Restaurant Review: Army Navy

I'm so behind. I only tried Army Navy last night!

My past few weeks haven't exactly been stellar, so Abdul suggested we grab a bunch of food from Army Navy and stay in on a Friday night watching dvds.

We did the Army Navy part and one dvd after which we passed out...at 10 pm! Caught up on much needed sleep, finally! I got 9 hours!

Freedom Fries. Yummy, thin cut and seasoned perfectly. Still crispy after a 20 minutes car ride.

Onion Rings. They were ok. I like how they were thin and crunchy but needed to be seasoned/ salted more.

My burger. Their regular burger consists of a quarter pound patty, lettuce, tomato, raw onions and ketchup and mayo. I asked for mine without the mayo and ketchup and caramelized onions instead, with cheese and extra bacon. I know, I know. I made it 10x more unhealthy. It was bomb though, I love their black sesame seed bun.

What did we wash it down with? A bottle of Moet of course. We ghetto fabulous like that ;p

Army Navy has branches along Commerce Avenue in Alabang, Glorietta 5 and De la Rosa street, Makati

Restaurant Rant: Jozu Kin

Abdul wanted to eat dinner at Charlie's in Ronac last Sunday, but I managed to sway him into going to Jozu Kin instead. I had some food from this restaurant a few weeks back at a housewarming and really enjoyed it. I shared this information with the boyfriend and his Japanese food living butt willingly obliged to my request to eat there instead.

Unfortunately, I was really disappointed this time around.

Should have stuck with Charlie's!

Abdul got this spicy tuna maki. He said it was ok. Nothing special.

I got the unagi maki. The unagi looked really limp and sad. It also had a strong fishy taste. I ate it because it was there but I didn't really like it at all.

I also got the tempura roll. The rolls were loose and kept falling apart. The crunchy tempura batter tasted like old oil and it was cold. This gave me a stomach ache after from all the oil. I feel like the tempura itself wasn't cooked well :(

The only thing I actually enjoyed was the garlic rice Abdul got with his main. And the guyabano juice--> but that was out of a can.

For this price range, or even cheaper, go to Omakase instead-- they have never failed me over there!

Kitschen Chaos: Sometimes a girl just needs steak

I don't get to cook as often as I used to and it's a damn shame because I really enjoy it, and my friends and family really enjoy my food too.

I am usually busy doing nothing on weekends to rest from the week before and for the week after, but many times I just can't take it and need to be in the kitchen making something.

Earlier in the week, I wanted steak really bad, but it had to be the steak I make at home. So I marked Saturday on my calendar as Steak day and whipped up a meal for my dad, Abdul and my cousin Patricia.

My first time to make Carrot & Coriander Soup- I tried this somewhere years ago, but invented the recipe on the spot as I walked through the supermarket aisles. Came out pretty good and will definitely make this again. And I usually hate carrots!

I have featured this before, and I make it quite often-- Warm Shitake Salad. It's my go to meal in a bowl when I'm too lazy to cook anything major.

Steak! -made with Aussie beef, of course! Marinated my usual way, pan fried with a little butter until medium rare.

I could live eating mashed potatoes alone, but my new favorite kind involves toasted garlic and green onions, sharp cheddar and parmesan cheese.

Aaaah, weekends, you need to happen more often!

Kitschen Favorites: Pho-shizzle (Pho 24)

I love soup. Any kind of soup. I have often said that I can live eating only soup all my life. I especially like those that involve a nice tasty broth and carbs of some sort, usually either noodles or rice. It's not so surprising that my top three favorites are Japanese Ramen, Vietnamese Pho and Filipino Arroz Caldo.

Pho 24 at Rockwell may not be the exactly like Pho you would find in Saigon, but among all the little Vietnamese franchises, it's my favorite. it's cheap, ingredients are fresh and it's tasty. hits the spot for me and my boyfriend every time.

Start with, fried spring rolls. I wish I could have Nuoc Cham with everything I eat. It's my favorite dipping sauce in the world.

Prawns in sugarcane. Don't even bother. Not worth it. Didn't taste good and there were only 3 pieces.

Condiments for our Pho. We both usually have the mixed beef pho bowl. I put lots of lime, I usually need to ask for an extra wedge. And it NEEDS to be lime, none of that lemon crap!

And finally.....Aaaaaaaahhhhh.....

Pho24 is located at Concourse Lvl., Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center. Makati City, Telephone # 897-8088

Restaurant Return: Charlie's Grind and Grill

In this entry, I actually have a photo of the burger and not the mess I left behind post burger!

My little girl with my little god daughter. Kala and Ananda hang out while their parents are pigging out.

Yum. The only burger that I never take anything out of. I usually don't like mayo, mustard etc, but I leave all that on when I eat this. it's good exactly the way it is and even better with their home made aioli sauce. Halfway through these burgers I'm usually already full, but I end up finishing it all anyway!One of my favorite burgers in Manila.

