So, Thursday night, the three henchmen and I decided to meet up at Henny Penny situated beside Hi-top supermarket in Quezon Avenue. The place is very unassuming, it's cosy and good if you want to have a quiet conversation. I plopped down on one of their comfy seats and surveyed the place. Not too many diners that night. There's a display window with lots of cakes and weiners at the counter and loaves of bread as well. A divider is up between the main dining area and the cashier's counter which displays different gourmet-flavoured coffee, which I didn't bother to check. I can still wait for my Kenyan coffee still traveling halfway around the world, I presume.
I was really famished and hoped that the food is great and the serving big enough to sate the revolution in my tummy. There's a lot in the menu but we all asked for the tried and tested selection: I had a plate of french toast, two eggs, bacon, huge weiner, and a grilled tomato (Php168) plus hny and I shared half a chicken (Php138). The guys had the same except for pancakes. I also ordered Buko shake (Php50).
The meal was very satisfying. The french toast cut in, bite-size for easier nibbling and the pancake were both fluffy and not too sweet. The sausage was tender and not oily nor rubbery plus it's huge! I also liked the roasted chicken with its sweet and spicy sauce, I think roasting was perfectly timed as if it's left too long the meat would be hard, too short there'd still be blood on the chicken.
While eating, the guys are comparing the food with other restaurants serving "breakfast" meals, like Harry's and Pancake House. The latter got the biggest flak for serving size and Harry's is a bit far along UST plus I remembered their sausage was a bit overcooked when I had it in their Baguio branch. Obviously, HP is the hands down winner.
Henny Penny is located beside Hi-top Supermarket along Quezon Avenue. Ample parking.
I got a lesson on karma and the philosophical interrelation of things. Please!
Rewind.
I love Indian food, especially the curries, the rotis and the naan breads. While in Johannesburg, I didn't pass up the opportunity to try out Indian cuisine (and Chinese too, oh well). One of my favorite places (since it's the most accessible from the workplace) me and my friends frequent is Bismillah. We'd have a bet on who's gonna use the f word while with teacher Per and the first to say it would pay for whole gang's next Bismillah meal. I'm fortunate that I have a housemate, J, who has lived in India for two years and taught me how to cook some basic Indian dishes. And how could I forget Mamu's fish curry!
I forgot to buy garam at the Oriental Plaza before heading back to Manila, I thought maybe it's easy to find it here since there's definitely an Indian community somewhere in this bustling metropolis.
I put off interviewing Indians in motorbikes as I thought they might be too busy doing their daily house to house debt collections. I inquired in a forum instead and somebody assumed I was Indian because of my nick, and told me that somebody named "krishnna" should know where to buy garam...connect.
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Update: I've left this a draft ages ago and I'm too lazy to finish it now. Read in forums (fora) that one can find masala and other spices along UN Avenue. Haven't been there yet. Bought lots in Kota Kinabalu: dried chili, different curry powder, soup mix, etc. Also, I have seen a shop selling spices in Market! Market! at the Fort.
Steak Jack
Location: Greenhills Parking Lot
We braved the sun and trooped to Greenhills to buy some expensive kid stuff (actually, its adult stuff), todd macfarlane's Spawn and some LOTR character toys (what are you thinkin'). Come lunch time, we havent decided where to eat so we just walk around and found a lot of restos in the parking lot. You see greenhills is now transforming into an ultimate shopping mecca minus the sweat coz the management decided to have the place air conditioned. A lot of shoppers are now enjoying their shopping with the more spacious aisles and more organized stalls.
We saw a lot of restos and I mean a lot. There's Cafe Mediterranian, Brothers Burgers, Gloria Jeans Coffees, KFC, etc. the choice is endless. In search of something new, we decided to try Steak Jack. Its a new establishment and there are just several tables, the place is cozy. We tried their T Bone steak with Glazed Onion which costs 190, you have an option to add P35 for two side dishes and I chose mixed veggies and corn and carrots. I had mine medium well. The service is fast, coz i havent started reading the magazine when our orders arrived. I guess they dont know what medium well is so my steak became medium rare with some blood (ewww). Its a bit tender, though my handicapped friend had some difficulty slicing the meat coz he cant hold the fork.The gravy is good while the vegies is not even half cooked I had difficulty chewing the beans. According to my other companion, their lemonade is ok and he let me have some sip. Its not the usual acidic lemonade, it tastes kinda homemade which is good.Their iced tea too tasted good but nothing really beats the iced tea of Wendy's. I wish I ordered french fries rather than the mixed veggies, I also had some blooper when the waiter asked me "Anong luto po?" after I ordered mixed vegies. I thought "what? I cant readily think of how would I like my vegies cooked, I thought sauteed, chop suey...then reality sank "mam, medium rare, well done..." oh.
