My Birthday Lunch 2016 at Foo'd by Davide Oldani, Shangrila The Fort, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines

The main reason why Foo'd by Davide Oldani came into our sights was because they offer a 3-course meal by a chef, that owns a Michelin-starred restaurant, at only Php 800*.  Yes, that's an appetizer, main course & dessert. Hubby was game to try and timely too since it was my birthday. 

Located at the outside part of Shangrila The Fort, it takes a bit of walking but once you see Toby's Estate and Pink's Hotdogs, then you're on the right track.  From the outside, the huge black doors looked uninviting but Davide's smiling face (printed on a standee) welcomes you in. We made reservations 2 days before to avoid unnecessary hassles.

The receptionist was busy talking on the phone & took several minutes before ushering us in. A bit of a let-down since there were no other guests but I'm trying not to let that dampen our spirits. Chalking it up to their "soft opening blues".

As you enter, you'll notice that they divided the place into several areas. You can choose to sit by the open kitchen; by the side which looked like a big nook with decorative grills or in the middle part like we did.

Tables by the open kitchen 

The Nook

The middle part

As you sit, they hand you their one-page menu. At Foo'd, they make ordering easy; either you get their 3-course or 4-course and from there, you can begin to customize your meal. I got the 4-course (Php 1200*) while Hubby got the 3-course (Php 800*). Yes, since it was my birthday, I get to eat more! :)

While waiting, they give you these thick slices of bread that comes with an olive oil & balsamic vinegar dip. It actually reminded me of a certain Italian restaurant which serves the same dip but with parmesan cheese. 

We each took a bite, placed the bread down and pushed the plates as far away from us as possible. It just wasn't good.

Thin salty bread sticks

Then we turned our attention to these thin bread sticks.  Now this we absolutely liked.  Crunchy and with a bit of saltiness, it was like you were nibbling on a pretzel.  We happily munched on these the whole meal.

Latin American Vibe at Empingao, Poblacion Makati City, Philippines

When talking about Latin American cuisine, the dish I'm most familiar with is tacos. Imagine my surprise when we went to Empingao, which boasts Latin American wares, and find out that tacos takes a bit of a backseat in this place.

With the walls covered with colorful busy artwork, it never felt lonely even though we were the only ones there during dinner time.

The first item on the menu that jumped at me was the dish called Mofongo (which I first heard from Guy Fieri). I was really excited to try it out but at the same time scared to do so. After much deliberation, we decided to save that dish for next time and chose some safer/ more familiar options.

To start us off, we ordered from their Churrasco (grilled/barbecued meats) section.

We ordered a stick each of their Lamb Chops (Php 95/stick). They serve it on a skull plate which was definitely unique. They top each stick with salsa and sour cream. The brown sauce on the side looks weird but works really well with the game-y taste of lamb; so go ahead and dip.

Lechon Bites at Pepita's Lechon, Hole in the Wall, Century City Mall, Philippines

Pepita's Lechon has been on our sights for months but we couldn't commit on ordering one whole pig just to have a taste. Fortunately, Century City Mall's Hole in the Wall held a pop up event to showcase the said dish.

Lechon is all about crunchy pork skin & soft pork meat. Get those 2 just right and you'll definitely be in a yummy albeit sinful gastronomical journey.

Two candelabras with a large silver platter in the middle, this looked like a lechon altar of sorts. But where was the pig? 

It was actually moved inside for easier chopping. We got two orders of the Truffle Rice Stuffed Lechon de Leche. 

It didn't take that long before they served it up on plates. Instead of the usual lechon sauce, Pepita's serves theirs with spicy labuyo on the side. Those tiny Philippine flags were a nice touch.

Korean Cravings at Bornga, Alphaland Makati Place Mall, Makati City, Philippines

I always go nuts over wrapping my freshly grilled marinated meats in veggies and having all the flavors hit my mouth in one go. But you know what's funny about my Korean craving? I hate Kimchi. I know that it's no Korean feast without that sour orange side dish of fermented vegetables but I really can't stand the taste. Serve me all the other side dishes/banchan (bean sprout, seasoned spinach, stir fried radish, braised potatoes) and I'll gladly polish them off in a heartbeat; but no kimchi please.

Okay, enough about my not-so-lovable relationship with kimchi, let's proceed with my review of one of our favorite Korean restaurants, Bornga.

Located at Alphaland Makati Place Mall, it's a place that you certainly have to make a special trip for. The mall looks a bit abandoned, with lots of empty spaces for rent. If this was your first time here, you'll feel anxious and a bit antsy (like we did the first time we went). But the Korean craving in us was too strong so we threw caution to the wind and ascended the escalators to the second floor.

Don't bother to wait for the receptionist to assist you, it doesn't happen. Just walk straight to the tables and pretty soon, a waiter will appear asking if you made reservations (we did). Ask to be seated by the couches, it's roomier and the tables here are designed with the grill on the nearest side to the waiter. This matters as your meal progresses because here at Bornga, they grill their meats for you table side. 

After taking your order, they serve you some side dishes. Bornga's banchan selection, though limited, is refillable which is a plus since other Korean places we've been to were a bit stingy with theirs. Go for refills on their fish cakes, salad and watery cold kimchi soup (if you're a fan).

While waiting for our food to come out of the kitchen, their place mat kept me occupied. They've printed on it a short description on what Woo Samgyup is (more on that later); plus a mini-tutorial on how to eat it, which even comes with colorful illustrations.

Hubby's Birthday Lunch 2016 at I'm Angus Steak House, San Antonio Village, Makati City, Philippines

It's August & time to celebrate Hubby's birthday! For his special day, he decided that we were going to try a new place out. He was hankering for some fine quality steaks or something fancy at least. 

