New Hong kong Cafe - Banawe St. Quezon City

A lot of new restaurants are opening and closing in the Banawe area, and having a sign with bright lights does really get our attention so we decided to try this place. Place was... you can say empty....only two tables occupied.... not a good sign... anyhoo.. we ordered and crossed our fingers with what we are about to partake...

Chicken Baked Rice

Elle: Hmm… I have to think of how to describe this one. It’s forgettable. Sure it was cheesy, it had to be! The rice was hard…it tasted like it was cooked three days before it was served. The mixed veggies included in the rice were also tough especially the peas! I had to go through the strands of cheese to be able to taste the chicken. The chicken itself was bland and I was expecting a tastier chicken to contrast the cheesiness of the dish. I was very disappointed L

Cody: I first got to taste baked rice in Hong Kong.. then here in the Philippines.. got to try it in Mr. Choi at Robinsons Galleria.. So, we ordered and.. we ate.. and I was disappointed.. it was tasteless.. the rice was dry.. the cheese was scarce.

Fried chicken

Elle: Again…the rice! Serving size was good and I actually liked the gravy although it was a bit too buttery for me. They added 5-spice to the chicken batter and I actually liked it. 5 spice has this strange likeable taste that I look for.

Cody: Dont be deceived with pictures... I think the problem with our restaurant indutry here is the quality tends to suck.. I would serve an egg looking like this, unless the customer will request for it.. The chicken did taste good, and the skin was fried to the perfect crisp. The sauce was not good, the rice was again dry and hard.

Hong Kong Milk Tea:-

Elle: Again…bland. Milk tea should give you that comforting feeling after the first sip and I didn’t get it from this one. It was not as tasty as the other milk teas I have tried.

Cody: I like that they serve it this way, you know that it is made fresh and not powdered form. But it lack in taste also...

Oh well... we are guessing this place will soon fold up unless they change a lot of kinks in their food and system..

Sen Lek Thai - SM Makati Food Court

We never knew that the food court in SM Makati had undergone a great renovation. Its is more spacious now, cleaner and brighter. We can still remember eating at this food court when we were kids.Walking around the food court, we saw this stall. It's not usual that you see a THAI food stall.

There were pictures of food and a couple of people in line. So we decided to give it a try and these are what we ate.

Khaw Pad( Thai Fried Rice)

Cody: I was suprised with the serving size It was quite substantial. I love that it was fried on the spot. It has a distinctly sweet and salty taste.. which is because of their use of Thai fish sauce which is different from our local fish sauce which has a strong salty taste. There are bits of tiny shrimps and lots of shredded lettuce which i enjoyed.

Elle: True the serving size was big. Aside from the saltiness it actually had a spiciness to it that I liked. I would have liked it more though if they used bean sprouts and Thai basil, it probably would have made a bit more "Thai" than it actually was. There were tiny tiny tiny bits of shrimp I would have missed them if I weren't actually LOOKING for them. It would be a nice option to pay extra for big shrimps.

Pad Thai(Thai Fried Noodles)

Cody: It may look not as appetizing as other Pad thai from expensive Thai Restaurants. For 90 pesos a serving. It was indeed good enough for one hungry individual and can also be shared if you are not too hungry. Just the right balance of sweet and salty and tangy.

Elle: Again, I agree that the serving size was big enough. I liked the burnt peanut taste and the tanginess it had but it lacked the crunchiness of authentic Pad Thai. Again, I had to look for the CHICKEN bits if not I would have missed it. A good food item for someone adventurous enough to try something new.

Chef D Angelo -Glorietta 5

When this restaurant first opened in Glorietta, i could still remember the tons of people eating at this place, because everything was cheap and affordable. This place was giving Shakeys and Pizza Hut a run for their money.

But recently, the novelty of this place has died down. Went to their relocated branch in Glorietta 5 and there was not much people eating here.

Anyway, we still went in and eat...even when Elle was skeptical....

Buffalo Chicken Thighs--

Cody: their servings were huge.. i mean the chicken pieces were humungous. Coated in a sweet barbeque sauce. It was crispy, juicy and reminds me of the Buffalo Chicken of DON HENRICOS.

Elle: the chicken wings were..ginormous! there were three pieces but its size could have served 5-6. And yes I agree, the crispiness could be felt through the skin upon biting into it. I can not recall what Don Henrico's tastes like but this one was actually good. The balance between sweet and spicy was just right and it added contrast to the crispiness of the skin and the

juiciness of the meat.

Cody: this is my default pizza here in Chef d' Angelo. Gone were the days when the pizza was overloaded.. now it is still fairly loaded with bacon shrimp and mushroom, the base is not the usual tomato base, but it is bechamel(white) sauce based. I like this pizza for its nice blend of smokiness from the bacon, and the combination is not something you find in other pizza joints.

