Dimsum Nights

I was supposed to blog about this awesome Japanese hamburger restaurant I just recently tried, but I am stuck in bed, too sick to write a full-blown entry. Having said so, I am just going to share pictures from a Chinese dinner my Dad had a couple of nights back at Le Ching Tea House. It's one of our go to places when we want  a simple, no fuzz, I-basically-go-there-because-the-food-is-good Chinese restaurant. I had the Beef with Century Egg Congee (rice porridge) just because I love century egg, and my Dad had siomai and hakao (crystal shrimp dumpling).

Man, that hot bowl of congee would be so good right now. 

Tea on the Rocks

One should never judge a restaurant by its facade. I however, have to admit that we decided to try this cafe all on the basis that it looked cool. Seriously, that doodle art on the wall just called out my name. Luckily, the milk tea in Tea Rock Cafe tastes just as good as the store looks.

After having lunch at Casa Verde (you can read my post about it here), we wanted to make the most of our stay at U.P. Town Center so we tried out another establishment. Even before seeing Casa Verde, we already saw this and told ourselves we were going to come back for some milk tea after lunch. 

Tea Rock has such an extensive menu it was a challenge for us choosing what we were going to order. Aside from drinks, they also had a wide variety of food offerings to choose from which you won't find in most tea places. 

Milk tea places have become hangout places for the young crowd whether it's to study or simply get together. With the colorful and vibrant wall decor, you know this place is really catering to the hip crowd.

After choosing from over seventy drinks, I got the English Black Tea with Cheese and Sea Salt. When it comes to teas, the most common variant which milk is added to is black tea. The cheese in this drink makes it a more decadent version of tea with milk. This came with a free sinker and I chose egg pudding which goes so well with the creaminess of the drink.

With so many milk tea places opening up left and right all over the metro, there are great ones and there are not so good ones. This one however, totally rocks. 

Casa Verde is Now In Manila!

My friends could probably tell how excited I was upon seeing Casa Verde by how fast I ran towards them (in an unathletic, girly manner) to tell them we should eat there. It was our first time in U.P. Town Center (which I blogged about here) and with so many restaurants that were so tempting to try, we took our time going around, checking every single restaurant before we would finally decide. While walking, I noticed with my peripheral vision a familiar green logo. I left the pack to go check it out and lo and behold, it was Casa Verde!

Casa Verde is a famous restaurant which previously only had branches in Cebu that serves classic American comfort food. I was lucky enough that I was able to go to Cebu early this year for work which gave me the chance to try this awesome restaurant. I blogged about Casa Verde before and I said that I would seriously go back to Cebu just for this restaurant. What do you know, now I don't have to because it's finally here!

While a lot of the restaurants were pretty empty despite how enthusiastic their servers were in inviting people to try them out, Casa Verde was jam-packed. Since they've only been open for less than a month, some of their dishes (and service water) were still unavailable but that didn't stop people from coming.

It's a good thing though that their famous best-seller, Brian's Ribs was available. I would have been so heartbroken if it wasn't. If you eat in Casa Verde, it would be a sin not to try this ribs. It's so good and so affordable. One order which is already good for two people is just around P250. And it is so delicious. I was never really a fan of ribs because I don't like sweet food but this has the right balance of sweet and tangy. Although the meat was tougher and drier than the one I had in Cebu, it still tasted like the original. 

To go with our ribs, we also ordered their Southwest Pasta. It's penne pasta tossed in alfredo sauce, with chicken, bell peppers and onions. I love this dish! Even though it has a cream-based sauce, it was surprisingly light which only means you can eat more of it (and trust me, you will). The flavors of the bell peppers and onions were also a great contrast to the richness of the sauce. I could have finished this whole plate if only I didn't have too much of the ribs (and of course I had to share it with my friends). 

There's so much more on the menu that I'm so excited to try at Casa Verde and I'm so happy I don't have to take a plane anymore to try them!

U.P. Town Center is Now Open!

