Entries Tagged 'Mandaluyong' ↓

I’ve been to the relatively new Mega Fashion Hall food scene of SM Megamall quite a number of times already. And Alqueria is one of those restaurants that will capture your fancy from its name alone, which means ‘farmhouse‘.

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Undoubtedly, Tim Ho Wan’s maiden opening in Manila a few months ago was a huge success with its long lines persisting even until my recent second visit. My first was part of the SM Mega Food Tour.

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Bottomless Tostada Chips with Skillet Queso (P390)

NomNom Club recently visited Chili’s at The Atrium of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City for the first time.

Here’s a short photoblog, aka ‘photo-chips‘, of what we had in the filling dinner a few days ago.

Chili’s SM Megamall

• Triple Dipper (P495) – a combo of three well-loved appetizers in Chili’s: Chicken Cripsers, Wings Over Buffalo, and Southwestern Eggrolls. The latter is a crispy flour tortilla filled with smoked chicken, black beans, corn, jalapeno jack cheese, red peppers and spinach. Triple Dipper also comes with avocado ranch dressing, among other sauces.
  

  Chili’s Triple Dipper (P495)

• Bottomless Tostada Chips with Skillet Queso (P390) – never tire with your unlimited crispy tostada chips with flavorful house-made salsa and skillet queso which is a combination of chesse dip and soft beef.
• Classic Nachos (P435) – It certainly looks like pizza, but they are nachos! These nachos has melted cheese on top, jalapenos, and beans served with house-made pico de gallo and sour cream. You have the option to add grilled beef for (P195), grilled chicken for (P95), and guacamole for (P55).
  

  Classic Nachos (P435)

• High and Mighty Pie (P380) – Definitely a dessert to share (although I can finish this all by myself)! 🙂  It’s indeed high for a pie and mighty for a cake! It has Heath candy pieces in rich vanilla ice cream piled high on a crushed Oreo cookie crust and drizzled with caramel and hot fudge.
  

  High and Mighty Pie (P380)

  

  Big Mouth Burger Bites

Lastly, we had the Big Mouth Burger Bites. We also had smoothies which are as good as desserts by the name of  Fresh Strawberry (P195) and Molten Chocolate (P195).

Molten Chocolate (left) & Fresh Strawberry (right); both Php 195

The former is a generous serving of vanilla ice cream blended with chunks of strawberries at the bottom. The latter is special chocolate coating blended with vanilla ice cream and milk. It’s creamier than the first.

Chili’s chilisphilippines.com 2F Greenbelt 5, Ayala Makati (729.3022) Northeast Greenhills, San Juan (727.2959) Tomas Morato corner Scout Fernandez, QC (372.5017) Power Plant Rockwell, Makati City (659.65627) SM Megamall (631.0380) Twitter/Instagram: @Chilis_PH

Chili’s SM Megamall

We used to go to Chili’s in Greenhills and the one at the Timog / Tomas Morato Area. Chili’s SM Megamall is surely a welcome addition to their list of branches which is more accessible.

Don’t be surprised when you visit the newly reopened Yoshinoya branch in SM Megamall. It opened a little more than a week ago as the 4th branch in the Philippines to have its interiors remodeled seemingly catering to the younger market segment.

Yoshinoya SM Megamall Reopens

Best known for its Japanese Gyudon Beef Bowl, Yoshinoya went away from the traditional Japanese feel of wood and classic bowls into a more hip orange-themed look.

The upgraded design highlighted the “bull horn” logo shaped as “Y” and invented by Yoshinoya’s Mizuho Matsuda way back since 1899. Did you know that the surrounding rope around the horn represents “Yokozuna” referring to the ranking winner in a Japanese wrestling match? Moreover, the rope is made with 27 rice grains while the whole logo means “best beef bowls.”

Launches and openings, specially for a restaurant, is of course not complete with out served food. So here are some of the Yoshinoya specialties we got to try on their opening day:

Beef Gyudon Rice with Vegetables + Red Iced Tea

Guest Celebrity Ricardo Zepeda graces the Yoshinoya Megamall Opening

Yoshinoya Orange Wall of Bowls

Yoshinoya Maki-Siomai-dessert sampler platter 

As good as the food we had, on the other hand, I missed the more conservative premium Japanese ambiance, but that may be just me.

