Krispy Kreme Update

Krispy Kreme has a new, seasonal flavor for December. Caramel Apple Pie, a filled doughnut of apple pie filling with a graham cracker crumb topping. Hands down, this is my doughnut of choice at KK. It is the least sweet of KK's cloying treats and goes extremely well with the instore americano.

Unhappily, the flavor may be discontinued after the holidays. I encourage everyone to run to the nearest KK store and order enough of the Apple Pie doughnut in order to ensure counter permanence.

Christmas Dinner at Chelsea

Finally got to try Chelsea. Was a bit apprehensive as I had gotten mixed reviews about the restaurant. Luckily, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined.

We had the whole roast chicken, the green apple and walnut salad, 5 cheese macaroni, cheese and bacon, and the Sausage and Meatball Rigatoni. The chicken was excellent value for money; at P650ish, it was enough to feed four to six. The chicken, however, I felt lacked flavor.

The salad was another value for money order. The huge portion served six as an appetizer. My only request would be for more apple and walnut and less of the salad. BTW, the salad green was baby arugula, one of my current favorites.

The 5 Cheese Macaroni, Cheese, and Bacon (I'm not making this up; this is what was written on the menu) looked small but again the portion size will serve two as a light lunch and four as a side. The Mac was a brilliant orange but tasted pretty good. But if i had to pick a winner for the meal it would have been the rigatoni. Again the dish would have been enough for two to four (large serving sizes must be a signature of the restaurant). The meatball was flavorful and the pasta was dotted with chunks of tomatoes.

For dessert, we had the restaurant's famous Chocnut Valrhona Cake. The cake was really good; it wouldn't win any awards for good looks (initial impressions were of dryness and crumb). But each bite was full of choco goodness (of the highest quality). I really liked the cake (so much so that I'm including it in my list of favorites, the only chocolate cake so far); but at P310/slice, I'd have to think twice before i re-indulge.

Coffee was a letdown; the restaurant serves the Illy (italian) brand of coffee but something must have gotten lost in the translation.

All in all, a pretty good meal. Good value for a restaurant in Serendra (the land of overpriced, overconceptualized food). P500 to P600 per head.

Lengua de Gato

Am eating one of the best lengua de gato I've ever had. It came in a big, white plastic tub (akin to the old one gallon ice cream containers), no label, no idea who makes it or where one can buy more (must buy more!)

The lengua are paper thin, irregularly shaped and sized, some are a darker hue, others a pale cousin.

Chocolate Kiss Kiss

Paid another visit to Chocolate Kiss along Roces Avenue in Quezon City. If you recall, my first few visits were a disaster. Lousy food and worst, lousy desserts. Blame my loyalty to my alma mater, but I just had to try the restaurant again.

The good news is, the Queso Chiffon and Dayap Cake are excellent. The Queso Chiffon has loads of quezo de bola shavings; IMHO, the perfect counterpoint to the sweet icing and dessert.

The Dayap Cake was a transformed beauty. I recall the first time I tried this cake, it had masses of boiled icing (the white, egg white icing of the birthday cakes of yore). The overzealous baker had overzested, adding the bitter pith into the icing. This version was nothing to write home about.

The new and improved Dayap Cake has dayap curd filling and the boiled icing is now a thin shell of its former self. I really liked this cake (although I think it would be better with a buttercream icing, instead of that infernal boiled icing).

The only disappointment was the Devil's Food Cake. Not only did the cake lack that dense, chocolate taste, the baker also apparently thought to transfer the masses of boiled icing to this forgettable dessert.

By the way, the coffee was swell.

Enoteca Galileo

Enoteca literally means "wine depositary" and Enoteca Galileo certainly had the feel of one. A smallish restaurant along Pasong Tamo Extension with unusually large tables, one is literally surrounded by wine and aperitif.

