Category: Makati

Happy Garden Cafe is such a great name for a “garden” cafe as it adeptly fits the ambiance. Indoor plants everywhere set the stage for a secluded retreat from the surrounding concrete. It’s a spot that mixes the inside and outside well. So if you’re looking to take a break from the urban grind in Makati City, Happy Garden Cafe is the place to be. It serves a variety of excellent food fare with clean and healthy ingredients including gluten-free and vegetarian delights. My sister chose this venue to celebrate her birthday this year. 🙂

Review of Happy Garden Cafe (Bel-Air, Makati City)

Ambiance:

Whether for a casual evening or meal with your pals, Happy Garden Cafe supplies well-executed food in an indoor garden-like contemporary, “unhurried” atmosphere. Hanging plants and flowers and lounge chairs with green upholstery line the area and complete the theme. There’s even a part where you can spend a large family gathering or hold a special event. We took advantage of the balloon decors and backdrop setup for a birthday party since we came early for dinner. 😉 At the front, they sell Bizu pastries, bread, and other packaged food.

Food:

We went straight to the mains, not minding the appetizers. 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Oj5gtnVZt/

Their OMG Pasta (PhP 495 – for sharing, PhP 265 – personal) closely resembles the traditional palabok but with more delectable elements in the mix. It consisted of crab fat, scallops, smoked fish, and angel hair shrimps shell sauce. The flavors were rich without leaving you in a food coma.

Ox Tongue with Mushroom Sauce (PhP 795) was delicious! Ordering anything with truffle sauce always turns out a good decision for us. The mushroom sauce was taken up a notch with white wine. We loved how the heady aroma even intensified the robust earthy flavors.

Wagyu Beef Salpicao on Shiitake Black Rice (PhP 495) was one of the highlights of the meal for me. It was composed of Saikoro wagyu “melt-in-your-mouth” beef cubes that demonstrated a really pure tenderloin beef taste.

Tofu with Black Pepper Sauce (PhP 295) is a vegetarian-friendly and gluten-free dish that treat tofu the way it deserves. It featured an intriguing display of flavors and textures with fresh shiitake mushrooms, mixed greens, tahini, and orange dressing.

In their Margherita Pizza (PhP 525), the boldness of the tangy tomato stood out most, which we liked a lot. It was nicely complemented by the pomodoro sauce and mozzarella cheese, all punctuated by overarching notes of fragrant basil. The crust had a puffy-edged character that I also enjoyed.

Price for Value:

Prices are generally on the expensive side but deliver good and reasonable value. Happy Garden Cafe in Makati dishes out straightforward, satisfying fare in a relaxed setting. This cafe represents the owners’ love for fresh food, even welcoming those with gluten intolerance. It’s doing an admirable job in nurturing the area with a great concept which combines approachable healthy dishes with comfort food favorites (without the guilt!). Check it out.

[schema type=”review” url=”https://www.facebook.com/HappyGardenCafe/” name=”Happy Garden Cafe” description=”Sunshine Place, 56 Jupiter Street, Bel-Air, Makati City” rev_name=”Happy Garden Cafe – happygardencafejupiter@gmail.com” rev_body=”Happy Garden Cafe is an oasis of verdant green amongst the grey of the business district. It is a welcoming refuge where you can share meals with close friends and families and take joy in the company they give.” author=”Roch Sioco” pubdate=”2019-12-08″ user_review=”4.7″ min_review=”0″ max_review=”5″ ]

We had a triple birthday celebration at Royal Indian Curry House (RICH) in Poblacion near A. Venue Mall and Century City Mall. It’s been a while since we last dined in a restaurant serving Indian cuisine, so I was definitely excited to give it a try. Royal Indian Curry House is known to serve some of the best authentic contemporary classic Indian food and Pakistani cuisine in the metro. As it’s located in a quiet street at noon, you could easily walk past its nondescript exterior. But once you get through that door, things change. RICH is the kind of approachable place where you could learn to appreciate Indian food. Check out their menu here.

