Food Trip Weekends: Kozui Green Tea

I'm back!!!  Been so busy spending time with family and enjoying the holidays.  I have tons of food stories post but I'll start with one of my favorite desserts...Kozui's green tea anmitsu.

 

Food Trip Weekends: Thai Dara and Mamou Too

Friday Dinner: 

I was in the mood for some hot soup after a tiring afternoon of doctor check-ups for both Jacob and I.  I also didn't want to venture far from home since traffic was horrendous.  I love the Christmas season but I detest the heavy traffic that inevitably goes with the Christmas rush. So off we went to get Thai food to soothe my tummy with hot and spicy soup and deliciously tangy beef salad.

Food Trip Weekends: Good Earth Garden Cafe

I went out to have merienda and some chit chat with my good friend L.  There are limited choices in Tarlac when it come to food and we always end up going to the same places over and over again.  We knew Good Earth Garden Cafe opened a branch at the McArthur Highway (they also have a branch at Romulo Highway), and decided to go there to try something new.  

The first time my friends mentioned this place, I thought it was the same Good Earth restaurant in Manila.  Turned out it was a homegrown Tarlac business.

I remembered the first time I ate here. they only had one menu to pass around.  I'm happy to see they printed out more menus already. hehe

We started with homemade malunggay pesto and crackers.  This  is a good way to insert more malunggay into our diets.  

Food Trip Weekends: Share Tea and Cafe Ysabel

Part One

Saturday breakfast:

I woke up nice and early because I was excited to go on a breakfast date with E.  Sometimes it feels like we don't have time for just the two of us anymore and I really treasure the times we go out on our dates.  I suggested Cafe Ysabel since I wanted to try their breakfast menu.

E had the Kapampangan breakfast set which consisted of lengua, scrambled eggs with chorizo and rice.  I had the Country breakfast set which had country fried steak, scrambled egg, hash brown, bacon and fried apples.

Imagine this place at night with candlelit candles...so romantic.

A little nook to sip your coffee while holding hands with someone special.

Food Trip Weekends: Revisiting Old Classics

While I love trying out new restaurants, there are also days when the tried and tested is what hits the spot.  This is exactly what this weekend was all about.  I had the opportunity to eat (and drink) at four restaurants I love.  Let's start shall we? :) 

Saturday lunch:

Had a girly date with my best friend from high school.  It was a toss-up  between Cibo and Bizu and, naturally, Bizu won.  I love Bizu.  I love their ambience: girly but not so much that men and boys become uncomfortable to eat there.  I love their food: good servings and consistently great taste.  It's not one of those places where you feel bitin after eating.  The complimentary bread basket with garlic butter and jam they give out during breakfast is also yummmmmy!!!

We split an order of French onion soup full of cheesy bready deliciousness...good decision because I couldn't have finished the whole order.  Carb lover that I am, I also ordered my favorite prawn linguine with tomato sauce.  It had the perfect balance of sour and sweet with basil and garlic essence.  Yuuum! 

Saturday dinner:

I stuffed myself with a carb heavy lunch and Serenitea for merienda (I'll get to that later) because my family and I decided to eat dinner late.  How late you ask?  We ate at 9pm!  Why?  I wanted to try Golden Fortune Restaurant's hotpot and dimsum buffet which starts at 9pm.  Yes, my cheap matakaw self cannot resist a deal.  You see, Golden Fortune's buffet costs only P350!  Sulit the late dinnertime. haha They also have another branch where they give a discount of 30% instead of the buffet.  My mom was still full, so we went to the Soler branch for the 30% discount.  

Golden Fortune hotpot menu has all the usual ingredients and has some not-so-usual ingredients too.  There's ostrich meat and crocodile meat for the adventurous eaters!  Everything was so cheap.  Our hotpot feast and dimsum extras cost us P 1,100!!! That's 5 adults and one toddler eating!  

Full dining room at 10pm! 

Sunday lunch:

Mother and sister dear went on their workout and I went with father and baby dearest to the supermarket.  Eat Well! is conviniently located near their gym so we just met up there for a quick lunch before I go home.  

