Filipino Flavors at Sawsaw, Rockwell Drive, Poblacion Makati City, Philippines

 The seldom times that my husband and I do get to go out, we try to squeeze in our lunch at a new restaurant. It’s a simple perk-me-up and quality time all rolled into one. 

After a much stressful morning, we knew we needed to take a bit of a break and have a somewhat slow paced lunch. We settled on a place in Makati since we didn’t want to travel away from our neighborhood.

This is Sawsaw by Chef Sau. 

On the first floor, the open kitchen let’s you see how your dishes get prepared. We were supposed to sit here but we opted to have a more quiet atmosphere upstairs. The receptionist “helpfully” pointed out our table from across the room instead of leading us to our seats. Thanks for the assist Sarah. 

We were lucky to have the whole 2nd floor to ourselves; though that meant that there were also no servers present (as evidenced by the 2 uncleared tables). It also meant that there was no one there to give us menus so hubby took the initiative to just get menus from the uncleared tables, which I then proceeded to hose down with lots of alcohol (“self service”). 

Moment of truth, if this happened at any other time, these would be enough to make us walk out already. But since our dates/eat outs happen rarely, we didn’t want this to be marred by something negative. 

Waiting it out turned out to be a good thing since it was at this point that the service turned around for the better.

Father’s Day 2020 with Mendokoro Ramenba Take Home Ramen Kit

When the restaurant that has a “no takeout” policy decides to change the rules a bit this lockdown season; we get these cups of goodies not just to take home but ones we actually make-at-home.

Say hello to Mendokoro Ramenba’s Take Home Ramen Kit.

Since Father’s Day was just around the corner, it was decided that celebrating it slurping hot bowls of ramen sounded perfect,

Our 4 orders of ramen (2 Tantanmen, 1 Super Chashu & 1 Shoyu) plus extra Chashu came in 2 brown paper bags. Each ramen was encased in its own cup labeled for convenience.

With nervous excitement and apron at the ready, I opened the first cup.

Nice to see that all the components are vacuum sealed to ensure freshness. The Shoyu Ramen Kit comes with broth, noodles, chasu & oil.

Burgers, Fries and Shakes at Shake Shack, BGC, Philippines

Here’s how our first visit to Shake Shack went.

Since Hubby volunteered to stay with our newborn, my toddler & I quickly got dressed and head on out to Central Square. The lines were taking up almost half of the ground floor. They hand you their menu while you wait. Good thing, we had priority so it didn’t take that long before we got to the order counter. 

Shake Shack Counter

We decided to get 3 burgers, 2 cheesy fries and 2 ube shakes to go. They hand you this rectangular buzzer that lights up & vibrates when it's time to pick up your food. It didn't take long (about 15 mins) when I felt the burgers "calling".

Love the Star Wars reference

They pack everything in a brown paper bag for easy handling. Maybe providing a cover or at least sealing it a bit (especially since I will be walking outside to the car) would be better so that the food would be safe from the elements (such as smoke & dirt). The burgers and fries were too exposed for my liking. 

When we arrived home, we basically skipped up the stairs and excitedly handed one of the paper bags to my husband (luckily our baby girl was still sleeping). We each unwrapped one of the burgers, while our toddler happily waited to see which ones we will be letting him try.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.