Another work day done. It’s late in the afternoon and Bong and I haven’t had lunch. We find one that’s near the clinic and not too crowded. Tendon Tenya is on the 4th floor of SMMegamall Building A
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Tempura is what they offer and so that’s what we got. Their tempura was good, batter was crisp and light. Nothing fancy, just your basic tempura. The serving portion for the rice was quite small. I wonder how similar this would fare compared to the tempura in their Tokyo branches.
Peri Peri Charcoal Chicken is described as Portuguese-style grilled chicken with spicy-sweet Peri Peri sauce. Peri peri (or piri piri) is also called African bird’s eye chili. They serve charcoal-grilled chicken that is flavorful even without any sauce. They serve a variety of sauces on the side. We ordered a whole chicken with 4 side dishes. The serving size for the side dishes was quite small though.
True enough, when it opened in Megamall last October, long lines were the norm, any day of the week, moreso on weekends. Initial reviews from people we knew were not very encouraging but we wanted to experience it ourselves. By December, the lines were manageable.
The food was offered in three sizes – small, regular and New York size. While waiting in line, their attendants showed us samples of how big the platters were so we can gauge what size was best for us. We got the chicken and gyro platters, one small and one regular size. The chicken, gyro and vegetables are placed on top of a huge serving of rice. They put their trademark white sauce over the meat. They have a spicy red sauce, if you prefer yours with an extra kick.
There are a lot of newly-opened restaurants in the Mega Fashion Hall, each with its own unique offering. Osaka Ohsho is a modern-looking Japanese restaurant. It belongs to a chain of restaurants in Japan and other parts of Asia. This is their first branch in the Philippines.
Since gyoza is their specialty, they offer it in sets with other food items. My husband had the beef sukiyaki set, while I had the chahan (fried rice) with chicken teriyaki set. Both sets came with gyoza. The gyoza was truly excellent! The skin remained firm while the filling was very tasty and flavorful. The rest of the food was just as good. Service was also good. I’d really love to come back for more of their gyoza!
Bong is in a ramen phase these days. He has been trying different ramen places in Megamall and Quezon City. I like Japanese food, but I’m not exactly a big fan of ramen. We were in the Mega Fashion Hall for an early lunch and saw that there were no lines yet in Ippudo. We thought it would be a good time to try it since the lines are almost always long. We were then shown to our table and handed our menus. The interior of the restaurant is quite small. But the staff was very knowledgeable about the different food options they had and were very helpful. You can specify how hard or soft you want the noodles to be.
Food was delicious. The ramen came in big servings. The pork buns were also delicious, although I think they were quite small. Prices are on the high side, but that is to be expected.
Ever since the cupcake frenzy hit Manila, my go-to was Cupcakes by Sonja. Every time my husband would be in the area where their first branch is located, I would ask him to bring some home. I was thrilled when they opened a branch in the Mega Fashion Hall of SM Megamall. I would be able to have my fix more often, or so I thought.
Numerous other cupcake stalls have opened in Megamall. I had heard of GIGI Cupcakes, but they were in Eastwood and I hardly went there. This afternoon, the kids and I found a stall of GIGI Cupcakes in Megamall. They offered a variety of different colored cupcakes, all of them very tempting.
We got the Salted Caramel, Chocolate and the Red Velvet cupcakes. Each cupcake costs P50, although there are other flavors which cost more. They were very delicious! The kids and I were very happy with our choices. It is now our favorite cupcake place.
There are so many new restaurants in the Mega Fashion Hall. Chelsea Kitchen is just one of them. It is located on the Ground Floor of the Mega Fashion Hall, very near the main entrance. My husband and I decided to try it out for lunch.
We were informed that servings were usually good for two to three people so we decided to split our orders. We started with the CK Chicken Salad, which consisted of char-grilled Asian pesto chicken, peanut plum dressing, fresh basil, cilantro and mint, and Asian slaw. We were later told that the peanut plum dressing was not available, only the lemon vinaigrette. The vegetables were fresh and crisp. There was a fair amount of chicken mixed into it. The dressing was light and was served in a separate container. I prefer this method of serving as it enables you to adjust how much of the dressing you want on your salad.
For our main course, we ordered the 4-Hour Cola Ribs. The ribs were tender and tasty. The sauce was flavorful and sweet. The serving size was enough for the two of us, but maybe not for two really hungry people.
The dessert was my favorite part. They had a lot of dessert choices on the menu and still more on the cake display. We ordered the salted caramel artisanal cake. The cake was moist and soft. It is one of the best salted caramel cakes I have had! The sweetness was just right, not cloying at all.
We enjoyed our meal at Chelsea Kitchen. Service was a little slow, considering that there were not too many diners at that time. But all in all, it was a pleasant experience for us. We made a note to come back, especially to try their other desserts.
My daughter needed a haircut today. I was supposed to bring her to her usual stylist, but it was a rainy afternoon and it was going to be a long walk. I didn’t want to expose her to the elements as she was just recovering from a viral illness. So we tried out a new stylist for her in a salon within Megamall. We went to Vivere Salon. It was very busy this afternoon – the place was full. But we were accommodated right away and assigned to RJ. He was very nice, he was patient with my daughter, he asked her opinion before he cut her hair. In the end, she was very satisfied with the way she was treated in this salon.
We heard that a new burger place opened in the Atrium of SM Megamall. Triple Os opened their doors to Philippine burger-lovers in the latter part of June 2014. We went there for lunch today.
I was surprised to find very few people in the store for a Saturday lunch. Many restaurants have queues on their first few months. At that point, we were just glad we didn’t have to wait long to give our orders. The kids had the Original Burger with Cheese and my husband and I ordered the Bacon Cheddar Burger.
The sandwiches were delicious, but the burger patties were dry and bland. I liked the bacon and the thick-cut fries. I would have liked to try their chicken sandwich too, but I figured I would try their burger first. Prices are expensive, considering it is a fast-food joint. While the food tastes good, I feel it is not worth the hefty price tag. I may consider eating there again, but not often.
I am grateful for the very patient and creative staff of Pic-A-Boo Megamall. We need some studio photos so we booked a shoot with them this morning. We’ve had a few shoots with them in the past, for both sides of our families (the photo below is from one of our previous shoots). We like that their photographers are very friendly, patient, professional, great with their subjects (especially with kids) and their rates are reasonable. I think we should have our photos taken there more often, especially now that the kids are getting older. Pretty soon they wouldn’t want to have their pictures taken with us anymore. If you’re looking for a photo studio in the Mandaluyong area for your family portraits, we highly recommend Pic-A-Boo Megamall.
Eye Am Mom 