Entries Tagged 'Restaurants' ↓

I gave in to Spanky’s prodding for some comfort food at a newly opened foodie spot in Jupiter street in Makati – Gino’s Eats and Beats – and pulled along 5 more friends.

Gino’s is conveniently located a stone’s throw away from Fiamma and immediately beside The Distillery. The place is not that big but cozy and has a modern feel. It was no surprise that the interiors of this concept restaurant was designed by Team Manila.

Mushroom & Artichoke Spread

And so we grabbed the green and stylish menu and placed some orders. 15 minutes later, the dishes started to come one by one. I think we ordered a little too much, even for a group of 7. It’s good we were still awaiting for a couple of more friends – Jane and her Bubba. 🙂

The resto-bar-type restaurant has a TV monitor which showcased the menu food photos. This certainly was a big factor in our ordering pattern. 🙂

Gino's Dumplings

But looks can be tricky, the taste buds should decide.

First on the spotlight is the Greatest Cheese Quesadillas (P305 – Top Photo). Beef Quesadillas are one of my favorite pica-picas, adding loads of cheese on top just gives it more umph!

Eggs Benedict

This was followed by more appetizers namely Mushroom and Artichoke Spread (P160), Gino’s Dumplings (P195), a pair of Eggs Benedict (P185), and Grilled Sausage with Cheese Sauce (P220). This one’s on cheese overload, nomnomnom!

Then here comes a fiesta of platters initiated by the Fried Platter (P430) with more cheesy combinations of cheese logs, baby squid poppers, and Risotto mashed potato balls served with roasted bell pepper sauce and aioli.

Grilled Sausage with Cheese Ssauce

Fried Platter: Cheese Logs, Baby Squid Poppers, Risotto Mashed Potato Balls served with roasted bell pepper sauce and aioli

Grilled Sticks Platter: 12 sticks of Pork Asian BBQ, Chicken Barbeque in peanut sauce, Pork Pinoy BBQ, and Curry Pork BBQ

The Grilled Sticks Platter (P430) followed consisting of 12 sticks of Pork Asian BBQ, Chicken Barbeque in peanut sauce, Pork Pinoy BBQ, and Curry Pork BBQ

The spicy-lovers dared for a Wings Platter (P405) with 9 pcs of Buffalo wings, Hoisin Honeys and Honey Mustard and carrot sticks.I’m not too sure if it should be spicy…because it’s not. 🙂

Wings Platter: 9 pcs of Buffalo wings, Hoisin Honeys and Honey Mustard and Carrot Sticks

By this time, we were feeling loaded but temptation keeps coming in.

A luscious-looking burger comes into the scene called Greatest Longganisa Burger (P185). It’s actually named Greatest Longga Burger. Sans 100% pure beef, a longganisa burger is almost always better because the Filipino longgnisa is juicier in nature than regular beef. It’s as juicy and flavorful as it is oily and sinful; again with cheese on top. Woah!

Greatest Longga Burger

Jane and Chris finally arrives to the rescue. They didn’t have to order anything as the Grilled Chicken with Mushroom Sauce (P245), the scrumptious Grilled Shrimp Scampi (P270), Angus Belly Salpicao (P270), and Stir Fried Pork and Tofu (P220) also came after them. 🙂

Grilled Chicken with Mushroom Sauce, Angus Belly Salpicao, and Stir Fried Pork and Tofu

Grilled Shrimp Scampi

I had to surrender to the last three dishes and passed on Marsala Pork Chop (P210), Greatest Adobo Flakes (P185), and Beef Garlic Tender Tips.

Marsala Pork Chop, Greatest Adobo Flakes, and Beef Garlic Tender Tips

Nonetheless for NomNom, there’s always room for desserts! 🙂

Gino’s Desserts: Greatest Panna Cotta (P150), Greatest French Toast (P150), Greatest Mango Jubilee(P150), and Gino’s Greatest Vanilla Sundae(P125).

