Robinsons Magnolia City Food Picks

I’m a big fan of hole-in-the-wall kind of restaurants that serve straight up delicious food when it comes to eating out. I’ve had this idea that you can’t really find unique restaurants in malls because of its commercial nature. However, that mindset of mine seemed to have changed recently. Last Tuesday, I got to join the Robinsons Magnolia City Food Picks together with other bloggers where we got to sample the unique dining spots the Magnolia Mall has to offer. The tour was organized with the help of the man behind the Mercato Centrale Group, and well-known food blogger, RJ Ledesma and Anton Diaz, respectively.

The Magnolia Mall is actually part of The Magnolia Town Center which is a mixed used development consisting of a mall and a residential condominium, The Magnolia Residences. I can just imagine how awesome it would be for the future residents of The Magnolia Residences that they’re literally just a few steps away from so many great dining spots.

Speaking of great dining spots, our food trip started with appetizers at the food court. First stop was C’Verde where we had some tasty Bean and Cheese Taquitos. C’verde is part of the Big Chill company and serves healthy, vegetarian meals. I actually included one of their rice dishes in my healthy lunch post (which you can read here).

Next, we went to Pad Thai and More where they serve affordable Thai dishes. Chewy noodles, crunchy peanuts, salty sauce, and citrus lime – their Pad Thai was a plateful of flavors and textures!

After some savory starters, we then had some sweet treats. I love sylvannas ever since I was a kid, so you can just imagine how excited I was when I found out the next stop was House of Sylvannas. What’s unique about them is that aside from their classic Sylvannas, it also comes in other flavors such as strawberry, ube and pandan. While other Sylvannas tend to be dry or too crunchy, I like how theirs had a crunch when you first bite into it, but is also chewy once it’s in your mouth.

We then had artisanal chocolates from Villa del Conte which is one of the best chocolates I’ve had. I was able to try their Praline Sticks in Milk Chocolate with Watermelon Cream Filling. Yes, you read right, watermelon. It was the first time I’ve tried such a unique filling, and I loved how fresh and light it was in contrast to the rich chocolate.

We were off to a great start, but when we had our main courses, I was just blown away! The first of the two was The Clubhouse. I’ve always wanted to try this restaurant because they serve modern comfort food, and all day breakfast dishes (and who doesn’t love an all day breakfast place?). The charming and cozy interiors of the restaurant alone are enough to make me want to eat there. I seriously wanted to take the cute cups and bowls with me! Anyway, back to the food.

Vigan Longganisa Hash

Corned beef hash is a classic breakfast dish, but The Clubhouse put a Filipino twist to their hash by using Vigan Longganisa.  The longganisa is salty and toasted, perfect with the soft potatoes.

Tuyo Rice Bowl

Tuyo, rice and egg is one of my favorite breakfast combinations so being able to have it without the pains of having to debone the tuyo myself was just awesome. I also love the bursts of flavor I get from each bite because of the olive bits.

Truffle Mushroom Scramble

My personal favorite among the dishes that were served has to be the Truffle Mushroom Scramble. You can never go wrong with adding mushrooms to your eggs, but adding the truffle oil just made it so luxurious! I love how the earthy flavors of the mushroom and truffle tie in together.

Hungarian Sausage

For those who prefer their breakfast meat in tubular form, the Hungarian Sausage is the way to go. The sausage has a subtle spiciness, and has a good bite to it – not soft or soggy at all. 

Morning Pineapple Salsa

Filipino breakfasts are traditionally paired with a side of tomatoes and onions. The Clubhouse has their unique version of that which has pineapples to add a bit of sweetness to the salsa.

As if that meal wasn’t good enough, our second main course definitely has to be the star of the whole food tour. We then headed to Gaucho for some Argentinean food.

Argentinean food mainly consists of hearty, red meat dishes which are cooked ala cruz, where the meat is basically skewered and slow-roasted. If you like meat, then this place is going to be heaven to you!

We were served Falda ala Cruz (US Beef Shortplate), Cochino ala Cruz (Native Suckling Pig), and Cordero Entero ala Cruz (Australian Young Lamb). All of the meat were so tender and well-seasoned. My favorite definitely has to be the Falda ala Cruz because I prefer beef. It’s one of the most tender beef I’ve ever had!

We were also served picked eggplant, shallots, and zucchini. I normally don’t like pickled anything, but I really liked this one, especially the zucchini because it’s more on the sweet side.

With red meat comes red wine, so we were served Misterio Malbec which is a famous Argentinean wine.

After watching Argentina episodes of travel shows before, I’ve always wanted to try Argentinean food but I didn’t know where to get it here in the Philippines. I would have never thought that I could conveniently find it in Robinsons Magnolia, but I’m so glad I did.

Of course, we had to end our food tour on a sweet note, and what could be a more appropriate dessert place for our City Food Picks than the Magnolia Flavor House. We were served so many ice cream concoctions, it was so overwhelming! From something Filipino like their Tropical Trio to a classic Banana Split, there’s something definitely for everyone. But aside from the ice cream, it’s the nostalgia, and fond memories of the former Magnolia Ice Cream House that definitely brings people back to this place.

I’ve been to Robinsons Magnolia so many times but taking part in the City Food Picks definitely made me see it in a different way. I knew there were good places to eat at, but I didn’t know they were that great. If only I lived in the area, I’d definitely have a personal food tour everyday!

Disclaimer: I was affiliated with Robinsons Land Corporation but all opinions are mine.