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The Maginhawa Chronicles: Artsy Cafe – a delicious revelation!
Who hasn’t heard of the famous street in Quezon City – Maginhawa? Foodies and food neophytes alike flock to this place to experience all the tasty pleasures it offers in just 1 stretch of a long street. It’s like “the destination” for all who are in search of good value eats.For this first peek into the delicious treasures of Maginhawa, we check in to the Artsy Cafe located at 36 Maginhawa Street. The first thing you will notice would be its quaint color scheme. It has pastel blue colors and white lacey trimmings. Very quaint and cozy. I forgot to take a picture of its interiors. I think I have been there for a total of 3 times already but I am in need of more visits to further explore their menu. (wink) (wink)These are some of the dishes I have had that speak to my taste buds so far. Their market salad. You have 2 options with it, you can either have chicken or shrimp in it. When we had it, we picked the one with chicken. Fresh leafy greens, local tomatoes, cucumber and carrot sticks, grilled chicken strips, olives, grapes, and a very generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese. This dish alone can serve as 1 meal for any person. Light and refreshing but also filling.
For a healthier sisig option, they offer the Bangus sisig. Their own fishy version of one of our beloved sizzling meat dishes this time with bangus flakes. Really good and much more healthier than its meaty counterpart. This is a heaping sizzling dish as well.
And for one of my more favorite ones in this restaurant – their gigantic T-Bone steak. It’s a huge plateful of a steak grilled to your liking paired with buttered vegetables and your choice of either mashed potato or a cup of rice. I have always opted to have mashed potatoes with it since I want to avoid the carbs. This dish is one of our favorites really. A good deal and delicious too. I haven’t eaten here in Artsy without ordering this every time. Really good value for money!
All dishes mentioned here are below the PHP300 price tag. So it is really good value for your money. Artsy Cafe has a cozy ambiance and although the menu is not that extensive yet they really do offer delicious eats at good value.P.S.They also have an all-day breakfast selection….XoXoEV -
Eating My Way in Cebu: Surfin’ Ribs
During usual Cebu holidays, the only sure way I could get my rib fix is via Casa Verde with their humungous plates of tender and soft ribs with that melt in your mouth meat and just the right amount of barbecue sauce slathering those soft and tasty rib morsels. Friend V told me that there was a new rib place somewhere in Gorordo/Lahug. We decided to check the place out (Surfin’ Ribs) and see if they were comparable to our usual staple from Casa Verde.
We parked the car and it seemed that there was a birthday going on as there was a huge lechon outside being shared by a few people. We seated ourselves and asked for the menu and their service could be better. We decided of course to order the ribs. We just got 1 serving because we were still quite full. I was eagerly anticipating the ribs as I really wanted to see if they would hold up to Casa Verde’s version. Somehow, I don’t think they are already there yet. I was a bit disappointed with the food. We were also served rice which I think wasn’t cooked yet. Kind of half-cooked and it was not really nice at all. The meat around the rib wasn’t that tender. Not as tender as Casa Verde’s and their barbecue sauce was overly slathered and kind of sweet for me. It just didn’t hit it on the spot. It’s not too bad but really needs to improve overall.
Aside from the ribs, we also got some buffalo chicken wings to try out. I didn’t like how the sauce kind of overpowered the chicken. The chicken was not tasty too. Overall, I still prefer Casa Verde’s cooking. I think they perfected the rib dish. The portions were kind of similar but the taste is really way far still. Surfin’ Ribs you still have a lot to go. Pricewise they were a bit cheaper than Casa’s but of course that doesn’t make up for the taste and overall presentation. There is definitely more room for improvement in all aspects for Surfin’ Ribs but hey this is just my observation. Taste buds do differ! Do check them out and let me know what you think…
XoXo
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The Maginhawa Chronicles: Artsy Cafe – a delicious revelation!
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Bon Chon Chicken Hits Manila!!! Fried Chicken Lovers, Let’s Go!
For the die-hard foodies, you guys should have heard of this recent development in Manila’s food scene – the recent opening of Bon Chon Chicken at the Ayala Triangle Gardens. For the unfamiliar peeps, here is a little introduction about Bon Chon Chicken.
Bon Chon Chicken is actually a South Korean based fried chicken franchise which is a food favorite of the New Yorkers. Bon Chon Chicken differs from the typical fried chicken dish because it has been marketed as the healthy fried chicken which has been double-fried which gives it a lighter and more crispy skin on the outside and moist chicken meat inside plus the fact that it has ginseng as an ingredient in its secret sauce. They say it is healthier than the usual fried chicken but I’m not sure to believe this marketing hype because of the fact that I know it’s double fried. 🙂 How healthy can you get?! But regardless, this merited a visit from me and friend V.
Already, the diners were piling up when we got there. We were afraid that the seats were all taken up but we grabbed a corner table and finally we got to try this Korean fried chicken wonder. The restaurant gives off the ambiance of a classier fastfood but it is still a fastfood joint.
We ordered their Drumstick platter (3 pcs. of drumstick with their soy garlic sauce) at Php185.00. It was as it claimed to be. The chicken skin was super crispy and it seemed like they didn’t even use flour for the coating. Super thin and super crispy. I liked this aspect of it. I wanted more sauce though on it because for me, the sauce was quite lacking and I wanted more.