On to the food. I had the set meal of cold cuts, cheese, bread and dip, a choice of pasta, wine and coffee. It was a feast. I particularly enjoyed the cold cuts, cheeses (provolone and mozarella) and the pasta (aglio olio with pepperoncino). The bread and dip, however, were redundant since the restaurant does give you these as a free starter. They did change the bread and dip which was to have accompanied the set meal with mushroom soup. The white wine was also quite good; the first glass was not chilled but the server must have realized this as she offered me a second glass (chilled) for free! I managed to get quite tipsy this lunchtime.

My lunchmates ordered T-Bone steak which was not surprisingly not very good (we were in a italian deli). Others ordered the pasta genovese (pesto).

We finished with coffee and gelato. Coffee was excellent; good enough to take black. The gelato, however, was disappointing; it lacked the smooth, creamy texture of what i think gelato should have. Rather, the ice cream was quite frozen, studded with ice crystals.

Service was a bit inattentive; we stood around waiting for a table for a few minutes with servers running around us, basically ignoring us. Apparently, the restaurant was not used to having too many customers at one time. However, I must say that service did improve as the meal progressed.

Pricing was moderate (my set meal was P500, all in). However, my lunchmates felt the steak was overpriced (at P600), probably influence by their dislike for it.

Mickey's Deli

I should really call this series of blogs as the Lost Meals. Might be old age but I forget to write about meals I've had in a number of restaurants, this one included.

Anyways, have been to Mickey's several times and the dishes were consistently good (with the exception of an unusually textured meat loaf, evocative of pick firm tofu).

Must try are the Nurnburger sausage (actually all their sausages are good, no wonder given that Mickey the German chef, formerly of the Hyatt), the pates. Serving size is large and must be shared; same goes for the side dishes (I couldn't even finish half of the potato side dish I ordered).

The restaurant also has an excellent deli counter, wonderful for browsing, and better for eating!

BTW attached to the deli is the upscale French Baker (can't recall the name). Prices are a tad higher than French Baker but the breads are way better. Be sure to order a sampler of bread (comes with pate; ask for butter!)

People Palace three

Just had to update you guys on my third visit to People Palace last week. I was rereading my first article on the restaurant and I must confess, it was probably my orders which accounted for the unenjoyable experience.

Subsequent visits since that first time have been more than fine. Most dishes ordered were quite good, substantial, although prices remain quite daunting. And I think they have the best sticky rice with mango.

A Tale of Two Meals: Apahap sa Azuthai

The second meal was lunch at Azuthai, the new Thai restaurant at the ground floor of the Milky Way building along Pasay Road. I had also heard many good things about the restaurant, so I was pretty excited to try it.

I wasn't disappointed. We had the papaya salad, the pomelo shrimp salad, apahap in tamarind sauce, penang beef curry, morning glory (kangkong!), and the ever reliable, ever present pad thai. I loved the salad and the apahap. The sauce of the curry was excellent but the beef was rather tasteless. The kangkong was also a winner. I do recommend one orders plain white rice, better to sop up the sauces.

I just had to try the desserts. The water chestnuts in coconut milk was a streamlined halohalo with the dyed water chestnuts providing crunch. The mango with sticky rice was also quite good (but I thought the one in People Palace was a tad better). I didn't care too much for the Tako, but it might appeal to the less sugar-inclined.

Prices are on the steep side but not to heights set by PP or Silk. Service was excellent; but don't believe the nice serbidora when she says mild is spicy enough. I was skeptical but unfortunately, she did manage to convince us to stay on the safe side.

I almost forgot, we had Thai take out a couple of weeks ago; equally good and loads more inexpensive. More on the next blog.

Take Out Thai from SOMS

I had almost forgotten about our Thai take out from Soms (somewhere near the dog and cat hospital, going to Rockwell) some weeks back. If you are looking for five star taste at three star prices, Soms is for you.