Freshly-cooked Tempura with sauce

Yoshinoya Megamall had its look since way back in 2003 when it first opened. I guess it was time for a change. And with it, the evolution to adapt to the new market must be what the people behind Yoshinoya have in mind.

As long as the food quality does not change, I know we will continue to love the delicious recipe of  beef and rice Gyudon we have grown up with in Yoshinoya SM Megamall. By October, Yoshinoya Delivery will have the number 288-2888! They have branches in Robinsons Galleria, SM Mall of Asia, SM North Edsa, SM Manila, and Glorietta 1.

KFC Cheezy Bacon Fest

No flowery words needed, cheezified and baconized blogs will do. Or better yet, have some cheezified fries and baconized burgers!

Well, you can even have ’em both with the new KFC Cheezified & Baconized offerings!

Cheezy Bacon Pasta Bowl (P80)

Drizzle cheese and sprinkle bacon to literally anything and it automatically becomes a crowd favorite!

Pessimist? Then try KFC Philippines‘ Cheezy Bacon Fest and give in to your insatiable craving as the KFC Rice Bowl (top photo) and KFC Pasta Bowl are indulged with creamy cheese sauce and helpings of smoky bacon.

It turns into the Cheezy Bacon Rice Bowl (P90) and Cheezy Bacon Pasta Bowl (P80), respectively. Have your KFC’s Original Recipe Chicken Fillet covered with Cheese Sauce and Bacon bits on top.

Moreover, KFC snacks such as the Twister (P85), Chik’n Fillet, Bucket of Fries and the Zinger were also delightfully cheezified and baconized.

Cheezy Bacon Zinger (P105) – KFC’s Original Zinger with Sliced Cheese and Bacon Strips

Cheezy Bacon Chik’n Fillet (P50) – Original Recipe Chicken Fillet sandwich with Cheese Sauce and Bacon Bits

Cheezy Bacon Bucket of Fries (P75)

NomNom Club‘s favorite though is the Cheezy Bacon Bucket of Fries where the signature KFC Fries is loaded with Cheese Sauce and Bacon Bits for P75. I bet you’ll surely enjoy this.

My second favorite is how the classic mashed potato was made more enjoyable with cheese sauce and bacon bits as toppings. The Cheezy Bacon Mashed Potato costs P29 for the regular size and P49 for the large one.

Cheezy Bacon Mashed Potato

Cheezify & Baconize Anything

You can actually go beyond the above-mentioned KFC meals and snacks and go about cheezifying and baconizing anything on the KFC menu according to your fancy for an additional P30.

As you can see, I tried adding some cheese and bacon bits to my favorite blueberry krushers (I called it Blue Bacon)! It wasn’t actually my best idea but hey, I am adventurous enough to try something wild! YOLO! 😛

Cheezified & Baconized Blueberry Krushers

You can come up with your own crazy combinations as well! Check KFC on Twitter/Facebook @KFCPhilippines / www.facebook.com/kfcphilippines for some crafty ideas.

Which KFC snack or meal, do you think would be possible to cheezify or baconize? 🙂

26th Bistro CBT

More commonly known as ‘CBTL’, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf turns 50 this 2013 with an extraordinary celebration. Going beyond being the pioneer of the original ice blended drinks and the first to offer tea lattes, CBTL recently unveiled its latest unique dining concept by the name “26th St. Bistro by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf”.

Dipping its fingers into the full-service restaurant industry, CBTL intends to deliver ‘#everydayextraordinary’ dining experiences to its customers through its everyday meals that are of high quality while maintaining affordable prices.

Salmon Fishcake

The #EverydayExtraordinary Dinner

This is exactly what we experienced last week when NomNom Club was invited together with a long table full of food writers and bloggers. We got to try taste-sized servings of some of the best of what their menu has to offer, from soup to dessert.

Salmon Fishcakes with Greens

We started with a medium-sized salad plate of Salmon Fishcakes with Greens (P345). The basic mixed greens was complemented well with the balsamic vinaigrette while the pan-fried Norwegian salmon cakes with smoked paprika aioli beside it was cooked just right.

I started the meal right as it turned out later on that this was my favorite dish of the night.

