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Prawn House Seafood Restaurant and Suites

Posted on by xerox

Last year (this is another backlog entry apparently), my boyfriend and I were invited to a wedding party in Cagayan de Oro and since it was going to start late in the afternoon (and would most likely continue late into the night) we looked for a place to stay…

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After spending some time on research and much deliberation, we finally decided to stay at Prawn House Seafood Restaurant and Suites. As obviously implied by its name, It’s not only a hotel but it’s also a restaurant that serves seafood. And because I really love seafood, it’s a double win for me!

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The best part is, it’s only a walking distance from SM City! And for those of you who want to know, it’s only just a few minutes away from the Lumbia airport too.

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There’s my boyfriend checking out their menu… Food prices range between 200 to 300 pesos.

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Yes, they have aquariums that contain live sea creatures just like in Oyster Bay Seafood Restaurant.

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And then there’s my boyfriend again, enjoying his fresh buko juice, or as Americans would like to call it, coco water.

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Forgot what this is called but it definitely looks like steak. I remember to have enjoyed it. The gravy went really nicely with it and so did the vegetables on the side.

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Sizzling sisig. One of my favorite Filipino food of all time. Pairs perfectly with ice-cold beer. 

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Of course, no Prawn House trip is ever complete without having to try any of their seafood, especially their prawns! Their Prawn Thermidore is a definite must-try! 

And here’s a preview of the room we got…

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This is the Standard Room. Can you believe that this only costed us 850 for the night? It’s neat, tidy and cozy. The linens and towels were fresh. And they provided complimentary bathroom products too! Believe me, not all budget hotels here in the Philippines do that. And with this note, I am impressed!

So for those who want to experience quality service but are on a budget, I highly recommend this place!

For more information about Prawn House Seafood Restaurant and Suites, please click on this link.

Let Sprockets Cafe Color Your World

Posted on by xerox

In two separate occasions, I invited my friends and family to a restaurant that my friend Rachel owns…

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Introducing Sprockets Cafe, a colorful restaurant that exudes fun, creativity and positive vibes in Cebu City!
I can’t think of a better place to just chill and camwhore all day. 

Seriously, no Sprockets trip is ever complete without an obligatory photo op with the rainbow lomo wall, camera cardboard menus and pillows!

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L to R: Ferocious Brent, Bombshell Erica, Quirky me, Drop-dead gorgeous Rachel

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Oh hello there, Gluttony. Nice to see you again.

By the way, I accidentally spilled my wintermelon tea so… Let’s just rave about their food, shall we?

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Moby Fish and Chips. Don’t belittle this seemingly simple dish. I enjoyed it very much! And yes, the dips do go very well with both the fish and fries.

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Crispy, crunchy nachos topped with savory salsa. I swear I could finish a bucket of this deliciousness. Yum yum yum! 

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Fettupasta in Pesto Cream. One word: NOMS. Pesto cream sauce is, well, creamy and the pasta is al dente. *finger kiss*

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Oreo Crepe on the house! Crepe topped with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and then drizzled with caramel and crushed Oreo cookies. There is nothing else I can say except that this is, by far, the best dessert I’ve put in my mouth! ‘Twas gone in a flash! 

I am a self-proclaimed certified Sprocketeer and I highly recommend that you try any of the dishes I mentioned above. I promise you’ll thank me! 

*My boyfriend took the first photo
**Not all photos here are taken on the same date

Zubuchon’s Boneless Lechon

Posted on by xerox

If there’s one thing not a lot of people know about me that would be how much I abhor lechon baboy (roasted pig). 

I do eat pork, okay? But that “distinct smell and taste of lechon” is just something I can’t quite take because it makes me a bit sick in the stomach. 

Yeeeeah… I know, I’m weird like that. I can’t really explain myself why. How I wish I could though. 

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Yet, surprise surprise! Many moons ago, I suddenly found myself standing in front of Zubuchon (Escario Central branch) and walked right in with my family and plus-ones.

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L to R: 
Angelito (Genelyn’s boyfriend fiance), Genelyn (my maternal 1st-degree cousin who is like a sister to me), me, Yobz (my boyfriend), Nadyn (my sister’s friend), Anna (my sister and only sibling), my mother and my father

And yes, that is a meme photo you see superimposed on my cousin’s fiance’s face. Because I hated looking at his grim face (he totally looked like he didn’t want to be there with us plus I just don’t like him in general), I had to do something about it by plastering a happy face. Ta-da! Problem solved!

