Project Pie

I don't know anyone who doesn't love pizza. It's the kind of food that in-a-relationship-with-food memes are created after. While your typical cheese pizza with mozzarella stringing as you pull a slice away from the whole is already pretty much standard food porn, sometimes you just have to take things up a notch.

Martin and I, together with his cousins, recently went to Project Pie along Shaw Boulevard which is a build your own artisan pizza franchise originally from the U.S. 

When we got there, there was a ton of people which is always a good sign. 

And as if they already foresaw that people would be waiting in line for quite a while, their interiors include walls full of scribbles of inspirational quotes which will definitely keep you entertained. Pizza and life lessons all in one night.

Speaking of scribbles, I love how there are random writings all over the place which are just so fun and witty. It definitely goes with the whole modern and hip vibe of the place. Plus, I am in love with the industrial light fixtures hanging all over the ceiling. It's so cool, and the warm yellowish light makes the casual place a little bit more cozy. 

Now, on to the food. When we got there, we honestly had no idea how the whole ordering process goes so we had to ask one of their very friendly servers. Lucky for you, I'm gonna be giving you the low down on how you can get your hands on some awesome artisan pizza.

First, get a menu. You then have two choices: order by number or build your own. If you order by number, you have the option of choosing from their pre-set pizza creations. Their best-sellers are numbers 2, 5, and 6. Plus, the great thing about this is that even though each number already has pre-set toppings, you can still add toppings that you want for no extra charge. But if you're feeling creative (or just picky when it comes to your pizza toppings), then you can go ahead and build your own pizza.

Once you've decided what you want to order, just fall in line, tell these friendly pizza artisans what you want and watch them make your pizza right in front of your eyes. What I like about this is that you can really see the ingredients they put in your pizza ensuring their freshness and quality. 

I wanted to try their pre-set pizzas and I, of course, had to go for the one with the most cheese on it. Martin and I ordered number 5 which has mozzarella, ricotta, gorgonzola, parmesan, cracked black pepper, olive oil, and fresh chopped basil. To put our own touch to it, we added some mushroom and bacon. 

I took a bite, and all of a sudden, there was a cheese party going on in my mouth. It's a good thing the crust was toasty on the outside and chewy on the inside (just how I like it) since it became a good texture contrast to the creaminess of the toppings. 

I forgot what Martin's cousins, Kim and Don, ordered but we exchanged slices and I loved both of their pizzas as well. I especially loved the jalapeño peppers on Don's pizza. It didn't just add spice but a great layer of flavor as well that you don't get from simply adding chili flakes or hot sauce. 

The next time you're eating at a pizza place and you just end up taking out most of the toppings on your pizza, try Project Pie instead and have some pizza custom built by you. 

Crispy Bagnet Kare-Kare and Rainbow Cake at Zoricho

With so many restaurants popping up all over the metro, it's inevitable that one's dining experience can be a hit or a miss. It's so disappointing eating out and being underwhelmed by the food which is why people usually seek for some sort of recommendation before trying a new restaurant.

I guess it must have been our desire to discover a great restaurant in the mall (or probably that adorable slice of rainbow cake on display) that convinced us to try Zoricho without any assurance if it was going to be any good. And we're so glad we did. 

The first thing you'll notice about the place is it's bright white and yellow interiors. Yellow always reminds me of mornings. It's the color of sunshine and egg yolks which makes it very apt for this all day breakfast place.

 The restaurant is named after its specialty, Zoricho, which is their own version of skinless longganisa (Filipino sausage). 

Aside from their savory dishes, they also offer various desserts that look too good to eat. If that rainbow cake doesn't scream "Eat me!" to you, then you had no childhood.

Even though their specialty is Zoricho, we had to pass up on that and order their other best-seller, the Crispy Bagnet Kare-Kare. I mean, how could you not order this? The idea alone of putting together these two well-loved Filipino dishes is genius but when you taste how good it actually is, it will blow your mind away. Kare-kare is made with peanut butter and is traditionally cooked with tripe or ox tail which have soft, gelatinous textures which just feels all mushy inside your mouth. Using crispy, firm fried pork instead was a great texture contrast to the creaminess of the sauce. Bagnet has a tendency to be fatty and oily but what I love about this dish is that the pork is not oily at all but meat is still tender and the skin is very crispy (which is honestly what we're all really after in a bagnet). Kare-Kare is also eaten with bagoong (shrimp paste) since it's usually bland without it but this was one of the few Kare-Kare dishes that I've tried that was so flavorful it could be eaten without it. It was soooo good.

As if that wasn't sinful enough, we had to pair it with their other best-seller, Tinapa Fried Rice. First of all, I was expecting the fried rice to be sprinkled with some tinapa (smoked fish) flakes on top but what arrived was a plate of rice with chunks of fish and scrambled egg everywhere. They surely do not skimp on ingredients. I remember having our first spoonful of this and our shoulders just collapsed and we were just weakened by how delicious it was. The amount of fish in the dish was so generous we actually asked for vinegar so we could eat the dish on its own.

We were surprised that we were given not just one, but three bottles of vinegar of different varieties -- Sinamak, Sukang Iloko, and my all time favorite vinegar, Pinakurat. I honestly felt like we were in a vinegar tasting session, smelling and tasting them, figuring out which one would go best with the tinapa. 

Everything tasted so good that before the food arrived, my friends and I we're so talkative but when we started eating, the food literally shut us up.

And just so you know how much we absolutely loved Zoricho, a few days after, we went back there to have lunch, and we brought along more friends because we wanted to the spread love and deliciousness.

