Sulen

Remember a few months back when I posted about a cafe that was going to open beside the lobby of Elena Tower Inn? Well, they’re finally open!

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It was rather unfortunate that I missed their opening day since I was travelling to Kalibo at that time. I’m sure it would have been a lot of fun getting first dibs on everything. But anyway…

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Welcome to Sulen, an art cafe aimed to lure the creative and brilliant minds of Iligan.

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This cafe is a perfect haven for artists, students and yuppies to huddle together for a coffee date. The chill vibe makes it an ideal spot to study or to catch up on some work.

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On one of their walls is a beautiful hand-painted mural that pays homage to Vincent van Gogh’s painting, The Starry Night.

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I feel blessed and honored to have worked closely with Sulen as they release 5 new beverages and 3 new dishes on their menu.

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Creamy Nut Frappe
Made with a shot of espresso and a hint of hazelnut flavor, topped with whipped cream and crushed nuts.

Rocky Road Frappe
A dessert smoothie made with chocolate and Irish cream syrup, finished off with some whipped cream and marshmallows on top.

Scarlet Iced Tea
Refreshingly cool tea made with strawberry syrup and agave nectar served over ice. This is a personal favorite.

Bailey’s Frappe
Blended with chocolate sauce and a splash of Bailey’s, hand-topped with whipped cream and an Oreo biscuit for good measure.

Jack Frost Frappe 
A coffee-free frappe made with white chocolate and topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. This is also another favorite of mine.

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Tuna Casserole
Classic tuna pasta recipe baked with a blanket of cheese on top.

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French Toast
Pan-grilled eggy bread topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of maple syrup.

This is something I’d like to have for breakfast everyday.

Just look at that sexy trail of melted ice cream dripping at the edge of the toast. Make sure to ask for some cinnamon to sprinkle on top for that extra kick of flavor. 

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Baked Macaroni
Creamy baked macaroni just like how your genius aunt would make it. I’d definitely come back for more of this.

Their new menu additions are to be launched on July 27. Sulen is open daily from 8 AM to 11 PM.

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Cuteness Overload with Happy Pao

Cute, lovable animal-shaped steamed buns isn’t something new. Yet, I’m surprised how it didn’t really catch on any sooner here in the Philippines as it is very popular in other Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand.

But thankfully, Chowking has finally jumped on the bandwagon! 

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As soon as Happy Pao was launched, Instagram was on fire! These selfie-worthy treats were very hard to get a hold of considering they sell out faster than One Direction concert tickets. Haha!

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When we finally got our hands on the elusive Happy Pao, it seemed like the heavens opened up and all the angels sang a beautiful song just for us.

However, I am grossly disappointed that Chowking Iligan branches do not serve Piggy Happy Pao.

Yes, I understand that they are doing this because of “religious and cultural sensitivity”. But what’s puzzling is that they serve meals that contain pork anyway. So, I don’t get it.

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Disclaimer: This cute steamed bun does not contain any real pandas.

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Panda Happy Pao is a sweet steamed bun bursting with velvety, smooth chocolaty goodness. Although it is served hot, I prefer to take it home with me and chill it in the fridge for a few minutes before eating it.

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Happy Pao isn’t only yummy, it’s very affordable too! Get these adorable buns for only 39 PHP ala carte, 49 PHP with a drink and 117 PHP for a box of three. Happiness guaranteed! 😉

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 8: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Many moons ago, I noticed that a lot of people on my Facebook newsfeed have been raving about The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL). And being a tea-o-holic that I am (an ex-coffee addict too), I don’t wanna be left behind. 

CBTL is an American coffee chain that serves only the world’s finest coffee and tea. Born in South Califoria on 1963, CBTL has grown into one of the largest coffee and tea companies in the world with over 900 outlets in 23 countries since. And yes, of course, they have free WiFi too.

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This was taken on our first CBTL experience at Abreeza. In the photo above are Ice Blended Matcha Green Tea and White Choco Dream Latte.

Both are just a dream in a cup. Really. Definitely better than Starbucks by a mile. 