I digress… Zubuchon is known for their most sought-after dish, a.k.a. “best pig ever”, boneless lechon. Instead of preparing lechon the traditional way, they take the best part, season it with herbs and spices, spray it with some fresh coconut water and then roast it over charcoal with bamboo poles. 

Does that sound good to you my pork lover readers? I believe I heard a resounding “AMEN”! 

But for those of you who do not eat lechon like me, worry not! They have other things in their menu like… 

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FRUIT JUICE! HAHAHA! Kidding! Of course they have other food like… 

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Kalabasa soup (pumpkin soup). With all honesty, it’s the best pumpkin soup I’ve tasted so far. It’s rich, creamy and, of course, delicious! You guys have got to try it yourselves! We kept fighting over the last drop. Trust me.

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This is also a very interesting dish. It’s fries topped with crushed chicharon (pork cracklings). Nothing extraordinary. But definitely not your usual fries I say.

I believe we had more food on the table but I was too hungry to take photos of them… Sorry. You can check what other food items they serve by clicking here.

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And finally, the V.I.P. (“very important pork”), boneless lechon.

I was definitely hestitant to give it a try but after a few sniffs and not detecting that “distinct lechon-y smell” which I find foul, I digged in. You know what they say, “Never say never!" 

As I was prodding it with my fork, I observed that it has passed the ”lechon standard test". Crispy skin, check. Tender meat, check. Juicyliciousness, check. 

They may say it’s a different spin on the traditional lechon but I could almost say it’s just glorified liempo.  

My cousin made an odd comment about how the boneless lechon reminded her of Century Tuna. When she said that, I can’t pretend to disagree. Funny but true!

Just to clear things out, it does NOT tastes like tuna but somehow Zubuchon’s boneless lechon and Century Tuna have similiar seasonings I should say. 

My verdict? Well, Zubuchon has made me a reluctant convert. I can now, in fact, withstand the taste of lechon once again. Even for just a-teensy-while. And coming from someone who abhors lechon, that means a lot. I have to give them props for this. 

So is Zubuchon the best lechon then? Nah, I don’t think so. But it is more than your average lechon and, does in fact, deserve a try!

Oyster Bay Seafood Restaurant

Posted on by xerox

I never realized how much I missed blogging till now. Please excuse my month-long absence. It’s been the holidays. A belated Merry Christmas by the way to you my dear readers (if you don’t celebrate it, Happy Holidays) and have a Wonderful and Prosperous New Year ahead of you!

Anyway, I have been to Cebu twice this year actually but I never really got around to blog about it. Why? I really don’t know. 

Now, since I haven’t been posting a lot of food stuff lately (in fact, I haven’t even blogged about some of the food that we had in Manila)… I think it’s about time to share to you again some of my food adventures.

Without further ado, as the title of this post suggests, I’ll be talking about Oyster Bay Seafood Restaurant. 

This Cebu-based restaurant serves you the freshest selection of seafood. And when I say fresh I mean swimming-in-front-of-your-face kind of fresh. 

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You can just point at what you want to have for dinner and they’ll prepare it for you. That easy.

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Normally when I look at any live creature I don’t think of them as food but these crabs… HO HO HO *tents fingers*

Kids will love it here! My two nieces were gawking, smiling ear-to-ear as they were pointing at all the food, urm, fishes…

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This is one of my two nieces, ‘Lienne. This was her first encounter with eels. You can definitely sense the amazement in her eyes.

Also, you can feed sharks. Pretty amazing right? 

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That’s my cousin Gen on the left and my sister Anna on the right by the way.

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Feeding is free of charge. Without even asking, we were given a bowl full of fish to feed the sharks with. 

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Look at me! I’m feeding! Those two tiny “shadows” you see in the water are the sharks. Oh, I’m sorry. Were you expecting this? 

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Dinner time with family, relatives and the boyfriend! Click here if you want to find out what’s on their menu.

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We had two servings of nicely seasoned steamed oysters served with a slice of lemon and topped with a sprig of parsley. The texture of the oysters were very soft and almost creamy. I could never have had enough of it. Really, really good! 

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Here’s is a small tray of crunchy Chicharon Bulaklak. Basically, it’s pork rind that has been cleaned, salted, dried and then fried. I don’t think it was the best chicharon bulaklak that I had but it was also good nonetheless.