We had a ton of food and I don't think it was all that expensive (sorry folks, libre kaya I don't know the actual cost). Two curries (beef and chicken), bagoong rice, kangkong, and the (oh no, its...) pad thai (dramatic pause), in a bilao!

Soms is supposedly a small carinderia-type, owned by a Thai transplant. I must confess I haven't been to the restaurant but I have heard it described as tables spilling onto the sidewalk and street. It's a BYOB kind of place, but the price can't be beat.

A Tale of Two Meals: Steak at Mamou

Had two very good meals recently. First off was dinner at Mamou; I had wanted to try this restaurant for a very long time now. Good reviews all around, and everyone recommended the steak. It didn't disappoint, the serving was substantial with five of us sharing the twin. However, I was not that impressed with the sidings.

We also shared two pastas, the alio with labuyo flakes (spaghetti al dente swimming in a pool of garlicky olive oil and specked with chili - my personal favorite) and the Batac Bolognese (also very good, tomato based with batac longanisa).

The desserts, however, were not up to par with the main courses. I didn't care too much for the pecan pie (the corn syrup center was too thick and gummy); the dark chocolate sans rival also didn't inspire. The key lime pie was okay, just a tad sweet. Desserts came with schlagsahne (german whipped cream); we failed miserably trying to pronounce the word correctly, but it did provide hours of entertainment.

The restaurant isn't very big so reservations are a must. On a Tuesday night, the place was packed. The owner did tell us her personal favorites, namely the steak (which we tried), and the roast chicken and pork. At least I have a reason to go back.

Fish out of Water

Fish Out of Water is one of the new restaurants in Greenbelt 5. As the name suggests, it specializes in seafood given new twists (fusion cuisine). The restaurant is part of the Red Crab group, of the famed crab buffet in Greenbelt 3. Apparently a good number of the restaurants in Ayala's new mall have more pedestrian pedigrees. Pia y Damaso is really Kookie Luscious in Rizalian clothing (I think the same desserts are available in KL at lower prices). John and Yoko is Sumo Sam all dressed up (I found this out when we passed by the restaurant just as the waitstaff were bringing out take-away in Sumo Sam plastic bags). Zuni is Duo.

We had danggit salad, stuffed kalabasa blossoms, lapulapu filet, and twiced cooked pork belly. Don't laugh, but the dish that stood out was the pork belly, in a seafood restaurant!

The danggit salad was an ordinary salad with danggit pieces thrown in. Cascada actually has a better version with tinapa and mango. The squash blossoms would have benefited from a lighter batter; as it was served, it was heavy and a bit oily. The lapulapu filet was roundly ignored (it was rather bland).

Solihiya

Solihiya is one of the new restaurants in Greenbelt 5 and specializes in fancified panciteria food. I am a great fan of good panciteria food, and I really wanted to like the restaurant (I had been batting almost zero in my food trip in Greenbelt 5; with most restaurants I've tried having been expensive and not really that good).

We ordered the shrimp diablo (my memory gap is widening); I do remember the diablo part since the dish was covered with sauteed chilies. Supposedly spicy shrimp popcorns (cornflour battered pieces of shrimp), the dish had neither shrimp nor spice. It felt like we were eating fried batterballs.

We also ordered kangkong with chinese bagoong; I found it salty but then again, what would you expect with bagoong. But my friends liked it.

Our last dish was steamed fish fillet. It came late, like thirty minutes after we had almost polished off the two orders which came ahead. It was very apparent that the waiter had forgotten to put in the order in the first place; the dish could not have taken more than five minutes to cook. The waiter gave some flimsy excuse that the fish delivery was late that day (a likely story). What was disappointing, however, was that the owner or manager was right beside us when all of this was transpiring (our table was next to his hidden office) and he pointedly ignored us. No apologies, no we'll do better next time. Just as disappointing was that the fish was not worth the wait; bland and pasty white, it lacked the umami usually found in chinese steamed fish. (We slathered on the soy sauce and sesame oil to no avail; the fish was internally bland).

