#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.

Burgers and Wings at Sweet Ecstasy, Uptown Parade, BGC, Philippines

I've had it with those patties piled high with "extenders" (tomatoes, mayo, cheese, cucumbers), leaving you feeling full with no memory of the beef. Sometimes, you just need to sink your teeth into a good-old-fashion burger with less the trimmings.  

Sweet Ecstasy, Uptown Parade Taguig

Order window

Here's how no frills this place is; once you step up inside you'll see this takeout window that acts as their order counter. But don't worry, they cook your food as you order so you get them hot off the grill.

After having our fill of their "unique" interiors, our orders arrived. 

Casual Filipino Eats at Isla Una, Pasig City, Philippines

Since we've always made it a point to choose places to try within the confines of Makati area (less travel = less traffic); whenever we do venture out, it's always with an excited air of anticipation. It was no different when Isla Una came into play.

We looked through their menu and chose one dish from different menu categories namely Baboy (Pork), Baka (Beef) and Manok (Chicken).

#FoodStarsAtUptownMall: Cowboy Grub at Texas Roadhouse, Uptown Mall, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Philippines

My feed has been filling up with alerts from the newly opened Texas Roadhouse in Uptown Mall. As luck would have it, we were invited to a birthday celebration on the week of its opening.

Due to its soft opening, phone lines were either down or no one was answering hence we were forced to go without a reservation.  Wisely used the time taking pictures while we waited to be seated.

To keep us from losing our cool ('coz they were really making us wait a long time), they began serving their complementary wares.

.... and I must say, they should've served this earlier. These freshly baked bread rolls with cinnamon butter is enough to cool off any hot heads in sight. I couldn't stop raving about this and our dinner was yet to start.  Food-Stars Tip: Ask for a butter knife for spreading the butter since they don't serve it with one. Here's a little incident that happened to us. One of the managers who apparently didn't want to go back to the kitchen & get one told us to use the ones on the table instead. When we unwrapped the napkins, the knife he was talking about was bigger than the rolls 'coz it was a steak knife. I would've understood if that was the same case for everyone but our other table got a butter knife. Tsk tsk. Tamad 101. I just asked for one from a server instead.