Monday, April 17, 2017

Lechon Fever at Zubuchon Makati, Philippines

The much awaited arrival of one of the lechon heavyweight contender from Cebu has finally come to Makati. A new lechon place right in our neighborhood? There's no way that we would let this pass and pretty soon, we found ourselves driving to Talisay Street near the Makati City Fire Station.

Welcome to Zubuchon.



Making reservations and coming early are definitely encouraged, especially when you're hoping to have their famous lechon. They do run out of this roasted glistening porcine and the next one takes at least 5 hours to cook. Also the parking lot gets filled up pretty quick.





There's a warehouse kind of feel to it; open-spaced and airy with wooden tables. The pop of red comes from the plates set on the tables.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

#FoodStarsAtConradHotel: Bijin Nabe, S Maison, Conrad Hotel, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City, Philippines

With shabu shabu on our minds, we decided to drive out to Conrad hotel and try the widely known "collagen soup". More than the health and skin benefits of the said soup, we were more intrigued to find out how it tastes like. 




The drive there was fortunately pleasant, roads were somewhat clear and traffic was minimal.


Each table is obligated to order at least 1 serving of their hot pot. Take note that the photo on the menu is 2 portions already. This particular hotpot is loaded up with vegetables of all kinds and the only proteins you get are the 2 pieces of chicken, handmade chicken balls and shrimps. Definitely a far cry from our usual hotpot which we fill up with lots of meat and balls.

After taking our orders, the server comes back and the unique Bijin Nabe experience begins.


They serve up the pot with this jelly-like substance which is actually the Golden Collagen Chicken Soup. This is what it looks like after several minutes of boiling.


The soup changes into liquid form and has a creamy yellowish tinge. We were quite surprised to see that hidden underneath the jelly earlier were the chopped chicken pieces.






Before serving you the soup, they let you taste it in its purest form. They ladle you a teacup-sized shot for tasting. Taking care not to scorch your tongue, tiny sips are highly advised. It is as creamy as it looks, with a large dose of chicken flavor that I like.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Brick Oven Goodness at Gino's Brick Oven Pizza, Serendra, Taguig City, Philippines

It takes a special kind of place to make us go on a carbo-loading binge on pizza and pasta. Gino's Brick Oven Pizza is one of those places.

We've been to their Salcedo branch before so for this visit, we decided to go to their Serendra one. With almost the same interiors but with more comfortable booths and shorter waiting time (since they accept reservations), it was a great start to our evening.

Browsing through their menu is actually a pretense; we already have our favorites. For this particular dinner though since we were a party of four, we left the additional pasta and pizza choices to the other guests.



It was unanimous; everyone was in the mood for Burrata.


Trying to at least keep it healthy, we got the Burrata Caprese (Php 405). A dish, no matter how simple, when served with the freshest ingredients will always be a hit. The luscious cherry tomatoes plus the herb-y flavor of the basil worked really well with the burrata and pesto. This was easily polished off by everyone.


Pictured is their Salted Egg Pasta (Php 225), our go-to pasta staple whenever we're at Gino's. The fettuccine noodles were well-coated with the salted egg mixed with cream and then topped with bacon bits and Parmesan cheese. The salted egg flavor is subtle, it neither overpowers nor underwhelms. I was actually looking for the added saltiness by the bacon but that was sorely missing. To make it a cheesier dish, ask for more Parmesan cheese. 

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Persian Recovery Massage at Aramesh Spa and Wellness, Salcedo Village, Makati City, Philippines

In line with our #RoadToGoodHealth journey (peppered with weekly runs and a healthy diet); I would like to take this time to emphasize the need for a good recovery regimen. Aside from resting and eating the designated post-workout food, I believe getting massages or at least foot spas are a must for any runner. You can choose to have a session after every run or once a month, it's really up to you; but nothing comes close to the feeling of relief after having your tight and overworked muscles kneaded by professionals especially after hitting your PR (personal best).

For this particular massage recovery session, we decided to try the Aramesh Spa & Wellness. Tagged as the 1st one to offer Persian massage in the Philippines and ranking top 1 in TripAdvisor, these were reasons enough for us to try them out.



Notice the Fashion Smile Dental Clinic signage? Yeah, we did too. It is a bit unconventional and unnerving to see a spa place right beside a dental clinic.


But they do their best in alleviating your apprehensions by showcasing their awards and trophies all lined up in a row for all to see.


To fully immerse your sense to the relaxation to come, they serve you this hot delicious tea served in a pot and cup adorned with intricate details. Then they give you a questionnaire wherein you check your choice of either soft or hard massage and which part of the body you wish your therapist concentrates on. This is an efficient way to communicate your massage expectations without the need of speaking later on during the actual session; they want you to fully enjoy the service in tranquil silence.



The Persian theme continued all throughout the place. Lights were dimmed as well to further relax your senses.

Friday, February 10, 2017

Business Set Lunch Offerings at Vask Tapas Room, Bonifacio Global City, Philippines

Lunch menus are all the rage nowadays. Restaurants offer "tasting menus" or set lunches which are smaller servings of their ala carte dishes, so you don't actually get to save money since you get what you pay for (they cut back on the serving sizes) and sometimes even less. We fell into that same trap when we saw Vask Tapas Room offering a 3-course business lunch set. Thinking that perhaps this place would be a bit different and it would be nice to try out a new place; we decided to schedule our lunch here.

At the lobby, we found some interesting sculptures.



Vask is located at the 5th floor of the Clipp Center which is easily accessible by elevator.


We made reservations for 12:30pm but seeing the place almost empty even during lunch time when we arrived, it was apparent that there was no need to. One advantage of that is I get to take better looking pictures of the place.





The walls were covered with interesting fixtures and the ceiling too was eye catching.



Here's a shot of their lunch menu*.