Baby J and I love their fried tofu with asparagus... so silkenly soft and melt in your mouth with a light, slightly salty sauce.  So so good!  You should also order their porkchop and vegetable rice meal.  The rice is fried with some green vegetables and dried shrimps, you could eat the rice by itself! One of the highlights is also their chili sauce... slightly sweet, a little salty and not too hot.  My mom, sister M and I finished the little pot of chili sauce on our table.  

Sunday merienda:

Finally, a post on my favorite milk tea place!!!  

Manila weekends is not complete without grabbing some drinks from Serenitea!  I cannot describe how obsessed I am about this place.  I think that this is the best milk tea place in the metro by far!  (One other milk tea place I like is Gong Cha, but it is still inaccessible to me.  Open one in Greenhills please?)  

Their milk teas are the reason that I keep going back to Serenitea.  I love that you can identify their milk teas by their distinctive tastes.  No need to look at the label.  Serenitea fans, do you agree? :)  Their sinkers are also a big draw for me.  They are included in the drink, so no need to pay extra to make your drink yummier.  Panna cotta and egg pudding makes the milk tea taste richer and milkier, black bricks, bubbles and black diamond for contrast or green tea jelly, crystals and lime jelly to make your fruit teas fruitier.  

So obsessed that I drank a cup on Saturday and brought home 5 more cups  home!  One for my mom-in-law, one for E and three for me!!! hahaha Talk about hoarding!  

Now you know the reason why I'm getting bigger (FAT)!!!  Promise, I will start my diet soon.  Happy eating everyone! 

Wanna try?

Bizu Patisserie and Bistro 

Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center

San Juan, Metro Manila

(02) 7242498, (02) 7262496

Golden Fortune Restaurant

G/F Peace Hotel, 1283 Soler St. 

Binondo, Manila 

Metro Manila

(02) 2442777

Eat Well! Delicious Kitchen 

Greenhills Shopping Center

San Juan, Metro Manila

(02) 7228518

Serenitea 

G/F G&L Bldg., J. Abad Santos St. cor. V. Cruz

Little Baguio, San Juan, Metro Manila

(02) 3794166

Food Trip Weekends: Cold Layers

The storm that hit Manila this weekend was supposed to hit hardest on Saturday night.  We were ready to stay cooped up at home but as the evening grew later and the rain grew weaker, we decided to take our chances and sneak out for dessert.  My sister suggested Cold Layers since we live quite near.

 Their super cute logo greets you at the entrance.

Welcome!

 

 

Cold Layers is a dessert place serving Taiwanese style shaved ice.  They use different flavored ices such as milk, soy milk, Horlicks, grapes, chocolate and many more for the base and add toppings to create combinations. They also serve the ubiquitous milk tea, fruit shakes and yogurt smoothies along with some sandwiches and wraps.  

I was excited to try their new flavor, Sweet Sensation (P240), when I saw Horlicks and graham crackers... Two flavors I love!

Top side.

Side view.

The instant the shaved ice hit my mouth, my ice widened and I immediately told my sister to get a bite.   The ice was so flavorful but also light at the same time.  The crushed graham gave the dish some welcome texture and sweetness without being cloying.  Two thumbs up for me.  Only downside..It is so expensive at 240 pesos!  The serving of shaved ice could maybe feed two but I could easily finish it by myself. 

Toasted Milky Bun (P45)

Just ordinary bread with lots of butter and condensed milk toasted.  Tasty but unnecessary.  Weird thing.. They sell this for 90 pesos in the morning and serve "free coffee".  We ordered it in the evening and it cost us 45 pesos.  Figure it out. haha 

Maple Milk Tea (P120)

The Maple Milk Tea was..........different.  I think you guys just stick with the shaved ice ok? hehehe

Wanna try? 

Cold Layers

2nd Level Northeast Square, 47 Connecticut St., 

Northeast Greenhills, San Juan City, Metro Manila

Philippines

(02) 724-5988

Food Trip Weekends: Va Bene Pasta Deli

Since moving to Tarlac, most of my weekends in Manila are spent trying out new restaurants with my family.  Anyone who knows me also knows that I have a voracious appetite.  I LOVE eating!!! In Filipino, matakaw ako...sobra. I would read food blogs and note down restaurant recommendations from my friends, prepare a tummy friendly outfit and excitedly wait for the weekend to arrive.  It took us a while to visit Va Bene because my to-try list of restaurants is fairly long.  But we finally went last Saturday and I'm happy we did. 