Good to go there when youre craving for steaks coz their serving is big and its affordable.next time i'll have french fries..:D
HOTSHOTS Flame Grilled Burgers
Location: Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City
I've been filling up my stomach with seemingly unhealthy food from our friendly neighborhood fast-food joints these past three days. "Seemingly unhealthy" because even if nutritionists wont agree with me I'll say that the elements of the food I devour are not all trash. For example, last Friday I dined at Chocolate Kiss and ordered fish teriyaki and bottomless iced tea, given that set of meal, I think the fish is health food hands down not to mention the honey in the iced tea, plus the good carb in white rice. Saturday, I was really craving for a burger and the nearest burger joint at that time was Wendy's. I ordered Bacon Mushroom melt and iced tea again, the health food there is, guess what? nah, not bacon, mushroom! and of course the calamansi in iced tea. But heck, i'm not gonna bore you out with calculations of calories and protein intake because I personally think that we should take every opportunity to taste all the food on earth before we grow old regardless of the calories and the fat and the countless other bad things your kind doctor advices you. Mind you, I said taste not gorge! In everything we do, said Aristoteles, the keyword is moderation.
The real topic here is my ultimate burger experience which so far I have found at Hotshots Burger!!! We've been eating here for quite some time but i always order the inconspicuous ones because i have a bad experience in eating big burgers.But last sunday, I really summoned my courage to order the Ultimate Classic Burger. It comes with two thick, juicy, aromatic freshly grilled burgers, lettuce, tomatoes and quick-melt cheese. But first, I took a bite of his Wasabi Burger and boy, it weas really good! I concentrated on my burger and peel off the wrapping. The aroma of grilled beef wafted in the air and I saw some heads turned. I took a small bite coz the burger would only fit in if i really stretch my mouth which i dont wanna do. I take bite after bite of this sumptous food while eating french fries. I almost slurped the juices in the wrapping. I finished the gargantuan bueger in 10 minutes. That was really heavenly. Never mind the bulge it will add to my figure, after all that's the reason for Vicky Belo's existence, otherwise we'll be depriving her of Manolo Blahnik's shoes.
It costs P95. Who said great tasting food would cost you an arm and leg? Definitely a must try! I must give the burger a two thumbs up with a big grin from side to side!
Update: This place has been closed.
Location: Tomas Morato
This is located at the second floor of the forgotten resto called Pacific Wharf (which is now closed by the way). My constant companion and I of four years have trooped there a number of times before. That's why our trip there last February 14 (yes, we went out on V-day!) wasn't really exciting. But i must confess that despite it not being exciting we had tons of fun! Laughing our hearts out and getting raised eyebrows in return. I was the only lady in that group, the rest are all sumo-wrestlers hehe..ok, ok i stand corrected, with appetites of sumo-wrestlers.
AS usual we ordered the ever-favorite Chicken Teriyaki. The good thing with this resto is that they put marks in the menu to indicate the house's specialty. We also ordered lotsa tempura nevermind the cholesterol and the price! though it is still affordable at P300++ for 8 pcs. We also ordered a beef meal and finally to cap the tummy filling event we ordered...(drum roll) green tea ice cream. it was creamy and smooth and yes..green. simply yummy. We paid P1200+ and since there are 5 of us it was inexpensive and within the budget.
The culmination of our group V-day date was a gift-giving ceremony from one of their staff. She gave me a chocolate on a dainty carton (since when cartons became dainty?!) with some writings on it inviting us to celebrate a Japanese event on March. Whatever. Turning back to the choclit..the friendly staff explained that it has been a tradition in Japan that the women are the ones who give chocolates to their men and they give it with a smooch. I turned red that very moment! That was just soo cheesy!!I mean kissing him in front of all those sumos? But I was saved by the lady saying that i really dont have to give it to him that day, it should be the day after. Whew! We parted ways coz we still have another eating binge to attend. And I am wondering why i cant fit myself in my jeans ....
Location: Katipunan
After our evening class, my better half and I trooped to Yellowcab Pizza in katipunan. I am not really a pizza lover (goodness! this has changed so much) so I agreed half heartedly. I didnt expect that the experience would be..er life-changing.
We ordered Four Seasons so that we'll get to taste a little bit of everything. It has four different toppings thus the name, stupid...it has two slices of roasted shrimp and garlic, two slices of cheese #4, two anchovy flavored, and two pepperoni. We ordered the 10" pizza, first because we think we shouldn't be bingeing that late a night (but it's our dinner!!!), second, it's very affordable (P260). I had mineral water, he had root beer.
After several minutes of downing the pizza, I was really full I wanna throw-up. So we chatted a bit more. That's really the purpose of bringing with you friends and significant others, to burn some calories while talking and assist you clean your shirt you've puked on.:D
It was indeed a hearty meal. The food was great and you would really love to go back and try other pizza toppings. The place shoul have scored big time without the following downsides: 1) they still don't have those cola dispenser that we see in mcdo or jollibee, they only sell beverages in can or bottle. 2) i find the place too plain, there's not even a comfy seat where u can transform into a lounge lizard. Here, I was corrected by my learn-ed other half, he told me that YCP in the States don't have a dine-in section, they only cater for take outs (to go) and deliveries. 3) and the most annoying of all, it took them a decade to cook our meal!! okay no exaggerations, 30 minutes, we waited for half an hour to for the pizza I was ready to launch word war against the manager. Don't you restos do that to famished, ravagig people. whew.there..
