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

Kitschen Flashback: Middle Eastern Food

Home-made Hummus and Baba Ganoush-- I'm not a big fan of eggplant, but I love Baba Ganoush. Even moreso when I made it according to my taste.

Falafel Salad-- with sun dried tomatoes, feta and falafels (home-made of course!)

Assorted Kebabs- Chicken, Beef and Fish! Served with garlic yogurt dip.

For dessert- not exactly middle eastern but I used dates! Sticky date cupcakes!

This is a Kitschen Flashback because I actually made this dinner months ago and just forgot to post it! It was my first attempt at Middle Eastern food and I must say, I did A-Ok :)

Kitschen Desserts: Paradis Natural Ice Cream

Last Sunday, my friend Gina and I had merienda at this new ice cream place along Tomas Morato called Paradis. Home-made ice cream is becoming an increasingly popular dessert in Manila so I was curious to see what unique thing they could bring to the table.

What Paradis offers is all natural, home made ice cream in unusual (read: some of you will even think WEIRD) flavors. Some out of the ordinary flavors owner Troy Hatcho came up with are Agasajo (Chili Chocolate Saffron), Pumpkin, Pineapple Rosemary Sorbet, Coco Vanilla, Red Beet and Orange and even Malunggay.

I tried the Pineapple Rosemary Sorbet and it was a nice twist on the fresh taste of Pineapple. It was refreshing and I enjoyed it. Other flavors I tried are the following:

Agasajo (Chili Chocolate Saffron)-- I personally found this a little too spicy. I have had hot chocolate with chili, and in fact, even make chili chocolate truffles myself and when working with unusual pairings with food, one must realize that less is more. At the end of the day, ice cream is a dessert and I would prefer a bittersweet dark chocolate with a hint of zing that coats my throat as opposed to having to drink water and fan my tongue after every bite.

Wasabi-- I felt the same way about this flavor. It was a bit overpowering to the point of making the ice cream less enjoyable. Dessert shouldn't be so stressful. Flavors for these two were good, it just needs to be toned down.

Caramel-- I loved this one. In fact, I can say it was my favorite. It had that taste of caramel right before it burns (Im saying this in a good way)The taste lingers on the tongue and I couldn't stop eating it.

Coco Vanilla-- If you're a fan of Coco Jam, you'll love this flavor because it tastes exactly like it. Gina got a whole cup of this and enjoyed it immensely.

Peanut Butter-- I liked the flavor but felt the consistency was a bit too thick and sticky and not creamy enough. I almost felt as if I was eating plain peanut butter.

Red Beet and Orange-- Before you say "Gross", let me say it was actually really good. It was more orange and less beet, except for the lovely raspberry color. Troy said kids love this flavor. I didn't like the thick consistency. Ice cream should always be creamy.

Guava Passionfruit Sorbet-- I love guava, anything guava so you already know I loved this one.

They also have this think they call YOlive, which is an olive oil based yogurt. It sounds kinda shady at first but let me assure you, it is AWESOME. It has this almost nutty taste to it and I kept eating it, even if I was supposed to be trying everything else. Will definitely go back for this one.

They also have a decent menu of savory food such as quiches, sandwiches and salads. They're also open for breakfast. Unlike some dessert cafes that tend ot put savory dishes as an afterthought, you can actually go to Paradis to enjoy their food even if you don't plan on eating ice cream. It's actually pretty good. I had the 3 mushroom quiche with button, shitake and oyster mushrooms.

Paradis is located at 1/F Unit B Kojack Building, Tomas Morato cor. Sct Castor street, QC. Call 5760589 to reserve space for meetings etc. Free wifi when you buy!

To market, to market: Midnight Mercato

A few friends and I went to the first Midnight Mercato Centrale last Friday. Although it wasn't as full (food wise) as the regular daytime market, I can already see it becoming a haven for post-clubbing, tipsy crowds and the midnight munchers from the area.

I didn't eat any of these things above (Sarah had the roast beef shown last) but they sure did look good. Ended up with the tried and tested Margarita's Paella Negra...my all time favorite. I love it so much that the P280 per serving price tag doesn't even affect me.

Abdul and I went back the next day and stuffed our faces at almost 3 am. Oh God, I can already see a habit forming.

Mercato Centrale is located to the side of Cav and The Spa in Bonifacio Global City. Open Fri-Sat 10pm-3am and Sat-Sun 7am-2pm