Lately, my office pals and I had been scouring streets for the best Buffalo wings in town. Not so far away, one of us suggested good wings to satisfy the crave. From the not so spicy to ultimate wingsanity, all of us were ultimately satisfied.

Hello sporty people!

Buffalo Wings N' Things in Glorietta 5 was packed with patronizers that there was a need to line for queue before finally, the sought for wings will be served. Inside the restaurant, there's this comfortable and western feel. And seemingly, all around people were enjoying.

As mentioned, the Ultimate Winsganity is their hottest of all Buffaloes. Followed by:

• Total Wingsanity
• Gangnam Style
• Armageddon
• Nuclear
• Firehouse Classic
• New York’s Finest (Just like a pizza flavor, good thing yours truly wasn’t fooled)
• The Rookie
• Jalapeño Cheddar
• Whiskey Glaze
• K-Pop
• Honey BBQ
• Garlic Parmesan

From burgers to pizzas, I have this penchant for BBQ flavors so I tried their Honey BBQ at ½ Pound for Php 149. It’s the second flavor from the mildest but whoah! It caused sweat to drip from my forehead. It has a kick after all. Still, I enjoyed the playful combination of Honey, BBQ and a little spice. The wings were juicy, too. And to my delight, it was served in little puddle of sauce which my wings can dip in anytime. I need to wear plastic gloves too as though messy, was really fun!

Saucy!

Putting the hotness to its limit, I tried my wings in a Dirty Rice Php 39. It was a hilarious combination because the rice is smoky in itself already! What balanced it though was the additional Bleu Cheese Php 29. I loved how the Bleu Cheese appeased the hotness.

To cap the night, we shared two cups of NY Cheesecake Ice Cream Php 84. It was pretty in its whip topped with blueberry sauce. Below it, the ice cream itself was even better. Thanks to the crushed cookie that added texture and flavor.

I though the whip was the ice cream!!

Three thumbs up!

  
Rating: 4

Buffalo Wings n’ Things has a branch in:

Glorietta 5

Makati City

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Wednesday, October 01, 2014

Sorry for taking that line from a famous fast-food chain. It's really how I'd describe this new and quite little restaurant just after the gate of BF Resort Village.

From outside, it looks like another milkshake mushroom, but the name should never disappoint! It's a kitchen so there must be some foods there!

And there are from pizzas, pasta, burgers n' wraps, rice meals, sides n' salads, desserts n' coolers.

I tried Graciano's Kitchen's Hawaiian Beef Burger in a Budget Saver meal, meaning it's served with fries and iced tea (Php 109).

It's served with a big bun with a satisfying grilled patty, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, onions with a slice of pineapple.

Surprisingly, the patty is savory and I get to taste hints of barbecue sauce. Love it!

Their fries are in wedges too served with a mayo dip.

My humongous eater siblings, afraid to starve, tried Buster Burger Budget Saver meal (Php 139).

I don't have a close-up view of this topper burger but here's its anatomy: grilled beef patty PLUS crunchy chicken fillet AND bacon strips with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and onions.

Perfect for my sibbies with big appetite.

My sister even said that she could have ordered rice with it. :)

Tried also their Tacos Solo (Php 49):

But the serving is just small and the tacos, or should I daresay corn chips, is not that good. It's really better to just concentrate on their pizzas and burger menu. I'll try their pizzas on my next! Heard that they serve it yummy here.

Their service is not that fast too. But I believe it's worth the wait. Plus the staff are friendly too.

 
Rating: 3


Graciano's Kitchen is located at:


28 Gemma Cruz,
BF Resort Village,
Las  Piñas City

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Monday, September 08, 2014

Kichitora is a combination of two Japanese words; "kichi" means lucky and "tora" means tiger. I don't know how it's connected with Ramen aside from all over, the place is decorated with "kittie" tigers. All I know is, I'm lucky too to have tasted this authentic comfort food.

