a nice dinner date.

Kim Siong Community, km47.5 Cavite

It was my first time to drive along coastal road and see the tall electric posts that line it. Town after town I drove. It was already dark, almost 8PM, when I reached my destination, between kilometer markers 47 and 48 in Silang, Cavite. Dinner was still being prepared so I roamed around. To the left of the big red gate, I parked the car. Just beyond the grass was a basketball court. In front of it was a small tree house from which a tire swing hung. Beside the court was where the caretakers reside. On top of their lodgings was the conference hall. There was also a room with a billiards table, a ping-pong table, and a foosball table. At the side of the conference building was a fountain with koi in it.Walking along the path, you'd pass the 2-storey (excluding the attic) lodge. There's a swing set with 4 swings on its right. And there's a bigger group-swing set right in front of of the lodge. On the ground floor is a kitchen and dining area. The second floor is where you can plop mattresses down to sleep on. The attic is another place you can sleep in. It's where the mattresses are stored.To the left of the lodge is the swimming pool. It's large enough and it's always clear. The deepest portion is six feet deep. At night, bats fly and swoop to the water to get a drink. There's a plastic slide and a small concrete one too.Further beyond the swimming pool are a couple of houses that are divided into three rooms on each side. Or was it four rooms on each side? Between the two is a pond with frogs. In front of the second house is a tennis court and a covered cooking area where you could grill food at. Nice place for outings if you don't mind the almost three hours of travel going there. The drive back to Manila was faster, taking only half the time of going there. Lots of things you can do there. Ideal for overnight outings or conferences. It could be rather inexpensive too. I wasn't able to find any link in the internet about the place and how much their rate is. I went there as part of a group outing where one of the coordinators had the contact with someone from Kim Siong Community.

Mark the date

Burgoo. The Podium. American food. Grilled. Fatty. Potato Wedges. Yummy.And while waiting for your food, you can use crayons to doodle on the paper on top of your table. Remember to wash your hands if you're going to handle wedges afterwards. You can also express your love for your date this way- draw a heart with an arrow through it and pointing towards your date's heart, for example.Yeah, cheesy I know. You can compute for relevant figures like how many times you've broken someone's heart, made them run to their mommies and cry.Good food. Nice ambiance. Nice hanging lamps. I'm just not sure what the concept is but it's alright, I guess.Worm's eye view. Not that they serve worms. :)They do serve these delicious flavored Iced Teas. Try them. Or...There's Italianni's at Eastwood. The table covers make them look like a cafeteria or rest stop or worse, a Filipino cafeteria. Good thing the cakes on the display showcase when you enter will make you go ooh and forget the nasty table tops. :) Tasty food. Tasty meatballs. Tasty chicken. But a tad on the expensive side.Friendly enough service. And interesting pictures on the wall. Oh, and their ripe mango shake was ok.So, whether you dine at Burgoo or Italianni's or some other place, it's the person you're with that makes the date special. Hey, I love cheese.

Eatery @ Emerald Mansion

Hidden within Emerald Mansion along Emerald Avenue in Ortigas is the Inasalan Food outlet.There are several other food stands inside where you can buy food at very reasonable prices.Jack specializes in hot plates. We ordered chops and burger steak from here. Additional egg is at P10. Bad!It was ok but the toge made the rice taste a little off. Super specializes in chicken. :) I think they have the chicken pre-cooked, pre-baked or pre-fried, then they prepare it in different ways like below for whatever the customer wants it prepared.White saucy chicken. Plain fried chicken.And if you have extra cash, you can spend it on fruit juice.The ambiance is that of an ordinary cafeteria. You have to swat away some flies sometimes. And folks at other tables come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and the time we ate there, cross-dressing genders.

Sicilian Express @ Meralco Ave.

Craving for pizza and pasta? Try Sicilian Express beside Brother's Burger at that building beside the Caltex station at the corner of Meralco Avenue and Julia Vargas. I had their lasagna and it was pretty tasty- lots of meat. But their food is a little pricey. One of their spaghetti costs at least three times as much as fast-food spaghetti. Of course, theirs should taste better than fast-food pasta. They also have ice cream for P25 a cup and if I remember correctly, P80 a pint.