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This is a dish of fried soft-shelled crabs. Both delicate and crunchy. I enjoyed it very much. From the photo above, you can tell that at this point the table was getting crowded (you can see a piece of cutlery peeking at the left hand corner). And since everybody was getting hungry (me included), getting “artistic” food shots was the least of our concerns. 

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Delectably fluffy crab omelette. I was never a fan of omelettes but this has made me a convert.

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And finally, “Kinilaw na Tangigue”. That’s Mackerel Ceviche in English (I think). I love how it had a refreshing twist on the traditional kinilaw. The freshness of the fish, sweet notes of the vinegar and citrus flavor of the calamansi blended perfectly together with the other ingredients. I’ve never had kinilaw like this before and I think, by far, this has got to be my favorite! 

Oyster Bay Seafood Restaurant isn’t only a great place to enjoy a great meal but it’s also a perfect place to just hang out and chill.

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Três Marias reunited once again.

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Please don’t mind the photobomber behind me.

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Same spot. And yes, that is sand.

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I invite everybody to come and try the food here at Oyster Bay Seafood Restaurant! Located at Bridges Townsquare, Plaridel St., Alang-alang, Mandaue City, Cebu. Great dining experience is definitely guaranteed!

Bag of Beans Coffee Shop, Restaurant and Bakery

Posted on by xerox

After our lunch at Hellenic Tavern Hotel, we took a jeepney and headed straight down to Bag of Beans to find out why there’s so much rave about it…

And when we got there, just judging it by its quaint entrance, I knew I was going to love the place right off the bat.

They have a shelf chockful of excellent quality coffee beans and some delicious pastry goodies.

If you can afford to try their expensive and globally-famous Coffee Alamid, I suggest that you give it a go. I heard this unique coffee blend has a sweet and dark chocolatey taste to it and it’s the best one they have. 

My boyfriend and I decided to have our coffee at the balcony (you too can read what’s on their menu here)…

Overlooking at their beautiful lush garden below.

Get it while it’s hot 😉

Chocolate mousse for dessert. It was gooooddddd.

Clearly, my boyfriend enjoyed his mug o’ coffee very much!

I say that no Tagaytay trip is ever complete without making a stop at Bag of Beans. Its cozy and homey atmosphere is the perfect place to retreat over coffee and dessert on a chilly afternoon. Located just along Aguinaldo Highway near the Mendez intersection, I promise, you wouldn’t miss it!

Lunch at Hellenic Tavern Hotel

Posted on by xerox

Emmanouel Sapountzakis, owner of Hellenic Tavern Hotel, brings a piece of his birth place to Tagaytay with his Grecian-inspired hotel and restaurant which he manages with his Filipino wife.

Hellenic Tavern Hotel is fairly easy to spot as it is located just along Aquinaldo Highway, opposite of Lourdes Church.  

Now, before I carry on, let me just ask you… 

How would you feel sitting on a balcony (away from all the hustles and bustles of a metro city) facing a ridiculous breathtaking view of Taal Lake surrounded by pristine mountains and several clusters of mist? 

Well, let me answer that question for you…

Awestruck. That’s it. You’d be just completely awestruck and lost for words like I was. Photos don’t do justice to this God-made beauty.

I never thought that I’d fall in love at first sight but there I was… totally captivated by such refreshing scenery.

Who knew having lunch with my boyfriend while overlooking at lush green pastures in broad daylight could be quite romantic?

Speaking of lunch…

We had delicious Elleniki Salata (Greek Salad) as our appetizer. Let me just say, I never had salad that good! Everything was absolutely fresh! Not to mention that most of the ingredients are home-grown! Cucumber, onions, lettuce, tomatoes… 

I loved the tomatoes! I never had tomatoes like their tomatoes. If I remember it correctly, they were more sweet than sour. And would you believe me if I say that they actually made their own feta cheese?

Now I’m starting to miss the salad all over again…

We also had Shawarma. A Mediterranean take on a Middle Eastern cuisine. Toppings include lamb shavings, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, potatoes and a dollop of tzatziki. All of that wrapped in home-made pita bread. 

For our main course, we couldn’t resist trying out one of their best-sellers, Moussaka. It’s basically an eggplant casserole topped with Bechamel sauce. It’s a tasty mix of eggplant, potatoes, zucchini, minced beef and Parmesan cheese. If only I could have this everyday, I totally would even if it means having to clog my arteries! 

