Everyone's trying to be fit and fab these days. Cue it on mushrooming fitness centers and even detox/cleanse juices.

There, cleanse juices. That's where we start catapulting Juju Eats because of Juju Cleanse.

From the interiors, there's this feeling that you'll get nothing but cleaned. Clear glass, white chairs and simple interiors. The walls were lined with creative, shout-outs of informative graphics on how to live healthy. 

That was a message in itself was already.

On the menu, various salads and pastas can be enjoyed. Although they have this variety of greens or pastas, over 50 toppings and 12 dressings to mix and match, we first stuck to the wall.

Chicken Caesar (Php 175, regular)

Romaine, grilled chicken, parmesan, bacon, herb croutons, caesar dressing

Healthy but strikingly yummy. I like how the grilled chicken matched the overall mildness of the salad. The bacon also added a new dimension and burst of taste in it.

Tuna Nicoise Pasta (Php 245, regular) 

Fusilli pasta, tuna flakes, french beans, hard boiled egg, sun dried tomatoes, black olives, honey mustard dressing

I don't know if it's the honey mustard or the sun dried tomatoes  or the black olives that gave it a close to tangy, zesty flavor. Maybe it was the fusion of everything. Was taken aback at first but found myself enjoying it. Additionally, it has generous chunks of tuna. Yes! 

Pastas and salads are available in different servings: wrap, half and regular. The latter's already good for sharing.

And wait, of course that this is the home of Juju Cleanse, they also have this cold-pressed juices and slushes available. Of course, the healthier way still.

 

Pineapple chia cold-pressed drink

High-five Juju Eats! It only proves that you don't have to be deprived just to be fabulous. 

  
Rating: 4

Juju Eats is located at:

G/F, BCS Building, 

2297 Chino Roces Ave (Pasong Tamo Ext.)

Makati City

Photo credits:@iLyzaCee

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Saturday, March 08, 2014

Yabu: House of Katsu might be the popular favorite for the best katsu in town but I digress, having tasted what might topple it off: Tonkatsu by Terazawa.

Located in Greenbelt 2, Tonkatsu by Terazawa is first in the Philippines from Nagoya, Japan. Just like their straight to the point yummy katsu, the restaurant was simply named after its owner Akinori Terazawa. 

Terazawa's Tonkatsu is perfectly crisp and just like an mm's it heavenly melts in the mouth. Thanks to nama panko, a kind of breading that they use to make it oh-so perfect. Not to mention too that it's less greasy. That we have to take credit from their imported oil from Germany. 

When dipped of course in a tonkatsu sauce, the experience almost complete. Unlike in Yabu where they'll give you a wooden mortar with sesame and a pestle, in Terazawa, you're left to enjoy how to make your best sauce with the aid of their info-graphics. 

So well now, how to best enjoy it according to the expert? 

Every tonkatsu is provided with a salt in the sidedish plate, grind it and pour two to three (yes, just like how they say it in Yabu) spoonfuls of tonkatsu sauce-- although right estimation comes in handy as it's served in something like an oriental teapot. To add the aroma we loved in Yabu, sprinkle it with grounded sesame seeds. Then hoola, you're just about to taste the dream of Mr. Terazawa: to provide the best katsu in town.

Here's what I first tried in Tonkatsu by Terazawa: Cheese Hire (lean pork without fat) Katsu at Php 485.

 

I enjoyed the menchi of my friend back in Yabu, that's why.

The cheese was just mild and half of the tonkatsu can still be enjoyed with its sauce. Aside from the tonkatsu that I love, their cabbage and its sauce is exceptional too! I have to get back again to relish that burst of flavor! Just like in Yabu too, rice and cabbage are refillable. But with its inclusion of tonjiru (special miso), side dish of tsukemono or pickled vegetable, corn and mustard, it's already too hearty for my appetite to ask for more of their yummy cabbage. 

Tonkatsu by Terazawa is so good I want to try it again. Although it's a but expensive than Yabu. But then again, with their comfortable ambience and their relatively fast service, it's every penny's worth.