And just so you know… 
Starbucks doesn’t exactly thrill me. There. I finally spilled the beans. Please don’t roast me! (puns intended)

Oh, lemme introduce to you the greatest invention since sliced bread…

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This thingamajig! I really don’t know what it’s called. If you happen to know, you have to tell me! 

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What’s so great about this thing is (more like are):
1. It eliminates those silly table number tags.
2. I don’t have to constantly fidget as I wait for my name to be called. 
3. It vibrates and lights up once your order is ready.

Doesn’t it make life a lot easier? Whoever thought of this sorcery is a freakin’ genius! 

I still don’t understand why other restaurants or fastfood chains still don’t have this brilliant piece of technology yet. I’m sure it’s not that hard and expensive to make, right? Wishful thinking.

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Having watched too many Masterchef episodes made me feel sorry for ourselves that we haven’t tried eggs benedict yet. So we really had to give it a go! This was our second CBTL experience at SM Lanang. 

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The look on his eyes explained everything. Haha! Clearly, he’s more excited than I am.

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As my boyfriend ran the knife through the egg, the yolk didn’t run into this thick velvety sauce as I saw it should in Masterchef a thousand times over.

I then pictured Gordon Ramsey in my head like this…

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While it wasn’t close to perfect (at least to Gordon’s standard), it tasted really good. And that’s all that matters. I also happen to like my eggs to be done over medium thankyouverymuch.

For all those who have been disenchanted with overrated coffee shops, I plead that you at least give Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf a chance.

They serve high-quality, great tasting coffee, tea and food. Plus, their service and ambiance is marvelous.

Their beverages cost between 100~200 pesos… Not bad right? Know more about what they serve here.

Davao-Gensan Trip Part 5: Nonki Japanese Restaurant

We started Day Two by munching on a popular Thai snack by Tao Kae Noi.

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It’s crispy, fried seaweed that comes in different flavors. My boyfriend and I prefer the wasabi-flavored one above all else. Yup, that was pretty much our breakfast for that day. No complains here at all. 

We spent much of our morning just rolling on the bed and watching TV in our hotel room. Getting ready for lunch was actually just an afterthought. 

Since we enjoyed our Japanese dinner so much, we decided to have some more Japanese food for lunch because… Why not?

Here’s a little sneaky “outfit of the day” by the way…

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I know I could do better… Should I do a better one next time? What do you readers think? Let. Me. Know.

MOVING ON… Nonki Japanese Restaurant serves authentic Japanese cuisine and is located along F. Torres Street, right beside Davao Trade and Convention Center.

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Upon entering, we were warmly welcomed and greeted with the phrase “Irasshaimase” by ladies in their matching kimono uniforms. 

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We came in a little bit too late for lunch… But normally, this place would be full of people (particularly Japanese nationals) and buzzing with activity.

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The awesome sushi bar. I’m still haunted as to why we didn’t eat our lunch here.

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Or here. More reasons to come back I suppose?

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Aside from the fact that the wait staff are very courteous… Service here is very prompt and efficient! 

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Also, I would like to point out that they gave me a cold mug for my beer! Also, do you see that white tube thing next to my mug? That’s a wet towel for wiping hands. AMAZING! Little things like these make such a huge impact. At least to me that is. All restaurants should follow their example.

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Itadakimasu!

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Doesn’t it look like some piece of art? But it’s not just some piece of art, it’s edible too! This is a platter of mixed sashimi with shredded radish, sea grapes (locally called “lato”) and sliced cucumber for garnish. 

Definitely top quality seafood! So fresh like it was just plucked right out from the ocean! Really, really delicious! It went down very well with my ice-cold beer.

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This one is called okonomiyaki. It’s a savory pancake filled with shredded cabbage and green onion and then topped with okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and katsuobushi (bonito flakes). Just think of it as Japanese pizza. 

Their okonomiyaki left a lot to be desired… But it was something that I’ve always wanted to try and I’m glad that I finally did. 

