Cafe Via Mare

March 26, 2011 - Cafe Via Mare - Eastwood Mall

A usual Saturday night for LJ and I would be going to anticipated mass then dinner and drinks with friends. Since we're both taking medicine and can't drink (boo!), LJ and I decided to join my family for some dinner at Cafe Via Mare.

(Parking was terrible this night. So many people were in the mall and It was quite annoying!)

I have nice memories of Via Mare when I was younger. This was the time when my mom would shop in Landmark Makati and would leave me and my sisters in the Via Mare inside the department store near the bags section. Now, Via Mare has gone a long way and has expanded to a number of cafe branches all over the city.

Here are our food choices for the night:

Inihaw na Liempo - The meat is thinly sliced but wasn't grilled too much. It would have been better if it was a bit crispy on some parts. It was flavorful but the pinakbet on the side wasn't so good for me. The ones that are homemade are much better.

Crispy Adobo Flakes - This was LJ's order. I kept on asking for more because it was really good. The adobo reminded me of pork floss from the chinese oriental stores. The serving size for this dish is quite generous!

Lugaw with Toppings - The toppings are: adobo flakes, tofu, salted egg, pork kilawin, fried wonton, garlic flakes and spring onions. My dad said it was too salty because of the toppings.

My niece Naith and her Vigan Longanisa. She always orders this when we're here. The longanisa from Vigan is full of Garlic and oh so yummy!

Breakfast food again for dinner! :)

Ginumis - This drink is like sago't gulaman but with pinipig and coconut milk.

Puto Bumbong - Childhood memories every time I eat this. I always order this with cheddar cheese instead of queso de bola.

LJ and I with my nephew Kole. We missed him since he lives in Laguna!

Another steady night! :) It was nice to spend the Saturday night with my family. Hope everyone is enjoying as well! :)

Cheers! Let's eat and be HAPPY!

Going Japanese - Zaifu / Starbucks Cake pops

March 26, 2011 - Zaifu - Powerplant Mall

It's Friday again so that means, nto eating pork and beef for this day. It's really such a hard sacrifice for LJ and I because seafood isn't usually our first choice when we order. For this Fridate, we decided to eat some Japanese food. We're really Japanese food fans. If we could eat it every single weekend we would. To have a change of scene, we opted to go to Powerplant mall (we used the new bridge from Mandaluyong to Makati. so fast!) since we haven't gone "malling" in a while.

Kani Salad - The taste is nothing different compared to any other Kani Salad in other Japanese restaurants but this one is loaded with Kani. Every bite is sure to have some, :)

Their Green Tea is really green here in Zaifu. I know for a fact that there are brands out there in the market that don't use 100% green tea leaves in their tea bags. Usually the color of the cheap ones are yellow and not green.

Ebi Tempura - I don't eat shrimp so LJ had this all to himself. According to him, their tempura is not full of batter and more of the shrimp can be tasted which is a good thing.

California Maki - Nothing extraordinary but good :)

Tuna Teriyaki - Looks a bit overcooked right but It wasn't. When you grill fish it can easily lose it's tenderness and moisture when you cook it too long. Zaifu did a great job with this dish. It was charred on the outside and tender on the inside. I got extra teriyaki sauce on the side. :)

Fast chopsticks skills. hahaha!

And for dessert we went to Starbucks for their new pastries:

Cake Pops (45 pesos for 1, but if you get 2 or more its 35 pesos) - The first time i saw it, I knew I had to get it. I'm such a sucker for cutesy things.

When you bite in, fudgey and super most chocolate cake is inside. I had another OH MY GOD moment!

I got all three flavors to see what the other cakes were like. They were all the same! Oh well, more for me!

Happy me and my cake pops! :)

What a chill Friday for me and LJ. We're still both sick and taking anti-biotics, so we have to take it easy for next few weeks.

Spread the love! :)

No Pork and Beef Friday - Cafe Mary Grace

March 20, 2011 - Cafe Mary Grace - Serendra

It's so hard to eat out when our food choices are so limited. LJ is not really a big fan of fish and I am allergic to shellfish like crab and shrimps. Mary Grace had a lot of choices of pastas, salads and pizza's so we thought of trying this place out.

They have a wide selection of iced teas. We got the Apple and Cinnamon Honey Iced tea and the Peppermint and Fruits Iced tea. The Apple and Cinnamon one is like apple pie in a drink. They were both refreshing drinks. Must try!

Spanish Sardines and Olives Pasta - This olive oil based pasta was very tasty. I love spanish sardines with bread or rice, so why not pasta?

Smoked Salmon and Cream Pasta - LJ loved this even if he doesn't eat fish that much. Just the right amount of creaminess.

Pizza Margherita - Fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil leaves. The pizza dough was thin and crisp with lots of cheese in every bite. Add the basil leaves on top!