Elle: I think I would have preferred a combination of white and tomato sauce but then again it would not have been called Great White. The dough was "bouncy and fluffy" but had a crispy texture upon biting. The amount of ingredients is probably still a bit more than other pizza joints'. A good default pizza but not something you would actually crave.

SAN MIGUEL BEER - LEMON FLAVOR

San Miguel has recently introduced two new beer flavors just last January. Apple and Lemon. Saw an ad outside Cafe Via MAre in Greenbelt and after a heavy meal at Sugi we decided to try it out.

Elle: I can drink this beer forever! :) It is light and bubbly and tastes refreshing. You can really taste the lemon flavor and it lingers in your mouth after each sip. It does not leave a bitter aftertaste like regular and light beer. Delicious! Perfect for long drinking sessions, that's if you wanna stay up late and still get that happy buzzed feeling.

Cody: First and foremost, i ordered the Apple flavor, but the waiter got my order wrong and gave me the same Lemon Flavor. Anyhoo.. I was expecting it to taste like CORONA beer.. after you put a squeeze of lime to it.. and indeed it tasted like it except it was a bit sweeter. Very mild buzz as the alcohol content is only 3 percent. but it was good and i cant wait to try the apple flavor one.

Yoh-gurt Froz - multiple branches around Metro Manila

One of the first Yogurt stand to open in Metro Manila. I can still remember th only stall in Tomas Morato Quezon City. But it has withstand the test of time and taste as it now has a lot of branches in Metro Manila.Ordered a serving topped with Chocolate Sauce

Elle: The yogurt was dense and creamy which I really liked. Maybe it was just the combination that I did not like so much because the chocolate sauce took away the tanginess of the yogurt batter. But overall the yogurt is up to my standards:)

Cody: I agree with Elle, the yogurt itself was very good, dense, packed and creamy. The tanginess was also present so you know you are eating yogurt. The chocolate sauce is the kind that creates a shell when it hits cold temperature. not really fond of this kind of chocolate sauce as i prefer fudgey sauce like what i am used to at Mc Donalds. But aside from the sauce. the yougrt was quite good.

Bowler's - Salcedo Village, Makati City

WE were craving for the boneless buffalo chicken at Bugsy's, but sadly the place was full, then we remembered there is a bad just around the corner and suprisingly, it was not full. And we like the interior better than Bugsy. It feels cleaner.

Service was good, and fast

Chicken tandoori pita:

Elle: Cold, cold, cold. This dish was served cold! I do not know if it was intentional or not but the chicken was already stiff and dry when I bit into it. The wraps were too doughy and flour-y which I would expect from a doughy piece of pita. Flavor-wise it was just okay. Nothing special about it that would make me remember the dish well.

Cody: i never liked Indian food in general but i love Tandooris!! but was also as sad as Ellle when this plate was served in front of us. It was indeed cold and sad, Filling though, but thats the only cmpliment i can give them. We initially wanted pizzas, but they were not available at this time becasue according to the server, they had a big crowd last night and all their pizza doughs were finished. How hard is it to make pizza dough?? i can make it for them in less than 2 hours. Geeezzzz. Oh well
Mango mojito: Elle:I was disappointed because the mojito was not frozen. It served its purpose to get me a bit tipsy but I did not enjoy it because it was served with ice. It would have been better if it were a slushie.

Cody: MY rant here is that the Majito lacked a bit more rum, you can taste it but it doesnt give you even a bit of a buzz after downing a few glasses. Too bad for the quality. The best Manjo mojito for me is still at CAFE HAVANA.

Will we be back here?? maybe... the location was quite convenient for us.. i hope they can improve on their food and drink

G/F Paseo Parkview Tower, cor. Valero and Sedeno Sts., Salcedo Village
Makati City, Metro Manila
Philippines
(02) 894-3589

"Classic" Savory - multiple branches all around

One of the pioneers in the fried chicken business, now this name(Savory) spans three kind of restaurantsaccording to the article we read on ENTREPENEUR. The “Classic” Savory, The “Original” Savory and the “Savory”. What make one different from the other. Just try it to find out.
In the malls, you will most likely find the “Classic” Savory.

Elle:Just like I remember from childhood! The chicken has the distinct savory taste in the same way the gravy did. I was disappointed with the fried rice because the grains were hard and the rice was so dry. It reminded me of canteen fried rice, serving something substandard just so you can say it’s fried rice. The peas in the fried rice were so tough I was waiting for the crunch after each bite.
Cody: Just like Elle, Savory was the regular fried chicken we would buy.. aside from “Country Chicken” Sorry lovers Of Max’s, but I like this chicken more.. The Classic savory has an amber colored skin which differ it from the “Original Savory” But tastewise, it is almost the same, except for skin of “Classic” is a bit crispier. I also love the gravy that comes with their chicken. Like” KFC gravy” ulam na, gravy palang. Hehe. The other sideings like the squid and fish fillet are nothing great, the rice was also subpar.