Tenya Asakusa Tokyo: First Bite at SM Megamall

We were searching for a nice restaurant to fill our hungry tummies with when we saw Tenya. We were a bit apprehensive at first because of the newly opened restaurant vibe but we considered giving it a shot. Upon entering, the wait staff were eager to get us seated and was really enthusiastic in serving us. I observed that the place was quite small and can only accommodate around 30 people at once but nevertheless, the interior was really nice.We were seated in one of their couches and was handed out their menu. 

I like how the blue compliments the place.

We started browsing and what really caught my attention was their Teishoku sets.

Sorry for the crappy photo :p

 I picked their Classic Tempura set and my boyfriend chose their set which includes soba noodles (I forgot what its called :p). While waiting, the waitstaff assigned to us offered us a cup of tea but unfortunately at that time it was still brewing and would take around 20 minutes so he instead served us water. Looking around, I saw that the place was nearly full. Maybe people passing by are still intimidated to go inside and try a new restaurant or they are still waiting for reviews from people who had guts to try it hehehe. Anyway, after 10 minutes or so, our food arrived. Mine came in first.

Japanese food Asakusa style

 The serving was actually big. The waitstaff informed us of the sauce on the side, which is called Dontare sauce, can be paired with our tempura and rice and of course we can have as much pickles as we want (I'm a sucker for those). 

Their Dontare sauce is in that cute black jar beside the Togarashi and their unlimited pickles. YUM!

My boyfriend's meal came in afterwards and it looks delicious. I have a soft spot for soba in my heart ever since our Little Tokyo experience.

Just looking at this photo makes me hungry x10!

 He told me I could sample the dish later because he knows I blog about food a lot lol. At first bite, I can tell that the vegetables were not oily and retained their crispiness. Even the fish included doesn't smell fishy and believe it or not I liked it. I poured a good amount of Dontare sauce on my rice and scooped a few pieces of pickles and I was good to go. The dish was really satisfying. What's more, the waitstaff frequently visits our table to ask if we enjoyed our food and if there's anything we would like to add or get. There was also a condiment included in the meal which tasted like ginger wasabi and I love it to bits. It adds a lot of flavor and kick to my meal. As for the soba, the soup was really light and the noodles were a bit on the thin side. It was OK for me but I still prefer the ones we had at Little Tokyo. As usual, I wasn't able to finish the meal I ordered and had to ask my boyfriend to help me finish the meal. We paid around 700php plus. Not bad for a good and hefty meal. 

Will I be back soon? I sure will.

Ramen Nagi experience at Glorietta 5

I'd like to begin by saying I am so sorry for the lull. I've been busy and when there are times that I would've written something, our office internet bugs down. Miraculously though, that changed today. So for my two month absence, I'll slowly fill you in with my food-scapade and hopefully our internet'll cooperate.

Look at their cute place mat

Me and my boyfriend was around BGC when we tried Ramen Nagi at Glorietta 5. He was scheduled to meet with a chiropractor and since he didn't have time to grab anything to eat on our way there, we decided to eat lunch there. As I already had my meal, he still insisted I have a bowl of ramen and he'll eat whatever I don't finish. We ordered something new out of their selection of ramen. I believe it was an Ebi based ramen. He got himself a serving of their Taki gyoza and a bowl of Japanese rice. While ordering ramen, the staff gave us a piece of paper and a red pen for us to customize our ramen. We asked for the best consistency of noodles on our desired ramen and he suggested we have our noodles hard since the broth is hot and it'll soften while being consumed. As for the level of spice, they suggested I go for 1 which as they say is tolerable but upon tasting the broth, I could still go for level 2 or 3. While waiting for our food, I decided to take a few pictures of the place.

Customizing my ramen. 

Full house y'all!

 There are a lot of people at that time and I must say that the ratio of servers attending to the number of customers there is pretty decent. My ramen came in first.

It's Tampopo all over again!

Upon setting it on our table, the manager came and put a paper bib on me. I was surprised. He wasn't rude or anything. He did ask for my permission first and seeing as there is no harm in it, I gave in. Before eating the mouth watering bowl of ramen in front of me, I remembered something from the 1985 Japanese movie, Tampopo. I copied the way they ate their ramen in the film and it was really fun. The broth was good. My initial thinking was that they'd put in tempura since I read that it is an Ebi Ramen. Nevertheless, the pork did complement the broth. There is also Shinachiku root, bits of nori and green onions. The noodles were really firm. I like that even after consuming 3/4 of the soup, the noodles remained firm and chewy. After about 5 minutes, his order came.

