Masas, Greenbelt, Makati, Manila

Second dinner with my course blockmates in Masas. The only Pinoy restaurant in GB that I haven't eaten in yet. I didn't like the taste of their dishes, but perhaps we just ordered the wrong ones. Some interesting things we had on the table.

authetic Cebuano vinegar! The peeling labels give off the karinderya vibes.

Mango margarita.

Chili sticks! (instead of cheese sticks)

Tilapia spider man style

Masas

Greenbelt 2,

1st Level

Estrella St., Ayala Center Makati City Metro Manila

Tel: 632 757 4030

Inagiku, Shangri-La Hotel

We spent Mommy's birthday dinner in Inagiku, the fine dining restaurant in the country's most popular 5 star hotel. Prices were excluded at the request of my Mom.

It's funny how we almost have staples when we walk in a Japanese restaurant - my brother has either the unagi or chicken teriyaki, i'll have a maki of sorts, my mom will have the cold soba and some sashimi. Then tempura for the middle. Oh and that iced tea.

Regular tuna sashimi

Spider soft shell crab - my other staple! the best on the menu IMHO

Makati maki (california maki wrapped in tuna sashimi and with larger red caviar)

california maki

chicken teriyaki

Inagiku

Makati Shangrila Hotel

Ayala Avenue corner Makati Avenue

Makati City 1200

Philippines

Tel: 632 813 8888

M Cafe, Greenbelt, Makati

For last night's dinner, Pam, Siox, Marion and I went for the sophisticated and fun M Cafe. Imagine how much you can charge for simple ingredients, fine china and a relaxing ambiance

Appetizer! Prawn crackers, anchovies (!), cucumber and carrots

Roasted honey duck rolls (hoisin lime sauce, toasted sesame, prawn crackers) Php 350

slow braised country lamb shank 'kare kare' at Php 495

roasted baby eggplant, snake beans, banana heart, baby bok choy, home made spicy bagoong

Sesame dilis kung pao style at Php 300

Honey duck pizza (Php 495). Essential ingredients are carabao's cheese (kesong puti), cucumber, char siw and lime sauce

Below is the chocolate creme brulee trio at Php 288. Among the 6 flavours to choose from, we had basil, kaffir and pandan orange.

I got confused with the basil flavor, but I suppose we picked that because we wanted to be adventurous.

This is kaffir, the best among all our choices

The pandan also had a strong savoury flavour about it. Didn't quite catch the pandan flavour that I'm used to

All in all, M cafe is a great experience. I failed to go for one of their beautiful cocktails, however.

Museum Cafe

Glass Wing, Ayala Museum,

Makati Ave. cor. De la Rosa St.,

Makati, Metro Manila

Philippines

Tel: 63 2 757 3000

Cafe Breton, The Podium, Manila

My family and I have been going to Cafe Breton since (I believe) they've opened more than a decade back. My brother always had their La Pinay, so repetitive orders ingrained in my mind that it was priced at Php 90. And then eventually it became Php 120, and then when I went in yesterday, it was a Php 160 already! But it still had the essential ingredients of ice cream, mango and chocolate syrup.

La Pinay (Php 160). That's Phil mango inside. (Notice the qualifier)

It's that smile! Happy Birthday, Beautiful!

Cafe Breton

The Podium

18 ADB Ave., Ortigas Center

Mandaluyong, Metro Manila,

Philippines

Tel: 63 2 687 5971

California Pizza Kitchen, Manila

CPK is always a no brainer choice for random dinners, but I felt that it deserved a post because it never failed me when I'd default to have my friends over there. A couple of staples for the middle table.

Bottomless raspberry iced tea for Php 105. It's iced tea with rasberry flavor. But not rasberry juice.

Spinach artichoke dip (Php 625). I've been ordering this ever since I first stepped in CPK when I was in elementary school. It was around Php 400 then

For the rest of the menu - nothing too memorable and prices are reasonable. Good enough to keep us going back there.

California Pizza Kitchen

Shangri-la Plaza Mall

2nd Level, Shangri-la Plaza Mall

Shaw Blvd. cor. EDSA, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila

Philippines

Tel: 63 2 687 7841

Amici, Greenhills, Manila

Amici was formerly run by the Don Bosco brothers and they set up shop in Chino Roces Avenue in Makati City. Back then, the only deterrent to choosing Amici was the absence of parking space. Otherwise, the flavour of each dish was divine. I remember shamelessly going for a second and third round of gelato the first time we tried the restaurant several years back.

A commercial company eventually took over Amici. I have reservations about the presentation and taste of their savoury dishes versus the price they are asking for it, but I must say that they've stayed close to the taste of their gelato. Not that I distinctly remember, but it's yummy enough to merit a post.

Trust me to go for the ice cream cake.

A Spumoni (?) slice (vanilla, strawberry and pistacio) for Php 95

Amici

Missouri St. cor. Connecticut St.,

Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila

Philippines

Tel: 63 2 724 4804

Plug on the BEST CHEESECAKE I have ever tasted

My mother always sang high praises for MyKitchenGarden ever since she introduced it to us for my brother's birthday. For today, Ayala Corp gifted her with a cheesecake from MyKitchenGarden and let me just say for this one (Mascarpone Cheesecake), I couldn't keep my hands off it. You know how some cheesecakes are too heavy or soggy or full of air, too sweet or too salty or the cheese just isn't there? This one is just perfect!

