The Polka Dot Bakeshop

The Polka dot bakeshop is a small kiosk beside Abe at the 3/F SM Megamall Fashion Food hall. They have a variety of mini cakes that do not break the bank. Prices range from Php 150 to Php 165. The junior sized cakes are at Php 350 to Php 475. 

These are perfect for small groups or even for your baby's monthsary celebrations before they turn one year old. Saves the wallet and your waistline too!

Belonging to the LJC Group that Abe is also a part of, if you dine Abe Megamall, you can have the cake served at your table as a nice ending to a great meal.

My favorite Toffee Sans Rival

The Polka Dot Bakeshop
Third Floor, Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City
Phone numbers: 02 5229163; 02 6314719

Masil Korean Charcoal Grill Restaurant

We spotted this Korean barbeque restaurant when it was new in Oranbo Drive, Pasig. There were always a lot of cars parked out so we thought of trying it out and the rest, as they say, is history. This is our go to place whenever we crave Korean food. We haven't been to the restaurant in while so we decided to visit for dinner. It was a nice surprise that their menu expanded and had a lot of new things like bibimbap and ramyeun dishes which they didn't have before but was a staple at other Korean restaurants. 

Since we haven't been there in a while, we decided to stick with what we knew :)

Stone plates and cup

13 side dishes, 15 if you include the soup and fluffed egg in stone pot

As with most Korean barbeque grill restaurants, side dishes come aplenty and you can order as much as you want. There are so many things that we like here. My favorite is kimchi, sweet anchovies and tofu with sweet onions. 

I'll try to name as much as the side dishes as I can. There's the baby potatoes and peanuts cooked with sugar. There's spinach and sauteed sayote (in one saucer). They also have a salad with banana something dressing that I don't like. The pancake seems like egg with something. It's good. There's those leaves with brown sauce. I can't understand the taste and it was not good. There's also some greens and garlic for you to wrap your grilled meat. There's that green algae-like dish. I kind of like the texture sort of makunat but I can only eat one. Then the one with the carrots one top of the picture seems like fish cake. It was also good, actually.

Then there's the hot soup with tofu, cucumber, onions and some other stuff I cannot identify. This one is hot and spicy. It will make your nose runny. I think the base soup has crab and shellfish taste to it.

I am not sure how you call this other dish below. I call it fluffed egg. It is really good. Yes, that is a whole lot of food. And yes, you can order more than one serving if you want.

All these free side dishes come with 2 orders of meat. We just ordered two. One pork and one beef. I wasn't able to get a picture of the cooked grilled pork. It was tender and was delicious.

Dwaeji Galbi (Php 400)

Masil Bulgogi (Php 490)

We also ordered Japchae (Php 330) for the kid. He loves anything pansit-like. Unfortunately, I was not able to take a picture.  It was alright. It has a good amount of vegetables and not all noodles as some of restaurants have it.

Haemul Pajeon (350)

The pajeon is a Korean pancake with vegetables and seafood. This is the husband's favorite dish in the menu. The sauce is sweet-sour. It gives balance to the whole dish.

Before I forget to mention, the water they provide to drink (at least the first round) has a sweet pandan taste. It is a very pleasant surprise especially on your first visit :)

There were 3 adults at our table. We had to take home some of the pajeon and japchae. We were so very bundat but could not resist to get melona ice drops for dessert...such gluttons!

In case you are not yet convinced by the photos, let me tell you that this restaurant is owned by Koreans and every time we are there (which is a lot of times in the last couple of years-we just love it) there are always other Korean diners at the resto.

Masil Korean Charcoal Grill Restaurant

100 Oranbo Drive, Oranbo, Pasig City

Hours: 11 AM to 11 PM

Summer Cooler: Mio gelati

It's the end of summer but it still gets hot outside and ice cream/gelato never really gets old. At the SM Light Mall, there is a weekend gourmet corner where Mio Gelati shares a spot with other vendors like Custaroonery.

I tried their Avocado ice cream one afternoon. I think I paid Php 89 for one scoop. The avocado ice cream was good, creamy with bits of Avocado. You can really taste the Avocado in there. Yes, it is a little bit expensive for a small cup if you ask me, especially since the stall is beside the grocery where you can get cheaper tubs of ice cream. If you are in to gelato or artisan ice cream, you can go for Mio Gelati.

They have a lot of other different flavors to choose from. 

NAV Modern Thai Cuisine turns 5!

Our favorite Thai restaurant just turned five and is celebrating the week (June 6-12) with huge discounts and freebies. 

Here are some of our favorites.

