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.