Of course we had to order the Crispy Bagnet Kare-Kare and Tinapa Fried Rice again just so that our friends would understand what we were raving about. They too had their moments silence just relishing how amazing the food was.

Since this was already my second time, I couldn't go there and not try their Zoricho. My idea of longganisa has always been ground meat in tube form but their version of skinless longganisa is basically just ground meat. I'm not really fond of sweet longganisa which is why I loved their salty, garlicky version. 

My boyfriend, Martin (being the healthy eater that he is), ordered the Zoricho Tortang Talong with Pinakurat Salsa. This has to be the lightest, fluffiest, freshest torta I've ever had and it was so cute because they actually used small, individual eggplants. 

And we definitely couldn't have ended another awesome dining experience without having a slice of the super cute rainbow cake (which was actually really called Mardi Gras Cake) that drew us to this place to begin with. To be honest, I wasn't expecting a lot from this cake. I thought it was just going to be a simple, multi-colored, layered chiffon cake but the moment I stuck my fork in, I was proven wrong. The cake is so dense and moist you could pick up the whole slice and the layers will not break off. And even though it looks really sweet because of the color, it had just the right amount of sweetness. Just when I though rainbow cakes only existed on Tumblr or Pinterest, I finally got to eat one! And a good one at that. 

From Crispy Bagnet Kare-Kare to rainbow cake, this dining experience was definitely a big hit. 

Umami Hambaagu House

The Japanese have been known to coming up with quite unconventional creations. Whether its something high tech, adorably cute or as they say "kawaii," or weirdly quirky, they definitely know how to put a spin on things. So what happens when you take something so American like hamburger and put a Japanese twist to it? You get Umami Hambaagu House! 

While most Japanese restaurants have traditional interiors of light wood everything, paper lanterns and Japanese characters on their walls, Umami's interior design takes inspiration from the colorful and fun Japanese pop culture.

There are several television sets in the restaurant showing anime and hilarious Japanese game shows (a.k.a batsu game) to keep you entertained while waiting for your food. Just be sure not to watch and drink at the same time because you might accidentally spit water on whoever you're with from laughing. 

In keeping with the theme of all things kawaii, even the kids plate on their menu were so cute! I don't even know how you could eat adorable dolphin and bunny-shaped rice.

Speaking of food, there's a very simple chart on their wall showing the difference between a Western and a Japanese Hamburger. For a Western burger, it has a bun and the beef is seasoned with salt. For a Japanese burger, it's served with rice and the meat is a mixture of beef and pork seasoned with Kikkoman soy sauce. 

This place is so cool even the seasonings are legit Japanese. You won't be seeing any Heinz ketchup here.

So, on to the food. We started our dinner with some corn soup. If you've ever ordered corn soup in a restaurant and felt cheated on because you basically paid a significant amount of money for what tastes like instant, powdered corn soup, then you won't be disappointed with this one. This soup tastes so fresh and you can literally bite into corn kernels. 

Each hamburger set comes with edamame, rice, cabbage, thick cut fries, and your choice of burger which comes in so many various flavors.

It was my first time eating edamame (which is young soy beans) and it's so yummy and fun to eat. So for those of you who have never tried it, it basically comes in pods. You pop the beans out and only eat the beans.

I ordered the Takeshi's Castle which has bonito flakes (super thin salmon flakes which you also usually find on top of takoyaki), sea weed, bbq sauce and Japanese mayo. 

First off, how can I not order this? Aside from being a bestseller, it pretty much has every Japanese ingredient that I love. The sea weed literally got me sold. 

Underneath this mountain of melt-in-your-mouth salty goodness of bonito flakes is a burger patty. A huge burger patty, might I add. It's actually bigger than the usual patties in American burgers. It so tender and moist, meat juice comes out of it every time you cut into it. The sweet and salty combo of the barbecue sauce and Japanese mayo makes for the perfect sauce and the sea weed gives it that unique Japanese flavor (and quite frankly just makes me very happy). This dish is just so well thought of, it is the perfect fusion of Japanese and American flavors. 

My boyfriend Martin and his sister Gianina got the Maison du Japon which has melted gruyere and mozarella with caramelized onions. I was such in a dilemma whether I was going to order this or the Takeshi's Castle because if you know me, you know that I love cheese. I am obsessed with cheese. I will probably eat anything as long as it is covered in cheese. Seeing the words "melted gruyere and mozarella" got me so excited but since Martin was already getting this, I figured I'll just take a bite from his plate (which means I stripped off most of the cheese from his burger). It is seriously a cheeseburger on a whole other level. 

Martin's brother, Adi, got the Battousai which has roasted tomatoes and bell pepper cream sauce. Since the patty is so rich and savory, the freshness of the tomatoes and bell peppers is a great flavor contrast. Speaking of vegetables, the crisp cabbage with sesame sauce is unlimited so you can have as much as you want. And trust me, you will ask for more. 

As if all that food wasn't enough, we decided to end a sweet note so we tried their Deconstructed Tiramisu. This definitely gets a 10/10 for presentation. In a traditional Tiramisu, lady fingers are dipped in espresso and layered on top of each other with mascarpone cheese. For the Umami version, coffee is slow-dripped over the tiramisu layers and ice cream. 

They say good things come to those who wait and though we had to wait for all the coffee to drip, our patience definitely paid off. Each spoonful of this dessert was a party of different flavors, textures, and temperatures. It was so freaking good!

By the time we got our bill, we were joking "So, should we break the glass now?" The quirkiness in this place just never ends.

And because the food in Umami is so good (amazing, even), you'll probably be eating a little too much. Don't worry, they got your back. 

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.