Fresh spring rolls (Php 195)

You can add chicken and shrimps to the spring rolls and price bumps to Php 250 for 8 pieces. There are two dipping sauces. The brown one is a peanut sauce while the greenish one is a sweet-sour sauce. They are both good. You might want to combine sauces for a different taste.

Crab fat fried rice (Php 250)

The crab fat fried rice is new and is not yet on the menu. The recipes are rotated in the Kapitolyo branch and is written on the chalk board near the stairs. This is good for about 2 persons. You can really taste the crab fat here, so sinful yet so delish!

Penang curry (Php 380)

The Penang curry is NAV's version of beef curry. The meat was tender. It's like kare-kare with a curry twist, really delicious but a little bit salty.

Morning glory (Php 250)

Morning glory is kangkong with tofu and bean sauce. This is hubby's favorite. I tried copying this at home but I used hoisin sauce instead. Nav's version is better than mine, sad to say. Haha! I'll probably try again with bean sauce.

Nav's chicken curry (Php 295)

Fried chicken in house curry. This is the best chicken curry ever! Crunchy and saucy at the same time. By the way, it is great that none of the curry dishes are spicy so that we can share with the boy. If you do like it spicy (like me), there is a bottle of chili flakes provided in each table. Win-win for everybody :)

Pad Thai (Php 295)

And of course, there's the Pad Thai. I say this is one of the best Pad Thai's in Manila. Until recently, it was number 1 but my fans (hubby and ate) say my Pad Thai recipe is better. Haha!

Thai Laksa (Php 350)

The Thai Laksa is my other favorite. It has beef, rice noodles, crispy egg and curry broth. This warms your heart and soul very good for a rainy day.

If you are in Megamall, you can also visit them at the 5th floor SM Mega Food Hall.

NAV Modern Thai Cuisine

Address: 16-C United St, Pasig, 

Metro Manila, Philippines

Phone:+63 2 655 8395

Hours: 10:00 AM - 11:00 PM

https://www.facebook.com/NavModernThai/

Bun Appetit and La Cuisine Francaise at Salcedo Weekend Market

From time to time, we'd visit the Salcedo Weekend Market (Saturdays) to buy my son's favorite garlic sticks. We also buy fresh produce we don't normally get in the grocery stores like kale and herbs. Then, we check out new stalls if any. We've been going to the market since 2004 and have watched it grow to what it is now.

Anyway, so we saw this new stall called Bun Appetit.  They sell 3 types of sandwiches, lobster, crab and shrimp roll. They have a pretty simple menu with these 3 as the stars. They also have crab cocktail claws, grilled corn and garlic noodles.

Bun Appetit Stall

Crab roll (Php 395)

The rolls are pretty expensive for a sandwich if you think about it. But once you get a bite, ohhh...it was heaven and so worth it. I got a crab roll. They definitely did not scrimp on the ingredients. That's probably more than a cup of crab meat on one sandwich. The buttered roll was really good too. I will buy just that bread if they sold it. Needless to say, it was a filling meal that can last you until lunch.

Grilled corn (Php 120)

I also tried the grilled corn. It looks good but it lacked the umami taste of the grilled corn you can buy at Bad Bird or No Reservations. It had lime, cayenne pepper and some cheese. It was a bit of a let down as I was expecting it would be the same level of delicious-ness as the sandwich.

The Tiramisu is not from Bun Apetit but from the La Cuisine Francaise stall. They sell (yes, you guessed right!) French food. This tiramisu slice is about Php 250 a piece. It was a big slice. It would probably be equivalent to 2-3 servings at most restaurants. What I used to like about this tiramisu was that it was indulgent and had a good amount of mascarpone and cream on it. I say "used to" since the cake I bought that Saturday was not the same as I've had in the past. Also, the lady fingers seemed like it was overly-soaked in coffee since the bottom part of the container would be drowned in liquid after a few minutes. Putting the dessert inside the fridge didn't improve the state. 

Though not as good as it was before, I'd say that this tiramisu is still one of the better tasting versions I've tried.

Tiramisu

Side view of the Tiramisu :)

Salcedo Saturday Market
Jaime C. Velasquez Park, Salcedo Village,
Makati, Metro Manila
Saturday 6AM–2:30PM

Kapitolyo Eats: Ninak

I recently went crazy buying restaurant vouchers on group buying sites (so you'll see related posts in the next few weeks). I thought it would be great to try out these restaurants we've never tried before at a discount. You never know if you'd like the food even with good reviews so at least get at a cheaper price. If it is good, then win-win with the discount :) 

One of the restaurants we tried is Ninak in Kapitolyo, Pasig. I bought a Php 1000 value voucher at Php 600. I think I got this deal at DealGrocer.