I bow. 

 
Rating: 5

Tonkatsu by Terazawa is located at:

Greenbelt 2,

Makati City

Cheese Hire Katsu food blog food review Greenbelt 2 Japan Japanese food Makati City Nagoya reviews Tonkatsu by Terazawa unlimited rice and cabbage verdict Yabu: House of Katsu

Sunday, March 02, 2014

This can really be a deadly combination: pizza + do-it-yourself concept. Project Pie, anyone?

Project wall, only that those famous are entitled for the space. Unless you want yours to be tagged as stupid.

The interiors of Project Pie has this New York feel around it, somewhere along the lines of Yellow Cab but with a subtler, comfortable feeling. It's an artisan place anyway. Creative juices must really flow.

And you really need creativity in building your own pie. There's practically every ingredient pizza's known to sport on their list, but in can be disastrous putting them all on.

Well, here's their menu list. You can 1. order by number (Php 245) or 2. build your own (Php 285). You can either select from their pre-built pizzas or create your own!

On the first line are cheeses. I'm a fan but content myself with just a mozarella. 

Then the succeeding two are meats. I limited mine to three only. I want it cooked properly and avoid charred crust, anyway. I had italian sausage, crumbled meatballs and canadian bacon. 

The fourth to the last lines are peppers, veggies and other toppings and even sauces. Underlined tomatoes, caramelized onions, fresh mushrooms and of course, my weakness in a pizza, bbq sauce! 

Choosing is the first step, next is lining up to have the pizza made, right before you. It's fun! 

I'm no fan of white pizza=only olive oil so red sauce it is! Yummm! 

It's pretty quick creating it. You just have to tell their friendly crew what you want.

After waiting just a bit, my name was called and my oven-fresh creation is now ready to be devoured! I hurriedly claimed it from the counter. Look at that!

The pizza can be shared by two, although I had this all by myself. It seemed small but it can really fill in a hungry stomach. Amazing! I also ordered a cup of juice to complement my pizza, and at Php 60, it can be refilled. 

After a filling meal, one must not leave the trays behind. It's self-service through and through and claygo or clean as you go is a must. It's cool!

Although I won't hesitate to come back again, I just wish they'd also have pre-built pastas and desserts--- the real ones and not fashioned as a pie. :) 

 

Rating: 4

Project Pie is located at:

Blue Baywalk

EDSA- Macapagal,

Pasay City

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Sunday, February 02, 2014

It might be just a craze this year, but indulging in a bowl of hot ramen in this particularly cold weather doesn't sound crazy at all. Definitely not, when it's Hokkaido Ramen Santouka opening its doors. Their ramens are to reckon with.

 

Let's get this ramen on!

Choosing what ramen to eat is like picking up my lugaw for the day. If with ox tripe then that's gotto; if with  chicken and egg, arroz caldo that is. For ramen though, aside from the toppings, the broth also comes in consideration. 

There's shio for salt flavored with seaweed, fish and chicken bones, tonkotsu for pork bone, shoyu for soy sauce and chicken stock and miso from the paste, as we all know. 

 

Drown in their selection of ramen, set menu, rice toppings, curry and rice and etc.

I decided for a Shoyu Ramen (Php 330, medium) this time. It was topped with nori, naruto, menma, negi and slices of pork. It wasn't so spectacular for me only that the braised beef was so tender and so flavorful! The medium-sized bowl was more than for me, I could be full with just small (Php 280). It was served in just the right temperature it didn't scald my tongue.

My first choice though was their special Santouka Chicken Ramen (Php 300), which according to the menu they only serve 15 bowls. I was able to taste it and it was way better than my shoyu. My friend really enjoyed hers, and I didn't even wonder why.

One of my friend also enjoyed his Ramen and Curry & Rice bowl set (Php 450) and was full afterwards. I got to try his ramen too and was I envious, again! 

I was just a bit wrong with my ramen choice but with my friends' reaction, Ramen Santouka nailed it. Made a mental note too to try char-siu ramen next time and add additional braised beef. Yummy! 

