A Birthday Celebration at Mr. Kurosawa Resorts World

I was telling you guys in my other blog entry that last Friday I was all over the Metro (Makati to QC and back again to Makati). It was okay, but the thing was I had just entrusted my trusty baby Huey to my casa in Pasong Tamo. So....hagardo versoza ang peg last Friday.

After our short but sweet tour of the GMA studios, I ended that day with Mom's birthday dinner. Thank you to Cash Cash Pinoy's kick ass promos, I was able to buy Mr. Kurosawa vouchers (Php500 for Php1000 worth of food!). CashCashPinoy has been making food tripping really affordable hoozaah!! :D

But before I met up with my Mom I passed by Cara Mia at the Ayala Triangle Gardens to buy her favorite cake TENTAZIONE! Got to taste that sinfully delightful cake during sa friend's birthday, and Mom got totally hooked. So I decided to surprise her, since she already knew about my dinner treat for her.

Parking was a bitch at the Resorts World, as usual. We parked at the steel parking, and that's where I decided to give Mom her cake. Had to tell her to turn her back so I can light the candle. It was funny to make her blow her birthday candle at the steel parking, but I couldn't wait til the end of the dinner for her to do it haha!

We then headed off to Mr. Kurosawa to have our dinner. It was yet another Japanese dinner after our Sumo Sam experience. Anyway, here's what we had:

Chicken Teriyaki. I had no idea chicken teriyaki would be perfect with Japanese mayonnaise with a hint of wasabi. It was delish! Can't stop dipping that tender chicken meat in that mayonnaise!

Since it was Mom's birthday and it has been a tradition to eat noodles (for long life), we ordered Unagi Soba. Since the fish was smoked, the smoked flavor seeped in to the noodles which it gave it a different twist. We had fun picking on this with our chopsticks!

Lastly, Tuna Sashimi. This, by far, was the FRESHEST Tuna Sashimi I ever had! The tuna was still red and soft. Super good!

Oh, and yes, Mom ordered Miso Soup. Didn't take a pic of it anymore since all miso soups look the same haha!

After that huge meal, Mom and I walked around the Newport Mall. Didn't know it was THAT small. It looked so huge outside. Oh well optical illusion. Since there was really nothing to see, we bought coffee at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, walked to the parking (instead of talking the shuttle from the mall to the steel parking and vice versa) to have our cake! :)

I'm so happy I made my Mom happy on her birthday! I love you, Mom! :)

Cara Mia Gelateria
Ayala Triangle Gardens
Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Tel. No. 621-6111
Operating Hours: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM, Mon-Sun

Mr. Kurosawa
2nd Floor, Newport Mall, Andrews Avenue, Pasay City
Tel No: 659 8363
Operating Hours:Mon, Tues, Thurs and Sun: 11 a.m. - 12:00 mn | Wed, Fri and Sat: 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.

Ayala Triangle Gardens Edition 3: KANIN CLUB

It's another Ayala Triangle Gardens edition! And this time, we hit up the old place for my kabarkada's 25th birthday! Although belated, he still pushed through with his lunch treat, which he promised he'd some time AFTER his birthday.

So Elaine (blockmate in La Salle turned friend in the office) and I trooped over to Kanin Club. I was excited because it was my first time to eat here! I've heard how cool and unique Kanin Club's food concepts are, so I was thrilled to have some for myself.

When we got there RJ had already ordered stuff. We ordered their crispy liempo which served us our appetizer as we sat waiting for the rest of the orders to arrive.

It was really good, and they kept true to their word: it was really crispy! And what's good about this was that it wasn't oily. It was so cool hearing the crunching sounds it would make as we gnawed at it.

Up next, we had their pinaputok na pla-pla. Very similar to what we ate in Abe and Lorenzo's Way.

Although the fish was a bit skinny, there wasn't that much meat in there, whatever we scraped out of that fish was totally awesome! They were also able to make the fish skin crispy. The chef must be congratulated! :)

First time to eat this, and both Elaine and RJ ordered this: CRISPY DINUGUAN.

Coming from an Ilocano family dinuguan has been a staple in our meals every since I was a kid. To foreign readers, dinuguan literally means from BLOOD, pig's blood specifically. It was a favorite of mine up until my taste buds started protesting and declaring it malansa. I was a bit hesitant to try this because of that, but I was glad I got the courage to get a spoonful of it in my mouth. IT WAS SOOOO GOOD! It had a vinegar-y taste to it, so you wouldn't know it was dinuguan, no malansa taste for this bloody dish. Plus the crispiness was a new factor so we really enjoyed this dish!

