Sushi California

The Fort has a  lot of restaurants opening  at the ground level of new condominiums. This was an accidental discovery was drivong around the fort area trying to find Bistro Filipino.

Boasting of serving modern Japanese cuisine. This restaurant is barely two months old. And we are glad to share with you our experience.

First and foremost, parking can be a problem, the restaurant doesn’t have a parking place for customers. We parked at the UCC/Sakae Sushi complex and just walked here

.The menu has a lot of pages and a lot of food to offer. WE only tried the sushi rolls here. Note. Every sushi roll has “etc” written in the description. “etc” is a combination of kani, cucumber and mango

Free Appetizer- Snapper in sweet glaze

Cody: one of the better Free appetizer. The fish was cooked well. The sauce was great too, Had to ask for 2nds

Elle::  THe fish meat was creamy and very soft. The sweet sauce coated the fish well and suited the taste of the fish

Corn Snow Maki P380

Cody:  The picture in the menu enticed me to order this dish. Unique in how the prepare it, being baked before serving. This roll was warm. The sauce was sweet not really my type.

Elle: I liked how the sushi was a bit chewy, since the rice was very sticky. I found the sauce too sweet. But I liked the slightly burnt sauce.

Dragon Maki P480

Cody:  This was one huge maki. Made use of one whole slice of Unagi. Presentation was cute. The mound of crunchy thingies on the side  gave a texture change form the soft chewy sushi roll.

Elle: Interesting presentation. With a dragon head. The crunchy Tempura batter bits on the side gave a good contrast to the sushi, however the sushi roll itself wasn’t any different from the other sushi rolls

Spicy Tuna Maki P310

Cody: Fresh chopped tuna, great sushi rice, wonderfully unusual chili sauce. Combine them all together and u get a wonderful dish.. Really really spicy.

Elle: The best sushi among the three. IT tasted really different compared to the others.  The tuna tasted a bit like arrabiata which was interesting.

The meal was okay. Nothing great. Service was very good

.  This place can be an alternative to other Japanese restos in the area. Would try the other dishes here, if ever they would have parking for customers next time

SuperBbowl of China

Being a country populated by Chinese immigrants, we are never surprised by the number of Chinese restaurants here in the country. There are the fine dining places like Shang Palace and Summer palace which can be found in Hotels, then there are the humungous chinese restaurants like Emerald Garden, President(which unfortunately closed down), Dragon gate, Gloria MAris. Then there are the medium size chinese resto franchises like North PArk and this one.

Usually located in Malls, Superbowl, followed the foot steps of North Park. First opening at Jupiter Street in Makati then later on Branching to different malls in the city. Serivce was quick.

Kroooopeck

Black Gulaman P65

Superbowl Fried Rice P295

Cody:  now this was a big serving with a lot of toppings, great eaten with chili garlic sauce

Elle:  The rice was too dry and if served to stand alone without the toppings it would not have been tasty enough to be called fried rice.  

Fish Fillet stuffed with Melted Cheese P250

Cody: it looks much much nicer on the menu pictures, they used camaron rebosado batter which I didn’t like. The cheese component was measly. THe fish was bland. 

Elle: The first bite was just okay.  Then the succeeding ones kinda got boring.  The fish itself was soft and creamy however the batter overpowered the fish.  It tasted too much like baking soda. 

Shanghai Chicken P220

Cody: another uninspiring dish, the sauce was sweet and sour.  That’s about it

Elle:  I was expecting a special chicken dish.  The picture made it look good but it was just regular.  

The unfinished dnner
Mango Sago P80

Cody: one of the worst version, its not even icy cold when served. So sad.

Elle:  I agree…this was not a happy and uplifting mango sago. The sago was too small and soggy, the mango used was a bit too ripe.

AS you can see in the unfinished meal picture, we were very unsatisfied with what we ate. We still remember having great meals at this place before, we wonder what happened to the place. We hope they can shape up.

EL FAV Creamery - Pergola Mall BF Sucat Paranaque

Dessert places in Paranaque are very scarce. We were lucky to find this place in the 2nd floor of Pergola Mall here in Sucat. From the Makers of El Favorito ice cream, let us introduce theri ice cream store.This place is bright with a self service counter where you have to order by the counter and they wiill just bring your order to you. At each table there are little board games where you can play and entertain yourself and let time pass by.  You can have toppings for the ice cream that would cost little. There are free toppings available too.

