Bite Size: North Park Special Toasted Noodles

Happy Chinese New Year! Since it is somehow a new year, I want to start something new on my blog. I usually do restaurant reviews here, but sometimes I just really want to talk about a certain food, and not necessarily the whole restaurant. So, I’m starting this series called Bite Size. It’s basically a series of short, “easy to digest” posts about food that I want to do a review on, and recommend.

In the spirit of Chinese New Year, I'm kicking off this series with one of my favorite noodles -- the North Park Special Toasted Noodles. It looks like a bird's nest of crispy noodles cradling a generous amount of vegetables, mushrooms, pork, and fish with a thick, savory sauce. It looks a bit intimidating because of the volume of noodles but you simply mix everything together, and the sauce softens up the noodles. Aside from how tasty the sauce is, the best part definitely has to be the texture of the noodles. It's crispy but once it mixes with the sauce, it becomes so chewy giving it the perfect soft-on-the-outside-firm-on-the-inside texture. 

If you're looking for noodles to serve this Chinese New Year, I definitely recommend this one. Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Mad Mark's Creamery and Good Eats

Mad Mark’s Creamery and Good Eats in Kapitolyo, Pasig serves honest-to-goodness, delicious food. It’s a place that you come back to not because of a fancy ambiance or some cool gimmick. You go there simply because the food is just so darn delicious! Specializing on steak, sandwiches, and ice cream, their food is the kind that after taking your first bite, you suddenly just shut up and all that comes after are a series of moans expressing how pleased you are with it.

Since it's not everyday that you find a hole-in-the-wall place to get steak, we decided to order that. The steak is cooked perfectly pink and you can definitely tell how high the quality of the meat is because of its juiciness and tenderness. It was so juicy that halfway through eating my steak, my gravy already turned pink from all the meat juice. I also didn’t exert much effort slicing the meat because it was so tender. And what’s even more amazing about it is that you really get a bang for your buck. This whole plate of food was just P195! Seriously, where can you find great steak for less than P200 (not to mention the two sides that come with it)?

Speaking of sides, I had their recommended sides which are the Bacon Potato Salad and Garden Grains. As cliché as meat and potatoes sound like, the two really are a match made in heaven. The potatoes are very chunky and are not overpowered by the dressing. The Garden Grains, on the other hand, is basically fried rice with some bell peppers and carrots. I really like how subtle the flavors of the sides are because it really highlights the fact that the star of the plate is the steak.

There are several choices for your steak sauce – Bootstrap, Cream Mushroom, and Ragin' Cajun. I had the Cream Mushroom, and it’s definitely none of that canned or powdered cream of mushroom stuff. It’s the steak and gravy combination that is a classic – buttery, tender meat smothered with rich, creamy gravy.

Martin had the Bootstrap Steak Sauce which is the restaurant’s must try sauce. It has the sweet and tangy flavor combination that barbeque sauce has but it’s a lot thinner in consistency. It has a unique flavor which tastes like a mix of balsamic vinegar and wine (though I don’t know if these two are actual ingredients). Definitely a must try if you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, but I still like my creamy mushroom sauce better.

My friends Julia and Julius had the chicken dishes which are just as good as their steaks. As simple as it seems, it’s not actually easy cooking chicken well (having the right balance of tenderness and doneness) but their chicken was very soft and tasty without being undercooked.

Since Mad Mark’s is also a creamery, we certainly couldn’t pass up on dessert. While choosing steak as our entree was a no-brainer, deciding what ice cream flavor to order was a different story. With so many unique and mouth-watering flavors to choose from, how could you pick just one? It’s a good thing you can have a free tasting of their ice creams first to help you decide what you want (although realizing how delicious each flavor actually is may just make it more difficult to decide).