But the star of the show was of course the kanin, or rice. Their rice concepts were so cool. Elaine and RJ ordered the sinigang rice.

I was amazed by how it looked. I was thinking they had sinigang broth with the rice swimming around it. It was dry, but let me tell you, when you pop that thing in your mouth and start chewing, you'd actually taste the sinigang broth. So cool! You also get the vegetables and meat you'd see in a typical pork sinigang meal.

Kudos to the people behind Kanin Club! Totally unique concept especially with the rice! The rice can be a meal itself! And you guys sure know how to tug at a typical Filipino's stomach. We're such a huge bunch of rice eaters and these concepts give such a fresh breathe to the usual white or brown rice. TWO-THUMBS UP! :D

Kanin Club
Ayala Triangle Gardens, Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Tel. No. 621-6109
Operating Hours: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM, Mon-Sun
Website: Kanin Club - Ayala Triangle Gardens

Other Ayala Triangle Gardens food blogs:
Banapple
Momo Cafe

Ayala Triangle Gardens Edition 2: MOMO CAFE

I couldn't remember what drove us to actually hit up Ayala Triangle Gardens to eat at yet another restaurant. But this time Kim and I was with Milds, remember these 2 gals were the ones I was with during our Ilocos trip last January, so you guys can get an idea on how good it is to be with them on a FOOD TRIP! I think it was just some "let's go eat out" for a change moment here at our office.

Anyway we hit up Momo Cafe, still on soft opening during that time. We had to go early since the restaurants at the Ayala Triangle Gardens get filled up pretty quick! I've eaten here once before with my Mom at their Eastwood Mall branch so I gave the 2 some suggestions on what to order.

We got to order a lot of stuff, but it was cool that they gave us an appetizer of sorts for FREE!! :)

Carbs for an appetizer can surely perk up your appetite! It was good and we had one bread each!

Then our drinks arrived next. Milds and Kim both got their flavored iced teas. I got my ever favorite Peach-Lychee shake. Since it was a hot day, these drinks were the perfect way to cool down.

When the food arrived, we had to move certain things out of our table.

Order number one was their Carbonara.

I love pasta, especially creamy ones. And this was something I truly enjoyed. They ad generous servings of bacon, too. It's good enough for 2 people, so if you're the sharing type of person this would be a good deal.

Up next, was their Spaghetti with Meatballs.

This was a bit so-so. I'm a bit biased though because I'm not particularly fond of sour pasta, their sauce was purely tomato-based. Every time my Mom would make spaghetti she would put cream to cover up the sourness of the tomato paste. But hey, the meatballs were good and we all had a good time picking on them.

And finally, we also ordered the Country Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Corn.

This was also a hit just like the 2 pasta dishes we ordered! It was just as good as the first time I ate this. And with any restaurant consistency is definitely key to success!

It was a good lunch out with Kim and Milds. Being with voracious eaters like these 2 can really perk up the foodie in you. :)

Momo Cafe
Ayala Triangle Gardens, Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Tel Nos. 621-6161 or 621-6162
E-mail: reservations@eatmomo.com
Website: http://www.raintreerestaurants.com/momo/index.html
Open from 7 a.m.- 11 p.m. daily

You may also check out another Ayala Triangle Gardens food trip at BANAPPLE.

Ayala Triangle Gardens Edition 1: BANAPPLE

I've heard people rave about Banapple. But I think I've been such a non-conformist foodie that I only get on the hype when everybody's been sick and tired of it. Primary examples of these are BonChon and Wingman. I'm weird that way! But at least I get an idea of what to order and what to completely avoid!

So one day my officemate and friend since our grade school days, Kim, decided to walk several blocks down from our office to the Ayala Triangle Gardens just to get take out food from Banapple. Thank God it's just near, and there are more food choices. It's almost a blessing from above!

I ordered their Pasta - cheesy and creamy penne!


Although the picture looks disgusting, let me tell you, it was SO WONDERFULLY GOOD! I LOVE pasta and it has been my alternative since I don't eat rice. I couldn't stop saying how good it was! My other officemates dug in, and they loved it too!

For dessert Kim and I bought their world-famous Banoffee Pie.

But I have to say, I was disappointed with this. I like Starbucks' banoffee pie WAY BETTER. Although they were very generous with their bananas. It just didn't match my expectations, since everybody was saying it was to die for. Maybe I should also get to try their other cakes too.

I also ordered their giant Chocolate Chip Cookie!