My boyfriend burned his tongue on his first bite. Make sure you cool it off before digging in.

The gyoza was placed in a sizzling stone bowl with their signature pork bone soup. It was really hot so he has to wait for a few minutes before he can dig in. Upon tasting the soup of his dish, it reminded of something light and creamy I had before. The gyoza was really nice as well. Too bad the serving was not enough for one hungry man. My ramen was actually bigger and of course I shared some of my food with him. Sadly, it wasn't enough for him. He decided to eat later after his check-up since we're running late. But all in all, our experience at Ramen Nagi was really good. The servers were attentive and the ambiance was lively. Their playlist was even approved by my boyfriend hahaha. With a glass of lemon iced tea, our bill totaled to around 800 php. Not bad for good food with an equally good quality. So if you're around Glorietta 5 and is craving for some good Ramen, Ramen Nagi'll not disappoint you. I heard their Original King Butao is something you must try, so we're definitely going back. Hope you got hungry as much as I did while writing this. "Till next time!

The Old Spaghetti House SM Manila

I haven't been up to writing these past few months hence my absence. But I have been to places that offer blog worthy food.

Recently I have been to The Old Spaghetti House at SM Manila. I've been passing this restaurant a lot in the past and this is actually the first time I'm trying their dishes. As their restaurant name suggests, I ordered their recommended pasta dish which is their Sun dried tomato pesto pasta with grilled chicken and some nachos for my appetizer. I've observed that the place was packed and people were beginning to get curious as to what the buzz is all about. It turns out they were having their eat all you can pasta and pizza that day. I forgot to take a photo of their promo but I do believe you can easily check that out on their Facebook page.

My order came in less than 10 minutes. The pasta was actually pretty good. I love anything pesto and this one is an instant favorite. The nachos were equally satisfying and the serving size was big enough for sharing. I was satisfied with what I ordered and must admit that it was worth the price. All in all I paid 400php plus the tip.

As for the service, it was OK. They were attentive enough to refill my glass of water and get me table napkins upon request without waiting too long. If I wasn't on diet I'd probably try their Eat all you can pasta and pizza promo seeing as every person that day was trying it. Probably next time I guess.

Pasta perfection <3

Not your ordinary nacho *pun intended

SHP Bibimbap Korean Restaurant/Cafe

Hey ho! I haven't been updating this blog religiously but to make up for it, I have something for you guys. Presenting... SHP Bibimbab Korean Cafe/Restaurant. I know, some of you are probably thinking it's just another plain old Korean restaurant with smoke absorbers and grills placed on the table. Believe me that's what's pictured in my head when my friend told me we were having dinner there. We came across a building right after St. Benilde's and went to its second floor.

Photo grabbed from the internet

I was surprised by their teal colored door. Normally I wouldn't be this excited but when we opened the door, it was like we were literally transported to Korea. I can't keep my eyes on one place. The place is spacious and very cool. There are big stuffed toys lying everywhere. I was instantly embarrassed at how happy I looked. I really love the place.

For those without "dates", they offer this bear (and other plush toys) for company

You can't miss dining in these cute corners. Great for chit chatting with friends <3

Which way to go?

Their counter

We ordered food in their counter. The food choices were a bit limited so you're definitely paying for the ambiance. But in my opinion, that's okay since I wasn't really hungry that time. I ordered their Spam Gimbab (120 php),their peach yogurt smoothie (190 php) and a slice of their Blueberry cheesecake (120 php/slice). My friend had their Beef Bibimbab (around 240 php), their pink lemonade (I forgot to ask the price), and I treated her to a slice of their Choco ecstasy cake (120 php). The taste was OK as well as their serving size.

Our date, Kiko Matsing (monkey)

Isn't he adorable?

 As for their wi-fi, I wasn't really able to surf properly because it was a bit slow but my friend told me she didn't encounter any problems. Anyway, it might just be my phone. Moving on, we took a lot of photos (Sayang din naman kasi yung chance xD). But we did forget to take photos of their rest room. Oh well, more reason to go back and try their other dishes.