Salmon Fishcakes with Greens

Wild Mushroom Soup

The appetizer was followed by a good serving of Wild Mushroom soup (P225). I’m not so much a fan of mushroom soups but this one was good. It’s flavorful concoction was due to the fact that it was a combination of button, portobello, and shiitake mushrooms. The latter dominated the taste.

Wild Mushroom Soup

Tiger Prawn & Shiitake Mushroom Linguine

The entrees was started by the Tiger Prawn & Shiitake Mushroom Linguine (P395) which is a white sauce-based linguine pasta served with seared tiger prawns and shiitake mushrooms. I love prawns and needless to say, the dish was gone in a dash.

Hanging Tender Steak with Potato Gratin & Marsala

From light to heavy, the second dish – Hanging Tender Steak with Potato Gratin & Marsala (P475) – will fill your craving for meat as the pan-roasted steak was fork-tender. Completing the dish was potato gratin and marsala sauce on the side.

Hanging Tender Steak with Potato Gratin & Marsala

Chocolate Lava a la Mode

Chocolate Lava a la Mode

With the series of good food, my expectations for my well-anticipated dessert/s was high. Sadly, similar to another food blogger across the table, it fell short as we expected the Chocolate Lava a la Mode (P235) to be more moist with some actual ‘chocolate lava’ at the center.

Nonetheless, the chocolate cake was generally ‘ok,’ The others had the apple crumble a la mode.

Breakfast. Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks

The 26th St. Bistro by The CBTL caters to the whole day foodie from breakfast to lunch and dinner, including in between snacks and coffee. The restaurant is brimming with yuppies and executives from surrounding buildings and offices around Bonifacio Global City (BGC).

Pepper being added to the Tiger Prawn & Shiitake Mushroom Linguine

For breakfast, I’d like to try the following soon: Toblerone Pancakes with Salted Caramel and Peach Stuffed French Toast, savory Steak & Eggs and Smoked Salmon Florentine, and the Tapsilog-inspired Filipino breakfast served with U.S. Angus Beef Tapa and Baked Pesto Tomato.

The lunch and dinner menu has a selection of light and heavy salads, soups, pastas and entrees including Spinach and Blue Cheese Farfalle, Slow Roasted Braised Beef Short Ribs, and Lamb Chops with Ratatouille and Rosemary Marble Potatoes.

They also have an expanded range of sandwiches including the vegetarian option Portobello Mushroom Ciabatta.

For desserts, I look forward to trying the Pannacotta Sampler paired with a cup of hot African Sunrise tea, the decadent Turtle Pie, Apple Crumble ala mode, and any of the Chicago–Blueberry–Toblerone–Triple Decker family of cheesecakes in my next visit.

Of course they also serve the signature CBTL coffee and tea beverages plus imported wines and beers.

The 26th St. Bistro distinguishes itself from the usual Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf branches with its larger and more comfortable dining area, as expected from a full-service restaurant. The ambiance is also upscale while maintaining the relaxed atmosphere.

#EverydayExtraordinary @ 26th St. Bistro by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

26th St. Bistro by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
26th St. corner 5th Avenue
Bonifacio Global City
Twitter/Instagram: @CBTLph

Everyday Extraordinary Colors of the CBTL

Join their tagline and share your #everydayextraordinary experience in Facebook, Twitter or Instagram whenever you visit the 26th Street Bistro. They also have a branch for those in the Ortigas business district at the East Wing, 5th Level of the Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

It’s a journey from East to West as Starbucks Philippines introduces a cool twist to their Green Tea and Dark Mocha Frappuccino – they infused it with White Chocolate Pudding!

Starbucks Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino

Green Tea & Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Starbucks Frappuccino

Starting today, all Starbucks Philippines store will be offering their newest pair of blended beverage called Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Starbucks Frappuccino and the Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Starbucks Frappuccino.

Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Starbucks Frappuccino

I love the added soft and chewy texture of the white chocolaty pudding to the Green Tea Frappuccino which lends it an extra decadent taste to the oriental take of the Green Tea Frap.

Topped with whipped cream, a Tall serving is at P 180 while the Grande is at ₱190. Venti comes at P200. I say get the Venti with a small addition to maximize the enjoyment,

Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Starbucks Frappuccino

At first thought, the White Chocolate Pudding Dark Mocha Frap would sound like an overdose of chocolate. Given the dark mocha frap, adding more chocolate, albeit white, seem to be overdoing it.

