Mother’s Day 2023 at Antonio’s PGA Cars, Metro Manila, Philippines

 This is a post about Mother’s Day so please, expect a bit of cheesiness.

 I remember the times when my siblings & I planned how to best show our mom, at least once every year, that we appreciate her. Fast forward to today wherein I am a mom myself and I see the need for the fuss. I see why “being seen” is important. It’s a welcomed high when days starts to feel endless. This realization coming from being a mom for just 6 years; I can’t imagine the feeling when it begins hitting the 2-digit mark.

For my mom’s Mother’s Day, my husband & I decided to bring her to Antonio’s PGA Cars. 

Up the stairs we go!

 

  

For our party of 5 (yes, we brought the kids with us), we were seated in a booth nearest to the bar. The kids were becoming a bit restless and the bread came out just in time. 

We wanted my mom to experience the tableside serving of Roast Ribeye so it was unanimously decided that all 3 of us would be getting the Trolley Lunch Set Menu (Php 3,100/pax). 

Steak Double Date at Cowrie Grill by Manila Hotel, Greenhills, San Juan, Philippines

Our trips to Greenhills are mainly composed of eating Chinese cuisine or the eat-all-you-can Teppanyaki. Imagine our delight when we spotted this steak haven just at the other side of the building.

  

We've already eaten at Manila Hotel but this is my first time to try Cowrie Grill. Hubby's been raving about this place so for tonight, we were having a date night; a double date to be exact.

Was lucky enough to have the restaurant to ourselves while waiting so I was able to take a lot of pictures. Loved the opulence of the place; the interiors manages to transport you inside a luxurious hotel restaurant, making you forget that you're actually in Greenhills. 

This is my favorite spot. 

This lovely alcove with booth looked really romantic. The curtains are drawn so I can get a better picture but you can always have them closed for privacy. 

 

 They offer you a guide for your preferred degree of steak doneness. Nice to see that they take their meats seriously.

While waiting, they serve a basket of dinner rolls with dollops of swirly butter. The ones that arrived on our table were a bit cold but they'll gladly heat up the rolls for you.

Ice Cream Fix at Mad Mark's Creamery & Good Eats, Glorietta 5 Makati Philippines

Glorietta 5 has now become one of our new food stops. Housing restaurants such as Yabu, Buffalo Wings 'N Things and Giligan's; a stroll here always ends with us going home with happy tummies ;) It came as no surprise that tonight another one of Glorietta 5's food haunts made our list.

Say hello to Mad Mark's Creamery.  

Staff had a bit of an attitude, which was a bad start to any food trip. Normally we would've just walked out at this point but we were in a good mood and let it slide nalang. Bumawi naman when they gamely posed for the camera.

Moving on...

You walk up the counter and order from their clipboard menu.
We were eyeing Mad Mark's Grill Works which had 3 easy steps.

STEP ONE (Choose your meat & doneness): Got their Regular Steak which was 200g USDA Steak with 2 sides. For the Steak Doneness, we opted to have it Medium Well.  Also got their Creole Grilled Chicken which was basically grilled chicken with 2 sides.

STEP TWO (Pick a Sauce): Went with the staff's recommendation and got Bootstrap Steak Sauce for our steak and Roasted Nut Sauce for the chicken.

STEP THREE (Choose your side dishes): It was Smashed Potatoes all the way! ;)

We knew to save room for dessert. Heard about their Homemade Ice Cream & we wanted to be sure to try them out.

 ** Food-Stars Tip: Ask for a free taste of their ice cream so you can pick your favorite. **

They give you this wooden plank with a number printed on as you wait for them to serve your order. We got lucky number 4 for the night.

Bright & Early at Torch, Greenhills San Juan

Early eating on a Sunday morning. We forgo sleeping in for a chance to try out the much hyped Torch breakfast omelette. One good thing about driving early? No traffic. It only took us 12 mins of driving from Makati to Greenhills and that's including parking already.

For our lunch review, click here.

Torch, Connecticut Greenhills

Was surprised to see lots of cars parked outside. Good thing we made reservations the night before. But when we entered, there were only 3 groups of people eating, that's us included. I wonder where all those people were...

From 7:30-10:30am, everything on their breakfast menu included unlimited coffee. For non-coffee drinkers, you can have it changed into iced tea instead. Likewise those dishes with bread can be changed into rice instead.

Burnt Out Brunch at Dillinger's, Greenbelt 3 Makati

Dillinger's on a hot Saturday afternoon seemed like a good idea... until we had to walk dozens of steps with the sun on our backs. Hay... The walkway was scorching hot, especially at 2pm in the afternoon. Was having a major headache even before we reached the place. :( Note to self: Lunch may be a better idea.

Dillinger's, Greenbelt 3

The place looked promising. The facade was like an Old English pub complete with the vintage lamps on the brick-like walls. 

Bar

Just like in Bugsy's, Dillinger's also had a bar for those who just want to relax & unwind with a drink or two. Several alcoholic liqueurs were also on display but it was too early for those. Besides, we were here for the food. :)