Ninak offers Asian fusion cuisine and was one of the restaurants featured a few years ago in KrisTV at a Kapitolyo food crawl. They got good comments. I also checked some reviews and they seemed ok.

Here's what we ate.

Spring rolls

I liked the fried spring rolls but it was a little oily and salty. We originally thought we ordered fresh spring rolls but got this instead. We can't remember if the menu said it was fried.

Pad Thai (Php 320)

I've had better Pad thai before. If I'm in the area anyway, I would still  go for Nav's Pad thai noodles any day.

Red Pork Curry (Php 255)

We tried the red pork curry for a change. It was ok. Again, a little salty for my taste and spicy for the kid. It went well with the rice.

Ninak Rice (Php 150)

This is fried rice with fried shallots. It was ok, nothing fancy. Serves 2-3 persons. 

I prefer food at Nav and since they are very near each other, I'd always choose it over Ninak.

Ninak

Address: Unit 101 Seven East Capitol Building, 

E Capitol Dr, Pasig, Metro Manila, 

Phone:+63 2 655 6902

Out of Town Eats in Pampanga: Chef Sau del Rosario's Cafe Fleur

Pampanga had been known for great food and great chefs. One celebrity chef that has recently decided to go back to his roots and set up a restaurant in Angeles city is Chef Sau del Rosario. He calls it Cafe Fleur. 

I had errands with my mom at San Fernando and we decided to drive to Angeles and have late lunch and also try their famous Sans Rival.

Angeles was about 20 minutes drive from San Fernando and we got a bit lost going to Cafe Fleur. Epic fail on map reading for both mom and I. Alam na san nagmana #nosenseofdirection

Finally, we found our way to the restaurant which was in front of Imerex Plaza Hotel, two streets away from the church. It looks like an old two-story white house.

It was a hot day so I ordered cold Chocolate batirol made from Davao cacao beans. It wasn't as creamy as I expected, seemed lacking milk. There were several variations of batirol including one with chili. I should probably try that next time. All choco drinks may served hot or cold.

Choco Batirol (Php 125)

I didn't quite catch the prices of the next items but will update once I get the exact prices. The pork belly on the kare kare was the best crispy pork I've tasted. The skin was crunchy while the meat remained soft and juicy. The bagoong (alamang) compliments the rest of the dish though it can stand on it's own. The peanut sauce was creamy but it would have been nice if the they added more sauce to the serving. The kare kare meal comes with rice but the serving is good for two. 

Crispy Pork Macadamia Kare Kare ( around Php 385)

Mama ordered the Sardine pasta with capers, kamias and basil. It was good. I was interested in the kamias that was supposed to be an ingredient. I was looking for that sour taste or even a hint of it, but was left hanging. Don't get me wrong, it was still a delicious dish. I was just expecting that tangy surprise, is all.

Sardine pasta (around Php 295)

To end our delicious lunch, we ordered the famous Sans Rival. We got Buko Pandan and Jackfruit versions. The foundation of the sans rival was the same for both flavors. The fruit flavors were infused in the icing. The Sans Rival was different from all the rest I've tasted before. It was really nutty good, not so much meringue and has just the right level of sweetness. 

The Jack fruit flavor is a little bit sweeter than the Buko Pandan. While the Buko Pandan was a little refreshing dessert. I will definitely go back and probably take home a whole cake next time.

Buko Pandan Sans Rival (about Php 195)

Jackfruit Sans Rival (about Php 195)

They also sell bottled Spicy choco bagoong (Php 175), Sans Rival Chips (Php 325), Spicy Tinapa, dulong and other preserved Pampanga delicacies.

Two other areas in the house is set to open soon to offer different food. Leh-leh to serve Thai cuisine. Leh-leh means "down or downstairs"in Kapampangan since it is in the first floor. The second floor to be called Ba-bo "up or upstairs" for pastries.

I added the map we used that I got from the FB page of Cafe Fleur as option to Waze.

Source : Cafe Fleur Facebook page

Angeles City Branch
L-463B Miranda St., Brgy. Sto. Rosario, Angeles City
Pampanga, Philippines

Phone Number
(+63 45) 304-1301, (+63 93) 5761-6550

Operating Hours
Monday to Thursday 11:00am - 10:00pm
Friday and Saturday 11:00am - 11:00pm
Sunday 11:00 am - 10:00pm

Summer Coolers, Out of town edition: Halo halo at Kabigting's

Kabigting's Halo halo, the pride of Arayat, Pampanga, was one of our stops when we were in Pampanga. A giant glass of halo-halo display greets visitors to the new restaurant. 

You order in one area of the restaurant and then give the slip of paper at the cashier. Do not forget to ask for a receipt upon paying.