I Have 2 Eggs @ T.Morato

I forgot to take pictures of the food we were eating before we ate them so here are pictures of just the inside of the restaurant. I ordered omellette and my friend ordered Adobo and they were ok, they tasted good. And the prices were reasonable enough. The place is relatively new so it's not that famous yet nor crowded. Check it out , egg-lovers!

Color Me Mine, Edsa Shangri-la Mall

Bonding time at Color Me Mine! Some brought their girlfriends.Some brought their husbands and kids.And painted two hours away- painting favorite characters, or even putting a new, colorful spin on old artworkI brought my niece, Faye, with me. She picked a Cinderella shirt and an Ariel, the Little Mermaid, bag to paint. I chose two shirts with artwork on them.
Cinderella's face smudged blue.
What is this?
Whatever.
Before.
After.Before.After.Yeah, I didn't know much of what I was doing, either. By the end of the first hour and one shirt, I didn't really care too much about painting everything within the guide-lines. The people at the store took our finished products, dried them with small hand-held hair dryers then gave them back to us with special instructions before wearing the shirts for the first time and when ironing them.

The Elbow Room, Metrowalk

The billiard tables were covered up. The VIP rooms were closed still. And very few people came to eat there then besides my co-workers from other projects who scheduled a fund-raising concert for a mission school our company was supporting every year. The Elbow Room. June 14, 2007.

Noon. The sun was scorching hot. I was there, invited to sing a few songs for the fund-raising. The weekend before was the only time I had a chance to prepare something. I put together two medleys, one of cartoon songs and another songs from musicals. And so the day came when, amidst the employees from other projects, I had to stand up on stage and sing. The slide on the third to the last high note on the first medley was embarassingly noticeable (Darn it, Quasimodo!). And it was a part my video camera was able to catch before its battery died in the middle of the second medley. Oh, well, better luck next time, if there's a next time, and if I have time to practice some at all.

Azta Urban Salon, Metrowalk

I've been getting my hair cut at Azta Salon in Metrowalk for some time now. After a month and a half since the last time I had a haircut, I decided I didn't want to grow my hair any longer, so I braved the heavy rains, crossed Meralco Avenue, and let the downpour pass before going home and get a haircut at the same time.Azta Salon is located on the second floor of Metrowalk and is beside The Elbow Room. When you walk in the swinging glass doors, the reception booth greets you and a receptionist asks you what service you want to get and who does your hair, if you're already a regular.When you're assigned a stylist, they lead you to an available chair with a mirror in front and some magazines available for you to read. The stylist comes over to ask you what haircut you want - I told him I'm considering a really short cut like a "semi-kalbo" but finally decided on just a relatively short and clean-looking cut. The stylist calls on his assistant who proceeds to shampoo you up right on your seat.Of course rinsing is done at a sink that has this curve that hugs your nape. I read somewhere you should be careful with this type of sink-- that if you lean on it incorrectly, you could just hurt your neck or spine!After the stylist is done cutting your hair, you have to rinse again and when you come back, the assistant does some blowing with a hair dryer :) and the stylist comes back for the finishing touches.Voila! You have your generic hairstyle back!A final note on giving tips: women give tips usually, men on the other hand could still give tips but they aren't so chummy-chummy with the stylist and the assistant to seek them out and personally hand them their tips. At Azta, they have these small brown envelopes where you could slide in your tips and then write in front of the envelope who you're giving the tip to and how much. But don't expect the stylist or the assistant to remember you the next time you come around because they wouldn't know that it was you who gave them something unless you gave the tip to them personally.

Uncle John's, Robinson's Galleria

Before my team-mates and I went to see the Pirates of the Caribbean screening last Thursday evening at Robinson's Galleria, we ate dinner at this relatively new place that exuded Jollibee meets Texas Chicken meets Shakey's. It's located at the second level beside Kenny Roger's. The fast-food restaurant serves chicken with crunchy skin, spaghetti with hotdog slices, pizza, Buffalo chicken wings, burgers between buns or with rice. For drinks, they serve Pepsi products. They won't be a challenge to McDonald's or Jollibee or even Wendy's anytime soon, but it's always good to have alternatives. Although it's a little quirky hearing anyone say "I've tasted Uncle John's..." or " Uncle John's tastes so good!", I say try it, you just might like it.