They were all good, creamy, sweet, and sinfully delicious!

Gino's Desserts: Greatests - Panna Cotta, French Toast, & Mango Jubilee

Gino's Greatest Vanilla Sundae

While only Gino’s Dumplings need improvement for my taste, my top three highly recommend ones are the Greatest Cheese Quesadillas, Grilled Sausage with Cheese Sauce, Eggs-Benedict, and Greatest Longganisa Burger. Ok man, they’re four! – so what? 🙂

Interestingly, dinner service ‘eats‘ time is from 6 to 10pm as Gino’s turn into ‘beats‘ with house and hiphop music 10pm onwards. Moreover, you can cross order wines and liquores from The Distillery vis-a-vis order Gino’s from The Distillery. 🙂

By the way, Gino’s is also open for lunch with set meals at only P100 for the Makati office crowd. It opens Mondays-Fridays 11am–3pm. They open again at 6pm for dinner onwards. And of course, a blogger’s best friend – free Wi-Fi! 🙂 Take note however, that their menu is still in the adoption phase and some dishes might change from the menu.

They’re located at Unit A, Ground Level, Valdelcon Building, 20 Jupiter Street, Makati. (632) 519 1272 / (63) 917 885 6969 .

Gino's Eats & Beats

I will end this article with something for you to think about: why do you think most of the menu items have the “Greatest” before ’em? 🙂

Just look at the pictures and tell me you will not try Gino’s Eats and Beats in Jupiter for at least once in your life. Tell me!

The Philippines will join Japan as the second country in Asia to offer Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew starting September 15, 2010.  Starbucks Japan launched Starbucks VIA last April and has sold more than 10 million sticks since then.

So What Is Starbucks VIA Ready Brew?

Is it just another instant coffee, perhaps a little more classier?

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew - Columbia Variety

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew is said to be made from high-quality 100% natural roasted arabica beans in instant and microground form.

Since it is yet to be available, we can only guess the actual taste. But based on the description, Starbucks VIA Ready Brew sets a high expectation of the product being made with “100 percent natural roasted arabica coffee.” We know for a fact that arabica coffee holds much flavor than most other specie of coffee beans.

The Starbucks VIA Ready Brew varieties that will be available in all Starbucks Philippines coffee shops are Colombia, Italian Roast and Decaffeinated Italian Roast.

“Other instant coffees taste flat and lifeless. Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew is different – it’s full-bodied and flavorful, just like the Starbucks® coffee you know and love… We microgrind the coffee in a way that preserves all of their essential oils and flavor.” – starbucks.com

How To Prepare Your Starbucks Instant Coffee (Photo from Starbucks.com)

On Market Opportunities

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew - Italian Roast Variety

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) announced that the Philippines will be the fourth market to offer Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew.

“We know there is a significant opportunity in the Philippines marketplace for Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew since nearly 100 percent of retail coffee sales come from instant coffee*,” said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and ceo, Starbucks Coffee Company.  “We know rapid innovation for Starbucks VIA® and creating opportunities to further increase awareness and trial of Starbucks VIA® broadens our overall customer base both in the U.S. and in international markets.”

Just like a fresh-brewed cup of Starbucks® coffee, Starbucks VIA® is made with a proprietary, U.S. patent-pending technology to preserve the coffee’s flavor. We can expect more varieties in the future as Starbucks pursue innovation around the Starbucks VIA® platform.

Judgement

Surely, Starbucks Coffee fans and patrons in the Philippines will flock Starbucks coffee stores on September 15 in anticipation of the arrival of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew. What do you think? Will Colombia, Italian Roast or the Decaffeinated Italian Roast variety capture the Filipino Starbucks lover’s taste? 🙂

Michelle Pador of Greenwich

Bigatin returns! Fresh from celebrating, International Friendship Day last month, Greenwich introduces their 2 newest Overloaded Bigatin Pizzas—the Hungarian Sausage & Bacon Overload and Shrimp & Garlic Overload.

