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.

Feel at Home at Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe

It was a year and a half ago when I first got to eat at Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe. We were newbies here at Solar Entertainment and our officemates decided to go eat at their Legaspi Village branch as a group to welcome us. We ate there again for a despedida dinner for one of us who was about leave for film school.

So I had a good idea on how good the food was here, that's why I wanted to bring my Mom there for a good dinner. After weeks and even months of planning, we finally got to go last night after Mass. Good thing they have a branch in Pasig, along C5 so we don't have to travel all the way to Makati for it.

The Pasig branch is exactly like the Makati one - HOMEY! It's really a good place for families, and since it was a Sunday night, families filled the place up. Although I have to say the wallpapers are a bit excessive, no offense!


Besides the bright and floral wallpapers, the other thing that welcomes you are these huge chillers with everything sweet, creamy, rich, and sinful.



Had had a sample of their cupcakes before, and I must say they're really super good! They're really creamy and not too sweet. Perfect for dessert with a good cup of coffee.

So here's what we ordered:

Caesar Salad - whole. We asked them to split them to two already.

What we loved with this salad is that their veggies are super fresh. The lettuce was green and crunchy. They also had very generous servings of bacon bits, croutons, and dressing. Really good way to start our meal.

For our main course, Mom ordered her favorite Callos.

Although it has to be said that OUR home-made callos is waaaaaay better than this. But suffice to say it's also waaaaaaay better than what Mom had in Dulcinea which was a total flop. In all fairness, this Callos had tender meat and good portions of twalya or tripe. It was only later that Mom noticed that it didn't have pimientos.

As for me, I've been really wanting to have this all for myself: the famed Shepherd's Pie.

The first time I tried this, I was SOLD! On top is like half an index finger full of mashed potatoes. But what's underneath that, that makes this a real winner. MEAT! Ground meat! It's just so tasty, and their sauce HEAVENLY! I especially love it when it's a bit cooler cos the mashed potatoes harden a bit and it mixes with the meat. I This was so good I had to recommend it to my good friend Mariko when they ate there. And like me, she absolutely fell in love with this.

For drinks, we had the Carousel. It's basically just an entire round of their iced teas - blue, red, green, and lemon. Mom and I only had 2 out of the 4. Their iced teas are a bit on the sweet side, it's best that you let the ice melt a little, but that's just me hehe.



We were stuffed. But more because of the iced teas. We planned on having coffee, but we just didn't have space in our tummies. But not giving in just yet, I bought a tub of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.


Had a piece at home with coffee. You get to taste butter the moment you bite into it. Not too sweet. But I don't like the kind of raisins they used. It just gave the cookie an entirely different taste. So kinda disappointed with it.

But hey, if you want something homey to eat in, I totally recommend Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe. Nice also to bring home cupcakes for both the kids and the adults. They still have other stuff there worth trying. But I will forever swear on the Shepherd's Pie. Consistency is key...and what's good about Mom & Tina's is that no matter what branch you eat in, the Shepherd's Pie has the same quality, taste, and everything that goes into that makes it SUPERB! MUST TRY!! :))

Mom & Tina's Bakery Cafe
106 E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave.
Brgy. Ugong, Pasig City
Tel. No. 914-0833

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