I decided to order their dimsum+Yang Chow meal. I chose siomai as my dimsum and then ordered an extra iced tea. The meal actually is priced at Php 96.00.

On the other hand, Karla ordered 1 dish+ steamed rice meal ( also priced at Php 96.00,you would need to add Php 10.00 if you’re going to select the dishes included with that addition). She ordered Lemon Chicken as her dish. We also added some mini asado siopao on the side

So all in all, we paid about Php 329.00 for all of these including the drinks. It was a quick Chinese food fix for us. We’re really full and it’s a great deal if you’re craving for Chinese fastfood.

If you’re working within Legaspi Village, Makati City and you’d just like to have something Asian and a bit different, try Pho Hoa at Greenbelt 1. And if you decided to have lunch/dinner there and it’s rainy at the same time, I would suggest for you to order a bowl of Beef Brisket and Flank Pho which consists of tendon, meat balls, beef brisket, and flank.

For your bowl of noodle soup, you may want to add the sprouts and basil leaves. Basil leaves will add more flavor to it. Now, if you’re not in the mood for some noodle soup, Pho Hoa’s rice meals are highly recommended. The rice meal that I ordered below consists of chicken and spring rolls as viands and it goes well with the fried rice.

For appetizers, you may want to try their spring rolls. We tried the fried version but the fresh spring rolls look interesting too. If you still want to try something other that what I’ve mentioned here, their menu has photos and descriptions of their menu items.

Me and Sha had a dinner at Tong Yang at SM Megamall. This is not a typical buffet where you get food and you eat it. At Tong Yang, you get the food that you want to grill, be it a chicken, pork, lamb, etc. You would also have to get the ingredients for the shabu-shabu. After that, you have to do the cooking.

Of course, you won’t eat shabu-shabu and grill buffet at Tong Yang if you will be coming to a meeting afterwards. Anyway, the waiter would first ask you what kind of broth you want. For our hot pot, we wanted something a bit spicy. Since I’m not a cook, Sha did the cooking part.

For the grilling part, the waiter will give you butter. We had grilled shrimps, lambs, pork and chicken. And to get more out of the buffet, we did not get any rice at all.

In addition, to get more value for the cost of the buffet (560 pesos per person):
1. Don’t just ask for water. Get bottomless drinks whether it’s beer, iced tea or softdrinks since it’s already included.
2. Get expensive ingredients such as lamb and most seafoods like oysters, shrimps, etc.
3. Don’t get rice
4. Don’t eat all the soup in your bowl

IMHO, Tong Yang Hot Pot gives you more value for your money than A Thousand Cranes.

It was a special day for us that’s why I brought Karla to Bellini’s. It wasn’t my first time there, the very first I’ve been there was back in college when I accompanied my friend King for her Italian language class then. In short, saling pusa. I fell in love with the food then and I decided that someday I will go back to that restaurant with someone that I want to share a special day with .

Years passed and nothing has changed. The quality of food is still the same. The waiters are still very hospitable and knowledgeable. That’s what I like about this restaurant, they really know what they serve. I think some of them can speak Italian . When we went there, it was a Saturday night lots of couples were having dinner. There was also a folk singer there to serenade the couples having dinner :p . Mr. Bellini, Mr. Bellini’s son is there as well as his family. They were half-Italian and half-Filipino, nice mixture of breeds anyway

( the curly breadsticks and wine)

( Grilled Eggplant with Milky Cheese)

Karla and I decided to have an appetizer, pasta and pizza. There were several curly bread sticks that were served while waiting for your food. For our first dish, we ordered an appetizer called Grilled Eggplant with Milky Cheese. It was the best man! I think I can make one of my own, it seems simple. It’s just sliced eggplants with some tomatoes, onions, olive oil and topped with milky cheese and bacon. The price of this appetizer, Php 185.00.

(Putanesca)

Next on our course is the Putanesca. This is the best Putanesca I have ever tasted. I loved the sauce. It’s really very tasty. It doesn’t taste so sour, it’s a bit spicy. The price of this dish: Php 225.00.

(Calabrese)

And lastly, we really have to try their pizza. The thinest pizza ever! We chose the Calabrese pizza which has salami, capers and mushrooms. The ingredients were really very fresh, this is what I love about this restaurant. The small pizza has 8 slices, it’s good for 2-3 people. Price of the pizza, about Php 300.00.

