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

Breakfast for Dinner at IHop Araneta Center Cubao

I've been reading a lot of good reviews from IHop since it opened last year and I've been meaning to try out their dishes if not for the long queu. So when they decided to open a branch at Araneta Center Cubao, it was the perfect chance to try out their famed pancakes.

After getting tired of roaming around, me and my boyfriend decided to have our dinner. He knows I've been eyeing IHop since it first opened last July 19 so he decided to take me there. We were in luck because there were only two seats left then. We were handed out menus and I chose their Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity dish which consists of two eggs, two bacon strips, two pork sausage links and two buttermilk pancakes crowned with whipped topping and your choice of cool strawberry topping, warm blueberry compote or cinnamon apple compote. I wanted to try their warm blueberry compote because the weather is a bit chilly.This dish costs 308php. My boyfriend settled for their Belgian Waffle combo which is served with two eggs, your choice of two bacon strips or two pork sausage links. This meal costs 263php.

We waited around 10-15 minutes before our food was served. We didn't really mind because we were playing Metal Slug Defense in my phone lol. When the plates were served, i suddenly realized I'm hungry and I needed to sink in my teeth to the much talked about pancakes. At first bite, I knew the batter they used was different from any ordinary pancake establishments. Theirs was fluffier and fuller and may I add..sweeter. I decided to save it for later and dig in to my perfect sunny side up eggs. The pork sausage links were delicious. Even my boyfriend liked how it leaves a certain herbal scent. Like it's been smoked and the herbs blended well with the meat. The bacon is perfectly cooked as well. I got to taste his belgian waffle and I must say that I liked it better than my pancakes. We finished our main course in no time. I had to pour their Old Fashioned pancake syrup onto my pancake to lessen its sweetness and because the blueberries are nakaka umay already. I was already so stuffed I had to let my boyfriend finish the remaining half for me. 

We paid a total of 697php for the meal we ate. A bit steep for us but we did enjoy the food. Till our next food adventure!

My Rooty Tooty set

The uber sweet Blueberry compote pancakes

Belgian waffle set

The table set. We're missing their Old Fashioned syrup

IHop Araneta Center

The verdict: 

Place- 4/5      Very homey and it reminded me of an American diner

Food- 4/5      Just because the pancake is too sweet to my liking

Service- 5/5    The staff were very courteous and even asked us if we were satisfied with the food we ordered.

IHOP RestaurantAraneta Center Cubao

Gen Araneta CubaoCubao, Quezon City

8 Cuts Burger blend date

Long before we decided to eat here, I've been already eyeing this burger joint for the blogs I've read about it. The opportunity came when we went on a date last Sunday and is trying to find a new place to eat. Upon entering the place, we were then ushered to a table for two.

Outside 8 Cuts Burger Megamall. Notice the long queu?

Once seated we were handed out their menu. I had a hard time choosing because they all looked appetizing. I let my boyfriend customize his own burger while I, in the end settled for their four cheese burger and also ordered to cans of Mug to wash down the meat. I was looking at the table on our left and immediately noticed their basket of onion rings and then it hit me. That will make our dining experience complete. So I also ordered a basket for ourselves. We waited around five minuted before we were served. First came our drinks then the basket of onion rings. We took a bite of their onion rings and it was so tasty. The batter coated the onion rings perfectly and evenly and the barbeque powder sprayed on the top worked. My boyfriend didn't like the barbeque powder sprayed saying that the onion rings were better off without them. 

Never order their burgers without this. I swear it's that good (65php)

Either way we still enjoyed them and in no time our burgers came. I was really thrilled and to document what we ate, I took the liberty to take photos of the food before gobbling them all down. My burger, had loads of cheese and tasted heavenly. My boyfriend said it reminded him of Sbarro's Chicago white deep dish. The meat, coupled with parmesan, yellow cheddar, aged gruyere and mozarella was certainly a winner and a must order. His burger on the other hand is a nice surprise. I was hesitant to try the ox meat blend because I've never really tried anything with ox but it was really good. To be honest I liked his customized burger more. He instructed the staff to put in all the toppings they have to offer just to get a taste of what they have to offer. And the result came out more like Tropical Hut's Classic burger. His patty was so juicy and really flavorful. 