We came back not once but countless of times until the crews and manager got used to our faces and allow us to pay our bills the next time we dine. VIP? nah!Dreaming!
Location: Katipunan, behind Bing Pimentel's Flower Shop before KFC
I was planning to eat downstairs and die having bad food on my stomach. Thankfully, my officemates asked me for a lunch out. I happily agreed, but when I asked where are we having lunch they mentioned some unheard of place in Katips. I kept asking if the food is ok there and they said "ok lang". I braced myself for another disappointment.
We reached a very unassuming place named Eyrie. The first floor was almost full with diners so we were ushered upstairs. A lot of delicious sounding dishes were listed on the menu and very affordable too. Two of our chosen dishes were suddenly not available, so we settled for Chicken and Mushroom, Baby Back Ribs, Lehon Kawali with Kangkong in Oyster Sauce, Spaghetti Parmigiana, and stir-fried vegies .
We really are famished so we didnt wait for our friends whose orders are not included in the menu. They're both vegetarians and ordered pasta primavera, it turned out unavailable, so they ended up requesting for stir-fried vegies. Haay, they never know what they're missing! We started eating like there's theres no tomorrow. Everyone's trying to savor the taste of the dishes. My Baby back ribs was really delicious! I think it can rival that of Kenny Rogers' ribs. The sauce was superb and i end up scraping the small container of that delectable mixture. They shared dishes but i didnt share mine so i didnt get to taste their food, but judging from that happy look on their faces and the burps i heard after finishing the meal, I assume that theirs are also good and recommendable. On top of that, i only paid P120 for my meal and get to taste their dessert courtesy of my dear officemate. An ice cream lover since birth i ordered chocolate sundae while they had turon ala mode and mango crepe. Again we ended up tasting everything, I mean I, coz again I didn't share my ice cream hehe The turon ala mode was good i'll definitely try to make one at home.
I definitely recommend this place. It was cozy and you can have a wonderful time chatting and hanging out with friends while eating. Its good for dates too, theres also a smoking area near a window overlooking guess what, KFC.
All in all,that was really a delectable eating experience without leaving a dent in your pocket. I fell in love with the place rightaway, in fact we're having dinner there tonight ;)
Happy Eating!!
Location: corner Roces Ave. Q.C.
The resto is easy to locate, its along a major access road, near a french-fries shaped Mcdonald's shop.We went there less than an hour before closing time (around 9.30 pm). We expected a lot of people enjoying whatever sumptuous food they are serving. We found a pair and us two, so except for the staff, we're the only four souls in Quezon City partaking of what the resto offers. Not knowing what to order, we tried their Seafood Paella and Southwest Chicken. According to the menu, both are originals and best sellers of the place. After 20 minutes of waiting (it took that long for those meals to cook), here comes the seafood paella! I was not really starved that time, that would explain why i was not excited with the sight and smell of the food. The Seafood Paella is nothing extraordinary, even the presentation looks dull. It has some squid, shrimp, mussels and clams on top of the yellow colored rice. My boyfriend ate with gusto but i was not really enticed. When my order came, I was surprised to find the chicken on top of pasta. My bad, i didnt read the description on the menu very well, it said blah blah on a bed of tomato linguini. I'm not really a pasta enthusiast, the only pasta i appreciate is my soon-to-be mom-in-law's super special spaghetti.It has a lot of beef and the sauce is sweet with a very subtle taste of sourness, and loads of parmesan cheese. I ate nonetheless and found out the chicken well grilled and the herb sauce complementing the taste of the meat. I took some spoonful of the paella and found it a little bland, I have to put some Knorr Sauce to satisfy my palate. We spend P700+ for those two dishes and two bottomless drinks. I think that's pricey for something i didn't really enjoy.
Update: This place has been closed down.
One can always find comfort food inside those dragon-guarded enclaves called Chinatown. And ours here in Manila is no different. Rows upon rows of decades old carinderia handed down from one generation to the next can be found along the main road or even on the infamous estero. Before you cringe at the thought of hygiene gone amiss, let me tell you that hard-core and 'olde riche' people are said to eat here. I'm not hard-core nor olde riche so I just eat at President Tea House not to be mistaken from President Restaurant, the grander and more expensive one just across the Tea House.
The President Tea House is situated amidst shops selling chandeliers, aromatic medicines, and unusual fruits. Our usual fare consists of hakao (shrimp dumpling), sio mai (Japanese, shark's fin), chicken feet, spare ribs, Szechuan prawns and yang chow.