More than the food, the ambience is nice and the seats are comfy too. Service is also good I didn't have to wait long for my order.

  
Rating: 4

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka has a branch in: 

SM Mall of Asia, 
J. Diokno Blvd.

Pasay City

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Saturday, February 01, 2014

There's a lot of ways to go sweet these days. Expensive cupcakes to mushrooming milkshakes, you choose, but there's nothing like the pure joy ice cream gives. Whether it'd be in a humongous tub or in an ice cream parlor, you'd always screaaaaam with it.

When it comes to these things, you'll enjoy choosing in Iceberg's wide array of sweet nothings (well aside from that there's more on their menu like...sisig! But let's be sweet first). From Filipino all-time favorite con hielo specials to french parfaits, super sundaes, milkshakes, banana-splits to godzilla/ king-kong appetites, a week's not enough to taste them all. 

So it started with...

 

German U-Boat Banana Split (Php 228). It has three scoops of varying ice cream flavors, whipped and sprinkled with marshmallows and chocolate-chip. On the sides are wafer sticks then topped by swet little cherry. Best of all, this german named sweetheart has an American flag :p. The serving's big it's good for sharing. It's yum but...

Strawberry Parfait (Php 188) ...I enjoyed this strawberry coolness much much. It has real fruit with syrup and three scoops of ice cream, whipped with cream and topped with a cherry. I'm a fan of chocolate but this is refreshingly sweet. 

Iceberg's Super Mais con Hielo (Php 108) is a three-thumbs up treat too. At this cheap, it's already offered with a scoop of ice cream. It's quite generous for sharing, too.

One good thing about Icebergs too is that its icecreams appear smaller than they are in real life. How cool is that? :)

  

Rating: 3.5

Icebergs has a branch in SM Mall of Asia

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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Happy new year!

It's the first month of the year and I'm happy to be once again rolling! This first new review for the year is extra special because it's the birthday of my friend, LyzaCee. So let's talk about where she treated us, in Mongkok Dimsum and Noodles, as that of my title :p

While waiting for the birthday celebrant, we first ordered a handful: 

 

Minced beef in eggwhite soup (Php 230). Perfect for the cold weather. It has sliced tofu too that adds extra texture and flavor (of sourness) to the soup.

 

Seafood fried noodles (Php 280). Went excited for this because I missed the stir-friend noodles I had in KL that was so memorable. It wasn't the same but I'm glad to had elicited that feeling. Theirs is fine, actually. And you get to choose different toppings among the frieds.

When the celebrant arrived, then of course our table was suddenly full. 

 

Mongkok special fried rice (Php 260). I thought it's a yangchow rice, but it's better than any yangchows I've tried than I can remember. Maybe the sweet ham made it flavorful. Or the egg. 

 

Salt and pepper squid (Php 270). Who can say no to a tasty squid? It doesn't have a sauce on it's own but it's fine as it is. It was cooked right too that added to my enjoyment.

 

Fish fillet bean curd pot (Php 270). I personally didn't enjoy this but three of my officemates did. I cannot contest the taste then, haha. Bean curds, not for me.

 

Lechon kawali (Php 270). Partnered with the trusted Mang Tomas, how can you get wrong with this? But I care too much for my heart I diverted my energy in the chicharap instead :)

 

Beef tenderloin chinese style (Php 280). I love this! It's sweet that's why. I also love the crunchiness the onions gave. And it was soo tender. 

 

Schezuen shrimp (Php 280). It was a bit spicy but manageable. The shrimp was cooked the right way too. 

Mango shake (Php 80). How can you get wrong with a fresh mango shake. Yummy!

It's worth another try in Mongkok. It's just affordable. There's quite a lot to choose from too although in terms of dimsum, I'm confused there's no hakaw. Haha. Service speed is just a bit slow, though. To summerize, it's a feel good Chinese resto for me. 

Mongkok Dimsum and Noodles has a branch in Glorietta. 