After pretty much exhausting most of the hangout places in Ortigas, my friends and I were thinking of a new place to have lunch at. One of them suggested we got to U.P. Town Center along Katipunan Avenue which just opened late this September. 

If you're familiar with the U.P. Technohub along Commonwealth Ave., it has the same feel as that. The spacious layout, lush greenery and al fresco dining for some of the restaurants give you a sense of being in a park. 

However, what really excited me about this place was the restaurants in it. Most of the establishments here are ones that you won't normally find anywhere else. While we were walking around trying to decide where we were going to eat, we all had the same reaction that we weren't familiar with most of the restaurants there. Those that were familiar though were big players but are still just on their first few branches such as IHOP. Whatever food it is you're craving, there's most probably a place there that can satisfy you because of the wide range of cuisines available -- from Greek to Vietnamese, there's something for everybody. Since it's fairly new, there are still restaurants that haven't opened and most of them are still on their soft opening. It's definitely a cool place if you wanna try something new so go check it out! 

If you wanna know what restaurant we actually tried there, then watch out for my next blog entry!

Super Spinach

Just when you thought you've been doing yourself a favor by drinking up fruit shakes and smoothies, that drink might not be as healthy as you think. You might be asking, "How can fruit smoothies not be good for you? Fruits are good for you, right?" Well, it's not really the fruit that's bad for you but the sugar syrup that some establishments add to make your smoothie sweeter. It's a good thing there are juice bars like Mondo Juice that are dedicated to all natural ingredients and don't add any sugar to their drinks.

It's hard to find sharp, straight lines in their interiors and furniture which gives it a hip, modern feel.

As kids, we're always taught to eat our veggies (even though it was probably to our disliking). Growing up, we slowly get to realize how important it is to eat healthy. If you're not a fan of eating veggies, then drinking it might be your solution. 

Most of the drinks in Mondo Juice are fruit based but they have Super Spinach which is their vegetable-fruit smoothie composed of spinach, mangoes, watermelon and nectar. As its name suggests, spinach is definitely a super food because it's loaded with vitamins and antioxidants that your body needs. Now, I know the thought of spinach in your drink can be a bit intimidating but trust me, this drink tastes so good! Even though it has spinach, what you'll taste more of are the mangoes and watermelon. I was also surprised by how clean the flavor was -- no unpleasant tastes and aftertastes. It's also very refreshing compared to other smoothies (probably because it has no sugar).

The next time someone asks me how I like my smoothies, I'll have mine with no sugar, and extra veggies, please! 

Noodle Boss

Colder days have arrived and there's nothing like a hot bowl of noodles to warm you up. The idea of slurping some hot ramen seemed appealing one rainy lunch time so I found myself in the Japanese restaurant, Moshi Koshi Noodle Boss.

Aside from the typical array of Japanese favorites that you'll find there, their specialty is their ramen. If Italians like their pasta al dente, the Japanese also have their own version of that called koshi wherein the noodles are firm and chewy, and not soggy. Moshi Koshi is so passionate about koshi that their make their noodles fresh everyday. 

I ordered one of their best sellers, the Shio Butter Corn which has a salt-based broth -- perfect for those who like their food simple. I also ordered additional Aji Tamago which is Japanese soft boiled egg.

 I liked how there was a contrast of textures between the chewy noodles, crunchy corn, tender pork and melt-in-your-mouth soft egg. The butter adds a subtle saltiness that is different from the salt flavor in the broth. 

Though I've had better ramen, this one was not bad at all. I can say that they really live up to their name when it comes to their koshi noodles. They definitely know how to make noodles... like a bawse!

Sizzling Hot

Sundays usually mean date night for me and my boyfriend and last night was a sizzling hot one because of this Beef Pepper Rice at Pepper Lunch. Strips of tender beef, white rice, sweet corn and spring onions, sprinkled with ground black pepper all getting brown and toasty on a buttery sizzling plate -- this dish is perfect for a casual dinner. And if you're lucky, your date might just be as hot as this plate.