This Halo-halo differs from what you are normally used to since it only has 3 ingredients, beans (halaya), corn and pastillas. What makes the halo halo really special is the pastillas made from Carabao's milk. I have not tried any other halo halo that uses this as an ingredient. In makes the whole lot creamier.

I like the corn and the pastillas, not so much the beans. It made the halo halo rich but I thought it overwhelmed everything else. I still prefer Razon's Halo halo over Kabigting's.

Kabigting's Halo halo (Php 70)

There are a lot of other merienda favorites that you can order like the pansit palabok, club house sandwich and dinuguan at puto, all at a pocket-friendly price. The pansit palabok is good too. Make sure you order this when you visit.

They also sell other delicacies like Macapuno candies and pastillas with yema. We bought Ube pastillas to take home. It was a hit especially with the kids.

Ube Pastillas con Yema (Php 150)

Kabigting's Halo-Halo
Paralaya, Arayat, Pampanga
(0949) 479 9304

Summer Coolers: Rita's Italian Ice and Frozen Custard

Rita's Italian Ice and Frozen Custard is a small ice cream shop at the Greenhills Vmall. It opened about two years back and people went crazy for it. Fast forward today, we finally were able to try this out and we had the whole shop to ourselves.

Based on the pictures I saw in the past, I thought that this was more like an upscale Wendy's frosty. I wasn't really aware of the Italian ice part of it. The attendant told us that the best seller was the Gelati which was frozen custard on top of a cup full of Italian ice. 

Italian ice was like flavored shaved ice or even a sherbet if you may. Honestly, I wasn't much of a fan but tried it anyway.

Counter

 The custard goes out of the machine similar to soft serve ice cream.

Different flavors of Italian ice

Different flavors of Italian ice

I got the large Gelati so I can share with my companions that day. The frozen custard was so good. It was creamier than regular ice cream. Everything inside the cup was Italian ice. I got the Dulce de leche flavor. The lady at the counter said the best seller was mango but I didn't think it would go with the vanilla-chocolate custard twist I got. 

The Dulce de leche ended up too sweet and we were only able to finish half the cup and there were 3 adults and 1 kid sharing. Maybe I should have followed the suggestion to take mango then it would have been more like mango shake. 

If I ever go back, I will get just the frozen custard. Although even then, I feel that it is a little over priced. 

Gelati, large (Php 160)

 The hubby got the Frozen Custard sundae with whipped cream and cherry on top. Classic. I thought it was over the top. I will go just for the plain frozen custard. It was great on it's own.

Frozen custard sundae (Php 195)

Rita's has also opened a shop at the UP Town Center.

Rita's Italian Ice
Greenhills Shopping Center
G/F Greenhills Shopping Center, V-Mall,
Greenhills, San Juan
(02) 650-5859

Summer Cooler: La Lola Churreria Ice cream sandwich

We've been semi-addicted to La Lola Churreria churros for sometime that we can't help buy whenever we pass one or see other people with the pyramid containers at the mall. The only thing that really keeps us are the long queues everywhere (most times we still wait because great things are worth waiting for #hugoat).

There's a newly opened store at Estancia Mall in Kapitolyo so we decided to swing by for dessert. I was so happy the queue was manageable (we were 3rd, in fact). 

They have some new products I didn't really care for so much. There's this bunuelos that looked like doughnuts. What caught my eye was the ice cream sandwich. I love ice cream sandwiches from Klondike, dairy queen to our very own ice cream sandwich sold by the mamang sorbetero. 

Here's the photo of the sandwich on the menu board.

When I got my order, it was served much like an open faced sanwich to my dismay. I really wanted the one on the picture. Oh picture adverts, why do you have to be so false?

Ice cream sanchwich (Php 145)

I tried to press the top churro and sandwich the ice cream as on the picture. Wrong move! The thing just got messier as the churros were hot and just melted the ice cream more quickly. So I caved in and used the sfork the hubby got me. I was in for a surprise on my first bite. It was so so good! Hot and cold at the same time...crispy and soft at the same time. The Davao chocolate ice cream was very nice. I love that La Lola uses local ingredients too. Writing this makes me want to get another one. 

Of course we also got the plain churros with the chocolate dip. We normally get the large dip for 6 pieces of churros because we really want to cover every inch of the churros that we bite in to with hot delicious chocolate.

6 pcs churros + large chocolate dip (Php 110 + Php 100)

The container is handy when you are walking around the mall as it has that small caddy for the chocolate dip too. If you are eating at the shop, be careful when you place the container in the small hole on the table. Better remove the dip first lest it spill over sayang naman. It almost happened to us and it actually happened to the table next to us. 

Take care and enjoy!

La Lola Churreria
LG Estancia Mall, Kapitolyo
Pasig