Mario's Kitchen at Robinsons Place Ermita

Its a holiday, so its a good time to shop at Robinsons Place in Malate. I accompanied my girlfriend and her aunt to do their Christmas shopping. Before we do our shopping we went for a snack at Marios. Marios Kitchen is located on the 2nd floor of the Mall, Marios Kitchen is more of a fastfood compared to the original Marios Restaurant. We ordered Paellita, Lengua Con Setas and Callos Madrilena. But our favorite Beef Hot Pot is not available. The Lengua Con Setas taste differently than the last time my girlfriend's aunt has eaten. The waiter said its because of the vinegar. Anyhow they provided us complimentary cake afterwards. Total Cost P565. Mario's Kitchen Robinsons Place - Manila 2nd Level, Taste Buds - Pedero Gil Wing M. Adriatico St. Manila Tel. 302-0195 Open for lunch and dinner Cuisine: American, Sandwiches, Steaks Recommended Dish : Hot Pot and Lengua Con Setas Rating : 2star Value for money : 3star

Starbucks Powerplant

After our dinner at Brazil Brazil, we went for coffee at Starbucks. We were able to get Sofa chair since we came late around 11pm. My girlfriend ordered a Camomille tea which we shared, I got a complimentary cup with hot water and we shared the tea bag. We stayed till 12am. Starbucks Power Plant Mall 1st Level Rockwell Drive cor. Estrella St. Makati City Tel. 898-0278 Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Cuisine: American, Cakes/Breads Web site: http://www.starbucks.com Rating : 4star Value for money : 5star

Brazil Brazil at Power Plant Mall

Darius a friend of my girlfriend is celebrating his birthday at Brazil Brazil in Power Plant. The entrance of Brazil Brazil is on the ground floor, but it's not easy to find since you need to enter a small hallway to get to this restaurant. When you enter the restaurant you can see a lot of mask hanging on the wall like the Mardi Gras in Brazil. I ordered drink all you can ice tea since we have to wait for some of his friends who are late. The food are all grilled and will be served to your table. I had a lot of Chicken BBQ, Pork BBQ, Tenderloin, Sausage, Grilled Beef Brisket, Grilled Pork Belly, Grilled Lamb and some grilled corn and banana. By the way they will place a Yoyo, YES a fully working Yoyo on your table with red and green color, green side means keep the food flowing and red means stop serving at your table. You can also get some buffet dishes, they have rice, fish steak taragum, macaroni, fried potatoes, Minestrone Soup, macaroon and fresh fruit salad. A funny thing happened to Bryan who came late, He has a nice live butterfly hanging on his back when he went in and incidentally my girlfriend whom I know is not afraid of any creatures like Rat, cockroaches and other small insects has run away as she's afraid of BUTTERFLIES !!! I guess I found her weakness after all .... We stayed at this place till 11pm and we noticed a small Rat running around the buffet table. We called the attention of the waiters, but it's too late. The rat got away. If you love grilled dishes then Brazil Brazil is your place. Brazil Brazil Power Plant Mall 1st Level Rockwell Drive cor. Estrella St. Makati City Rating : 3 star Value for money : I forgot to check our bill since Darius paid

Circles Event Cafe - Shangri-la Makati

I was on my way home when my girlfriend called me up that her sister is inviting me to have dinner with them at Shangri-la Hotel. I immediately said YES as Shangri-la has one of the finest buffet restaurant which is the Circles Event Cafe. I would never let a sumptous buffet pass me by. We parked at 8750 and just walked over to Shangri-la, since we did not make prior reservations we had to wait for 15 minutes to be seated. While waiting, we spotted Martin Nievera together with his son Robin and Ram dining at the Circles. Circles Cafe uses glass pieces that were not only for display but were also used for serving the numerous dishes. When you are inside the Circles, the first thing you will notice is that they have a lot of selections from Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Indian and of course Western dishes. So its quite difficult to decide on which one to attack first. On my first round I had a lot of Japanese sushi, salmon, fresh raw Oyster. The Fresh Oyster are my favorite since its very fresh and I rarely eat oysters. On the 2nd serving I went for some siomai, lamb, rice, fettucini, adobo, pork chop, salmon BBQ and some tofu. For my last round I went for Asado, Beef, Risotto, Naan and some Salmon BBQ. For my dessert I had pistachio ice cream, Halo-halo and fondue. A complimentary parking stab is given to us after dinner, too bad we cannot use this as we have already parked at 8750. But we have Shangri-la discount card with 25% dicount on food . Total bill P1,088 per head x 4 = P4,352 less 25% discount = P3,264. Circles cafe has a much better food variety compared to Philippine Plaza. I love the raw oyster and desserts. Shangri-la website : http://www.shangri-la.com Circles Event Cafe Lobby Level, Makati Shangri-La Ayala Ave. cor. Makati Avenues Makati City Tel. 813-8888 loc. 7599 or 7588 Rating : 3star Value for Money : 3star