I'm Angus Steak House, Yakal Street, Makati City

From the outside it doesn't look like much. Also seeing that this was located in a neighborhood that wasn't teaming with other restaurants, it didn't give much of a good impression to me. 

Imagine my surprise when we walked in...

A semi-open kitchen, a mini bar and all the works of a formal dining setting. Learned my lesson of not judging a book by its cover or in this case, a restaurant by its location ;)

They have a large menu with inserts inside. We found out that I'm Angus offers special lunch menus every month (Php 885 + 10% service charge) which consists of 1 entree and 1 main dish. Seemed like a good idea to try it out. 

While waiting, they offer you complimentary bread with 2 kinds of spreads. If you prefer hot rolls, you can request them to heat it up for you. 

Aside from the bread, they also give you a single serving of what the chefs whipped up for the day. For today they served up these Air Fried Beef Roulade with Alfalfa Sprouts & Rose Petals. 

"Average" Dinner at Xiu Fine Cantonese Dining, Greenhills, San Juan City, Philippines

We were in the mood for something new and fancy. Heard about the newly opened Xiu Fine Cantonese Dining in Connecticut Greenhills. This was previously Lugang, a restaurant I have purposefully avoided for personal reasons.  It was too late when I learned that Xiu was from the same management group. >.<

Made reservations days before and learned that they provide 2-seating schedules for dinner; 6pm and 8pm. We got the 6pm slot and drove all the way to Greenhills. 

As you enter, no one greets you or guides you to your table. It took awhile before someone came over to assist us. Soft opening jitters perhaps? 

We were seated by the huge windows, near the fountain/waterfall decor. There was a friendly fly that kept on coming back to our table. It was starting to get irritating but they soon offered a candle for the table. Krystle arrived a little after six. While waiting for our dishes to arrive, they served us the traditional peanuts for snacking.

The first dish that piqued our interest was their Honey-glazed Prime Cut Char Siu (Php 680). 

Honey-Glazed Prime Cut Char Siu (Php 680)

The name alone makes your mouth water; expectations were definitely high for this one. It didn't take long before they placed this on our table. Serving size is 3-4 people. Right off the bat, you'll notice that they cut the pork much thicker than usual which unfortunately bit them in the ass. This was tough to cut & chew, looked a bit pale and lacked flavor. Needless to say, for something that advertises itself as a "prime cut", it sure wasn't evident in this dish. Food-Stars Verdict? With the hefty price tag & lackluster taste, this was a miss.

Sweet and Sour Pork (Php 480)

The next dish they served was the Sweet and Sour Pork (Php 480). We requested it to be crunchy and they were able to deliver on that. Food-Stars Verdict? More sauce would've made this better. 

Maki Overload at Ooma Japanese Rice Bar, Rockwell Makati City, Philippines

When we've found a place yummy enough to come back for, we usual bring friends along to share the experience. Since we wanted to cut down on travel time, we decided to bring Cheryl to Ooma's Rockwell branch instead of their flagship one in Megamall.

Right off the bat, you'll notice that their Rockwell branch is way smaller.  Tables were nearer to one another & ventilation was an issue. Suffice to say, we were soon sweating our asses off just minutes into dinner.

It's rare for me to get a shot of our table with untouched dishes but Ooma's service was fast hence this shot. That's the Hanging Tender on the left, Unagi Maki in the middle & Scallop and Tuna Aburi Maki on the right.

But before we get into those, let's start with the first one that came to the table.

Soft Shell Crab Taco-Maki (Php 199)

Each order comes with 2 servings of this open-faced temaki wrap. 

 A closer look gives you a view of the Ebiko, Aligue Mayo, hints of soft shell crab, rice & seaweed. If you're looking for the distinct taste of soft shell crab, this is not for you. I'm not sure if it's the heaviness of the aligue mayo or it's the quantity of the crab used but it was non-existent. There was some crunch but none of the crab taste.

Scallop & Tuna Aburi Maki (Php 295)

This fared better. This is torched maki and it definitely brought out the tuna & scallops beautifully. Even with a lot of things going on (the menu reads cucumber, sesame seeds, nori crumbs, scallion, teriyaki sauce, spicy mayo & kimchi aioli) this was good. All of the above worked together to bring bursts of flavors in your mouth. 

Unagi Maki (Php 299)

Okay I'll be honest, you got us at Unagi. They were trying to pass this off as a high end maki when in reality it's a mediocre maki with eel, cream cheese, fried shallots & toasted rice. But with this price tag & serving it in maki form, what else could be expected. 

Shrimp Chahan (Php 145)

Cheryl ordered their Shrimp Chahan which looked devoid of shrimps. Based on the fact that she left half of this on the table, she wasn't a fan.

And now for their Hot Plates section.

#FoodStarsAtUptownMall: FlatIron 1771 Restaurant, Uptown Mall, BGC, Taguig City, Philippines

We've had our eye on this place since the first time we were at Uptown Mall. Its black & white facade vies for your attention while the large windows lets you have an unobstructed view of what's going on inside the restaurant. Curiosity kicked in and we soon found ourselves pushing open those big red doors.

Flatiron 1771 Restaurant, Uptown Mall

A server greets you with a smile and ushers you to your seat. The couch looked inviting but were all unfortunately occupied. I was able to get a good shot of the area midway through our meal.

Just in case you weren't handed a menu, they adorned their wall with large framed boards highlighting their best sellers.

They kept it simple with their one-paged menu. We decided to skip on appetizers and went straight for their entrees. Upon our server's recommendation, we got the Flatiron Brisket 6 and the Lamb Shank.

Table Shot

We had them tweak it to our preference. The Flatiron Brisket 6 originally comes with brown rice and slaw on the side; we had them change it to fries & mashed potatoes. After taking the customary table shot, it was now time to eat.