Their noodles is made from high quality flour, especially prepared by Kichitora. While its chicken soup is carefully prepared to bring out its soulful flavor. No wonder I enjoyed every slurp of the soup and noodles!

According to them, and so the menu says, their Best-Seller is Paitan Ramen Zenbu no Se (Php 420):

So I tried it. After just a spoonful, I exclaimed, "Wow!" It really is good. I've tried several other ramen joints, and by far, this is the most satisfactory ramen I've had. 

No questions though as in Spot.ph's Top 10 Ramen Spots (2013), it's high at No. 2. Clap! Clap!

Well, let's anatomize what comes in it: Paitan Ramen Zenbu no Se is topped with a very tasty, too bad it's just a few slices of pork or chicken chasu, dried seaweed, ajitsuke tamago or molten lava egg (I love this too!) and ma-yu or fried garlic oil. 

Regular serving is also good, as common, for two. Small serving is at Php 300.

My friends also tried Chintan Ramen (Shio/ Shoyu) (Php 320):

It is a salt or soy-based clear soup ramen also with chicken or pork chasu, menma or bamboo shoots, green vegetables and spring onions.

My friend said she loves to have more veggies that why she opted for this bowl.

Got to try this too, it's good yes but my heart is locked already in Paitan Ramen Zenbu no Se. And I'm so lucky I did. 

Of course, what is Ramen without a Gyoza (Php 150). 

Five (5pcs) of gyoza it is. I did not quite enjoy it, although got myself two. Maybe gyozas aren't their thing, but it's fine. 

Really because Ban Ban Ji (Php 295) is here!

It's a deck of salad with famous, as they say, so tender chicken chasu topped with sesame dressing and julienned chips.

I recommend this delicious and yummy salad with generous serving. 

And then I'm thinking now what to try next when I visit Kichitora of Tokyo. Good try! Great food!

 
Rating: 5

Kichitora of Tokyo has a branch in:

SM Megamall

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Monday, September 01, 2014

Congo Grille has been in the food industry as far as I can remember. It's not everyone's clamor, I know, but there's something about them that calls for space.

Who would've thought that this African-jungle themed restaurant within a concrete jungle is just about two points that will make me come back: affordability and comforting foods!

And when I say comforting foods (though not necessarily healthy), sisig tops my list!

I love sisig and in one of the Top 10 of Spot.ph, Congo Grille's made it high. They have several kinds of sisig so I tried Sizzling Pork Sisig at Php 190. It's sinfully crunchy! Blame that chicharon! And it's the type that even without calamansi or mayonnaise, it tastes perfectly fine.



Sinful! 

Also tried Spicy Salmon Belly at Php 253. It's not that spicy, by the way, but it's a good new trick to cook salmon aside from Sinigang. If I guess that right, it probably has oyster or soy sauce sautéed with onions.

Hello, belly!

Then there's their Beef Kare-kare at Php 298 served with two kinds of bagoong: ginamos or alamamg. I daresay Little Quiapo's is way way better.

Care for Kare-kare, anyone?

I don't usually eat Kare-kare with bagoong. If it's not peanuty or flavorful enough, enter bagoong. Unfortunately, Congo Grille's Kare-kare needs a little helping from it. That's just me, though.

Their YangChow rice at Php 143 is also good and meaty!

In totality, all things considered, I'll still make little trips to this jungle. There's still much to shoot!

 
Rating: 3.5

Congo Grille has a branch in:


G/F South Wing,
SM Mall of Asia,
Pasay City

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Thursday, August 07, 2014

Affordable yet delicious! That's what I love most about Flaming Wings: New York Style Buffalo Wings. I can just drop by whenever the craving is strong.

Let me push further my point:

Flaming Wings's ambiance have this comfortable feeling. Thanks to them staying true to their New Yorkie peg. I love the pictures hung around too.

In terms of food selection, they offer not just yummy buffalo wings but also variety of pastas, sandwiches and even desserts.