 Rating: 3

Chinese foods food blog food reviews glorietta Makati City menu Mongkok dimsum and noodles price reviews verdict

Sunday, January 19, 2014

The Vikings, in history as we know, were Germanic pirates who raided many parts of Northwestern Europe. 

In one way or another, I really felt like a Viking as I rummaged the entirety of the eat-all-you-can buffet in the Seaside Blvd of SM Mall of Asia. How can I not if this luxury buffet, is a bit expensive compared to others at Php 888 (vat-exclusive) that I must find a way to give my money's worth? Right?

I started this journey feasting my eyes with what's in store for me. The place is big it looks appealing, exciting! 

 

The colors at play inside the restaurant are really enticing. Same goes with how the foods are presented: in humongous Vikings ship. 

It's posh, but not so much that it inhibited me from eating ravenously. The joyous, riotous even, birthday cheers of the staff for celebrants also add to that comfy feeling.

Their food variety made me happy to the point of giddy. They have Steaks, Pizza, Seafood (of course!), Appetizer, Street foods (is what I call their foods on sticks), Shabu-Shabu, Salad bar, Breads, Dimsum, Pastas, Mexican pica-picas (quesadillas and the like) Rice, Main courses, Sushi etc. There's every cuisine I can think of: Asian, Japanese, Chinese, American, French, Italian, Filipino and what else? 

I enjoyed their dimsum corner especially the hakaw. The california maki is great as well and I heard positive approval for their sushi from my friends as well. The steaks are just fine but nothing really extraordinary. I took two turns trying the steaks, at the second chance, I almost gave up eating and regret lining up for it. Haha. But I love the pizza part! 

 

There's so many maki and sushi, I just played safe with California maki.

Another thing I love too is their desserts corner! They have three dips for their fondue: strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. Then there's create-your-own-crepe, putobumbong and bibingka station, native kakanins, taho and ice creeeeeeam corner! And when I say ice cream, it's not your usual as it's supposed to be luxurious. They have pistachio, strawberry fields, avocado, chocolate cashew flavors, among others. I tried thrice the strawberry fields! I just regret not having tried the pistachio flavor. Friends on diet will also enjoy for they have sugar-free selection. These, you can top with sprinkles and candies of all kinds! :)

 

Be delighted in three ways.

 

Sprinkles and candies of all kinds.

 

DIY corner

Aside from those, they also have this yummy cake corner that I visited twice or thrice :) How can I resist their gleaming of gold opera cake? Or their blueberry cheesecake? Or the Raspberry  panna cotta? There's so much that I have to revisit to have a taste of them all.

In other buffets too, you add additional for drinks but at this rate, it is already inclusive of overflowing juices, coffee or water. 

The replenishment of food is average. 

All-in-all, I got satisfied with my Vikings trip. It was expensive, yes, but it was worth the hassle-speaking of which, reservation is a must :)

Before I put this writing off, here's my round-about feast from the sea:

  

Rating: 4.5

Vikings is located at:

Bldg. B, By the Bay, Seaside Blvd.,

SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. 

For reservations, call: 846-3888, 846-4888, 846-5888

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Wednesday, December 25, 2013

I dunno but when I was in school I remember my classmates hating projects. It's time-consuming and costly. More so that I dunno why after all these years, everyone's craving to make their own project. 

Good thing I'm quite a geek that I had enjoyed it back then that tasking myself to create my own burger at my expense was thrilling! And so thanks to this new concept, I just went to The Burger Project and made my own damn burger. Yahoooooo!

Inside Taft branch, it felt like a classroom. On the second floor, walls were free to vandalize on. I'm no sure though if that's legal nowadays. In the counter, crayon and a board with a paper was given  to tick the checklist of what to DIY burger. There's a cool guide that will make the assignment easy:

Step 1: Choose a BRGR - grew up loving burgers with 100% beef (Php 105 each)

Step 2: Choose a bun- Poppy seed bun comes free with BRGR so tick it!

Step 3: Choose a cheese- never get wrong with Mozarella (Php 35)

Step 4: Choose premium topping- Onion rings (Php 25); value meal it was!

