Yum Cha Unlimited at Shanghai Saloon, The Podium, Philippines

     We have always been game with trying out anything unlimited, but we also find ourselves less than satisfied with the experience more often than not (low quality of the meat, slow service, etc). Another thing that you should know about us is that Makati City is our comfort zone meaning, each drive out of the city limits ups the ante for our expectations for the restaurant. Simply put, it had better be worth the drive.

    Enter Shanghai Saloon at The Podium. 

This particular restaurant ticks both of our boxes above, placing it in a much higher standard than usual. 

We made reservations for their 2nd seating of the day (1:30-3:30pm). We arrived at exactly 1:30 just to be told that our tables were not available due to several differing reasons (the previous seating was not yet done; the table was given to another party). 

To remedy the situation, the manager had us order from the Yum Cha list so that they could start preparing our dishes while waiting.

We were soon led to our seats at around 1:45pm. I had only a few minutes to look around when our orders started pouring in, clearly they were making up for the earlier mishap. 

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.

Roastings High at Mott32, Hong Kong

 With news of the opening of Mott32 in Cebu this September, it made me remember my own Mott32 experience in Hong Kong last 2016. This was our sort of “honeymoon/ getting-away-from-it-all” trip coming into our 8th year of marriage.  Mott32 was our lunch choice for our 3rd day in Hong Kong and the husband came Boy Scout prepared.

Using only Google Map, he was able to devise a route that would make us exit at the exact spot from the subway station wherein we only had to cross the street and voila… right at the doorsteps of the Standard Chartered Building. 

After the initial tingles of both excitement & curiosity, we opened the doors.

Can it get any more “bank-y” than this?? 

A vault right in the heart of the restaurant.

The display case of their ducks and geese all lined up.

Mott32 Hong Kong made use of high ceilings, huge centerpieces and dim lighting to give off a vibe of oppulence and sophistication. It made you feel that you were a part of an exclusive and elite group about to undertake a unique dining experience. 

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.