Kape Cafe - Leon Guinto Malate

My girlfriend birthday happens to be on Nov. 22. After we had a sumptous dinner at her sisters house, we went to Kape Cafe that is just 5 minutes away from her home. Kape cafe would be the next hot spot among the city’s yuppies and coffee-lovers. Drinks at Kape Cafe are classified according to espresso-based, twisted, built over ice, blended, or fruit-based. An extensive menu includes Filling Fillers like Tuna Melt, Grilled Chicken and Chips, Kape Café Club Sandwich, Classic BLT, Ham and Cheese and Pineapple Toastie, etc. We stayed at the 2nd floor of Kape Cafe and we are very happy since there are no customer on this floor, we got to occupy our favorite spot which is very near the window overlooking the street, we have the best sofa seat with throw pillows on our backs, Unfortunately our favorite drinks which is either the Mango licious shake for P75 or Apple dapple cooler for P90 has run out, so we just get the next best drink which is the Banana velvet smoothie for P90. I believe that people has yet to discover the potential of Kape cafe, this place has one of the best seats, they have Karaoke if you want to sing and Tables which we use for foot rest since its low enough. I believe this place is more comfortable than either Starbucks or Seattles. If you want privacy and a romantic night visit Kape Cafe. Kape Cafe 1971 Leon Guinto Street near Quirino Ave. Tel : 536-6868 Rating : 5star Value for Money : 4star

Starbucks - Robinsons Place

After dining at Tropicana Apartment Hotel, we decided to have a coffee at Robinsons Place Starbucks as it is very near Tropicana. I decided to order Starbucks Green Tea for P80 as I had sinus tonight. The tea comes with honey which is just nice for sweetening my tea. By the way starbucks has a promo which runs till January of 2006. They will give you a Starbucks Planner after you purchased your 21st coffee. My girlfriend already collected 11 stamps on her card since we went to starbucks with friends. The place is crowded and we did not find any sofa chair. Starbucks - Robinsons Place Malate Rating : 2 star Value for Money : 3 star

Tropicana Apartment Hotel Restaurant - Malate

My girlfriend decided to celebrate her birthday at Tropicana Apartment Hotel pool area. The food served are from the hotels restaurant. They served buffet meals which are Ayam Goreng, Lumpia Shanghai, Fish Fillet, Grilled Porkchop, Singapore Hofan, Shrimp and rice. The drinks we just bought it from Robinsons Place. Tthe food were good, since these are the speciality of the restaurant. Some of her relatives and friends also brought fruit salad and cakes from Hizon. The cost per meal was less than P200 which is cheap since we know a friend from this Hotel. Tropicana Apartment Hotel 1630 Luis Ma. Guerrero St. Malate, Manila Tel: (63+2) 525-5555 Rating : 3 star Value for Money : 5 star