And of course, it was celebrated with the Greenwich barkada — Mika Lagdameo, Tim Yap and, John Lloyd Cruz. Smart Gilas players and Greenwich barkada Chris Tiu, Dylan Ababou, JR Cawaling and JV Casio were out of the country then.

Greenwich Bigatin Barkada: Mika Lagdameo, Tim Yap, and John Lloyd Cruz

Of the two, it’s the Hungarian Sausage & Bacon Overload which caught my fancy. The bigatin overload pizza has piled on twice the usual amount of Hungarian sausage and crispy bacon strips topped with 100% mozzarella cheese. Haungarian sausage and bacon – there’s no further explanation needed. 🙂

Hungarian Sausage & Bacon Overload Pizza

For the shrimp lover, the Shrimp & Garlic Overload is for you. It has a generous servings 1/3 pound of grilled shrimp, roasted garlic, onions and green bell peppers — atop a bed of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses.  Everyone enjoyed the delicious new pizza flavors in 18-inch bigatin size.

Shrimp & Garlic Overload Pizza

“Greenwich has always been about friends and good food. We continue to offer them delicious new ways to bond with their bigatin friends with our 2 new equally bigatin pizzas” shared Luis Velasco, Greenwich marketing director. “We are also very happy to have bigatin friends in the media, John Lloyd Cruz, Tim Yap and the Greenwich barkada, who made time to attend our exclusive bigatin party today.”

Greenwich Bigatin Crew / Staff

No! I'm the one on the right!

Nomnomnom…can’t wait to have another round of Hungarian Sausage & Bacon Overload pizza! Enjoy Greenwich’s bigatin pizzas with your bigatin friends! Visit the nearest Greenwich Pizza store or call 5-55-55 for delivery.

I celebrated my personal birthday a few weeks ago and a Jollibee cake made by Red Ribbon found its way into our home.:)

It was a big fondant chocolate cake with a big and cheerful printed Jollibee mascot on top. A fitting cake for a day of merriment.

Jollibee Birthday Cake by Red Ribbon

Chef Laudico

However, I was further surprised when I came home to our QC house last Sunday (two days ago) and found a Chef Laudico brownies box in our refrigerator. It was accompanied by a birthday greeting card saying:

“Happy Birthday. Hope you’ll enjoy this box of brownies especially and exclusively prepared by Chef Jackie Laudico…“

Wow, that sounds special, albeit belatedly.:)

I opened the box and found a set of ten elongated brownies. Something different from the usual square ones we see. And indeed, the taste was exquisitely premium. More than just the average brownie, it was a luscious mixture of the brownie; plus the roasted nuts caramelized cashew on top. I can’t exactly distinguish what kind of nut but it’s most probably cashew.

Chef Laudico Brownies - the Best!

It was so good. This is one of the best brownies I’ve had. I think this due to the good chocolate mixture highlighted by the crunchy and premium-tasting roasted walnuts caramelized cashew on top. Yum!

Birthday Card

I searched the Net including Chef Laudico website (http://www.cheflaudico.com.ph/) but didn’t find the brownies, not even its name.

And lastly, the card indicated:

“We have made a donation under your name to the Virlanie Foundation and the Autism Society of the Philippines.”

NomNom Club

What a warm feeling of goodwill done in your behalf for your birthday. Thank you GeiserMaclang, Stratworks, and Jollibee, you have made my birthday this year more special.

Thai cuisine gets highlighted as Marriott Hotel Manila brings the Flavors of Thailand to Manila.

Marriott Cafe features one of the South East Asia’s favorite cuisines – the Thai food – in partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Embassy of Thailand and Thai Airways. From August 1 to 31, satisfy your taste buds with a delicious showcase of authentic Thai dishes from Thai chef Thanathorn Krobsuay.

