Junk Food Diaries: McDonald's

Every now and then, I crave for junk food especially during stressful weeks when I just want to enjoy after a crazy day. In my life, de-stressing = junk food :) McDo won since they deliver quickly....

This is what J always orders...

Check out the yumminess....this will definitely satisfy you especially if you buy large fries with it.

I usually order double cheeseburger since I psychologically feel it is less fattening. Please indulge me with my denial..:)

See, so much smaller, right?

McDo doesn't have the best burgers but its a place to satisfy your hunger since they deliver in 15-20 minutes plus the food is hot and affordable.

Cheers!:)
8-Mcdo

Costa Brava's Caramel Cake

My 2nd favorite cake of all (next to Yulo's Turtle Pie) is Costa Brava's Caramel Cake! Unlike other cakes, this is very light, the icing is not that sweet and you can taste the butter in it, especially when you eat the flowers on the side of the cake. This was my sister A's Birthday cake. P made me first try this at C's birthday. I had two slices. A and I finished almost the entire cake. hahahhahah!

Butter cake with yummy butter-caramel icing.

Please call Costa Brava for your orders and pick up is in Bel Air Makati. Details below.

Cheers to more caramel cake and happiness!:)

12 Polaris St., Bel Air 1, Makati City
896-6872

Why I love Salcedo Market Part I

Salcedo Market is open every Saturday in Salcedo Park. All you have to do to find this place is take the road after Citibank Makati, along paseo, and follow where all the cars are going. Salcedo Park is along Leviste street. It is the most traffic area in makati every saturday morning. I usually go there at 8 or 9 since its too hot around 11pm. Parking here is crazy. You may want to park in the streets before leviste and just cross the street. Good thing I get the best parking since my office is right across the park.
Here are a few of my favorites:

Takoyaki

This is better than the one served in Legaspi Market (which is open on sunday), since they use a sweet and salty sauce with japanese mayo, instead of catsup.

Forgive the bad pic, I was balancing my camera, wallet and Blackberry while clicking the cam.

Z's Sausages

To find this stall, just look for the most grumpy cashier in the market and you'll know immediately. She is very unpleasant although I try to ignore her since all I want is the hot and cheesy sausage.

yummmm.....

Awesomeness

Yes, I am a catsup fan!

close up:)

Pomelo Salad

J and I love the this and everything sold here. Its owned by a Thai lady and she is always smiling and greeting people. For PHP 120, it's worth it.

It also comes with chili flakes which is a must since it is perfect with the pomelo.

Salcedo Market is for everyone - families, couples, children, friends, call center agents (yes, alot of them eat here)...It will surely bring a smile to your face especially since there's food for every kind of person.

Cheers!:)

Lorenzo's Way

My sister C treated us to lunch in Lorenzo's Way, Greenbelt. This is part of the LJC Restaurant Group (Cafe Adriatico, Abe, Fely J's, etc.). We enjoyed and feasted on "cardiac delight" food (good for the heart...at least for our family). Service here is fast and serving time is roughly 10 to 20 minutes. The ambiance is comfortable and cozy, plus the chairs are soft so you can sit and bond for as long as you want.

Chorizo Bilbao

Perfect with the oil!!!

Clams with garlic and olive oil

This was great and i love that they put a lot of garlic and herbs.

Kesong Puti

Not much of a fan of this, so it was average for me...

Weird Bread 

They shouldn't have given this since it looked and tasted odd. Like flour, water and cornstarch.

Kare-Kare

My favorite! The bagoong tasted homemade and it was perfect together. This one is good for 3-4 people since there's so much meat in it. The sauce was not watered down so you can imagine the rich peanut taste.

Crispy Pata

Crunchy Texture, Salty taste with the crushed garlic and soy sauce...awesome....:)

Aligue Prawns

My mom loved this. You need rice since the sauce is strong and can cause nausea for those who not used to it. A added calamansi to compliment the sauce.

Green Apple Martini

My sister A calls it: "green apple soda" since it didn't taste like martini and she didn't like it at all. Well, at least we know the food is good! just order water next time:)

Overall, this place is ideal for everyone. The service is a lot better than Mesa, the filipino restaurant next door, so that is a PLUS. Food is tasty and you can really taste the flavor of each dish and the place itself is conducive for bonding.

Cheers!:)

http://ljcrestaurants.com.ph/ljc/our-restaurants/

Golden Spoon - The BEST Yogurt

For those who hate the taste of yogurt, this is the best place for you...especially since th yogurt tastes like: ICE CREAM!!!! By the way, Yogurt can be spelled as Yogurt or yoghurt.

I have tried around 8 different yogurt places in metro manila and none of them taste like ice cream, except Golden spoon. We spent around PHP 300 for our "non-fat" yogurt. Golden spoon is located in Eastwood, Greenhills, Shangri-la Plaza and Magallanes and it's quite popular abroad. Service in eastwood is fast so you won't really have any issues. It's located near starbucks and people are people in the old area of eastwood city walk.

J's chocolate Yogurt with his non-fat toppings

Vanilla Yogurt with Graham Crackers

This will be my new favorite dessert for a long time.