But at last, we finally came to a decision and got the Banana Foster which is banana with salted caramel and Walnut Cinnamon. Now, I don’t usually give ultimatums when it comes to my food reviews but I’m going to be pretty bold here in saying that the Walnut Cinnamon is probably the best ice cream I’ve ever had! I don’t know if it’s just because I’m a big fan of those two flavors but it feels like a comforting hug in a scoop. It kinda tastes like sweet, milky oatmeal or cereal flavored with cinnamon but tastes exponentially better. I could rave about this ice cream all day but let’s just say I loved it so much I jokingly asked my boyfriend to get me a pint of that ice cream instead of a cake for my birthday.

With so many restaurants capitalizing on cool interiors, impressive location and unique concepts, Mad Mark’s proves that when it comes to the restaurant business, it just all boils down to really, really good food. 

Mad Mark's Creamery and Good Eats

23 East Capitol Drive

Kapitolyo, Pasig

Exit Bar

You’ve had a long day at work. You want to unwind, meet up with a couple of friends, have some drinks. Most bars though are loud, crowded, filled with hard working professionals just like you who just want a breather. However, for a lucky few, there’s a bar that’s so exclusive, it doesn’t even have a sign... or so you thought.

As you enter the Corinthian Building in Legaspi Street in Makati, you’ll find Plaza Cafe which is a brightly-lit cafe that serves sandwiches, pastries and coffee. 

Go further into the building’s corridor and you’ll find on your left a wooden wall and what seems to be the door to the fire exit. 

Enter that door, and you’ll find yourself suddenly transported to Exit Bar.

Aside from the fire exit entrance, one of there's also a secret door hidden in the wood panel wall that leads you to the bar. If you don't look close enough, you'd never even notice it's there (and I thought secret doors only existed in the movies).

Exit Bar exudes that old school bar ambiance with its grand chandelier, dimmed yellow lights, brown leather sofas, marble table tops, and dark wood wall panels. 

But don't be intimidated by the sophisticated feel of the bar's interior design. Suit and tie dress code is not a requirement. In fact, its rock and roll playlist gives the bar a casual and relaxed vibe. 

Now, all you need is a drink in hand, some bar chow (both of which they make pretty well), and a good laugh with friends, and you'll find an exit to life's daily grind.

Exit Bar

Corinthian Plaza

121 Paseo de Roxas Corner Legaspi Street,

Makati City

Thank you!

I was supposed to write this post at the end of 2013 but given the craziness that is the holiday season, I wasn't able to sneak in some writing in between family reunions and traffic jams. But as the old saying goes, better late than never.

I have been blogging since I was in high school. From poetry to exciting events in my life, there's a lot that I've shared via the internet. In fact, one of the things that people have come to know about me over the years is that I blog about food. Whether it's doing a restaurant review or sharing recipes, food has always been a staple subject in my blogs.

However, we all go through phases in our lives and let's just say that for every phase I'm in, I've felt the need to change my blog as well. From Multiply to Tumblr to Wordpress, I have jumped from one platform to the next every time I've already felt disconnected to my blog.

Last year, I created a new one with the vision of having my own lifestyle blog. Despite the fact that I feel like I haven't been as dedicated to it as much as I should, I am so thankful for the feedback I've been getting about my blog. So from the bottom of my heart, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who reads my blog. It means so much to me whenever someone tells me he/she reads my posts (and more so, actually tries the restaurants I recommend), and when people voluntarily give me suggestions for places to try out so I can blog about it.

I definitely want to work harder on making this a lifestyle blog so aside from food posts, I'll also be doing more beauty posts (among other things) because as much as I love food, my love for make up is definitely catching up. Again, thank you so much and watch out for some exciting things I'm cooking up for my blog! 

Image from here.

Chef's Noodle

As funny as it sounds, there was a time when a lot of Filipinos' idea of Korean noodles only came from the Jjampong variant of local instant cup noodles. Korean noodles was instantly equated to this spicy, red, seafood soup. Sadly though, most people (myself included) didn’t really know how real Jjampong tastes like. Now, Korean cuisine is quickly making its presence felt in the Philippine restaurant scene, and we can finally have easy access to Korean noodles that does not come from a plastic cup.

Chef's Noodle is a franchise of the Chef's Noodle brand from South Korea. It serves Korean food, specializing in noodles, sushi and rice bowls created by award-winning chef, Choi In Sun.