Their buffalo wings is sold based on no. of pieces:

3pcs- Php 150

5pcs- Php 248

15pcs- Php 753

24pcs- Php 1,152

Then, and this is an interesting part: you get to choose a special flavor from their Signature Sauces:

• Original
• Mild n' Sweet
• Wild (way too hot!)
• Smokey BBQ
• Caribbean Jerk
• Oriental Zing

Try it in Wings or Tenders (but Wing's wholatta better!)

Original is perfect and appealing to all dips but I love Smokey BBQ as it is, followed by Mild n' Sweet. Aside from the not  too obvious chicken oil,  I enjoyed each unique flavor tickling my taste buds.

Original with Bleu Cheese

I just didn't try Wild sauce because yes, it's way too hot for me.

All are available in Tenders meal, something like  Chicken fillet.

Tenders with Honey Mustard

There's also dips to mix and match:

• Bleu Cheese
• Balsamic Mayo
• Ranch
• Wasabi Mayo
• Honey Mustard
• Aioil

I've tried Bleu Cheese, Balsamic Mayo and Honey Mustard dips. Though Bleu Cheese seems to be a favorite, I had an instant love affair with Honey Mustard. But not until Balsamic Mayo came along... :-)

For their pasta, I tried their Spaghetti Carbonara (Php 130, regular) and for a restaurant specializing in chicken, I'm surprised that it's pretty good!

Flaming Wings's Carbonara

For sweet endings, Wicked Oreos (Php 80) is really wicked! It's composed of three oreos fried in a batter. It really wouldn't have that yummy effect if not for the ice cream on top!

Wicked!!!

There's still a lot in their menu to go back to, so this wouldn't be the last.

Zomato Rating: 3.5

Flaming Wings is located along:
Alabang-Zapote Rd, Talon Uno
Las Piñas City
(in front of University of Perpetual Help)

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Sunday, July 27, 2014

It's so sulit!

Imagine, at an affordable price, I got to have humongous chicken even good enough for two.

I'm glad that the No. 1 fried chicken in Taiwan is now in our shores. But unlike there where it's in stall-type, here in the Philippines because we love to converse, it's in a restaurant-type. Hot inside but great, anyway.

One chilly July night, my friends and I tried to see what's hot in Hot-Star. For starters, I got to munch on Chicken Skin (Php 45). At this price, there's three sticks of two skins to share. What I love about this one is its flavor. It's a chicken skin with added barbecue flavor.

 Fighting the urge to munch it all down, I managed to get a nearly extinct chicken skin.

Then since I felt that I got to have a lingering taste of their BBQ Large Fried Chicken, I tried their Original Large Fried Chicken (Php 110) for my main course and added Php 35 to make it a meal with rice and regular drink. 

It did not disappoint. It was clearly large enough. Thanks to how it was cut, I enjoyed eating several parts of chicken at one meal. Surprisingly, the meat inside was flavorful too. I was kind of expecting to get all breading, but no.

All my rice and drink gone, still the chicken remains.

Now we have more choice for fast-foods offering our all-time favorite chicken. Aside from large fried chicken, they also serve spaghetti, large crispy fish, chicken pop-corn and sandwiches in chicken and fish too.

They also have sides such as mushroom soup, french fries, mashed potato, crunchy fruit salad and yes, chicken skin.

 
Rating: 3

Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken is located at:

Blue Baywalk

Macapagal Ave., cor. EDSA

Pasay City

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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

So what about the title?

First of, several series of Survivor of many countries were shot in this idyllic place.

Second, it's almost unreachable and so far away you have to survive the travel hours. But then again, those hard-to-find, best-kept-secrets were sure to blow the mind away.

Agree? If not, then maybe this post-card-from-us will drive the point.

I wouldn't mention that by bus or by private car, the province of Naga, Camarines Sur was 10-12 hours away. In Naga, in the all-known SM, vans can be found bound to Sabang Port, town of San Jose at Php 100/person. From there it takes about 1.5-2 hours to the port.