Four Cheese burger (255php)

Customized burger with ox meat blend patty (190php)

We were so full when we finished our meal. For only 687php we got to enjoy artisan burgers. The staff were also courteous and assisted us in all our needs. This restaurant is now definitely included on my list of favorites.



8 Cuts Burger
Bldg. B Dona Julia Vargas Ave.,
SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City
631-4388

Our favorite Chinese place, Wai Ying Binondo Manila

We were once again out to fully maximize our weekend together and this time, we decided to explore Quiapo after of course, buying our new bike. The day started pretty good. We left after eating our late breakfast. We went over bicycle shops first to snag a better price. We ended up with a very handsome Trix gray mountain bike. Since we didn't get to eat lunch before leaving and it is already way past lunch, we decided to go grab some food.

We decided on Wai Ying. We biked. And by biked meaning he did all the footwork. The place was packed. It was already past 2PM and we were still put on waiting list. We decided to wait up until 2:30PM. Luckily we were seated before that. Menu on our hand, I decided to get Shrimp Chong Fan. At that time I don't know what it's called. I tried to visually tell it to the lady taking our orders. Luckily, she knew what we were talking about as it is one of their best sellers. Of course we also ordered Shrimp Hakaw, my Peking duck rice meal and his Chicken feet and ribs meal. We waited around less than ten minutes before our orders arrived. Since it is our first time eating Shrimp Chong Fan, we tried it first. And it did not disappoint. It is indeed one of the best appetizers I've tasted. The sauce gave it a wonderful touch. Alone it could've been another hakaw but with the sauce, we're ta;king about a different class of dimsum. It's so good, my boyfriend even asked if we could take out an order of it. If we're not riding (sharing) a bike we could've. He also added an order of their version of milktea which is by the way delicious. I personally can't get enough of it.

Shrimp Chong Fan

Chicken feet and ribs rice meal

Shrimp Hakaw minus 1 piece :>

Roast Peking duck meal

 All in all we paid around 550php which is really sulit by the way since our tummies are full to the brim. When we're around Quiapo or Divisoria, it's already a no-brainer for us that we'll go to Wai Ying to eat.


Wai Ying 
Benavidez St.,
Sta. Cruz, Manila

Family get together at Rub Ribs BBQ, Tomas Morato

It has become our habit to eat out every time our parents or one of them come and visit us here in Manila. To change the ambiance a bit, I decided to look for for a restaurant that serves lip smacking ribs. Now I don't know what came to my mind as to why I chose that specific food but I vaguely recalled or has read somewhere that there is such a place in Tomas Morato. With the help of my old friend, Google, I chanced upon Rub Ribs BBQ. Reading other people's blog about them made me hungry. The photos are reaching out to me. I mentally took note of the place and since it's a Friday, I told myself to book a reservation because I read the place is relatively small. My family needed no convincing and as I was calling them to book for a reservation, I was informed that they do not accept reservations during weekends. Asking what time they get most of their customers, the guy I was talking to told me that customers come and go every hour especially during weekends. Tough luck! At that time, I was thinking we better get there a bit early to secure seats. Come weekend we rode a cab to Sct. Rallos in search of this much talked about rib place. I was all eyes at the restaurants we would pass by so as not to miss the place. I immediately spotted the place when we took a right turn from Tomas Morato to Sct. Rallos. It's just beside H Cuisine. Unfortunately, when we came there are no seats available.We had to wait for another 30 minutes or so before we're seated.

Manong Guard checking if there's still available seats for us

Love their framed walls

Good thing we weren't that hungry when we came there. We decided to order while waiting.We decided on their Family Brunch with our choice of three sides which is already good for four people. I took the liberty of choosing their Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Spinach and Mushroom and their Sprice (spiced rice). I had to order three additional rice for them, a basket of Buffalo Wings with Bleu cheese dip, their fried Oreos and their Houseblend iced tea in a pitcher. Once we were escorted to our seats upstairs, we were immediately served our drinks. My brother didn't like the taste of their Houseblend tea saying it tasted more tea. I mean, it does say Houseblend TEA right? I, on the other hand loved it. Very refreshing and light to the taste. A few more minutes and our Family Brunch came.