I loved the interior design of the place especially the light fixtures and the focal wall. The wall reminds me so much of the airport boards where you can read flight schedules. I initially thought what were written were Korean cities, but they were actually Korean dishes.

I ordered their signature dish -- the Chef's Noodle. Noodle dishes are literally served bubbling hot so you have to let it cool down a bit first before eating.

The Chef’s Noodle has a beef and anchovy broth, topped with leaks, bean sprouts, fried tofu, spring onion, red pepper, egg roll and bulgogi. The broth is very light which is why the dish has a mild flavor. I like how this dish feels like a bowl of Korean food staples transformed into a noodle dish because of the beef (bulgogi), vegetables and egg.

However, the star of the night definitely has to be the Jjampong. The sight of boiling, fiery red soup may seem like this spicy hot broth is going to burn your tongue out but it actually just has a pleasurable amount of spiciness that lingers in your mouth. And while with the instant noodles you only get bits of dehydrated crab meat and seafood flavor powder, with this, you’ll find a big serving of seafood happily swimming in the broth. 

If you've ever felt frustrated trying to get the attention of waiters, and not even one manages to make eye contact with you, I assure you, you'll never experience it here. A unique feature about the restaurant are the service buttons per table which you can press to call the staff's attention. It also efficiently already tells them whether you need service or if you're billing out.

I’m so happy I finally got to try real Jjampong, and from a restaurant that really specializes in Korean noodles, nonetheless.

Chef's Noodle

Lower Ground Floor, 

Robinsons Magnolia

Doña M. Hemady Ave., Quezon City

Subspace Coffee House

Whenever you go to coffee shops, don't you just wish you could order something other than the usual? Let’s be honest. They’re all just variations of different coffee to milk ratios – pure coffee is espresso, add milk and it becomes latte, top it with foam, and you have your cappuccino. Which is why as much as coffee drinkers love the beverage, it’s completely understandable to want something other than their usual cup of joe.

Subspace Coffee House isn't your typical coffee shop. Being in the center of the business district of Ortigas, you wouldn't expect to find such an artsy and eclectic place amidst towering, gray buildings. 

With doodles on the walls, mismatched furniture, and random things as decor, you’d think the interior design concept is just a collection of knick knacks thrown all over the room. However, taking a closer look will make you realize that each piece is a character all on its own. 

But of course, we came to this place not only for its ambiance but primarily for the food and drinks. Their best-seller (and frankly the main reason why we decided to check the place out) is their Purple Potato Latte. 

Now, don’t be fooled by the color. Its bright purple color makes it seem like an ube (purple yam) or taro drink, but it’s not. It’s made of camote (sweet potato). I was expecting it to taste like ube but it didn't. It tastes milky and creamy with just the perfect hint of the camote flavor. It's so delicious and definitely something you wouldn’t find anywhere else. 

Martin had the Peanut Butter Latte. If you like peanut butter, you are going to love this drink. It tastes exactly like peanut butter, and why wouldn’t it when it actually has thick peanut butter at the bottom of the drink. Every sip you take, you get real, creamy peanut butter up your straw. 

Aside from drinks, they also have a selection of sandwiches, breads and pastries for you to munch on. 

I had their Kani and Cucumber Sandwich. I seldom order sandwiches in restaurants because I’ve had many disappointments of ordering sandwiches with barely any filling in it. But with this one, there was a generous serving of the kani filling and cucumber. The croissant was good to eat on its own as well. 

Martin had the Big Bang Waffle which to be honest, I would have ordered instead if I knew how awesome it was. It’s basically a waffle sandwich with sunny side up egg, bacon, ham, and cheese topped with mayonnaise. What a mouthful! It may seem overwhelming but with all these elements put together, it’s an explosion of flavors inside your mouth.

With so much creativity visible in the interiors of the space, it’s hard for it not to spill over on to the food. 

Subspace Coffee House

Unit 103, GF Grand Emerald Tower,

F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, 

Pasig Ciy 1605