Beer Ice Cream

Cody:  base ice cream that did taste like beer, I don’t like the nutty component though, but it was a good… not  so great rendition

Elle: It tasted like a bland, fizzed out and watered down beer.  The nuts made it seem like you immersed the pulutan in the beer which was not so good.    

Tequila  Rose Ice Cream:

Cody: now this was great. . This tasted like it has more alcoholic kick than the beer ice cream. Strawberry base with a hint of tequila.

Elle: This ice cream melted so fast and as it melted I realized how not so creamy it was. It was just okay, a cool alternative to your regular strawberry ice cream. 

Note: Elle: I tasted the Wasabi ice cream hoping it was as creamy as the Green Tea ice cream of Haagen Dazs but unfortunately it was as icy as a snow cone.  

The only similarity was the color.  I was very disheartened since Wasabi is one of my favorite condiment

Hanazaku - Sucat, Paranaque City

Located in Bf homes Sucat, a small cozy neighborhood restaurant hat surprisingly serves good Japanese food. From the outside the place doesn’t look appealing. It was design more like of a mediterranean restaurant on the outside than a Japanese place.

We love the freshly brewed green tea that definitely taste so much better than the ones in bags

Appetizer: Deep Fried Tuna Pieces. freebie

Cody: Freshly cooked tuna pieces, seasoned with soy sauce, lightly floured, I love that they made this dish only when we came, It was obvious it came out from the frying pan, still hot, the meat marinated nicely

Elle: Crispy tuna pieces with very minimal flavouring.  Tastes much like very fresh tuna fried Japanese style.

Next dish: Ebi Ten Maki

Cody- very very good sushi rice, the tempura was of average size but fried excellently.

Elle: Very crispy ebi.  The crispiness compliments the softness of the sushi 

Hanazaku Yakisoba

Cody – this was a surprise, the sauce covering the whole dish, add a dash of togarashi and woah, the sauce was god enough to be wiped off with anything. The noodles gave a nice contrast of crispy and al dente

Elle:  The noodles were fried into a cake and it was covered in a thick and nicely seasoned sauce.  I liked that the noodles weren’t just simply boiled and thrown onto a plate.  It was not like your regular yakisoba.  This was a better version of the popular dish. 

This restaurant will rival the more popular restaurants in Makati like Nanohana,  restos in Little tokyo, NIhonbashitei, etc etc. WE love a great neighborhood restaurant. Too bad we dont live in the area

 

Carlos Pizza - Various branches

A restaurant with branches in Tagaytay, Quezon City, Baguio, Paranaque.  We read different reviews about this place, but with branches in key cities here in Luzon, they must be doing something right.  Ate at this place during lunch time and we were the only people dining here. Ordered one Appetizer, one past and one pizza dish.

Buffalo Wings

Cody: reminiscent of the buffalo wings of Don Henrico’s(same owners?) Big, juicy and succulent, coated in a sweet bbq sauce instead of the Wing sauce they use in Buffalo N.Y. But the Chicken itself is the star.

Elle:  The serving size was a champ! It was a WING! It was cooked just right, soft meat with crispy skin but it was a bit too sweet for my taste.  I would have wanted it more spicy. 

Chicken Pesto Pasta

Cody:  Spaghetti noodles tossed in a creamy pesto sauce topped with grilled chicken breast slices. The pesto flavor was mild, the cream giving it more body, but making it less healthy. The chicken was miniscule but gave the dish the protein content I always look for.

Elle:  Not a fan of pesto but gave it a shot just to taste what it was like.  It was actually good.  The pesto was not too strong and didn’t steal the show.  I liked the balance between the pesto sauce and the cream.  Noodles were kinda soggy. 

Pizza- Four Cheese, half topped with Italian Sausage

Cody: Thin crust,  4 cheese, however it was missing something.. pizza sauce, I didn’t know if they did it intentionally, or they just forgot, I didn’t ask anymore. IT was okay. The Italian Sausage was just okay

Elle:  The crust was thin but a bit soft.  Would have been better if it were crispy thin.  The blue cheese was a bit overpowering.  And of course it lacked the tanginess and freshness that tomato sauce brings to pizza. 