Step 5: Choose basic toppings- at Php 20 each but skipped it, instead I went for lettuce, tomatoes and pickles free with the BRGR!

Step 6: Choose a sauce- went safe with Special BRGR sauce (Php 20)

 

And viola! My my Php 185 worth BRGR I forgot to name :)

Admittedly, mine was good! I enjoyed my premium topping of onion rings. The beef patty was humongous and yummy too, way better than Zark's. The bun was just of the right size. I found Zark's bun too big it affects its overall tastiness. It was FULL-filling! Two-thumbs up! 

Zomato Rating: 3.5

BRGR: The Burger Project is located inside:

Grand Towers, Vito Cruz St., Manila (but this one is closed already)

P.S. Try their Bel-Air branch at No. 38 Jupiter St., Makati

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Thursday, November 14, 2013

Puerto Galera is the place to be for an affordable long weekend get-away!

Going to Galera is just pretty quick. We rode a bus to Batangas Port from Alabang (less Php 150) for about 1.5 hours. From there, we jumped on a ferry ride (Php 500 2-way, plus an environmental fee) for approximately 45-50 minutes. Arriving at the port, our boat fee in Minolo Shipping lines included a van transfer to White Beach.

There are various three entry points in Galera namely Sabang Pier, Muelle Pier and White Beach and luckily, we got a discounted accommodation for the latter.

In White Beach itself, we didn’t really get to enjoy swimming because the current was too strong (not good for a non-beach-swimmer for me though). So we hired Kuya Fhel and his own banca to set forth an adventure for the next day. Meanwhile, we made sandcastles, watched the sun set, laughed at free gay shows and drooled at fire dancers.

Early even before sunrise, we were already up for an island tour. At Php 1,000 we got to island hop, snorkel, see the Coral Garden and have free ride by the outrigger! Memorable! Equally memorable are also these ticks on my bucket list:

• Basked in the golden sunset

•  Watched fire-dancers

• Woke up just before dawn to explore para-paradise!

Papapapapa...

• Meditate by the beach!

Feeling Balinese in Puerto Galera

• Sand in my hair! Slept by the beach!

I hope you see why ;)

• Boat ride but not in the boat! (Just imagine we were holding onto the outrigger! Clue: 3rd photo)
• Threw out-of-this-world questions to the world!

Because it was this conducive

• Be lost in an island

Rock of Ages again

I wouldn't also forget that almost minutes off the shore going home where the ferry just conked-out. Although just thinking about it, even without that, I wouldn't dream to be offshore for 45 minutes in an open sea! This might be the only factor that will make me say ‘yes’ again to Puerto Galera. 

Batangas Port blog Coral Garden Minolo Shipping Lines Outrigger boat paradise Philippines Puerto Galera reviews travel verdict

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Ramen's becoming the in thing today, past J.co, past cronuts that when I found myself in Nihonbashi Tei, I focused myself only on the Ramen part of the menu. 

From among, I tried my luck in their Tempura Ramen at Php 360 (no picture, lame blogger) because I looooove tempura. It was a big serve (just imagine a humongous bowl)! I can even share it to two more people. A samurice came with it, perfect for my tempura. As for my ramen, it was flavorful from the soup to the noodle even if the tempura didn't really contribute to its taste considering that it was just topped there (although mine got drenched a bit it became sloppy). It also got fried big onions in it. Too big actually that even an onion lover would lament.

In a nutshell, it tastes fine but I felt that there wasn't anything special in Nihonbashi Tei's Ramen. I could have sworn I enjoyed Tokyo Tokyo's commercialized version better. Their service was a bit too slow too (clue: my humongous tempura ramen came when they were almost done). 

                       

                                         

But I guess the best part there were the free desserts! There was a selection to choose from and without a blink said 'nata de coco'! Yummy, but could have enjoyed it salad-cold. :)

Nihonbashi Tei is located at:

806 Arnaiz Ave., 

San Lorenzo Village, 
Makati City

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Friday, November 01, 2013