And this is how LJ eats his Pizza. haha! Pizza Sandwich?

What a yummy spread!

Before leaving we left some notes on the table just like what the past customers did! :)

LJ's note to Mary Grace. hahaha. Told you he loved the pasta! :)

It was a great Fridate! We hope you had a fun weekend now off to the weekday!

Happy week to everyone! :)

Chill Sunday - Banapple

March 13, 2011 (Sunday) - Banapple - Katipunan Ave.

I love going to Katipunan just for Banapple. Their desserts are to die for and their food, tastes like it just came out of mom's kitchen. The interior of the original Banapple branch makes you feel right at home. I can see why they have already expanded to 4 branches (Katipunan, Ayala Triangle, Tomas Morato and Greenhills) because the food is good and not to mention affordable.

LJ had his Ateneo Basketball League game today at the Blue Eagle Gym so we decided to have dinner to celebrate their win! (Off to finals! yay!)

Garlic Beef Tapa with Creamy Parsley Eggs (Php 130) - I'm really a fan of breakfast food for dinner. Their tapa is on the sweet side, just the way i like it! Add lots chili flakes and vinegar! :)

Chicken Breast Parmigiano (Php 160) - This dish is really a filling one. Hearty serving of breaded chicken with tomato sauce and cheese. Too bad they don't use real mozzarella for this dish (they use quick melt instead).

Banoffee Pie (Php 85) - Banana, graham crust, cream, caramel fudge and chocolate shavings. Awesome! :)

Dessert came before I even ended eating my meal. I had to rush because LJ might eat it all. hahaha

Starting dessert without me!! Wait!!

Here are some other desserts in Banapple that looks amazing :

Deadly! LJ and I love snickers! Next time we shall try this.

Had a slice of this to bring home. And since I am a big fan of Reese's cups, two thumbs up for this dessert! :)

Mr. Perez contemplating on what pie to bring home to his family. Finally decided on the Banoffee Pie (Php 650 for the whole pie).

What a great way to end our Sunday. We're super ready for the weekday ahead!

Spread the LOVE! :)

Pepper Lunch and Golden Spoon

March 12, 2011 - Pepper Lunch and Golden Spoon - Shangrila Mall

It was a Perez Friday and Saturday! We had dinner with LJ's family for two nights in a row. On Friday we had dinner at TAO YUAN at Resorts World (no pictures. too hungry!haha) and on Saturday we had Pepper Lunch and Golden Spoon for dessert. It was a great weekend with the Perez's especially when the cute little man Javi (LJ's nephew) was with us. :)

Meet Javi. He just graduated from Kindergarten. Moving up to 1st grade in Xavier! :)

He insisted on taking this picture of me!

Shake Shake Kani Salad - It has lettuce, noodles and kani with roasted sesame dressing. (I found out that you can buy this dressing in oriental stores. Try the Japanese brand Kewpie.)

The more you shake, the better it tastes.

The two special sauces of Pepper Lunch. I like putting equal parts of Garlic Sauce and Honey brown sauce. Also add Shichimi or the Japanese chili pepper that's in a small red glass container.

Pepper steak goodness. LJ got the same thing but with double the beef. Mix mix mix while the plate is still sizzling! :)

Now off to dessert..

Thank you for treating dessert! :)

LJ got Double Vanilla with Sugar Free Fat Free Hot Fudge

And I got Simply Tart with Mochi balls and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

In other news, it was such a sad weekend for Japan. Let's continue to pray for them and hopefully they will get back up easily from this calamity.

Appreciate your loved ones today. You never know what might happen tomorrow.

Cheers! Have a blessed Sunday! :)

Happy Pancake Tuesday!

March 8, 2011 - Pancake House

What's Pancake Tuesday you ask? No, we didn't just make it up. It's actually the day before Ash Wednesday that marks the beginning of LENT. Long before, people would use up their milk, flour, sugar and eggs on this day so that fasting can begin as their sacrifice for lent. Thus, Pancake Tuesday was born! :)

Plus, we wanted another excuse to eat out!

Peach Waffle - Waffles are pancakes too right? haha. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. :)

The peach syrup was so fragrant and tasted like peaches!

The best side order for your pancakes...CRISPY BACON!

Banana Caramel Walnut Pancakes - Soft and fluffy pancakes

We just had to order the Pancake House specialty meat spaghetti. It tastes like children's party spaghetti. How can you go wrong with that? :) (Didn't take a picture first before digging in. That's the reason why the spaghetti looks like it has been attacked by a hungry person!)

Breakfast food for dinner is always the best!

And yes, LJ loved his waffles. hahaha

For Lent, LJ and I decided to give up pork and beef on the weekends. It's quite a challenging task since we love to eat out on weekends and we usually order something that has pork or beef on it. Let's see if we can pull it off. God help us!

How about you, what are you giving up this lent? :)

God Bless everyone!