Its a toss up betweem us if we are coming back here or not. THe chicken wings were fantastic but the other dishes were not that great. 

Hana - little tokyo, Makati City

We have been in search for the most authentic and best takoyaki here in our country,  so far we have been disappointed.  People say its good in Kozui, we have tried it and all we can say that it doesn’t taste as good as it looks. We have tried different takoyaki in different stalls and was again disappointed until we bumped into this guy

TAKOYAKI!!!

Cody: Here in Manila, this is indeed so far the best I have tasted, very moist inside, nice thing they have real octopus also inside. It still fails in comparison to the ones in GINDACO. But we have to be contended with what we have here.

Elle: it was very good, there is really a piece of octopus meat in each takoyaki. The cooked takoyaki are not soggy and maintained its shape even after a long time before it was eaten.

Priced at 100pesos for 6 pieces, its all worth it. Aside from the Takoyaki, Hana serves good japanese food which we have to try yet.

Il Ponticello - Valero St, Makati City

This place is more known as a hang-out place or a gimmick place rather than a fine dining restaurant. But we have read in a number of blogs and magazines that this place serves nice Italian food. It is even said that this is a nice place for dating,. I dont know if you guys know this fact, but this place has been open for more than 19 years now

Havent really eaten at this place… went here a lot of times but only to drink… the famous Azzuri. Now is the time to try their food.

Freebie- Grissini, something to munch on while waiting for the food

Spinack Artichoke Spread

Cody: Italiannis introduced me to this dip, but the quality of food at that restaurant has greatly deteriorated. Ponti’s version was great, piping hot, melted cheese, served with great bread. A wonderful starter

Elle: gooey, warm and cheesy-the dip practically drips form the utensil …definitely yummy and a MUST TRY!

Pizza- Half Arugula, Half Quattro Formaggio

Cody: delicious crust, asked for split flavors and they gladly obliged. The four cheese had slices of delicious mushroom incorporated in it.  The Arugula half was also wonderfully done.

Elle: The pizza was cheesy in just the right way.  It wasn’t overloaded with cheese.  Crust was thin and crispy.  It was light and not too heavy  

Fetuccine Marinara

Cody: It was evident that the seafood was cooked together with the sauce here because you get to taste the no just the tmatoes but also the essence of the seafood. Bad point here was the pasta

Elle:great-tasting sauce but soggy pasta :( It has a strange balance between the freshness of the tomato sauce and the seafood. 

Azzuri

Cody: Surprised that it was a frosted(blended ice) ice. Anyway. It was still god and packs a wallop.

 Elle: I can’t remember exactly how this drink tasted but I’m pretty sure it went well with dinner! I left the place very happy! One thing though…the ice they used was regular ice.  It would have been better if it were semi-frozen or if not tiny tiny crushed ice.

It is in deed a nice place to bring a date. The restaurant is not too full during dinner time. Food is excellent.

Piazza Pazzo - Rockwell

Before Cantinetta, before Cibo, there was only  one italian restaurant here in Rockwell.  THe name was Piu Pazzo. Opened 8 years ago, they had a makeover last year and changed the name to Piazza Pazzo. Interiors are now brighter and cleaner looking than before. THey have a new dish that called our attention. 
Pazzo Rolls - A relatively new dish they came up with. Comes in different blending of meats and veggies. WE got the one with shrimp and veggies

Cody:   this was indeed a great creation. Instead of baking it, they deep fried it, keeping everything inside moist and delicious. The dough has just the right thickness. Mixture of crispy and moist and elastic cheese plus the shrimp, drizzle with the mustard vinaigrette. It was indeed a wonderful explosion of textures and flavours

Elle:  Warm and gooey cheese, with yummy shrimp, but wouldn’t hurt if there was more. Rolled into a crispy pizza dough.  It was a bit bland but still very good.

Aside form excellent pizzas they also have good gelatos. Interesting flavors. We got the Irish cream and the Biscotti. Both were very very good. Creamy and filling.  No wonder this palce is still open even after years of operation and seeing a lot of their neighbors closed down shop. Food here is still good.