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Lastly, because we love uni (sea urchin) so much… We ordered a hefty serving of it! The uni was really fresh and creamy… Melts-in-your-mouth kind of creamy. And I love how the cucumber added that sort of “fresh flavor” which I found really refreshing. I miss it so much already it hurts.

I can’t stress enough just how much I enjoyed eating at Nonki. My dining experience there is definitely a memorable one; I felt like I was transported to Japan (even for just a little while)!

Food here is really pricey, I won’t lie. Price range between 300~500 pesos. But 
I still recommend this restaurant to all sushi and sashimi aficionados because it’s absolutely worth it.

Nonki Japanese Restaurant is open at all days of the week from 11:30AM to 2:00PM and from 5:30PM to 11:00PM.

24 & 2 Part 1: Little Miss Funnel Cake

How ya’ll been doing? I hope everyone enjoyed the summer. As for me, I am still in disbelief that May is almost drawing to a close because I don’t want it to end. So far, this month has been the greatest! I just turned 24 and my boyfriend and I just turned 2. All is good super awesome!

And in celebration of my 24th birthday and our 2nd year anniversary, we went to CDO for a food trip and first on our itinerary was Little Miss Funnel Cake.

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Little Miss Funnel Cake is a cozy dessert shop located at AB Santiago Building, Velez and Gaerlan Streets.

As the name suggests, they are known for their funnel cakes. Frankly, I had no idea what a funnel cake was and so I did my homework… And it’s actually just batter poured through a funnel and deep-fried onto hot cooking oil until it turns golden brown. I learned that by watching this cooking video right here.

I’m all about good food at great prices… 

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So this is the place to be! Nothing above 70 pesos! Ridiculous.

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Mango Caramel Funnel Cake and Deep-fried Oreos were calling my name so that’s what we both had.

I really like watching how my food is made 🙂

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Oh, did I mention that I dyed my hair pink? What do you guys think? 🙂
I digress.

Now to the delicious part of the post…

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Mango caramel funnel cake, topped with tidbits of fresh mango, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a sprinkle of powdered sugar and a drizzle of caramel syrup. Although I do wish I had a bigger scoop of ice cream but it doesn’t matter… T’was gooood.

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Deep-fried Oreos, also topped with powdered sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream then drizzled with some chocolate syrup. Now I know these deep-fried Oreos look rather unappealing in this photo as the ice cream has already melted into a sticky soup here… But I swear that it is an artery-clogging treat that you should not miss!

While I would not want to have these everyday myself for health concerns but they’re really good to have every once-in-awhile.

I highly recommend that you visit Little Miss Funnel Cake and try these goodies especially the deep-fried Oreos! And I guarantee you that you will not regret it!

Exploring the Heart of the Philippines (Part Two)

On Day Three, my boyfriend took me the “Old City”, this is the historical center of Iloilo where structures with Spanish architecture abound.

Usually, we went around Iloilo in a taxi cab but at this time we were fully committing to the whole “real street” experience so we took jeepney rides.

You probably can’t tell from the photo but the jeepneys in Iloilo look different from the ones in Iligan. There, the jeepneys are generally stubby at the front and are very elongated at the back; And what’s great is that they are also wider. Therefore, it’s more spacious and it keeps you from feeling really cramped inside when more people get in.

Old structures are pretty evident.

We were about to grab some lunch at Crave Burger, a burger joint that my boyfriend was incessantly talking about ever since this happened.

That beautiful water fountain (just right in the center of the city) distracted me.

Here is a peek of what’s inside Crave Burger. I like how the look and feel of this place seem to be very cozy and inviting. And I especially love how we didn’t have to wait so long for our food to be done. I think we only waited like 10 minutes tops. Now here’s what we had…

Twister Fries. Seriously, who doesn’t love twister fries? They’re not only fun to look at but their also fun to eat. I love how the fries were done.

Crave Ultimate Burger. This burger…

Wait! Somehow, a funny random thought just came across my mind.
The burger in the photo reminds me of this…

A wild Pokémon appears!
Notice the resemblance? Now, who’s that Pokémon?