Cheers!:)

The World's Best Meatloaf

Have you ever tried meatloaf that tasted like a burger? Or maybe meatloaf that tastes like mashed meat? I have it's just so disappointing - especially if it costs 300 bucks per order in restaurants. Trust me when I say that THIS meatloaf is the BEST that you will ever get to try. It's not from a restaurant nor a grocery. It's available in Makati and you can either order and pick up or you can just have it delivered for a few extra bucks. R bought this for his friends and all of them loved it as much as J and I do. Here it is:

Check out the yumminess. All ingredients are of good quality that's why every bite taste's like heaven. It also has a bilbao taste to it and you can either eat it alone or with rice. I think gravy or catsup can be added, though people prefer to eat it alone since it's salty taste is too good to mask.

This costs PHP 520 per loaf and can serve 2 to 3 people. You can order from:

Amanda

0917-9301101

Pick up is at Ritz Towers, Ayala Avenue, Makati

If you live in Makati, you can also opt to have it delivered for 10% delivery charge.

Cheers to finally eating a yummy meatloaf!:)

Momo

Here I am again at Momo's Eastwood. Once I like a restaurant, I obviously come back. This is one of the restaurants at Eastwood Mall that is always full during lunch time. The food is for sharing and priced reasonably. Service is average to efficient, depending on the number of diners.

Squash with bacon soup and Parmesan bread on the side

I like how smooth it is. They put just enough bacon to keep the flavor of the squash. J liked this

Parmesan Crusted Bread and Cheese Dip

This was on-the-house. The dip was salty and they put a lot of cheese in it and they go well with the bread.

Our favorite Ribs

We ordered extra java rice and extra sauce... which made this dish perfect. Meat was falling off the bone as it was tender and had a smoked-bbq taste.

I promise to try different dishes next time.

Cheers!:)

Momo, Eastwood Mall

G/F Eastwood Mall, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Bagumbayan, Libis

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 900-1006

Mom and Tina's Bakery

Good friends have shared in the past: "you have to try Mom and Tina's" several times. I did last week with R and P and it was the biggest mistake so far. Why? Service is HORRIBLE - at least for the Makati Branch. My goodness, the staff need training in just about EVERYTHING. You have to shout out:"Waiter!" just for someone to notice you. I have never experienced shouting and waving my arm several times in any place, not even Hawker Centers around asia. I had to do it just about 7 times or more and having a lot of diners is no excuse. 

How about the food? I would rather eat left overs at home.

The desserts are the only ones I am willing to come back for.

Here in Mom and Tina's, take out is a must.:)

This is the only highlight: Queso de Bola Spread

You can really taste the queso de bola, thought lots of butter removes the saltiness of the spread. P liked this as well.

Hot dog Bun? Really?

The spread may have been good, but the bread tasted like it was left to dry under the sun for a week. Seriously. So sad.

If you check their menu, the food ranges from around PHP 150 to PHP 400 per meal and the desserts, PHP 35 and above. Sorry I was unable to take shots of the dry rice, so-so shepherd's pie, callos, oreo cake (i mean SUGAR CAKE), mango pie and beef stew. I was so scandalized with the service and at the same time, busy catching up with my friends.

The desserts here are yummy, though it might take a while, years, centuries even for me to return. Bad, indifferent, slow and poor service is just unacceptable. Plus, there are lots of better desserts around Makati. I pray you have a more pleasant dining experience here.

Cheers!:)

Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe, Makati

G/F Unit 14 Tropical Palm Plaza, Perea cor. Dela Rosa St., Legaspi Village

Makati City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 840-4299

Isshin

Isshin is the ideal place if you are hungry since serving time takes roughly 10 to 15 minutes, depending on what you order. The cost of the food is very reasonable (PHP 150 and above) and they even have lunch sets that you can try when it's a week day. My mom, A and I decided to have lunch here last Sunday since we were craving for Japanese food. Check out what we ordered:

Salmon Sashimi

Mom liked this since it's thick and the fish tastes very fresh and clean.

Miso soup

Yes, it tastes great plus there's lots of tofu inside.

Gyudon

This was A's food and she liked it since the meat was tender and the marinade was salty and sweet.

Chicken Katsu Bento

The crust of the chicken is crunchy and the chicken is so tender and far from oily. This comes with Miso Soup!

We paid PHP 1000 for all these plus drinks.:) 

I mentioned in my earlier post that this place is accessible, service is fast and the food is yummy, so you might want to try it sometime.

Cheers!:)

1024 Arnaiz Ave.

Makati City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 844-1512

New Bombay

New Bombay Restaurant is located in Greenbelt, The Columns Makati, San Juan, Glorietta 4 and Podium. All branches have been consistent with the portions and taste of the food. The service, is a different story. J and I enjoyed our dinner in the Greenbelt branch and we did our best to ignore the lousy, crappy, indifferent staff. If you're looking for a place that has good food, great ambiance and friendly staff, this isn't it, unless you order take out.:)

So this is what we decided to have:

Chicken Tikka Masala

My usual favorite when I have indian food. We asked for medium spicy, which was perfect!

Spinach Cottage Cheese

J loves this, especially when eaten with the Naan Bread.

Naan

Not much of a favorite of mine since it lacks taste, which by the way is really the case when you order the plain ones.

Basmati Rice

We finished everything. The best thing about indian food is that it's heavy, so we didn't really feel hungry even 4 hours after.

You can try this place since the cost of the food is reasonable. Meal's cost PHP 200-400 so it's affordable compared to the other Indian restaurants in town. I have no idea if it's authentic, though I usually see Indians dine here so it must be a good sign.

Don't expect efficient service and you'll be fine. Oh! The Podium branch is alot better.

Cheers!:)