Va Bene's simple menu

Va Bene's simple interior

Va Bene's simple freebee appetizer 

And Va Bene's simply delicious food!

 Polipo salad

Let me start  by saying that everything we ate was delicious.  The compliment bread with tomato dip was fresh and light on the tummy.  It definitely tickled my appetite and left me wanting for more!  My mom, sister and I shared a salad of "Polipo", braised octopus with arugula leaves (P400).  There are not a lot of octopus dishes in Manila and we were intrigued enough to order it.  This is definitely different.  The octopus slices were tender and did not taste fishy at all.  Make sure to take a bite of the octopus, arugula, capers and orange slices together for a well rounded taste experience. 

 Organic eggs tagliolini with portabello, white wine cream sauce and truffle oil

Veal  cheeks ravioli

 

 Black ink home made spaghetti with seafood marinara sauce

We unwittingly ordered 3 pasta dishes which sent us over the edge of full to stuffed!  Va Bene is generous with their portion sizes and that made me one happy customer.  M and I really loved the Organic Egg Tagliolini (P380).  The pungent truffle oil combined with the cream sauce and portabello mushrooms made for a heavenly first bite.  My sister ordered the Veal Cheeks Ravioli (not in the menu).  This came with 10 pieces of ravioli stuffed with veal ragout, and then coated with a mushroom cream sauce.  The filling was a blend of salty and sweet which made a good foil against the rich sauce.  The only dish that disappointed us was the Black Ink Pasta (P390).  The marinara sauce, while delicious, is too salty.  I felt so thirsty after eating it. I should add that they make their own pasta.  I spied some Italian 00 flour on their counter and I am  bet it makes all the difference in the texture of their pasta.  It was bouncy, firm and toothsome, a big difference from normal dried pasta. 

Delicious! See? No leftovers!

I still need to try the Mixed Mushroom soup and their dessert so I'll definitely be back!



Va Bene Pasta Deli
2nd Floor, Petron Gas Station, Edsa Corner Pasay Road,
Dasmarinas, Makati City

+632 5569442/+63 9173456869

Food Trip Weekends: Hermanos Taco Shop

Good Mexican restaurants have been sprouting up all over the Metro and it's my mission to try all of them! Unfortunately, E HATES Mexican food, and no way will he willingly go to one. But since I came to Manila by myself, I decided to cross Hermanos Taco Shop off my list and grab some munchies.

Hermanos is a nondescript restaurant located at Granada. They certainly did not invest in their decoration as everything is totally utilitarian, just some chairs and tables in a plain room, which does not matter anyway since I just wanted some take out.

Hermanos' happy welcome sign in the Mexican colors!

The menu has a variety of proteins and fillings that you can mix and match with the options on the menu.  If you are feeling hungry, you can opt to get a burrito where you'll have rice along with your tortilla and vegetables.  I opted for some tacos since I just wanted a snack to share with my sister. 

One of the tacos I ordered was the fish tacos (P150).  An order consists of two tacos with a generous filling of fried dory fish with cabbage,onions, tomatoes, a drizzle of white sauce and a roasted tomato salsa on the side.  The main difference with Hermanos from the other Mexican places in Manila is their use of masa harina (maize flour) in their tortillas.  I did not like the tortilla at all!  I do appreciate that it seems fresh but the texture is really off putting. The tortilla is soft without any chewiness and it feels really thick.  The filling was yummy though, the fish was crispy and the vegetables was fresh.

The other is a carne asada taco (P150).  This comes with grilled beef pieces instead of the fish.  The spices used to marinate the beef is really prominent and yummy.  However the beef is cooked well done which made it a bit dry.  I am not sure if there is an option for doneness but I'm sure that it can benefit with a bit more moistness. Overall, I like the tacos and I think they are value for my money.  

Wanna try?  Contact details below.

Hermanos Taco Shop

#27 Granada Avenue, corner Jose O. Vera St.
(Petron Station)

Lungsod Quezon 1112
02 5708425