Anyway, back to where I was…
The burger contains 100% beef patty seasoned to perfection, topped with maple bacon, American cheese, lettuce, caramelized onions and a slice of relish pickle. I love how everything in this burger is in perfect harmony with each other (and now I’m shaking my head and wishfully thinking to have a good twelve-month supply of Crave Ultimate Burger shipped to me right now).

And finally the dessert…

A pint of green tea ice cream. I’d like to just put it out there that green tea ice cream may not be everybody’s cup of tea (no pun intended!). Some might dismiss this after their first try. But I personally love it. I enjoy how its flavor develops after every spoonful.

Once we were done, we took a bus to Miagao to see this marvelous centuries-old church that I’ve been wishing to see with my very own eyes.

But before I go show-and-tell, I feel the need to say that bus rides in the entire Panay Island are uncomfortable (and dangerous–will talk about this in a different post) in general.

Not because all their buses in this island are dilapidated, like in the photo above (certainly this is not the case), but rather because they forcibly accommodate more people than the actual sitting capacity.

For jeepneys, it’s a norm anywhere in the Philippines. But for buses? We are talking about long-distance trips here. I was literally sitting for two hours with one of my butt cheeks hanging out from the edge of the seat because I was sharing a two-sitter seat with two other strangers. But left without any choice, there was really no room for me to complain…

Boy, I was glad when I finally saw Miagao Church because it sort of justified my butt-balancing act.

Isn’t it beautiful?

The front doors look like some kind entrance to a royal castle. I actually wished to get married here but now I am starting to have second thoughts all thanks to the gruesome butt-numbing two-hour ride.

After marveling at its beauty for a while, we took two jeepney rides so we can go back to Harbor Town Hotel (yes, we moved again) immediately because we were already getting tired.

Trivia: Harbor Town Hotel is owned by my boyfriend’s relatives. Remember his cousins who treated us dinner? Yup, them. Apparently, they also offered us to stay in their hotel for free. They’re a lifesaver.

But on our way back to the hotel, we stopped for a while and grabbed the opportunity to take a photo of Molo Church.

Actually, there are lots and lots of beautiful old churches scattered in Iloilo. However, it is impossible for me to take photos of them all considering our very limited time and our physical condition then (we both got sick after Day Two and that still continued even a week after the end of our trip).

Since this post is already miles long, I’ll end it now with what we had for dinner at Ponsyon by Breakthrough.

From top to bottom: Sizzling Sisig Bangus, Crab Fat Rice (just by mere looking at it gives me hypertension!), Crab in Coconut Milk Soup and Fried Shrimps.

I’ve never had a freakin’ delicious seafood feast like this for dinner!

P.S.
I thought this post is going to be shorter than the last one. My mistake.

P.P.S.
Pokémon photo courtesy of gtsplus.net

P.P.P.S.
The featured Pokémon is Shellder in case you still haven’t figured that out.

Delecta Diner and Cafe – A Sooo Pinoy Search for the Ultimate Food Blogger Entry

I am a food enthusiast and a shutterbug at day and a blogger at night.

It is the marriage of my passion for food and photography that has developed my love for food blogging.

Blogging about food is definitely not something new to me but it is just lately that I have started to become really religious on coming up with new content every now and then.

To share about all the fantastic restaurants in our humble hometown gives joy not only to me but, apparently, to my friends too.

However, I believe it is about time for me to venture out and go what is beyond my horizon.

It has always been my dream to go to around the Philippines (and hopefully, soon, the world) to sample authentic delicacies from various regions.

For me, this is a different kind of learning experience because it helps me to be more open and appreciative of the unique notes of flavors and tastes from all over the country.

I believe that I am the Ultimate Food Blogger because my passion for food (especially Filipino food) simply runs into my veins and I can translate my thoughts and experiences into words and photographs.

Blogging about food is not only something that I do as a pastime but slowly it is starting to become an extension of who I am.

It is a lifestyle. My lifestyle at that.