SHP Bibimbab Cafe/Restaurant
P.Ocampo Street Mervin terraces bldg 2floor, Taft, Manila near College of St. Benilde’s Design Building
09151421506

Kagura Okonomiyaki Restaurant at Little Tokyo Makati

Another weekend's coming and my boyfriend is missing his closest buddies so he scheduled a dinner date with them at Little Tokyo Makati. We've already been there (read my previous post) and I can say their food is something to crave for everytime I think Japanese. We met up at Gateway Cubao after his work and rode the MRT to get to Magallanes Station. We rode a jeepney passing Makati Cinema Square. Little Tokyo Makati is just beside this establishment. I was haunted by the fact that we didn't get to try Kagura's Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes) that I told my boyfriend to try it out that time. We were a bit worried since we know how crowded the place gets at night and we were crossing our fingers so we can snag 4 seats. We got our prayers answered and was surprised that there were seats inside the store. We settled down in their bar area as soon as we stepped inside the restaurant. We were then handed out their menu. I immediately zeroed in on their okonomiyaki's. My top two choices were octopus and squid. For drinks, I had the usual iced tea while he had calamansi juice. We watched Japanese baseball on their TV and it is apparent that the owner is a big fan of the Hanshin Tigers. About five more minutes, our friends arrived. My boyfriend placed another order of octopus okonomiyaki and they ordered their drinks as well. While waiting for our food, we were approached by a lady asking us if we want to transfer in one of their tatami tables. 

After about 10 minutes or so, our first two batches of squid and octopus okonomiyaki was brought to us. It was still steaming hot and it smelled a bit like takoyaki. I first tried their octopus okonomiyaki. It's really tasty and the sauce on top reminded me of the sauce used in Hana's takoyaki. There were also bits of octopus in every bite and I find the dish really filling. I saw a Japanese guy leave 1/4 of his serving because it was that heavy. I then tasted the squid okonomiyaki and it was equally tasty. Actually, it tasted like its octopus counterpart. I was on my second serving when I started to feel the weight of the dish. I ate another quarter of octopus okonomiyaki and after that, I had to wave the white flag. My boyfriend did the same. Although one of our friends thought that what we were eating were appetizers lol (he really wanted to eat a bento or something with rice). After a bit more chatter, we paid the bill and went to Chotto Stop for some pudding. They were busy talking and catching up so I got what I intended and paid for it. I never really had the chance to examine their products closely because our other friend wanted to eat again somewhere in Glorietta so I had to schedule that next time.

All in all, we paid less than 1000 php for our meal. It was really satisfying and filling. An order can be shared and eaten by two people.This restaurant is definitely a must try. Till our next food adventure!

Japanese expats enjoying their drink while watching a football game

While sitting at the bar

Cool Japanese liquor bottles

Kawaii baseball figures and memorabillias XD

And of course, three orders of this yummy Okonomiyaki (two orders of their octopus version and an order of their squid version

Cafe Breton at Tomas Morato

It's been a while since I last updated my blog and since I'm fresh from the long weekend, I decided to pay my blog a visit. It was a Saturday afternoon when my sister and I decided to drop by Tomas Morato in search of crepe. Yes, I was craving crepe at that time. So I searched Google and that's how I found the nearest crepe restaurant in our place. Going there, we scoured Sct. de Guia and if I wasn't paying attention, we would've passed the restaurant because of the trees blocking its facade. I was surprised at how homey and warm this restaurant felt. I was instantly put in good despite having been out in the sun for awhile. There was an ongoing baby shower at that time but the waiter attended to us immediately and gave us their menu. I scanned their wide selections of crepe and chose their Blueberries and Cream crepe. I was also happy to note that they are also serving hearty meals like sandwiches and pasta so we sampled their Chicken Run and Tuna melt sandwich. We also ordered Strawberry smoothie for my drink while she opted to go for their Calamansi slush.

Love how the sun lights up the place

Very homey and nice color combination

I fell inlove with their interiors and then with their food 

Our food was served about ten minutes after we placed our orders. The only catch in this place though is that they don't have wi-fi to offer. Good thing I have my own mobile data on hand but it could've been better if they offer one so that people can spread the word about their place and hey, even McDonald's have wi-fi now. Anyway, I didn't bother asking why they don;t have internet in such a lovely homey place. Maybe it broke down or they are in the process of getting one. But I do know one thing, getting one will boost their sales. When our food did come, we were surprised by their huge servings. First came our drinks then our tuna melt sandwich. I forgot to add that the sandwich comes with a serving of salad.

