Foul Night at Bad Bird, Hole in the Wall Century City Mall Philippines

Remember our first Century City Mall's Hole in the Wall visit? Well, this time around we got to try the much raved about umami fried chicken by Bad Bird with Myka & Joseph. ;)

 After waiting in line for about 25-30 minutes, you choose from their menu, pay for it & they give you this huge black button that vibrates once your order's ready for pick up. Bad Bird cooks as you order so at least you get your chicken fresh from the pan.

Here's when the night turned interesting; the button vibrated & Hubby went to get our order. Lo and behold, the cashier then tells us that the side we ordered was out of stock. This was after 20 minutes of waiting. Bad communication between the kitchen & the cashier should not be our problem. The fact that you ask us to pay even before we get our order guarantees that the item being sold IS in stock right? Hay grabe. 

After that entire hullabaloo, we still tried to enjoy the night. Believe me, we all hoped that the Umami Fried Chicken would be the saving grace.... it wasn't.

Dirty Rice Plate with Spicy Hotness Level (Php 300)

Dirty Rice Plate with Safe Hotness Level (Php 300)

Dirty Rice Plate comes with 2 pieces of chicken with Dirty Rice & Kimchi.  First impression? I felt puzzled. Was this the chicken that were getting raves from the social media sites? Really? I took another bite just to make sure & knew right there that Bad Bird is nothing special. True, the chicken is crunchy on the outside & juicy on the inside but the flavor was not that good. The dirty rice & kimchi fared better.

Local Flavors with a Twist at Locavore, Kapitolyo Pasig City, Philippines

Impromptu food plans with friends are the best ones! 

For this particular lunch, Ceej & Francia were game for a new place to try out. We decided on Locavore, which coincidentally was right in their neighborhood. ;)

We suggest you come early since parking slots nearest to the restaurant are quite limited. With a name like this plus a huge rooster as their logo, it comes as no surprise that this was going to be a Filipino feast afternoon.

To get it out of the way, I'm disclosing the fact that yes; we had rice with our meal.

And here's our photo of it......

Steamed Garlic White Rice (Php 70./cup)

No judgments please... hahaha. This was actually 4 cups of rice served in one big platter. 

Pusit Ala Pobre (Php 220)

We've started to love squid in olive oil and this was the closest thing to that. Locavore's version had their squid swimming in squid ink and topped off with garlic bits & spring onions. Food-Stars Verdict? Quite tasty & a nice start to our meal.

Nightime Ramen at Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Makati, Philippines

Date Night on a Week Night! ;) And for a change, I was able to coax Hubby to go out for ramen... and it was a success! Here's how our night went.

 

It was red-black-red all around. Loved how the paper mats had the obligatory red dot that signifies anything Japanese.

 

And the picture of this smiley big guy was too cute to ignore.

Now for our hot bowls of ramen!

But first, a bit of a backgrounder.

For every bowl of ramen from Ikkoryu Fukuoka, there are 4 things they highlight: 

1. Tonkotsu Soup (pork based)

2. Noodle

3. Chashu (roast pork)

4. Special Soy Sauce (soup enhancer)

Ajitama Tonkotsu (Php 380)

I played it safe and chose this for Hubby's hot bowl of the night. The broth had just the right amount of flavor; also it wasn't too creamy or thick. Got the very hard noodles for more texture. The tamago was such a beautiful bright yellow.  But the best part was the Chashu. This was just perfect! Tender, juicy and just melts in your mouth roast pork; I'm actually craving for one now! This was a definite thumbs up that Hubby was already planning our next visit just halfway through the bowl. Yup, it was that good! FoodStars Advice? For that spicy kick, add drops of the chili oil.

Black Garlic Tonkotsu (Php 380)

Adventurous me was intrigued with this black one. The taste was interesting enough but I couldn't place the garlic oil at all. Again, it was the Chashu that cinched it for me. FoodStars Verdict? Not bad but the Ajitama Tonkotsu was better.

Gyoza (Php 150)

The menu has 2 choices but they'll tell you that they only cook it one way. The top-part looked steamed while the bottom part looked pan-fried. Yeah, it was a bit confusing. Taste-wise? This was just okay. 

Karaage (Php 180)

Ordered this so we can snack on something crunchy with our ramen. This was lightly battered chicken bites fried until crunchy. I preferred squeezing a bit of lemon on top; found that it enhances the flavor quite a bit. FoodStars Verdict? Another just okay dish.

Overall, it was really their ramen that stole the show. Add their fast & friendly service (Thanks Jay), we'll surely come back for more. ;9

'Til our next Good Eat!

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Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen, Rockwell Makati

P1 Concourse Level, Power Plant Mall

Rockwell Center, Makati

(02) 897-8088

Facebook: Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen

Website: Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen

Twitter: @ikkoryuph

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#FoodStarsNewsAlert: Manila's scheme abuses law by China Daily

Fresh from our China trip (more for business than leisure), I came across an article in one of China's newspapers.  

This was taken from the Editorial/ Comment section of the said newspaper. 

For a clearer copy, click here. 

Food-Stars Goes to Singapore: Sky on 57, Marina Bay Sands

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day and we were having that at Marina Bay Sands. Couldn't wait to try "the crispiest & yummiest bacon" served during the breakfast buffet. With a description like that, I couldn't wait.

Dining with a view

We took a table near the windows and started towards the buffet spread. Skipped over the other dishes and went straight for the bacon..... Needless to say, I wasn't impressed.

Aside from the buffet spread, you can also order from the breakfast menu. That's when things began to get interesting.

Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon

Croque Madam

This is by far my favorite. The sliced croissants were flaky & buttery which I loved. The eggs were runny and once you place everything on your spoon, Oh... My... God. This was so good, I had to order another one. ;9

Food-Stars Goes to Singapore: No Signboard Seafood Restaurant, Vivo City

During our previous Singapore visit, we had the chance to try the original branch of No Signboard. Because of time constraint, the group voted to try the one in Vivo City. 

Vivo City No Signboard interiors were a far departure from the original. From the light fixtures (chandeliers) to the dragon on pillars, this branch had a classier feel to it. Add the presence of air conditioners & you know that they didn't skimp on their patron's comfort.

Cheryl arrived just in time to take the helm and do the ordering. 

Here's our dishes for the night:

It's A Thai Saturday at Benjarong Royal Thai Restaurant, Dusit Thani Manila, Philippines

Dusit Thani Manila houses several restaurants. Our current favorite is Basix wherein you can load up on their yum-tastic lamb, baked oysters and creamy pastas. But this particular Sunday, we were having Thai for dinner. 

Welcome to Benjarong, another Dusit Thani food stop.

Pad Thai Gung Sod (Php 465)

To start off, we got the Pad Thai Gung Sod. You can taste all the components; the stir-fried noodles, beansprouts & prawns. You have to eat this hot. FS Verdict? This was a really tasty dish. The serving though was a bit smaller than expected.

Late Lunch at Mesa Filipino Moderne, Tomas Morato, Quezon City Philippines

** Late December post **

This was actually my post-birthday treat for my family. They were running late so we had a bit of time to ourselves. 

Excuse the flash, it was really scorching hot that day.

Mesa Filipino Moderne, Tomas Morato, Quezon City, Philippines