In Sabang Port, 2 more hours of nature-tripping to reach Guijalo Port, Caramoan. The boat ride from Sabang is operational at 6am, with an hour interval until 11am. Since we went there during the Holy Week, we were able to depart before that. Individual fare is at Php 120.

Unlike in Batangas, the sea was calm here. I was able to enjoy the feast of nature. It was reassuring too that we were somehow just rounding the island.

For an overnight stay in Caramoan, it's a must to rise early

In Guijalo, we were asked Php 30 for the environmental fee. 

Caramoan's truly a blessed island. It was a good feeling seeing stretch of rolling hills, sprawling rice fields and pristine rivers. The town is far from developed yet. So it's really wise to go for package tours. In the long-run, it will save you more. (Think, per person in a trike was Php 50)

It's not only the beaches and islands to enjoy, this <3

The adventure starts 30-minutes from the port- in Paniman Beach. Rates for boat rental range from Php 2,500-3,000, but we didn't feel it much because we were on package.

Get ready for adventure at Paniman!

So all aboard!

We first went to the famous Matukad Island. If you've seen postcards of Caramoan, you've probably seen it. The water here's so clear. Wading with water, it makes it a milky combination. The sand was so fine it reminds me of polvoron.

Zoom-out of Matukad Island

Next we found ourselves in Lahos Island. Lahos was like a stumpy sand bar. When the sun strikes the sand, it sparkles! That it's like a sand bar, you get to experience two sides of it. Both were equally stunning!

Hello Lahos! Here we come!

And so we're coming clooooose!

We hopped on next to Manlahos Island. It's quite a small island. We found refuge under the limestone rocks. Again, the waters' just so clear!

Manlahos from afar

We were supposed to go to Sabitang Laya, but we weren't able to so we headed to an island across Manlahos. (Will insert name here once I remember the name :P). It wasn't white but it was fine and perfect as mudpack. Birds keep on chirping it wasn't that quiet.

I will remember your name :)

Would I want to survive Caramoan again in the future? I'd say yes! There are still so many islands to explore that we cannot squeeze in an overnight stay like the stretches of Sabitang Laya or the saaaaandbaaaar!

I shall return!

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Sunday, June 01, 2014

Living down South, I thought that the best weekend fix was out of reach. It's a sin I keep on forgetting BF Parañaque as a food haven. And so I need not reach far. Just a few circuses away from home was Little Quiapo. 

Home since 1949 :)

Little Quiapo wasn't about the latest fad. I feel that it's everything that I grew up with. It feels comfortable to eat there, just like home. And home to the core it was, because they serve the best Filipino cuisine in town. 

Kare-Kare (Php 367)

This and being a Filipino is quite inseparable. I've eaten a lot of kare-kare in my lifetime that I know what taste well and not. From the various restaurants that I've been to with a kare-kare on the table, Little Quiapo undoubtedly serves the best. The sauce was so creamy, the beef so tender and the serving all too generous. With every spoonful, I can taste the laborious pounding of peanut. On its side is an equally aromatic bagoong na alamang. 

Sweet and Sour Pork (Php 268)

They might have the best kare-kare but Hap Chan's version of this was still unbeaten for me. I can be quite forgiving though as they cannot actually put a fight with a Chinese. Good but not the best.

Shredded Beef w/ Sili (Php 293)

I'm quite hesitant with sili as the garnish. But it's not at all spicy. As with all their beef, it strikes the heart to know that they've spent hours to make it really tender. 

LQ's French Fries (Php 98)

LQ's version of fries was topped with cheese and beef with a red sauce. The toppers was good but it made the fries sloppy. I'd still go for the regular crunchy fries with a number of ketchup packets. :D 

Pancit Palabok  (Php 98)

Aside from kare-kare, LQ's known for their pansit palabok. And mind you, I am also a fan! Really, the sauce was so thick and yummy! It's garnished with chicharon bits and slices of egg. I soooo love it that I had to scrape the remaining sauce off. Not to mention that it's just 98 pesos for a plateful. 