And lastly, for our dessert, we had Baklava. Basically, it’s made of filo pastry layers filled with chopped nuts and then bathed in (again, home-made) honey.

Dining at Hellenic Tavern Hotel is definitely one of the best dining experiences I’ve had ever. You can check out more of their food and prices here.

And in case you’re looking for a place to stay there, they also have rooms with scenic views at reasonable rates! 

With Mr. Sapountzakis himself. Yup, he’s 100% Greek. LOL at the hover hand!

Anyway, when in Tagaytay, don’t ever miss to drop by at Hellenic Tavern Hotel! Truly a magical piece of Greece in the boondocks! 

Double date at BBQ Chicken

Posted on by xerox

Upon arriving in Manila on the 31st of August, my boyfriend and I were able to meet up with two of my friends (a couple) for lunch.

They recommended us this place called BBQ Chicken. Funny how it’s a really straightforward, right-in-your-face and no nonsense name. It’s like they completely ran out of ideas on what to call the restaurant and just settled with something that couldn’t be any more obvious.

BBQ Chicken is a Korean restaurant located at Unit A 2/F Pearl Plaza, Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

One of the first things I noticed as I entered the restaurant was the upbeat KPop music playing in the background. Which I love! Really, there’s no use in denying I like listening to KPop because I do. 

The ambiance (I like the cutesy chalk art touch) and service is good. By the way, I have to point out that the photos were actually taken way past lunch time. This restaurant has regular customers and is usually full. It’s not empty as it appears to be in the photos. 

This is my boyfriend’s lunch, Spicy Chicken Barbeque Set. It’s a dish of grilled spicy chicken served with a lump of rice and mixed vegetables at the side. I like how they managed to not let all the spices outshine the flavor of the tender and moist chicken. It’s pretty good.

And here’s my lunch, Grilled Chicken Salad. I love this salad. The chicken tidbits were very flavorful and I can tell that they used fresh vegetables because it had that crunch to it. It’s also worth noting that the dressing was very good as well.

The prices here average around 200 bucks which is not really bad considering that it’s justified by the good food, good service, good place and the lovely sound of KPop music ringing in your ears. I’d definitely go back here whenever I can.

Tarakumain sa Tadakuma

Posted on by xerox

I KNOW. “Tarakumain sa Tadakuma” has just got to be the lamest pun title I ever came up with. And yeah, I just had to kinda force it. I bet you must have rolled your eyes. MOVING ON…

Tadakuma is a Japanese restaurant that just opened at Don Ramon Chavez Street, Cagayan de Oro City.

My best friend’s boyfriend, Miguel took my boyfriend and I there for lunch. Sadly, my best friend, Ritz was not with us because she is currently living and working in London (we miss you!).

Originally, my boyfriend and I planned to have our lunch at Kogi Bulgogi (a Korean restaurant that just opened at Lim Ket Kai). But sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. But hey, who said I was complaining?

Tadakuma is very cozy and modern. Actually, when we got there, it was REALLY busy. All the tables were full and so we had to wait for a table for a little while. By the way, the photo above was taken after everybody else already left the restaurant with happy tummies.

Nothing but a cute random bowl. If only I could take one home as a souvenir. Just kidding. Or am I really?

Oh, before I proceed to talk about what we had, can I ask you a teeny favor guys?

Umm.. can you please not hate me for forgetting the names of what we had? I was soooo hungry that everything just went completely out of my mind. I am crossing my fingers that the photos will just somehow make up for it. Here goes…

This is a bowl of plain minced raw fish on top of a bed of rice. And those two tiny blobs that you see on top are wasabi paste and pounded ginger. To eat this, you have to properly mix everything in together so to evenly distribute the flavor. It has just the right punch of heat and that zing of flavor coming from the pounded ginger. It’s like a different take on “kinilaw”. If you don’t have problems eating raw fish, you’ll definitely love this!

A bowl of ramen noodles with three thin slices of meat, a slice of fish cake, a slice of boiled egg and a few greens. It looked like it could need a little more stuff though. However, the soup is like no other. 

So that’s all we had. Blurred in the background is Miguel’s Tempura Udon. For some reason, I can only remember his order. Shoot me.