Gloria Maris - Greenbelt 2

After playing billiards and bowling with friend at Playdium. We decided to dine at Gloria Maris in Greenbelt 2, I have a P500 gift certificate courtesy of my brother. We had to park in Greenbelt 1 since G3 parking were full even on a Sunday. Maybe a lot of people are watching the latest Harry Potter goblet of fire. We ordered shabu shabu set of 4 which cost P988 and the soup (clear and sate) for an extra P120. We were surprised that the serving was big, consisting of Shrimp Ball, Squid Ball, Button Mushroom, Gabi, Black Mushroom, Dried Bean Curd, Beef Balls, Fish Lips, Sea Cucumber, Lobster Ball, Mushroom Ball, Bean Curd, Tokwa, Beef slices, Lalu-Lapu, Prawn, Pechay, Polunchay, Pork Slices, Spinach, Cabbage, Raddish, Carrots, Squid, Chicken, Liver, Scallop, Brocolli, Round Noodle, Yellow Noodle. and the sauce are made of 6 difference spices which are Fresh Chili, Peanut Sauce, Chili Sauce, minced Garlic, Sate and Onion Leaves. The food were great and you can really feel satisfied after eating all the shabu shabu. Our total bill comes to P1,656 since we also ordered some drinks. Greenbelt 2 Ground Level Estrella St. Ayala Center Makati City Tel. 757-4171 to 74 Rating : 4 star Value for money : 4 star

MYMP Concert

We were late for MYMP concert, which cost us P850 for patron seats as we arrived around 8:30 at the main concert arena, my girlfriend and her friends needs to finish eating the KFC zinger I bought outside Araneta, as foods are not allowed inside. Luckily the concert started almost an hour and thirty minutes late. Heres a little review made by Gus .. "around 8pm there werent as much crowd as expected. but after about an hour and a half and gazillion informercials the venue was almost full. and the crowd was anticipatingly waiting for the start. and then it did... there was no doubt that juris has the TALENT to sing. she nailed notes for almost two hours of non-stop singing except for one song where she was fighting tears as she dedicated the song to her MOM - ive seen worst when some so called artist tries very hard and fail miserable to mimick singing. (hahahahah) JURIS is the best. i think im more of a fan now than ever. there are several technical problems like the mike screeches every now and then, the into was a mess, the spiels was terrible, the transitions was not well rehearsed, not to mention the fact that sometimes juris tend to eat her words. i dont know what was the concept of the concert. but what i deduced, i think they did not try to make a statement production wise instead they stayed true to the acoustic theme and turned the coliseum into one big baga verde. it almost failed to work if not for the sheer voice and talent. word of the night... thank you! (...in a high-pitch tone every after song) i myself am thanful that i chose to watch the concert. its was a showcase of real unadulterated talent. its was not heart pumping performance rather it was heart warming. as the crowd got serenaded by the love songs and familiar tunes i told myself this was worth it. i got to spend time with my brother...quality time and special time..." About MYMP MYMP (Make Your Momma Proud) is a Filipino acoustic band comprised of Juris Fernandez (lead vocals) Chin Alcantara (guitar and vocals). They are a group of young talented individuals responsible for the hit songs "A Little Bit", "Get Me", and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic." Their hit song now is "Especially For You", a remake of the Kylie Minogue hit. visit MYMP site tunogmymp.com Rating : 2 star

KFC - Gateway Cubao

As we were running late for the MYMP concert, my love asked me to buy Zinger combo with ice tea for her and her friends. I hated falling in line, but what can I do... So, I bought 5 pcs. Zinger combo with Ice tea at P116 per order and 1 KFC chicken burger crunch at 29. I had to wait for extra 15 minutes for the Zinger. Good thing some of her friends came to help carry the food. visit KFP Philippines site kfc.ph Rating : 3 star Value for Money : 4 star

Oody's Express at Gateway Cubao

While waiting for my love, who was late due to heavy traffic, I decided to go to Gateway 3rd Level Food Express. I was thinking of dining at KFC but decided to have dinner at at Oodys Express instead as there was a long line waiting to be served at KFC. Oodys Express specializes in serving Southeast Asian Cuisine. The food are all affordable ranging from P88 to P148. I ordered Curry rice topping (pork) at P98 and Thai Ice Tea at P28. Since it was a Friday, there were a lot of people in the food court and it was hard to find a vacant table. Luckily, I saw some friends who were also going to watch the MYMP concert and shared a table with them. The food was great as it was spicy enough for my taste. If you prefer more spice, chili powder is available at the counter. You may also try the Pad Thai Noodle at P98, since Oody's is really known for their noodles. Rating : 2 star Value for Money : 4 star