We also got their chicken wings platter (3 pcs. of chicken wings with the hot & spicy sauce) at Php 130++ ( I can’t remember the exact price, my apologies). The 3 pieces of chicken wings were quite little so I do suggest that you order the 6 pcs small-sized wings so you won’t feel dejected. Heheheheheh! 🙂
I wasn’t able to try out any of their side dishes as we were in a hurry to catch our movie at nearby Glorietta so I will definitely go back to eat some more Bon Chon Chicken. I wasn’t satisfied with that 1 visit. I need a few more! Hehehehe!
In Bisaya, “pagkanipis sa panit sa ilang manok uy, mura man wala gibutangan ug harina sa pagprito. Mubalik pa jud ko para mutilaw nasad usab” (Their chicken skin was so thin and crispy that it feels like it wasn’t coated with any flour during frying. Will definitely go back to taste some more.)
Happy Christmas meals everyone! ‘Tis the season to eat and be merry! Diet is suspended for the time being! Yey!Bon Chon Chicken is located at Ayala Triangle Gardens beside Banapple!You May Also Like
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Sweet Talks: Apple Pie ala Mode and Milky Milk Shakes
Nestled among the “red” light district of Makati is this quaint and cool restaurant which embodies how American diners are supposed to look like. The place has a great collection of old-school mementos which are bound to have you say “ooohhh” and “aaaahhhh” many times over. The restaurant boasts of life-sized cartoon characters like “the Flash” and there is even an Elvis hogging the microphone as well.Presenting…..the “Filling Station”.Aside from it’s great decor, the place also has a very extensive American menu which is bound to make your mouth water and your pocket suffer. The prices are quite more than you would expect to be paying but basing on what I had when I was there, I think it is quite worth it. The servings are also “Americanized” which means they are great big heapings that are pretty much good for at least 2 Filipino diners. 🙂
Because me and my sister and a few other friends already had dinner at that great Korean restaurant nearby, we stopped by the Filling Station to have a little bit of dessert. We ended up ordering apple pie ala mode which was a really yummy and served hot apple pie with a flaky crust which surrounded sweet apples inside. The pie turned out great and not soggy which is what you would like in your pie. Of course topped with a yummy vanilla flavored ice cream and a serving that you could share between 3 people.
Aside from having the apple pie, we also had the yummy milky milk shakes. Super duper sized milkshakes which were flavored chocolate and vanilla and you can really taste the creaminess of both. They were served in really tall glasses and the left over shakes from the blender were even served together with the usual serving glasses, so we sort of ended with 4 drinks instead of just 2. So creamy and so sinfully made. I am sure my caloric count for that night far exceeded the norm for a regular person.
This was a dessert tale to be told. For a great apple pie, this place is good with the super-sized milkshakes. I wouldn’t recommend this to diabetics though…:) Sugar is not shy in this store!The Filling Station is located in Burgos Street nearby Makati Avenue.Note: Photos taken with my camera phone only. 🙂
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American Cuisine – Mr Jones @ Greenbelt
Burgers, Fries and Milkshakes – these are what come to mind whenever we think about American cuisine. These 3 are the trademarks (or at least I’d like to think so) of American cuisine. When my friend Karlo was here one weekend, he was wanting to explore the burger cuisine in town as he considers himself a burger fan and is always on the lookout for great burgers. We decided to haunt Greenbelt and try Mr. Jones. It’s this burger joint which is themed like those American diners.They had red vinly seats and a menu boasting of American favorites. I heard they are quite well known for their burgers and the portions of their food. It was a bit pricey when I glanced at the menu and I wondered if it was as good as it’s price.
There were actually 3 of us and we decided to order and then share because they advised us that the portions were big and BIG they really were. We only had to order 1 burger and that was good for 2 boys and me. (Whew!)For the appetizer, all 3 of us chose the “Threesome”. It was a sight to behold. 3 kinds of appetizers served in tall glasses and they were delicious. First glass was a truffled egg salad topped with some black caviar (itsy bit of caviar). This was good. Second glass contained Old bay and fresh dill prawn louie with caper and berries and lastly the third glass was the sweet and creamy pineapple and apricot and canadian double smoked bacon macaroni. They were all good and easy on the mouth. These 3 alone made us feel quite full.
We had the Superman Burger for the main course and boy was it Super Big! Homemade 100% char grilled US beef patty with American Cheddar cheese, balsamic sweet onions atop, Hickory bbq sauce, double smoked bacon, lettuce and tomatoes on a black & white sesame bun with a pickled pepper on top. Sounds like a mouthful right and it was also a mouthful. We had trouble finishing it and it came together with a siding of abundant fries. 🙂
For drinks, we had (of course) chocolate milkshake which was great. We all went home feeling a bit wuzzy and happy with what we had eaten. Good food! Good friends to share the bill! It was a nice night! Looking forward to eating with friend K and M again!
Photo Credits: The 1 photo that is not branded here is from Clickthecity.com. My apologies as my phone pictures are not that clear. Wasn’t able to bring my slr camera then. 🙁You May Also Like
The Maginhawa Chronicles: Artsy Cafe – a delicious revelation!
exploring food forever! among other things…