Review of Royal Indian Curry House (Poblacion, Makati City)

Ambiance:

Royal Indian Curry House is favored by a clientele of locals and tourists blessed with good taste. The five-story building houses a dining room (where we were at), sports bars, private rooms, and a sky lounge. The dining room is furnished with high-backed dining chairs upholstered in crushed velvet, wood-sculpted swirl patterns on posts and on walls, paintings of Indian women in various settings, tinted pendant lamps by the staircase, and sculptures of subjects reminiscent of India. Lighting is soft and Indian music plays softly in the background.

Food:

Royal Indian Curry House nails the Indian food staples. For our starter, RICH’s Samosas (PhP 209) were rich in taste and in aroma. They’re light, fluffy and a good way to kick off your feast. It’s delicious on its own, but even better when dipped in the paired sriracha sauce, tamarind, and mint chutney.

The Murg Makhani (PhP 449) was incredibly tasty. The buttery chicken was perfectly cooked, and the sauce had a silky smooth rich texture which provided an overarching, luscious creaminess and richness to the whole dish. Perfectly balanced and superb.

RICH’s Palak Paneer (PhP 409) was a brazenly simple, yet profound dish with a vegetal smack providing a key counterweight to the gravity of the dish. It’s all the pureed goodness you need, a satisfying and an easy, pretty healthy, quick option for lunch. We ate it with Plain Basmati (PhP 189) and got some thick and chewy Cheese Naan (PhP 209) to dip it with for that little something extra.

Their Afghani Chicken (PhP 449) was a delectable version of the chicken curry. It’s also creamy thus pairing it with basmati rice will emphasize its lip-smacking flavors. Nice.

To wash it all down, Rose Lassi (PhP 219) gave a fragrant, refreshing and cooling taste. It could easily win the race for my next favorite drink. It’s a delicious twist on the traditional lassi; the sweet yogurt was flavored with rose syrup.

Price for Value:

Overall, our experience was quite positive, and I can definitely see why the place is so popular. Prices aren’t too steep for the value, and their signatures are really worth trying. Royal Indian Curry House in Makati is a nice place to get tasty, dependable preparations of classic North Indian fare; I would have no qualms about coming back. There’s no modesty in the name, but perhaps there doesn’t need to be. Royal and rich flavors and aroma of dishes are to be expected, and with their elaborate spices and good ingredients coming into play, this restaurant is great at what it does.

[schema type=”review” url=”http://royalindiancurryhouse.online/” name=”Royal Indian Curry House (RICH)” description=”5345 General Luna Street, Poblacion, Makati City, Metro Manila” rev_name=”Royal Indian Curry House (RICH)” rev_body=”For inquiries, call 09672787773″ author=”Rochkirstin Sioco” pubdate=”2019-07-09″ user_review=”4.3″ min_review=”0″ max_review=”5″ ]

Fatburger’s first branch in the Philippines is now open in Glorietta 2! What’s behind the excitement? A quick look in this setting would probably lead you to believe this is just another American casual burger joint in the mall, one where you can hang out with friends and enjoy comfort food. However, this restaurant will probably deserve a more serious stamp of approval for burger-lovers as it offers a fun “create-your-own” ordering experience. There’s no shortage of ways of build your meal. You can choose different ingredients and add-ons for the burger. Want bone-in and boneless chicken wings? You decide. Choose the flavor and the heat level, the dips, and so much more.

My family and I visited Fatburger during its soft launch to taste some of its best-selling dishes and learn what’s it’s like to dine in a restaurant which was founded over 69 years ago. Aside from US and the Philippines, Fatburger is also present in other nations including China, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Fiji, Indonesia, Iraq, India, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Tunisia, Macau, Pakistan, Oman, Panama, Singapore, Canada, and Qatar.

Review of Fatburger (Glorietta 2, Makati City)

Ambiance:

Creating a modern interior of a restaurant that has been existing for ages doesn’t seem an easy task, especially if it’s one of the most storied ones in history. Fueling in creativity, the designers of Fatburger must have made a good job. The color scheme looks subtle and elegant, with neutral colors for the fixtures, walls, and ceiling and red and yellow on the logo as accents. On the surface, this works to positively ooze charm and character as well. Overall, the vibe is casual and relaxed.