Chef Krobsuay, as Marriott’s official Thai food ambassador, shares his sophisticated style and expertise in Thai cooking flown all the way from the JW Marriott Bangkok.

Marriott Cafe

My experience of the Thai dinner buffet at the Marriott started with the famous Tom Yam Goong soup. It’s a spicy prawn soup with lemongrass and galangal. Although there are a number of variants of this soup including their color which is usually red, this one is white.:) It was a good prep-up appetizer.

Next in line was the Som Tum, a spicy green papaya salad. This time, it meant the word ‘spicy‘ in its flavor. 🙂

Other dishes I tried out were Thod Mun Pla, Spicy Wok Fried Seafood, and Larb Gai. Thod Mun Pla are Thai fish cakes (marinated and fried) with pickled cucumber, green beans and sweet and sour sauce while Larb Gai is a minced chicken salad with mint and ground rice plus lime juice and fish sauce.

As common as it is in Thai buffets, I give my thumbs up that night goes to the Pad Thai. I found the stir fried noodle and seafood perfectly cooked and taste that’s not too overpowering.

Pad Thais are considered their national dish which consists of fried noodles, eggs, been sprouts, shrimp, chicken, and tofu combined with other oriental ingredients including tamarind juice, hot chili, and fish sauce.

Ending the buffet was a Kanom Thai Ruam (selections of Thai royal desserts) which are usually made of coconut milk based or sweet sticky rice. Thai desserts are generally not as sweet as those from the Philippines which we are accustomed too. So if you are one of the latter I have mentioned, you might consider Thai desserts a little lacking.

By the way, I also got to try a Thai pizza which was conservative with the toppings. Interestingly, it had a basil leaf on top of each slice.

Too bad i lost all my photos in this food escapade. The photos here are care of Marriott Manila. Top photo by Alex Dizon.

Promotion

Moreover, diners who avail of the Flavors of Thailand buffet also get a chance to win a pair of round trip tickets to Thailand courtesy of the Thai Airways and Tourism Authority of Thailand. The prize trip includes a three-night stay with breakfast at the Rennaisance Koh Samui Resort and Spa Thailand.

Flavors of Thailand Buffet

Flavors of Thailand

The Flavors of Thailand buffet is available during lunch and dinner at P1,350 nett for adults and P675 nett for children.

Sunday Brunch is a little more expensive at P1,650. Children below 12 get in for half the price and children below 6 get in for free!

Marriott Café is located at the Ground Floor of Marriott Hotel Manila in Newport City, Pasay. For information and reservations, call (632)988-9999 or visit www.marriott.com/mnlap.

Greenwich Pasta Supreme dlites

Greenwich Pizza recently released the latest addition to their Pasta Supreme line – the Pasta Supreme DLite!

Boasting of 70% less fat* by using healthy ingredients like olive oil and spinach noodles, Greenwich had the girl’s predisposition to be figure-conscious in mind when they came up with the Pasta Supreme dlite variants Tuna Tomato and Shrimp Aglio Olio.

*The fat comparison is versus the saturated fat from other existing Greenwich pasta.

The Tuna Tomato is a mix of chunky tuna, black olives, tomato, and as mentioned – the spinach noodles. Aside from the ingredients, it’s the spicy kick which sets it apart. (Photo Above)

Greenwich Shrimp Aglio Olio

The Shrimp Aglio Olio is the ‘sosyal‘ one with shrimps, olive oil, and chopped mushroom which I initially mistook for ground beef (lol). 🙂

Thsi is not me, ok? 🙂

On the side note, I tried these last month at the same time when Greenwich released the Limited Edition Level Up Pinoy Shirts.

For those who want it on the lips but not on the hips, try the new Greenwich Pasta Supreme DLites in selected fast casual stores like Greenwich Megamall.