This one's for Kipp's

Kipp's Chicken. SM Megamall Foodcourt. If you want cholesterol-and-blood-pressure-raising fatty chicken smothered in crispily-fried breading, this is the place to go. Warning: not for the faint of heart.

Ortigas food trip

When you're working in one of the buildings in Ortigas, you just might have been to one of these places to get your fix of morning, afternoon, post-lunch, pre-dinner, post-dinner, and midnight snacks. First off: Wendy's at the AIC Gold building. This building has a food-court type of space going on at the back and there's a small Wendy's stall there that serves better Frosty than the other Wendy's stall at Strata (below).And then there's McDonalds over at Shell Diwal station. If you cross over to Metrowalk, you'll find Bun on the Run. Try their hungarian sausage sandwich. Oops., that's my C2 on the table.And as I mentioned above, there's Kainan sa Joseph Strata in between the PLDT building and the Post Office. They're open 24 hours and there are a lot of small stalls that serve a variety of food from shawarma to sisig to pizza to waffles, etc. But if you decide to get a Wendy's Frosty from the Wendy's stall here, check if it's even frozen. One time, I got a cup of milo instead.And over at Emerald Avenue, there are a bunch of other restaurants: KFC, Greenwich, another McDonald's that serve shakes and of course, there's a Jollibee.Speaking of Jollibee, when I went to Tagaytay last night, I saw Jollibee at his second (part-time) job...

Aysee's sisig

My officemates and I decided to go have lunch at Aysee's near the sports complex formerly-known as Ultra. This may have been our 5th time to eat there and we have always been satisfied and for some time after eating there, prone to heart attack, or since it was particularly hot that midday (reaching 40 degrees!), to heat stroke. But being the courageous IT practitioners that we are, we quickly went through our shared sisig, papaitan, crispy pork (which unfortunately was more tough than crispy), and calamares. Here are more pictures of the food we ate:Aysee's- it's like eating at your own house- well, if you're not living in Forbes Park, that is. The food is affordable and tasty. It's almost always crowded. And the help try to smile and appear that they're enjoying serving you.And here are my office-mates and I on our way back to the office, bloated and getting baked in the car- sisig-filled human empanadas.

Lago de Oro

I last went to Lago de Oro in 2004. As far as I can remember, there were no floating balsas before. Now, these locals charge three hundred bucks (thru the resort reception) to get you and fourteen of your outing-mates onto a balsa made of bamboo and with a small viewing room, seats and a table you may opt to eat on , then pull you out to sea, maybe two hundred meters out where it's still about chest deep, the waters are clear, and the sand below is clean.

Inland, the pool's water is warm and stays warm. It's large enough for anyone to even try to learn how to swim. I still can't keep my head above water and kick and paddle like a dog. If this resort was a movie I'd rate, I'd give it a 3 out of 5. Nice but nothing spectacular. Their only come on is having a wake-boarding facility at their man-made lagoon. That's for another post.

Club Deep @ Esquinita, Sgt. Esguerra, Q.C.

So I went to this bar (Tonic) at Esquinita and had a few drinks with my friend. Then we checked out the second floor (Club Deep) and at around half-past midnight, people were starting to dance and the place was filling-up. The place has good party potential. Almost everything's white. There're places to sit, to stand up, to even lie down, and of course there's a nice larger space for dancing. There are two circular "ledges" where a couple of guys (at some times, customers get up there too) alternate in standing on to show everybody how to groove to the beat. Sad to say, the beat was not very good, almost amateur-ish, just bearable, makes you think "the music they're playing here is so passe. Unless It's Raining Men is coming back in a big way. Of course, that's just my opinion and I'm not really a clubber. I may even be dancing like a chicken in there for all I know. Around 2:30AM, and after having downed my fourth Tom Collins, I decided to head home.