Figaro Coffee Company

I arrived around 5:45 at Gateway cubao, MYMP concert is supposed to start around 8:00pm. so I just waited at Figaro gateway, Figaro is not too crowded as its located on the 2nd floor of the mall. I ordered the Figaro Coffee Jelly float in 12 oz. at P89 as cold drinks are my favorite. But as I was whiling away my time, I found they have the new caramel frost light with reduced fat and reduced sugar, which I think is a much better drink for only P95. ohh well. I love Figaro as they will serve the coffee to your table, together with the courtesy water, tissue and spoon for the coffee jelly. The only downside is I cannot find any sofa chair at this place. Figaro Coffee Company Gateway Mall Upper Ground Level Araneta Center Quezon City Tel. 911-1250 Rating : 2 Star Value for Money : 2 star

Encylea - Guide to Restaurants in Manila

The first thing we did in order for us to provide a very insightful thoughts in our manila restaurant guide is to purchase Guide to Restaurants in Manila which was published by encyclea publications. The book was purchased at Powerbooks in Greenbelt 3, which cost us P495.00 . Heres what you can expect from the book : Every city in the world will contain a relatively small group of people who, for reasons of their occupation or life-style, dine out in restaurants on a regular basis. The far greater majority, however, only dine in restaurants on an irregular basis. A business lunch or dinner, a family celebration, on a date or perhaps visiting a city can be among the many reasons for making a decision to dine with family or friends. The decision to dine out is easily made. The choice of where to go is often the more difficult to make. In which area of the city? What restaurant to select? What is the type of cuisine offered? Can we afford it? Will we enjoy the food and service? These are many questions posed to the inexperienced. For those who live in the general area of Manila or are visiting that exciting city, deciding where to dine has been made simple by just owning a copy of the Guide to Restaurants in Manila. This is an unusual and useful book, because its many authors are not gourmets or restaurant reviewers. They are not advertising compilers. They are in fact a group of irregular diners who have experienced the problem of selecting a suitable restaurant themselves and so got together to do something positive about the problem. Their solution was to get out in the city and eat. Eat in as many restaurants as possible. Dine in every type of establishment from family-type economic restaurants through to fine dining bistros and from their collective experiences select just one hundred of those that met a common set of criteria. The factors that affected their rating system was the food, the atmosphere, service, price, accessibility and sanitation. Included in the restaurants’ information details is the personal opinion of the reviewer, and as they were all professional writers, these are often pithy but honest. The result is a book sized to be easily carried in a pocket yet comprehensive in content that is more than enough to allow potential diners to select the most suitable restaurant to satisfy their appetites and other needs. Although the full reviews are in the alphabetical order of the individual restaurant names, selection is simplified by efficient systems of cross-reference. Thus from the overall map of Manila, one can select the general area in which one wishes to dine and then see the street map of that area indicating the actual location of each restaurant. These restaurants are also listed alphabetically with the basic information such as address, type of cuisine served, the enjoyment factor of the reviewer using a number of heart icons, the average cost of a meal using peso icons and the page on which the full review is located. From this list a number of alternatives may be selected and the opinion of the reviewer read prior to making a decision. If the type of cuisine is of more importance than the location of the restaurant, an index is also provided to provide easy location of the restaurant’s individual details and review. Although only taking up one page, the individual restaurant details and reviews are unusually comprehensive. Not only is the full address and telephone number of the establishment given but also an indication of what one could expect to pay for the full meal. Hours of operation are stated, the acceptable mode of dress and payment as well as the availability of parking, an important factor in this city. An individual location map is also given as well as the actual meal ordered by the reviewer and comments on its quality. The review also contains the reviewers’ overall impressions resulting in the decision as to the number of heart icons awarded. Perhaps the best thing about the Guide to Restaurants in Manila is its honesty. The fact that it is not advertorial but a genuine guide to consumers can clearly be seen. It is a book that should be on the bookshelves or in the desk drawers ready for the next time that someone says, “Let’s have dinner together. Where shall we go?” Publisher: Encyclea Publications Publication date: 2005 Genre: Food Edition: 2nd Language: English Binding: Paperback Size: 110 x 215 mm Pages: 218 via encylea.com

Food for 2

Food for 2 ...