While waiting for our orders, we were served a trio of appetizers. Pickled singkamas, spicy sweet dilis, and pickled quail egg. It is a testament to the restaurant that the appetizers were the highlight of our meal.

Solihiya is just one of a long list of restaurants in Greenbelt 5 that have failed to live up to expectations. It should not come as a surprise now given the mall's fantastically low batting average for its restaurants (expensive but unsatisfying food, more pretention than substance).

BTW, solihiya apparently means the woven rattan used to cover chairs. The restaurant used woven plastic strips to evoke the natural wicker, a foreboding of things to come?

Flopjacks

The restaurant's real name is Flapjacks and it's one of the newer restaurants in Greenbelt (where good restaurants go to die). As the name suggests, it specializes in pancakes and diner food.

I am big fan of breakfast food; I honestly think breakfast should rank among the world's great cuisine. So it was with great anticipation that I set lunch at Flop... I mean Flapjacks (having a coupon for free pancakes also figured highly in the decision-making process).

We ordered salpicao, pork chop and country fried steak. I would have wanted to say that the food was great; but I would be fibbing. The salpicao was tough and bland, lacking the strong garlic taste; the pork chop was tough and bland (clearly overcooked, which was not hard to do since it had been pounded thin in an effort to extend a small cut of meat into something grander); the country fried steak was bland and lacked steak (really, it tasted more like breaded breading). Blandness seems to be an unhappy trend (which we banished with liberal doses of salty seasoning).

I'd give Flopjacks a good six months or as a good friend of mine would put it, a good candidate for closure.

BTW, the flapjacks were fine.

Fely J: Redux

I had the chance to revisit Fely J (someone treated a whole bunch of us for lunch; as a rule, I tend not to object to a particular venue if I am the treatee). However, I did manage to steer them clear of most of the disasters from my first visit, except for the tilapia, which on this second visit was actually good (at least better than the first time I tried it).

This time around, we had the vegetables in gata, crispy pata with bawang, tortang talong, sapang (hope i got the name right) spicy squid, and the lumpiang ubod along with the tilapia. Unfortunately, I remain underwhelmed. The cripy pata with tons of toasted bawang looked incredibly appetizing. Unfortunately, although the trotter was quite meaty, the skin was disappointingly chewy. The garlic accompaniment was also toasted with something I couldn't quite pinpoint; I much preferred the purity of bawang. Overall, the lack of crisp was a major letdown. I mean, the whole point of a crispy pata is that it should live up to its name and be darn crispy!

The squid was (it tasted to me) a pale version of the original Indonesian(?); reworked to appeal to the Filipino palate. Bland and tough, the dish was not memorable. (I wish restaurants would stop fiddling with recipes to cater to Filipino tastebuds; I would much prefer unfamiliar authencity to bland reinterpretation). The simple vegetable dishes stood out among our orders. The lumpiang ubod is the kind with the sauce built in; quite good and not too sweet. The vegetables in gata and the tortang talong were also quite tasty. But then again, it is not saying very much if all the kitchen can whip up are the basic gulay dishes.

I also had the chance to sample the desserts; we had the bayabas pie, cassava cake, and something intriguingly called Secreto ni Maria Clara. I didn't care too much for the bayabas pie (which was admittedly a healthy serving size); it was an apple pie in disguise, sans the apple (I would have preferred the apple). The cassava cake was soft but lack that certain oomph. As for the much vaunted Secreto (served for 25 years), it was just mango and sticky rice with macapuno sherbet, and not a very good version, I might add. The dessert might have been a mind-blowing decades ago, but nowadays, you can get the same at a number of good Thai and pan-Asian restaurants (try the mango and sticky rice in People Palace, mucho better).

Overall, the restaurant still failed to impress. (As an aside, have anyone else noticed that the restaurants in Greenbelt 5 are generally not very good? particularly given the price points. I've tried quite a few but not one stands out. Oh well, there are still a good number I haven't tried so there's hope).