Fatburger is appointed with decent natural lighting across the dining area, but the fancy spotlights even makes the venue look more stylish and appealing as a post-date place to grab snacks in the heart of Makati City. From the entrance, the order counter is properly positioned upfront so customers would see the menu as they walk in. This is then surrounded with a choice of seating at individual tables or at a trendy communal table that’s perfect for mixing and mingling.

Service:

Customer service is pretty straightforward. Check the Fatburger menu, order and pay at the counter, and wait for your orders to be served at your table. Need something? Attendants take and manage requests efficiently to ensure a smooth and pleasant dining experience.

Food:

Light and hearty, the Garden Salad (PhP 235) may be the best choice for salad lovers and vegetarians. The greens were remarkably fresh and crisp, and the tomatoes had a refreshing snap and brightness that positively screamed garden. The cheese on top disguises the fact that you’re eating something healthy beneath. Aside from making the taste balance and more coherent, it definitely helps to trick the brain into actually enjoying the salad. 😛

The Chili Cheese Fries (PhP 165) were soft and addictive. The fries would be boring on their own, but the chili managed to tie everything together, while the cheese added sharpness to contrast the richness of the dish. It’s another lovely appetizer to start to the meal.

Fatburger serves different kinds of burger sizes, and each size upgrades with a layer of patty: original (1/4 lb), double (1/2 lb), triple (3/4 lb), and quad. Customers who would successfully finish The Quad alone will be awarded with a certificate of acknowledgement with congratulatory greeting from Fatburger on conquering the challenge. For huge fans of burgers, it just feels awesome to be at the top at the food chain! Decadent in the extreme for sure, this is “the burger” you eat before standing in front of a firing squad: a last meal of epic proportions. 😉

For a regular meal, the Original (1/4 lb) (PhP 195) was enough to keep us satisfied. It’s made with chuck-eye beef patty that’s grilled to perfection. It may not be as intense and tremendous in size as The Quad, but it’s a solid burger that’s spot on tasty and not boring. You can’t go wrong.

Fatburger’s Chicken Sandwich (1/4 lb) (PhP 195) is available in three preparations: Grilled, Crispy, and Cajun. We tried the Cajun-spiced chicken sandwich and we enjoyed it. The chicken was tender and it had a beautiful blend of salt and spices.

Moist and juicy, the chicken wings were our mighty favorites. We got Sweet Bourbon Bbq – Boneless Chicken Wings (PhP 185, Small – 5 pieces) and Honey Garlic – Bone-in Chicken Wings (PhP 175, Taster – 4 pieces) in medium hot level served with celery, carrots, and our choice of dressing. Well spiced and both sweet, these flavors are a nice departure from the standard buffalo. My sister liked sweet bourbon bbq more, while my mom and I favored the honey garlic. If you want piping hot, get the Death Valley or Scorchin’ and be mighty brave.

Kick’N Chicken Wrap (PhP 195) is not a rival of the burger but a great complement for a full meal. It’s made with boneless wings tossed in wing sauce with rice, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing wrapped in a tortilla. The ingredients were put together firmly and tightly. It’s structured in a way that allows the flavors of each piece to burst in the mouth while still providing spots in the chew for hot juices of chicken to collect, ready to be gushed and dribbled out the moment you bite into it. Eat the chicken wrap right away though or it will end up soggy.

For drinks, we had Lemonade (PhP 65) and Oreo Cookies and Ice Cream Milkshake (PhP 195) which were served as great accompaniments to food at Fatburger.

Price for Value:

Fatburger Philippines ushers in flavor bombs beyond the original beef burger we all know and love. Keep in mind that it’s not about burgers alone. Buffalo wings, fries, and other sandwiches are also available and they are all reasonably priced. There’s also a full bar with beer, cocktails, and wine averaging at PhP 150-PhP 200 a glass. Wait…burger and wine? Why not? We’ll try that next time!

[schema type=”review” url=”https://www.facebook.com/FatburgerPhilippines/” name=”Fatburger Philippines” description=”Glorietta 2, Ayala Center, Palm Dr, Makati” rev_name=”For inquiries, call (800) 459-4647″ author=”Rochkirstin Santos” pubdate=”2016-12-10″ ]