Ribs!!! (L-R Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Spinach and Mushroom and their Sprice)

My sister took this photo. I believe she's already famished and was in a hurry before we grab all the wings to ourselves.  :p

Fried Oreos <3

 At first I thought it would only be two huge servings of ribs with our choice of three sides but they served us three. Which is great by the way and I am not complaining because we were hungry by then. We took photos first (for my blog of course) before we ravaged the set. I love the fact that the meat is really tender and the rub is not bad either. The sauce really compliments the meat and paired with Sprice, it is a winning combo. I had to ditch my utensils when grabbing the meat because it is best eaten using my hands. My brother consumed three cups of their rice. I devoured most of their mashed potatoes and part of the spinach. It was indeed a very wonderful and hearty dinner spent with my family. The staff attending us upstairs were also quick to aid our needs. The staff were also accomodating and greeted us as we entered and made our exit. Although, our basket of buffalo chicken came quite late, the Bleu Cheese dip made all the difference. At the end of our meal, we were rubbing our bellies full lol. We had one teenie tiny space left for our dessert, Fried Oreos and our night was made. All in all we spent about 1,700 php. For a meal as satisfyingly cheap as this, I can go every week! Highly recommended. 

Good meal shared with the fambam

P.S. I just had to take out a serving of their ribs for my boyfriend to try. He loves meat and I'm pretty sure he'll like (love me more for) this. 

RUB Ribs and Barbecue

64 Scout Rallos,

Tomas Morato, Quezon City

(632) 501 2799

Operating HoursMonday to Sunday

11:00am to 12:00am

Ice Master Beef Yakiniku pizza and Strawberry Yogurt drink review

After a tiring day walking around the National Museum for our Sundate, my boyfriend and I went to Robinsons Place Manila to rest and eat our meryenda. We were a bit soaked from the sudden rain and a bit grumpy since we didn't expect the downpour. 

We were searching around for a place to eat when my boyfriend spotted their stall at the 4th floor of the malls Midtown Wing. 

Photo grabbed from the internet

Scanning their menu, I was glad to see their yogurt drinks series and my search immediately zoomed onto their Strawberry Yogurt drink. My boyfriend decided to go for their large drink which was only 95php, so we can share. As for something to bite on, we were contemplating on whether to have their waffles or their pizza. We decided on their pizza unanimously and chose their Beef Teppanyaki flavored pizza. We then got our seats and got ourselves settled. Five minutes after, our drink arrived. I was surprised at the size of the glass used for our drink because it actually is big, without actually spending more than a hundred bucks. And it was filled to the brim. I especially enjoyed the right amount of yogurt incorporated with the strawberry and that the concoction created a perfect balance and not overpowering each other's taste. I actually enjoyed that drink. More so that it easily toppled the last best drink I had this past few months. I can't wait to try their other yogurt drink.

Just looking at this made me crave for another glass

 Another five minutes before our pizza finally came. We decided to try their 8 inch pizza together with the drink we ordered. The pizza was surprisingly juicy. I smothered mine with hot sauce because I like mine hot. The first bite sent trails of meaty juice down my fingers. This is the first pizza I ate without the usual tomato base. I don't really know what they used but it worked. Although my boyfriend noted that the dough is not freshly made, the toppings used saved this dish. It's best consumed hot and fresh from the oven. For the price of 169 php, we definitely enjoyed our pan pizza.

Wasn't able to get a decent shot because we were starving! :D

The verdict: 

Place- 4/5      I actually like their stall and the open place setting. 

Food- 5/5      The drink made this score possible. 

Service- 4/5    Only because they forgot to give us hot sauce for our pizza and only gave us one napkin for the whole meal. But nothing really majorly bad in their service.

Ice Master- Level 4, Midtown Wing, Robinsons Place Manila, M. Adriatico St., Ermita, Manila Tel No. 554-0927 Cp# 09189639335

P.S. They now do pizza deliveries in Metro Manila ^^