Starbucks Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino

But hold that judgement and test it to the taste. I was not disappointed as the beverage came out to be a good combination as well. If you think about it, the white chocolate pudding is soft and does not provide an overwhelming white chocolate taste hence complementing the dark mocha in a good way.

Chocolate lovers would find the combination of the dark chocolate and smooth white chocolate pudding to satisfy their chocolate cravings. It is also combined with Starbucks roast coffee, dark cocoa, chocolate chips, and milk blended with ice and topped with whipped cream and chocolate powder.

P10 more than the Green Tea counterpart, the Dark Mocha variant costs : Tall – P190, Grande- ₱200, Venti – ₱210)

Newest Starbucks Frappuccinos with White Chocolate Pudding

Verdict:

As much as the Dark Mocha is good, I’m settling for my good ‘ol refreshing Green Tea frap enhanced by the goodness of my white chocolate pudding.

Try it now as it is only available from today until September 9, 2013.

Buy One, Get One

Check out Starbucks Philipines’ Facebook App: SNAP OF THE WEEK from today until August 8, 2013 (my birthday) where fans will be asked to upload photos based on a weekly theme via the Facebook application.

Chosen photos will be winners of various Starbucks items and merchandise.

Starbucks Philipines is also now on Instagram! Check them out at @OfficialStarbucksPH. I’m at @JonelUy. 🙂

But wait, there’s more! 🙂

Starbucks Dark Mocha and Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding Frappuccino Blended Beverages is offered today on Buy One, Get One promo only from 2pm to 5pm in any Starbucks store in the philippines!

New Starbucks Frappuccino: Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding and Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding

So which one is your favorite Starbucks Frappuccino – the Green Tea White Chocolate Pudding or the Dark Mocha White Chocolate Pudding?

This is for the hardworking men and women of today. Regardless from which industry you come from, you deserve to reward yourself from time. This Friday and  weekend is a good start as the salary also just came in. 🙂 Reward yourself with Jollibee’s new Ultimate Burger Steak!

Jollibee Chicken Joy, et al.

The Ultimate Burger Steak Meal

From the same food chain who gave you the Chicken Joy, Breakfast Joys, the 39ers, and the more recent Grilled Pork Tenders, Jollibee offers something new for the hefty foodies – the Ultimate Burger Steak Meal.

Without having to wait for 5 to 10 minutes anymore, Jollibee supersized their burger steak meal into a pan-grilled 1/3 lb. CHAMP patty, smothered with mushroom gravy, mushroom slices, and a dash of toasted garlic on top. A bed of crunchy french fries supports the ultimate patty from below while a  a sunny-side-up egg rests on a serving of rice on the side.

For the Ultimate Appetite! #TheUltimateMeal

Priced at P109 for solo and P119 with drink, I say this is one power-filling meal for the demanding appetite.

NomNom Verdict

Together with a group of foodie bloggers, we got to take first dibs of this new offering in an intimate gathering at their Research and Development Center in Ortigas.

It was a filling treat of 100% Pure beef but it didn’t stop me from being among those who finished the whole serving in just a few minutes (including photo-taking, instagraming, twitting with #TheUltimateMeal, and Facebook-ing; have you seen the photos of Jollibee Singapore circulating around Facebook yesterday? They said it’s located at the 4F of the Lucky Plaza. 🙂 ).

Back to the ultimate story, it’s “The Champ” meets “The Burger Steak” kind of thing and consuming them altogether. 🙂 I was quite hungry then but I held half the rice; the rest disappeared in an instant, nonetheless.

I would also like to share the same sentiment of another food blogger last night – Melo from Pinoy Cravings, that the combination of the french fries and the mushroom gravy (which spills over to the fries) made an interesting combination you might also want to try.

Jollibee Ultimate Burger Steak: 1/3 lb. CHAMP patty + mushroom gravy + mushroom slices + toasted garlic+ french fries + egg.

Available all day, come and celebrate with Jollibee the ultimate 35th year anniversary with the Ultimate Burger Steak Meal to satisfy your ultimate cravings! 🙂