Chilly Wingers, Katipunan

My brother took us to Chilly Wingers, his favorite Katip restaurant (for the moment - but there is only so much to choose from). Chilly Wingers serves Mexican food plus pasta (usp confusion?). The taste was nothing remarkable, except for the Peanut Mud Pie (Php 195), which satisfied my cravings for any dish injected with flavor.

It's more of ice cream cake that pie, but the creamy peanut butter ice cream settles well on my tongue. It may not be best to take my word for it, however, as I have a serious addiction to peanuts.

Chilly Wingers

Along Katipunan Avenue

Quezon City, Philippines

Classic Confections in Greenbelt 5, Manila

It is my steadfast belief that meals should always end with dessert, so Mommy and I went to Classic Confections for some cake.

Mocha sans rival at Php 165. Too sweet, in my limited experience. I think I should just stick with the original sans rival. (It is, after all, without rival =\ )

Nono chocolate cake at Php 165. Highly recommended for the sweet tooth!

Latte at Php 108. The pig was too adorable to drink!

I couldn't drink my pig, so I turned it into an alien

Classic Confections

Greenbelt 5, Greenbelt

Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St.

Ayala Center, Makati, Metro Manila

Philippines

Tel: 63 2 729 9243

Lorenzo's way in Greenbelt 5, Manila

Mommy and I hit Greenbelt 5 today for lunch till late afternoon window shopping. Nothing beats the local chic vibes exuded by the Filipino themed restaurants and retail stores in the area.

We finally settled for Lorenzo's Way for lunch - something we both haven't tried before (rare for my mom). Food could be better, but their heart of palm salad is a winner!

Crispy baby squids at Php 165

Heart of palm and mango shrimps at Php 260 (recommended!)

Paella marinara at Php 595. No burnt rice at the bottom. Shucks.

Lorenzo's Way

Greenbelt 5, Greenbelt

Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St.

Ayala Center, Makati, Metro Manila

Philippines

Tel: 63 2 729 0047

Restaurant Pia Y Damaso at Greenbelt 5

The siops dessert took us to Damaso upon Bianca's recommendation.

de espanadana quezo de bola cheesecake (Php 220) - baked cheesecake with santol, prunes and dried figs

Ibarra's Kiss at Php 160 - Hazelnutchocolate torten with dark chocolate mousse, caramel cheese and candied orange confit

brazo ni dona vicki - chewy meringue roulade with fresh butter curd at Php 100

We also had Sisa's dementia (php 160) - truffle cake iwth white chocolate almond pastille, dark chocolate mouse and ganache. That was my favorite but i wasn't able to take a picture of it.

Restaurante Pia Y Damaso

Greenbelt 5, Greenbelt,

Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St.,

Ayala Center, Makati, Metro Manila, PH

Tel: 632 729 5511

Mesa in Greenbelt 5, Manila

Thank you to Lisa for this amazing recommendation for our Siops dinner! I love Filipino food, but I love it especially when it is served in sophisticated ways. Everything about Mesa spelled local chic - from the chairs, tables, lights, and down to the intricate details of the china and the creative ways they serve the food.

Pato tim at Php 390. This is their upgraded version of Patatim (?). Their duck was so soffft.

Sisig in Pouch at Php 180. I felt that the pouch didn't serve a lot of purpose except aesthetic, but that alone made me visually taste the rest of the food's worth

Crispy boneless tilapia Php 290

Salpicao Ostrich at Php 280 - tho this is really good, I prefer my salpicao in beef

Seafood soup with tofu?

Php120 Laing 2 ways. One was wet laing and the other dry. Both were yum!

Special mention to Cielo's gift. Shame that I had to eat it!

Mesa, Filipino Moderne

Greenbelt 5, Greenbelt

Paseo de Roxas cor. Legaspi St.

Ayala Center, Makati, Metro Manila

Philippines

Tel: 63 2 728 0886

Padi's point ANTIPOLO, Phil

The last time I was in Padi's Point was when I was 8 years old. Seeing the sign felt like a blast into the past. There's not much about Padi's except that its an watering hole that serves Phil food.

Some notables that we had:

Always a winner - Classic Crispy sisig at Php 209

Always MY winner - Tokwa't Baboy at Php 155

Really becoming a huge fan of Laing - Php 108

Padi's Point Restaurant and Bar

Alpadi Compound, Sumulong Highway

Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Antipolo, Rizal

Philippines

Tel: 63 2 240 5088

Expensive Earl Gray from Shangri-La, Dubai

The reason why hotels charge exorbitantly from water and some dust is because of the excruciating detail that they put with everything that goes with it. What is simply hot water and a tea bag comes with a silver tea pot, fresh milk, sugar cubes, cookies and its own silver set.

Earl Grey for ~ AED 75

The point and shoot makes it look plain but the tea set glistened under the lazy morning sun. It made me feel like the tea I sipped was much worth it.

The devil is in the details!

The Lobby

Shangrila Hotel, Dubai

Sheikh Zayed Road

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Tel: 971 4 343 8888

Al Hallab Restaurant, Dubai

Our good friend Naveed took us to Al Hallab for dinner. Can't lay out the prices as he was gentleman enough to snatch away the bill and shoulder dinner.

P.S. I'm sure the dish have more exotic titles but I went with the English description

lebanese mixed meat dish

lebanese dish

kebab!

iranian dish

bread, chick peas and hummus

Al Hallab Restaurant

Al Garhoud (Opposite Dubai Creek Golf Club)

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Tel: 971 4 2823388