Now, allow me to narrate about what my boyfriend and I had for lunch the other day at Delecta Diner and Cafe

We had “Kinilaw” (a classic favorite of mine), Humba (“Pork Adobo”), Smoked Bangus and Halo-halo Supreme.

I like how Delecta’s “Kinilaw” had a wonderful nippy mix of fresh raw fish marinated in vinegar with some spices. The heat from the chopped chilies was perfect. Just thinking about how this dish tasted makes me slobber.

The Smoked Bangus was something I never had before so I really have no clue what to expect of it. I was quite hesitant to give it a try. But curiosity won me over, so I took a bite and boyyyy did it blow me away! I instantly wanted more! I love its woodsy smoke flavor which really elevated the flavor of the fish. Plus, the salad on the side was a bonus.

Here’s a closer look of the Smoked Bangus. Yum.

And there I am looking dead serious. Seriously dead hungry that is. Beside the platter of “Kinilaw” is “Humba”… Another delicious heart-clogging dish which I failed to document due to hunger. Pardon.

Lastly, here is their massive bowl of Halo-halo Supreme which pretty much had every essential ingredient to make heavenly halo-halo. All it lacked was Cornflakes. But I enjoyed it very much nonetheless. The perfect dessert to end a DELECTAble meal. Pun intended.

Closing this post with a wacky photo of my boyfriend showing the enormousness of Delecta’sHalo-halo Supreme. Please compare it to the size of his head. Kthxbye.

Cupcakes from Tedts’

Whenever I’m feeling for some home-cooked meal but not from home, I go to Tedts’. They serve an amazing array of meals, snacks and pastries for prices that are absolutely pocket-friendly.

For this post however, I’ll only be talking about cupcakes. Not just any cupcakes but their cupcakes. And let me tell you that they have the best cupcakes in Iligan. I kid you not.

Here’s some proof…

Yummy.

Nomnom.

But if you had better, well, their cupcakes are the best for me anyway and are forever my favorites. Isn’t it way too obvious that I’m a very loyal repeating customer, yes?

I’m a person who is hard to please when it comes to pastries by the way. Anything that isn’t as good as my Mom’s cooking or better won’t have a second chance in my mouth and into my stomach.

I really don’t like anything airy (you know those pastries that barely have any density), too sweet, dry or just plain predictable.

By far, Tedts’ is the only local restaurant that meets my criteria when it comes to pastry. And for their price, you really can’t argue.

Okay, enough blabbing! I will flood you with a bird’s eye view of the cupcakes that brought my soul to paradise.

Red Velvet. Pretty in red. A personal favorite. I don’t know why this reminds me of Christmas. But now that I thought about it, I must have this for Noche Buena.

Chocolate Marble. Another favorite. Sinfully good in chocolate. Mmm…

Coffee. Just one word: Orgasmic. Miss this and miss out on life.

Banana Nut. Happy in yellow. Took this home, stored it in the fridge to save for later but it disappeared along with…

Peppermint. Joyful in mint green with a hypnotizing carrot orange swirl…

and Boston Cream. Simply tempting. Looking at it makes me think of a chocolate milky way galaxy. No idea why.

I must say that all of their cupcakes taste as good as they look.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try the last three cupcakes above (not even a bite) due to lactose intolerance but I’m pretty sure that they feel like a party in the mouth as well.

Abrupt end of post. Nothing follows.

Z Restobar

If you are an Iliganon, then this should look awfully familiar to you. Yes?
Okay… I hate to break it to you but Club Thirty is now no more.

What used to be the only fancy club in Iligan, where all the young elites used to go, is now a “restobar” that serves Thai food.

Its interior has been extended to accommodate more people inside and revamped to suit to the Thai theme.

Apart from that, nothing drastic has really changed except for their menu of course. They now serve a plethora of drinks and only a handful of food.

I’d guesstimate that the ratio of drinks to food would be 70-30 respectively.
Maybe they’ll add more food items to their menu in about three months.

