Excellent Filipino Cuisine at Provenciano

Karen’s here for Christmas and we met up with her for lunch. She lives in the UP Village, so we chose to go to Provenciano to avoid the horrible December traffic.

Provenciano is one of the restaurants along Maginhawa Street. They have their own parking space in front of the restaurant. There is a quaint little stall outside the main dining hall, where a lady cooks puto bumbong and bibingka. Don’t forget to bring home some after your meal.

The main dining area is quite big. It is very tastefully-decorated. But even though the restaurant is spacious, the place got filled up very quickly soon after we arrived.

We ordered the Crispy Pata, Sugpong Bataan (fresh prawns simmered in coconut cream and crab fat cooked the Bataan way), Sinigang na Baboy, Pinakbet, McArthur’s Rice (garlic fried rice with crab fat and smoked fish flakes), Leche Flan and Turon sa Sikwate.

Everything we ordered was delicious! Provenciano serves Filipino food in an excellent setting. This is one place where you can bring your guests to proudly show off Filipino cuisine.

Fat Fook Manila: Reasonably-priced and delicious Taiwanese food

My family loves Xiao Long Bao. We try to have it in every restaurant that offers it. That was what brought us to Fat Fook Manila.

We ordered the Steamed Pork Xiao Long Bao, Chicken Chops and String Beans with Minced Pork. The XLB wrapper in Fat Fook Manila was not as delicate as the ones used in Din Tai Fung or Lugang Cafe. But that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t delicious. It was good, the soup and meat inside were very flavorful. The chicken chops were very good too. Serving size was huge and the coating was very crunchy. I am not a big fan of vegetables, but I loved the string beans with minced pork. The vegetables were not over-cooked and the seasoning, just right.

I like the over-all feel of the restaurant. They used inverted blue-and-white porcelain bowls for lighting fixtures. The place doesn’t feel cramped despite the many tables around. Service was good too. The manager came to our table to ask about how we found our meal.

We will definitely be back for more of Fat Fook Manila.

 

Pink Day at Baskin Robbins

Who doesn’t love ice cream? At Baskin Robbins, there are so many flavors to choose from. I always spend some time selecting what flavor I will get. Their ice cream doesn’t come cheap, so we don’t have it too often.

But wait! Baskin Robbins has a promo called “Wednesday is Pink Day”.  Wear something pink and you get a junior scoop free with every purchase of a double junior scoop. And I have just the thing for it – my pink Sperry shoes!

Chili’s: My Favorite Comfort Food Place

There are a lot of restaurants in SM Megamall, but the one I place I keep coming back to when I have a longing for comfort food is Chili’s. After a long day at work, I just want to savor a bowl of their Chicken Enchilada soup.

I usually have their Crispy Chicken Tacos, but today I decided to try their Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers.

I liked the crispy chicken crispers, although I thought it was a little too sweet. It’s the same sauce they use in the crispy chicken taco, but the saltiness of the bacon in the taco balances the sweetness.

 

 

Checking Out Another Burger Place: Grind Burger

There are a lot of new restaurants in The Block, SM North EDSA. We saw a burger place called Grind Burger. It’s located right in front of the Hypermarket at the Ground Floor.

Interiors are simple and pleasant to the eyes. The space is quite small, so there is no room for unnecessary clutter.

We ordered the Grind Burger, described as having “100% USDA house ground beef, brioche from the oven, vine ripe tomato, iceberg, sweet onion, American cheese and tiny’s secret sauce”. We were intrigued by the Deep Fried Mac and Cheese Balls, so we got that too.

The burger was a winner! The beef was juicy and the bread was delicious! They make their own brioche buns and they complement the burger wonderfully.

I liked the presentation of the mac and cheese balls. It gives a different twist to an old dish. But I wasn’t too crazy about it. I don’t think I’ll order it next time.

We enjoyed our burgers in Grind. It’s really great that they have delicious buns too.

 

Eggs For Breakfast: A Garden Oasis

Not too many restaurants are open at 7:00 am. Even those that serve breakfast usually open at 8:00. We were lucky to find Eggs For Breakfast one early morning.

Eggs For Breakfast is a small and cozy restaurant within a compound of an events place. They have manicured lawns, a pretty gazebo and a small koi pond. It was beautiful with the early morning sunshine.

They have a wide range of breakfast options – omelettes, egg dishes, sandwiches, pancakes, rice meals. We had the beef tapa, Vigan longganisa and omelette. Everything tasted good! Serving size is adequate. Lovely place for a date or a quiet meal.

Midweek Reunion at B&B: Burgers and Brewskies

It’s been a while since I had joined my high school friends for a get-together. Either it’s too far, or I can’t leave, or some other reason. So when this reunion was set up, I took the chance while the kids are still on vacation.

B&B: Burgers and Brewskies is located at the Ground Floor of Estancia Mall in Pasig. It’s a relatively new mall, with lots of beautiful stores and not too many people. For a weekday night, there were quite a number of people in B&B, mostly people who had just come from the office.

Chicken wings are on a buy-one-take-one deal on Tuesdays and we made full use of that. You can choose different flavors for your wings. We had the salt and pepper, zesty barbecue and honey garlic. All of them were delicious! For Happy Hour, they had three drinks at 50% off – lychee martini, margarita and rum coke. I had their mojito and it was pretty good. Food and drinks were great!

Checking out Landers Superstore

There’s a new warehouse superstore in the area – Landers Superstore. It is located along EDSA, further north from Congressional Avenue. They just opened last month and they have a promo offering discounted membership fees, from Php800 down to Php640, until September 2016.

One whole side of Landers is made of glass, giving the place a lot of ambient light, so the place doesn’t feel like a warehouse. It’s a lot like S&R, but Landers feels airier and brighter. The selection is pretty much the same but each store has its own unique finds. Landers has bigger spice and cheese selections, but there are better meat options in S&R.

The dining area of Landers is bigger and roomier than that of S&R. The food options are the same – pizza, roast and fried chicken. Our verdict: it’s a tie with the pizza, S&R has better roast chicken, and Landers has better fried chicken.

Nadai Fujisoba: Japanese Noodles Other Than Ramen

I guess I’m still on a Japan hang-over. I met up with some friends for lunch at Nadai Fujisoba at the SM North EDSA The Block. I love Japanese food, but I haven’t tried other Japanese noodles besides ramen. Nadai Fujisoba offers hot and cold udon and soba, as well as other Japanese dishes.

I like the interiors of Nadai Fujisoba. The black and white decor on the walls provide a clean-looking aura.

I had the Ebiten Udon – hot udon noodles served with 2 pieces of tempura.

I liked the udon – chewy and soft. My friends tried the cold noodles and they liked that too.  I’d gladly recommend Nadai Fujisoba. Price is reasonable, serving size is adequate and taste is good.

 

Archery at Gandiva Archery Range

My nephew is visiting from the US and I wanted the kids to have a unique activity. I had heard of Gandiva Archery from a friend whose kids had gone. I asked the kids if they wanted to try archery and they said yes. I made reservations for a weekday slot, just to make sure the three of them would be able to go together.

The Gandiva Archery Range is located on the 7th floor of One Corporate Center, Julia Vargas corner Meralco Avenues. The range was empty when we got there, it being a weekday early afternoon. I got them one hour sessions each, which included a set of archery equipment, target face, and safety gears, plus the instructor.

The kids had fun channelling their inner Katniss, Legolas and Hawkeye. Their arms felt sore afterwards, but they had a lot of fun.