Fely J

Fely J is a new restaurant in Greenbelt 5 serving an eclectic menu of Filipino and Asian dishes. The restaurant is part of the LJC group of restaurants, which, upon my discovery (the group had cleverly printed all their restaurants on the paper placemat), had raised a red flag (too many forgettable meals in different LJC restaurants). However, since we were seated and my friends had already ordered (I arrived late), I decided to give the new kid on the block a chance.

I knew I should have trusted my instincts; the meal was really not very good. We ordered the dilis rice, sisig, kadyos, and the tilapia with plum sauce. The recommended (by the waitstaff) dilis rice reads nice (fried crispy dilis on rice) but the execution fell short. The oil from the crispy fish had soaked through the rice, resulting in a heavy, oily mess (one hopes they used olive oil). The dilis itself was tasteless, pure texture, no substance. Not a very pleasant dish; we left half untouched.

The sisig was the smallest sisig I had ever seen, the serving was literally the size of a saucer plate (yung patungan ng coffee cup). The dish was also quite oily (I know, you order sisig, you should expect oil). The kadyos was an unusual dish, a regional specialty of Iloilo consisting of pata and langka in soup base (flavored I think with star anise). It must be the manileno in me, I really couldn't appreciate it. To an ilonggo it might be comfort food, but to me, it was pork and langka in a pool of oily, brownish liquid. Finally we come to the tilapia, fried and smothered with the sweet plum sauce. It takes great skill to ruin what was basically a very simple dish, but the restaurant managed somehow. Really, you can get better in any decent chinese restaurant. (Oil seems to be a signature element of the restaurant).

We couldn't wait to leave and seek comfort in dessert (thank goodness for Classic Confections).

Service was good (that's a certainly a plus), but I found the restaurant to be incredibly noisy (seems to be a common problem with Greenbelt restaurants). Pricing was also okay given the location (I don't mean cheap though, P1500 for three persons).

Overall, recommend you look elsewhere for your Pan-Asian food fix.

Take Away from Banapple

Part two of my banapple adventure. After lunch, I bought take away: two muffins, a chicken pie, and a slice of apple pie.

Finally got through eating the lot, and again, I had some issues. As with the lunch portions, banapple's claim to fame seems to be its serving sizes. The chicken pie was huge; the muffins and the apple pie slice weren't too tiny, either.

However, of the four, I only really like the Orange Poppy Seed Muffin. I couldn't decide which of the remaining three was the worst; they were all pretty not good. The blueberry muffin (with non-existent blueberries except for a schmear of blueberry filling on top) was dry. The apple pie had equal parts crust, topping and apples (which were a strange dark color); one would have wished that an apple pie would have more apple than carbohydrate. The chicken pie had a strange, unidentifiable filling. The brown colored mush could have been chicken (as the restaurant claimed), but it could have stunt-doubled for tuna or some mystery meat. Inedible. I'm taking back my first statement, I think the chicken(?) pie was the worst.

Banapple

Banapple; a contraction of banana and apple. Also a quaint and cramped restaurant along Katipunan which apparently built its fame on its banana toffee cream pie.

I (we) happened upon this hole-in-the-wall restaurant coming from a wake and going back to the office. The decision to stop was cemented when one passenger praised the pie as the best he's had.

The restaurant was homey; food was okay (yes just okay) but portions are huge! Great value for money (we of the Makati lunch set marveled at the price and portion).

The main event, of course, was the banoffee pie. Two huge slices were served (again, if one was used to the puny servings one gets in Makati restaurants, Banapple's portion sizes are gianormous!). Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to love the pie, I only just liked it. I haven't tried the other desserts (apart from a take-away apple pie slice, which is still sitting in my fridge) but I wouldn't go out of my way to.

All in all, a good everyday, value for money, restaurant.