Tadakuma is a tad cheaper than Ramen Tei. In average, everything costs around 200~300 PHP per dish. The servings are delicious and quite generous so you do get your money’s worth. To the last peso. Give this place a go and I’m sure you’ll love it too!

Z Restobar Revisited

Posted on by xerox

Hello everybody, say hello to Z Restobar again! 

Since there are so many dishes that we still have yet to try, my boyfriend wanted us to go there again to celebrate our 15th “monthsary”.

So without any further ado, first up was Thai Green Curry with Chicken. 

Although this had chunks of pineapple in it (I dislike pineapples in case you don’t know), it was just too good to not like it! They had me at the richness of the coconut milk and the aromatic smell of the curry. The chicken was tender, the piquancy was just right and it was so hearty that I could have had one big bowl all to myself. But due to gastric problems, I had to control and refrain myself from eating too much of it. Especially since it is my doctor’s advice to avoid anything spicy and acidic for two very long months. Woe is me.

And the other thing that we had (apart from two mounds of garlic rice that were not pictured) was Thai Fried Noodles with Prawns.

I believe one must have an acquired taste for this dish. Its mix of flavors is very unique and can be quite unusual for the Filipino palette. It was sour, nutty and had a tiny kick of heat to it all at the same time. I found the taste to very weird at first… But when my taste buds were finally able to adjust, I realized that I began to like it. Just not as much as the Thai Green Curry with Chicken though.

It was of great misfortune that they ran out of Matcha Green Tea… I would have had that. 

Till the next post!

Lunch at Bourbon St. Bistro

Posted on by xerox

I know it’s been a long month of eerie silence here on blog. And it’s not because I’ve been lazy or I’ve completely forgotten about my blog and my readers…

It’s just because nothing much and too much has been happening at the same time. I don’t know if I’m making any sense but I’ll try to break it down for you ladies and gentlemen. 

First, I honestly haven’t been going out because I’ve been so consumed by the fact that I now earn much less than before. It concerns me to not have savings anymore. I’ve been endlessly hunting for another online job since June. To my dismay, I still haven’t found any. And as much as I wanted to go out and dine, I couldn’t. I was ill and I lost most of my funds to medication. To top that off, my dad was hospitalized and I had to take care of him.

Second, I offered my wardrobe styling skills for free in exchange for an all-expense paid mini-vacation for 3 days. I might get to this soon. 

But for now, I better stop my yapping and you guys better brace yourselves for some food porn RIGHT NOW! 

BAM! Just like that. 

Above were the bad boys my boyfriend and I had for lunch at Bourbon St. Bistro yesterday in celebration of our 14th month of togetherness. 

We were lucky enough to still catch them at Rosario Arcade. I heard that they will move to a different location some time this August.

So anyway, what I like about Bourbon St. Bistro is their AMAZING service. I love it when food servers are polite and attentive, know what’s on the menu, know what’s available or not on that day and make good food suggestions. Plus, they serve food really fast too!

This was our appetizer. A plateful of Beef Quesadillas (you can have it in chicken if you wish) with two different dips. I like the green one better. I believe that’s guacamole? I’m sorry. I’ve never had guacamole before, okay? Don’t shoot. My boyfriend liked the red one more. I don’t know what that was but I know it’s not chili sauce. But if it was, then why the hell was it not spicy? Oh, I must tell you that every bite of their quesadilla is a happy burst of cheesy flavor and that the dips go very well with them. Yum!

Cajun Spicy Wings. I just recently discovered that I love anything with cajun. And no, the wings weren’t spicy to me nor to my boyfriend at all. But the wings are really tender and good. I like that the wings came with a salad because I love salads!

A closer view of the dreamy looking wings with the salad right behind it.

Their I-don’t-know-what-you-call-this seafood pasta. Well, don’t blame me. The dish sounded very French to me and I can’t speak nor spell French. And this wasn’t even in their menu. This was a food server’s suggestion. Not bad. I liked it better than the Seafood Gambero from Pancake House. It’s just the parsley that I don’t like about this dish. I can’t explain why I don’t like parsley. I just don’t. But I realllly want to love it. And I am trying.

Here is a more delicious view of the seafood pasta. 

And I almost forgot to end this post with concrete evidence of us dining in the restaurant…

A candid shot.

Final verdict? NOMNOM. I highly recommend this restaurant and I want to sample all of their dishes. Bye for now!