The ambiance: 4/5

The place is small, it’s really very cozy. It’s filled with paintings, pictures taken by Mr. Bellini and mural paintings on the ceiling. The location of the restaurant itself is quite odd since it’s in Cubao Expo ( formerly Marikina Shoe Expo). It seems out of place but when you go inside the restaurant it seems that you’re being drawn to another world which is very much different from the outside. If you’re familiar with the movie, “One More Chance” with John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo, most of the scenes were shot in this location. It’s also a great date place for all of you sweetie couples there.

The price: 4/5

They are a bit expensive but it really paid off since they really use fresh ingredients so that would compensate its high price. Price range of their food is Php 185.00- 600.00. I would suggest that bring about Php 1000.00 just to make sure .

The food: 5/5

I just love it. Really.

Slammer Burgers is definitely a must try especially if you’re already tired of the traditional McDonald’s and Jollibee burgers. It may not be big in size but it’s definitely tasty and juicy. They use 100% imported beef on all of their Slammers.

Slammers 4 cheeseburger combo with a drink and Belgian Fries with dip is already good for two people who would want something heavy for a snack.

Aside from burgers and fries, they also have Buffalo Wings which is my sister’s favorite.

If you haven’t tried it yet, they have branches at:

Promenade Greenhills
SM Mall of Asia (North Walkway)
Glorietta 4 Food Choices
Alabang Town Center Food Choices
Robinson’s Ermita Level 4 Cinema railing
Greenhills Theatermall
Trinoma food court

Ruby Tuesday is a restaurant in Trinoma that specializes in Southwestern dishes. We had a Mojito in a tall 14 oz. glass and it’s truly worth the price especially for its quality and quantity.

Chicken Tenders for 280 pesos

For our appetizer, we had a single serving of Chicken Tenders with a honey mustard dip. What I like about their Chicken Tenders is that it is lightly breaded and it’s not oily when it was served.

Half-slab baby back ribs for 440 pesos (the siding below is already) included

White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

When ordering ribs, a half rack of baby back ribs is already good for two people. You may also choose which sauce to use. Available sauces for the ribs are: Classic Barbeque, Spicy Barbeque (with a bit of spicy twist), Honey Barbeque (glazed with Honey). A Half rack of baby back ribs already includes one siding. You may choose from these sidings: French Fries, Premium Baby Green Beans, Sauteed Button Mushrooms, White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, Brown Rice Pilaf (with Cheddar and Tomatoes), Baked Potato (with Cheese and Bacon), Steamed Rice, Garlic Fried Rice, and Vegetable Medley. If you want to add an additional siding, you have to pay for an additional cost.

Ruby Tuesday has a quality service and quality food with a great ambiance. You could check out more of their menu at MunchPunch.

(Margherita Pizza) 

There’s this stall at the 9th floor of Philam Building in Paseo de Roxas where fastfood Italian food is comaparable to the real thing. I’m not kidding.

We ordered the Margherita Pizza and wow it really tastes so good! It’s actually thin crusted. It’s priced at Php 100.00. Green Tomato also has pastas and dessert in their menu ( pastas can be shared). Their price ranges fromPhp 85.00 and above.

It was during the typhoon Frank when we decided to dine at Thousand Cranes restaurant in Greenbelt 3. It was very windy and was the perfect moment to have some hot soup to keep us warm.

“Shabu-Shabu” is a Japanese delicacy which actually means swish-swish. It’s called as such because you swish the ingredients on hot soup base. So the basic set up for a shabu-shabu meal is a burner, chopsticks, a pot that contains the soup base and then the ingredients ( vegetables, meat, seafood, noodles) and dipping sauces. Now imagining the things needed here, this is basically a “cook it yourself” kind of meal. This isn’t really a kind of meal that you will eat in a few minutes. Eating Shabu-Shabu would take you about an hour more since you cannot just drop all the ingredients all at the same time. You have to take into consideration that the ingredients will be overcooked and you will definitely not enjoy it. In addition, it is a great way to enjoy food with your companions.

( the soup base, it was chicken stock)

(vegetables: corn, carrot, tofu, chinese cabbage, polonchay, mushrooms ( shitake and button), taro and udon and vermicelli noodles. There’s also crab stick, lobster, squid and fish balls)

( the condiments: green onions, red chilis, garlic)

( thin slices of porkloin)

The process of eating Shabu-Shabu would be: drop the vegetable, seafood or meat first in the boiling soup base for awhile and then you dip it in your choice of sauce and then you put it inside your mouth. It’s your decision if you want to have your soup base as spicy as you want it to be.