This was good, although I felt dizzy afterwards. It was just so butter-y. But the huge chocolate chips were good, when you bite into the cookie and you get a huge chunk in your mouth! Love it! :D

I gotta do Banapple much more justice than this. I think I have to try some more of their desserts. Although I am pretty impressed that their non-dessert stuff are really good! Banapple is one of the first restaurants at the Triangle that get filled up pretty much fast, plus a lot of people taking out desserts!

Oh and by the way, since the Ayala Triangle Gardens have been my frequent hang out places for a quick dinner with friends, I am to do a foodie trip starting with this entry! So stay tuned for the food blog series! :)

Banapple
Ayala Triangle Gardens, Ayala Avenue, Makati City
Tel No. 438-2675
Website: http://www.banapplekitchen.com

The Chicken That Made Me Eat RICE!

I don't eat rice. For the precious few who get to read my blog, I think I've said that quite a few times around here. I've found out that rice has been my mortal enemy and everytime I eat rice, I pack on the pounds!

But last Tuesday, while walking around Greenbelt I decided to finally try this much-talked and raved about poultry dish in town! Oh yes, I am talking about the world-famous BonChon Chicken - voted as best chicken in America.


I was lucky that night because the line wasn't too long and there were still some seats available. The one at the Ayala Triangle Gardens is always SUPER PACKED! It was 7.30PM, dinner time for most people, so it was a relief to be 2nd in line.

I ordered their Chicken Chops. Ms. Ordertaker asked me if I wanted it in garlic or spicy. I was iffy about "spicy" anything because they end up not being spicy. But I was thrilled when I found out I could order half and half.

It didn't take long for the order to arrive. Despite the influx of hungry customers, BonChon impressed me with their quick service. When the chops arrived, it came in this cute box that could transform as your plate.



It was so good..so good I ate rice hahaha but just a few spoonfuls of it. I LOVED their SPICY CHICKEN CHOP, I felt like I was eating siling labuyo. Authentic spicy flavor. I also loved that the meat was tender, but the skin was left cripsy. It made this crunching sound every time I cut it up with my spoon!

I also found out that BonChon uses the Korean-style of cooking - the chickens are marinaded in sweet and salty soy garlic sauce, fried twice (which they say makes fried chicken less greasy and fatty), and served CRISPY.

My own blog entry is making me crave for BonChon Chicken! It's such a hit here in Makati, and I'm glad I was finally able to get on the BonChon band wagon! Annyeong haseyo!! :)


BonChon Chicken
Greenbelt 1, Ayala Center, Makati City
Tel. No. 519-8438
Open daily, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

P.S. Sorry again for the crappy photos, I just used my camera phone. It was dark outside. :(

The Christmas Spirit at the Ayala Triangle Gardens

My Mom and I firmly believe that the Philippines is THE Christmas capital of Asia, if not the whole world. We Filipinos start Christmas preparations as early as when the BER months start and we start the countdown at 100 days before the Big Day. You probably live in a burrow or have a heart as cold as stone, if you don’t feel the Christmas Spirit in our country.

And to heighten the Yuletide feel, the Ayala Triangle Gardens put up a lights and sounds show. Heard about this from my Mom, and while stuck in traffic along Ayala Avenue one night, I saw the dancing lights and I knew that was it.

So one Sunday, Mom and I went to see it for ourselves, and it was just hands-down BEAUTIFUL! On a Sunday night, there was traffic build-up along Paseo de Roxas because of the hundreds of families wanting to see it.

I immediately set up DSLR and took as much pictures as I could as we were kind of late. We barely even made it to the last show! And thank God we got there in the nick of time, it was just so amazing! The lights danced along with the Christmas music, and people were just in awe, and so were we!




Of course it’s an opportunity for Mom and I to take pictures with the lights. :)


Created by light designer Voltaire de Jesus and sound designer Jethro Joaquin, the lights and sound show started last November 20 and will run until December 24 everyday from 6pm to 8pm. Every 30 minutes the gardens will be showcasing 10-minute shows.

So don’t wait until the last minute, let the kids and the kids-at-heart enjoy this beautiful show! I’m sure all of you will enjoy it!

After the show Mom and I were famished. But since there was a multitude of people, the restaurants in the area were packed with families having their Sunday night dinner. I felt disappointed because I really wanted to try Chef Rolando Laudico’s BFast All Day Breakfast Café, after reading Anton Diaz’s blog about it!

There are restaurants to choose from like Banapple and Bon Chon. I suggest you guys get there EARLY to get seats; otherwise, your patience will really be put to the test.

Mom said we’d go back, and hopefully this time, we get to see the show at length and get to eat at any of the restaurants there. :)