My beer loving Aussie mate couldn't handle this Arrogant Bastard Ale. When I tried it, I couldn't deal. It was so bitter! It you like really dark beers, you will probably love it. I think I will stick to Stella though.

The Arrogant Bastard with his little girl and mine going down the spiral staircase at Ronac Art Center.


Check out Charlie's Grind and Grill at Ronac Art Center along Ortigas Avenue in San Juan.

Restaurant review: Robot

First of all, I'm 2 steps ahead of you...yes I know my photos are terrible this time around. The lighting at Robot before 9 pm was actually perfect (see first photo) but then they dimmed the millions of little light bulbs and all my food shots turned to crap.I hate using flash for food photos but this one time, I shoulda just done it!

Ze boyfriend (not so) patiently waiting for our food. We found this P888 6 course tasting menu deal on Cash Cash Pinoy. Originally set at almost P2,000, this wasn't a bad deal.

This wasn't part of the Tasting Menu. Sarah and I were so hungry we ended up ordering a few rolls and starters before our food even came out. Soft shell crab rolls are always hit or miss for me, but this was pretty good.

This was actually the second course-Amaebi (Japanese sweet shrimp) set on green tea soba with uni tosazu (soy, bonito, and vinegar) froth garnished with strawberry faux caviar. This was my least favorite. The prawn didn't taste as fresh as it could have and the noodles were a bit hard.

This was the first course- Smoked Toro Prosciutto. I love, love, love Toro. If I could eat only THAT part part of tuna whenever I eat sushi I'd be a happy woman.

Lamboyaki- We got this as another extra order, coz like I said, we were starving to death. These were basically little balls filled with lamb and foie gras. If you have ever been to Robot's head chef Nino Laus' restaurant Ninyo, this might seem familiar, because over there they have the same ones but filled with duck and foie gras.

Hamachi new style sashimi with mixed green (fresh hamachi drizzled with searing butter and yuzu, garnished with jalapeno, mango faux caviar, and cherry tomato served with mixed green in yamamomo dressing)--I liked the presentation of this. The salad was basically wrapped around a bread stick. The dressing was also really good and I love Hamachi so this was one of my favorites.

Our menu said Calamansi Sorbet as a palate cleanser, but this was actually buko lychee.

USDA Prime beef tenderloin crusted with desiccated coconut and Vietnamese coffee on a bed of tarragon mashed potato, wasabi coconut sauce, garnished with dehydrated vegetables and fruit spheres---I wish this steak was bigger because it was soooo good. Done medium rare, just the way I like it.

Mango yuzu cheesecake - cheesecake with a hint of yuzu garnished with fresh mangoes on a green tea sesame meringue crust-- Not a fan of cheesecake, any cheesecake- at all. I ate half of this though, mostly the mango part hehe.

Next time I go to Robot, I think I wanna try the ala carte stuff. It was good, the restaurant itself is very trippy (Check out the unisex bathroom that makes you feel like you're inside a huge shiny disco ball)I was wondering why on a Saturday night it wasn't full though. Maybe not many people know about it yet?

Head Chef Nino Laus is also the owner of Ninyo, a fine dining restaurant in Loyola Heights, QC that my family and I always eat at. I must say, if you want a real taste of his cooking, I would still suggest going to Ninyo instead. I will come back though to try other things on the menu!

ROBOT Japanese Cuisine 7912 Makati Ave, corner Sto Tomas St, Somerset Bldg., in between Atrium & Manila Peninsula HotelMakati, Philippines. For reservations, call 8128800 or 0917-51-ROBOT

Restaurant Review: The Stock Market

The Stock Market in Bonifacio High Street is under new management, so I was surprised at how unfamiliar the menu was. My boyfriend and I aren't the mushy Valentine's Day types so we spent the day of hearts having dinner with some relatives.

The Stock Market has a brand new menu. I didn't recognize anything on it, so even if you've eaten here before, you can probably eat here now and it will feel like a whole new restaurant.

Calamri with tartar sauce-- I like how this tasted, but I wish they used the whole squid (with legs) instead of rings

Creamy Spinach and Salmon dip, served with toast. This was yummy and really rich. Make sure you get it to share or you'll be too full to eat your main.

Escargot in a garlic butter sauce. I liked the garlic butter (but of course) but we all found the snail a bit rubbery.

Mussels in white wine sauce. I was so full already but I tried the sauce and it was really good.

Crab Cakes- I've never been a fan of crab cakes but for those of you who always order this, it's worth a try.

Pan fried sea bass with mushroom asparagus risotto. My uncle ordered almost everything on the menu that by the time this came, I was so stuffed I only had 2 bites. It was good the next day though when I brought it to work for lunch.

One complaint I have is that service took forever! I don't know, maybe because it was Valentine's Day, and also only the first week under new management, so I'm willing to let that slide for now.

The Stock Market is located at Bonifacio High Street. For reservations, call 856-6301