In Thousand Cranes, an order is for 1 person however I believe it could be for 2 persons so Karla and I shared one order of Shabu-Shabu set. It’s also “bottomless” soup so you can ask the waiter to refill your soup base if it’s already empty.

The Shabu-Shabu in Thousand Cranes is somewhat ok, I’ m not really gonna say that this is the best I’ve tasted. I’ve been to lots of Shabu-Shabu places around Manila when I was still young. It was just a perfect time to eat Shabu-Shabu since it was cold then.

Ratings:

Food: 4/5

It’s somewhat ok, not really the best of all Shabu-Shabu places. I think I have to visit other Shabu-Shabu restaurants

Price: 2.5/5

The porkloin set that we ate was Php 300.00. Their Shabu-Shabu sets price ranges from Php 250.00- Php 1500.00. Of course it will depend on the kind of meat or seafood that you desire. They have it as per person not per group. From what I learned from the other restaurants that I’ve been to, they have set shabu-shabu menus good for 3-5 people which would range Php 400-Php 1000. So basing it from that price range their per person set is really expensive. You can do what we did, share a set because it would really be good for 2 people. We also order a cup of Japanese rice and it was priced at Php 60, wow it was really expensive. Also, there are already Shabu-Shabu buffet restaurants priced at Php 400.00 ( we’ll be attacking those restaurants soon! )

Ambiance, Location: 4.5/5

It’s located at the 2nd floor in Greenbelt 3, Makati.

The place looks clean, very nice decorations. I could see lots of cranes there . The lighting is good too, it’s not too bright. I also liked the ventilating system, since we are actually “cooking” the food that we were eating we didn’t smell like we’ve just been to a fastfood court.

( Hummus with Pita Bread)

Persia Grill is a small restaurant located in Valero Carpark,  Valero St. Makati ( it’s right at the back of Paseo Center). Obviously from the name of the restaurant itself they serve Persian dishes however it’s somewhat “Filipinized”. I’ve heard about this place since the owner of this restaurant is actually Kian from Pinoy Big Brother Season 2. It was a graduation gift for him after college. We were around the area that’s why we decided to eat at this restaurant.

We came there in a Saturday afternoon so basically it was just us and also it was during pre-Frank typhoon. The place was actually small, probably for 30 pax. There was a big sofa there with throw pillows. There were Persian ornaments around, of course the shisha was there. I believe there’s no place for you to use the shisha, aww too bad. When we arrived there there were some waiters who were sleeping on the couch probably since they assumed that no one’s gonna come to dine. Well it’s fine, it’s off peak hours .

( Ground Beef Kebab)

We came there just to have merienda so we only ordered 2 dishes which is Hummus with Pita bread and Ground Beef Kebab. The price of their food ranges from Php 90.00-Php 200.00. It’s really cheap. I believe this is one of the cheapest Persian restaurants around the Makati area. I checked their menu and they have business meals also amounting to Php 110.00 and it comes with rice and iced tea. Not bad huh? So when you’re around the area, try to visit this place.

Ratings

Location, ambiance: 3.5/5

It’s very easy to locate. If you’re near Paseo de Roxas and Ayala Ave, you can walk towards the restaurant ( about 10 minute walk). As for the place itself, the place is a bit small and dark. There’s just one sofa so only a group can get the chance to sit there.

Food: 3.5/5

Their food is ok, though the ground beef kebab tastes like plain burger patties. It’s not like in Ziggurat, you could really taste the difference between a hamburger patty and a kebab.

Price: 5/5

Their prices are really cheap. Ranges from Php 90-Php 200 bucks, and it’s in Makati ( it’s really a good deal).

After having lunch for our Father’s day celebration last Sunday, we went at Classic Confections in Greenbelt 5 for a dessert. They have cakes, cookies, bars and more. We ordered for a Lemon Torte and a Chocolate Cake. If you’re a first timer there, you won’t leave the place with a bad impression. For sure, you’ll go back there to indulge your sweeth tooth. And because of that I went back there with Sha and Vien to share to them how good the cake is

Sugar Cookies

Upon entering the establishment at Greenbelt 5, you will see a shelf on the left side filled with cookies and more cookies. Then, when you reach the counter, you’ll be able to see their selection of specialty cakes, bars and cupcakes.

At Classic Confections, if you’re dining in, the items will be served to you and if not, the items are elegantly packaged.

For more information, please visit the official website of Classic Confections.