Kalderetang Baka (Php 293)

 

This photo was taken on our second trip, so forgive the difference of quality.

Needless to say that the quality of their beef was good, their caldereta did not disappoint. It has a hint of spiciness too that blends perfectly well with its sauce. 

Pork Sisig (Php 178)

It's not creamy the way I like but it's good to note that though I asked for pig, I did not get a sisig peppered with just fat+skin. Oldies but goodies can still enjoy this for sure. 

Tokwa't Baboy (Php 104, half-order)

Thumps-up for their tokwa't baboy too! It's not only that it was served honestly will real pork meat, or topped not with a shortage of spices but it was served with the best concoction of soy sauce that I've tasted. Had I known, I should've asked for the whole order. :)

Definitely, I will keep coming back to LQ. I'm sure I won't get easily tired as there's more to explore from their menu. I bet they made their food with love. <3

  
Rating: 4.5

Little Quiapo is located at:

42 Aguirre Ave

B.F. Homes, 
Parañaque

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Monday, May 26, 2014

Republiq is definitely a place to go for awesome party. But more than fine music, they also have good food to be merry about. 

Their menu is brimming with choices, choices, choices. And generally, what came to my plate are delectable!

Hard to choose? But hardly will you ever go wrong.

Appetizers & Munchies: Spinach-Roast Garlic Puffs and Spiced Basil Marinara (Php 175)

This one is my favorite. Biting the crisp crust will bring out an oozing delight. Even without the spiced basil marinara, it's perfect! Thus, I tag this as 'must-try'! 

Appetizers & Munchies: Baked Whole Baby Brie in Garlic Thyme Olive Oil and Crostinis (Php 350)

Brie, in itself, is already heaven. When you're served with this cute baby, you'll look for it again. Of course, the crunchy crostinis pair it very well. 

Appetizers & Munchies: Gambas and Mushroom Ajillo (Php 350), Chorizo Bilbao Frito (Php 360) and US Beef Salpicao (Php 325) served with Crostinis.

My officemate, of whom these pictures are credited, likes the US Salpicao very much. The gambas are quite spicy although the taste didn't quite much register. As for the chorizo, it's my least favorite although I'm a fan of it when my mom cooks Valenciana. Maybe I found it quite rubbery at that time. 

Dips and Crisps: Spinach and Parmesan Cheese Gratin (Php 200) and Spicy Jalapeno Popper Dip (195)

As I don't like spicy, I found a certain love for the spinach and parmesan cheese gratin! I could eat it in itself! A must-try too, for cheese lovers most especially. 

Quesadilla love: Beef Short Ribs 'Kalbi' Fresh Cilantro Kimchee and Cheese Mix (Php 250) with Roast Chicken, Fresh Cilantro, Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa and Cheese (Php 250) 

I prefer the beef short ribs than the roast chicken quesadilla. I find it tastier. Don't forget to munch it will hot.

Thin and Crispy Pizzettas: Mushrooms, Smoked Bacon, Roasted Onions & Truffle Cheese (Php 320) and two other flavors of almost the same price. 

Pizzas are my favorite! But maybe Cafe Republiq isn't the best place for it. For pizza party, Uno Pizzeria is still the best for me. 

Sushi Rolls: Electric Eel Roll (Php 390), Salmon Dynamite Roll (Php 330) and Kalifornia Roll (Php 330)

It might be a bit expensive than the others but Electric Eel roll is a discovery! It's crunchy what with the combination of tempura shrimp, unagi, crab salad, and tempura bits! The others are well fine and tasty too. It's quite a hearty snack already. 

So next time you happen to visit Republiq, don't just dance and drink, EAT!

Republiq is located at:

Resorts World Manila

Newport City, Pasay

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Sunday, April 13, 2014