Ok, actually, it was an afternoon snack with some friends. But I really do hope it was breakfast then at Kopi Roti because French toasts are so my morning favorite. 🙂

Kopi Bun with Kaya Spread Filling

At the Greenbelt 3 branch, we tried their Hainanese style ‘Kopi‘ (coffee) with sweet milk at P50 and signature Kopi Bun (P40) which is a soft bread with coffee flavored crust and sweet buttery filling.

Kaya Toast

We also had 2 “Roti” French toast (P55), “Roti” Kaya toast (P45), some Kaya puffs, soft boiled eggs (P30), and a Milo Dinosaur beverage. The first two were served with the ‘secret‘ Kaya spread and butter while the third is filled with the former.

For that day however, my kaya toast was so ordinary, and I don’t know why; so I’m raving only about the roti French toasts and my Milo Dinosaur.

As long as it’s slightly toasted and fresh hot, my French toasts never fail me. It’s one of those soft-and-chewy inside but slightly-toasty on the outside comfort food. Just remember to consume them immediately upon serving so it’s still fresh hot.

Kopi Roti French Toast with Kaya spread and butter

Milo Dinosaur

The Milo Dinosaur is a cold concoction with the Milo branded chocolate malt powdered drink. If you love Milo from your childhood years, you’ll be getting flashbacks with its large serving. 🙂

Soft Boiled Eggs

From the menu board, I recommend Set A which is composed of 2 “Roti” French toast (for your egg and carbohydrates), soft boiled eggs (for your protein needs), and Kopi for your caffeine kick (almost perfect if it could be changed to a Milo Dinosaur). It’s a complete breakfast at P125 which saves you P10 from ordering them separately.

Kaya Puffs with Special Kaya Spread Filling

Non-incidentally, today is also Kopi Roti’s 5th year anniversary in the Philippines! Being a Singaporean franchise, the raw ingredients supplying their 18 branches here are sourced directly from Singapore.

In light of this, avail of their special treat from Aug 4-8, 2010 : Kopi Roti offers you the “5 + 1 anniversary promo“. …Buy 5 Kopi Roti products, Get 1, free.*

Congratulations Kopi Roti! More Kopi Buns and French toasts for breakfast! Woot! 🙂

Positioning itself as a Filipino cafe in a sea of coffee shops in the metro, Figaro Coffee Company has adopted itself to something unusually found in a typical coffee shop setup: a Filipino Breakfast Meal.

Corned Beef Breakfast

Prepared by Chef Carl Marxist Tan, I’ve all tried Figaro‘s three breakfast meals namely: Pork Longganisa, Classic Corned Beef, and Gourmet Crispy Tuyo (Dried Fish).

I am torn between the pork longganisa and corned beef, they are both good. Perhaps, I’ll just leave that for you to decide.

If you have the Filipino sweet tooth and doesn’t mind the extra fat, go for the homemade Pork Longganisa. You’ll love it and ask for more.

Figaro Pork Longganisa

If you decide to get more serious and prefer it a little salty in the morning, the corned beef sauteed in onion breakfast is for you.

However, I would say that the Crispy Tuyo needs a little improvement in the preparation. Given that it has the “crispy” on the meal title, it somehow fell short of that expectation. Other than that, the tuyo flakes was ok.

Figaro Crispy Tuyo (Dried Fish)

All three sets priced at P175 come with a fried farm sunny side up egg and tomato-cucumber salsa on the side. It is also paired with an 8 oz. Figaro brewed coffee.

New Desserts

Chocolate Eclair Dessert (P65)

Figaro's Ambrosia (food for the gods - P70)

Figaro also adds 2 new desserts to its sweet line: the Chocolate Eclair and Ambrosia.

Eclairs are long custard-filled pastries. This one is covered with chocolate on top. I recommend Ambrosia, also known as Food for the gods.

And yes, you can order the Figaro All Day Breakfast “all day.” 🙂

Figaro is a 100% Filipino owned coffee company and sources its coffee beans locally to support the industry.