I believe it was just the other week when my boyfriend and I just went there for some chow. Down below is what we had for a late night dinner…

In the foreground is Chicken with Cashew Nuts (I’m not sure about the name of the dish; I’ll look it up soon) and Spicy Shrimp Salad in the background.

We just gave Chicken with Cashew Nuts a try, albeit it sounded a bit unusual and strange to us because we are adventurous like that. Glad to say, no regrets. It was good. The flavors are a bit over the top though so it is highly recommended that you should eat it with some rice.

Here’s a closer look at the Spicy Shrimp Salad…

Trivia: Iligan restaurants usually don’t devein shrimps.

So the very first thing I noticed was that the shrimps were deveined! A major plus! The shrimps were tender and had that unique tangy (?) taste which I can’t seem to put my finger on.

By the way, is it wrong of me to think that “spicy equals to hot” and vice versa?

The Spicy Shrimp Salad didn’t have that kick of heat that I was expecting it to have. Yes, it did have that tiny hint of heat but it’s like almost infinitesimal. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t really enjoy eating spicy food, this is perfectly safe for you to eat.

So those are the only ones that we were able to try so far.
I love the fact that their service is astonishingly quick and their staff is absolutely friendly.

Would I go back there for another dinner soon? Yes, I would.

Flamoo

Flamoo is the latest burger joint in town and it’s located inside The Strip. Trust me, once you’re there, you won’t miss it. It’s facing the open field and is just right beside Red Planet Grill.

Flamoo gave me a good first impression. I like the fact that everything about it really tells me that I am indeed inside a restaurant that serves burgers.

They have two dining areas, one on the inside and one on the outside, so to give us the liberty where we want to have our Flamoo dining experience.

As much as I would like to sit outside and breathe some fresh air, apparently I can’t. Just because I can’t stand the smell of cigarette smoke. So obviously, I am left without a choice.

I honestly like everything about the interior, except for the poor air-conditioning and for the smoke coming out from the kitchen which saturated the whole dining area and irritated my eyes. I do hope the management does something about those issues soon.

Anyhoodles, let’s get to the meat of this story!
(Pun intended.)

Yes.

Take a good look at that. That’s Cheesy Flamoo–one of their scrumptious flame-grilled burgers and it’s my favorite on their list.  In the background are Seafood Tower and Rib-eye Steak.

This is their Bacon Mushroom Melt Burger.

Everything about their burgers, in general, are far superior to what I usually have here in Iligan.

I love how their patties are seasoned well and I can tell that they are already good on their own. All their burgers have a generous amount of toppings and have fries on the side. Though, I do wish they would use the kind of cheese that would melt more nicely. But that’s already me nit-picking.

Here’s another angle of the Rib-eye Steak that comes with a perfectly done sunny-side-up egg sitting prettily on a bed of rice with mixed vegetables on the side.

Trivia: I am not a fan of runny egg yolks.

So my boyfriend took the pleasure of gobbling it all up for me.

The steak was alright. Sad to say that their steaks are really thin and this means that it would be very difficult to have them done in medium-rare. So steaks are only well-done in Flamoo.

Unfortunately, all my Seafood Tower photos look really sad and are not worth posting…
I don’t have anything much to say about it anyway except that it was good. I still prefer the traditional burgers over it though.

Here’s another dish that they serve called Nacho Loco.
The ratio of nachos to toppings is divine. It’s a plate bursting with flavor! I love it.

I also got to try their Buffalo Wings. Again, my pictures of it are sad-looking. Taste-wise, it was okay. But pocket-wise, it was bang for the buck.

And these here are two tall glasses of their Red Iced Tea. I also like their Blue Lemonade and especially their Raspberry Shake (which strangely tasted more like strawberry to me… I must have read it wrong or something).

Bringing this post to a close, if you’re feeling for some burgers, Flamoo is the place to be. Be warned though, their service can be excruciatingly slow and you might have to wait at least 30 minutes to an hour for your order. But I assure you, it is definitely worth the wait.

This is all for my first post and there will certainly be more to come.
Just keep on following!