Tuna melt sandwich with our drinks

A closer shot of our meal

A bite of this sandwich sent tuna juices to my fingers. It was so juicy and filled with huge chucks of spicy tuna, tomatoes and lettuce. The bread was not your ordinary market bread and it was toasted perfectly. The salad on the side is just your ordinary shredded lettuce, white onion, tomatoes and thousand island dressing salad. The real focus, and they did it pretty well, is in the sandwich itself. And there definitely is cheese in there.

Then our Chicken Run sandwich came...

This serving is really huge and is good for 2-3 persons. 

This is definitely a surprise since we were feeling full already just from the tuna melt sandwich alone. By the time this dish came, I have to adjust my tummy so it can acquire more. What I can say about this dish is that it is very light. I don't know if it's the sauce, the chicken or the asparagus but definitely, those three combined is indeed a genius idea. It's a very hearty meal on its own plus the salad, you can't go wrong with this dish. We ordered two sandwiches thinking we can wolf them down easily with the choice of crepe we ordered but we were dead wrong. At this point in our meal, I was definitely counting the laps I would run later to burn down the calories I've taken. Before we knew it, it's time for dessert and our Blueberries and cream crepe came in.

That beauty over there can be consumed by two to three people tops

A spoonful of this sweet dessert comes involves the crepe, vanilla ice cream, blueberries, powdered sugar and some whipped cream. I was actually scared that it might be too sweet since my last encounter with blueberries left my throat feeling raw. But this dessert is something else. I actually devoured my half in no time. It's sweetness level is not that overpowering and hindi nakaka umay. This is indeed worth every penny we shelled that day. I am so pleased with this dish that I decided to take out two more of their crepes namely La Pinay and Adam and Eve. 

All in all we paid around 1300php (plus the tip) for our meal. I would definitely go back to sample their other dishes and hopefully by that time, they'll have free wi-fi for their patronizing customers. Till next time!

House of Lasagna by Chef Erick Congmon

It's Sunday once again and of course, as part of today's ritual we're heading out to shop/look around for stuff. Today's itinerary with my boyfriend includes going to Greenhills and our favorite mall, SM Megamall lol. Anyway, we didn't really spend most of our time in Greenhills. My boyfriend just bought his beloved tools and I got my Uno cards in a bargain price which is by the way really rare. We scoured the area for a bit looking for second hand PSPs and Xbox's. We decided to snack on Nachos at Kamicos snack bar. Just an observation, I got a bit intimidated as I placed my order because the owners look grim. They don't even smile. Oh well...On to the food.  It was OK but way too pricey for the dish itself.

After eating and a bit of roaming around we decided to head on to SM Megamall. I almost forgot that Victoria's Secret was already open and men and women alike were flocking the store. I would've wanted to buy a bottle for myself if not for my boyfriend who dissuaded me by telling me he'll try to get me a much better deal and perfume bottle than the ones offered in that store. I conceded and moved on with my list of errands for the day. We managed to cross out all the errands in my errands list and at around 5PM, we decided to eat. After a bit of brain storming, we decided to try House of Lasagna by Chef Erick Congmon. We were lucky enough to get seats and in no time we were handed out the menu. It was a huge ass menu! We immediately narrowed down our choices to their house specialty which is lasagna. I chose their beef lasagna which is highly recommended and my boyfriend chose their seafood lasagna. We added an order of Peach Sola and a glass of water to wash down our meal. I've read on a blog that they serve unlimited garlic bread with your lasagna so we didn't order any bread to go with our pasta. We waited around 15 minutes before we got our meal. The serving size is definitely filling and along with their home made garlic bread, the meal itself was heavy and filling. I had to let my boyfriend finish my remaining pasta. All in all we paid around 600+php for our very hearty and satisfying meal. So if you're craving for really goof lasagna, drop by Chef Erick's House of Lasagna. I promise you won't be leaving bitin.

Their HUGE menu board

Their seafood pasta which is by the way delish <3

A serving of their beef lasagna. A must try in this restau

Aaaandd...Their unlimited home made garlic bread. Perfect for scooping up their cheesy and tasty lasagna sauce