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Category: Manila

  • Review of Little Asia (Lucky China Town Mall, Binondo)

    Review of Little Asia (Lucky China Town Mall, Binondo)

    Two Fridays ago, Mom sent me an SMS telling that they were at Lucky Chinatown Mall and I should come over after work for dinner. Since they had stayed there long enough, I thought they have settled for a restaurant where we would be “pigging out.” But they didn’t.

    Where oh where should we eat? is forevermore a challenging question to answer.

    Chinese restos were aplenty, of course; we were in Chinatown. Mom favored King Chef. At 9PM-12AM, they offer 50% discount on all dimsum. Another choice was Tao Yuan as featured by ChinoyTV in one of their past episodes.

    However, we were fagged in seeing the same food staples on the menu of almost every restaurant. The last things I want to order are: fried rice, noodles and dimsum. Though they may taste a little different from one another—with prices varying according to the plating or food presentation and the prestige of the restaurant, they are still one and the same thing.

    My sister and I kept going and located Little Asia at the ground floor of the mall. We read the menu and found extensive “new-to-us” food items of Asian fusion: Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Filipino, Malaysian and Indian ~ all in! I asked the waiter if they also have peso-vegetarian/vegan-friendly dishes. He pointed them out—we counted  

    ♩♪♫♬ 1 [Little] 2 [Little] 3 [Little Asia], 4 [Little]… ♩♪♫♬

    Okay, they had enough. (Here’s the link to their menu, for reference.) And here’s my unbiased take on Little Asia:

    Review of Little Asia (Lucky China Town Mall, Binondo)

    Ambiance: ★★★★☆

    The strip mall location was funky and fun. Little Asia has two doors—one opening from inside the mall and one outside. The outside arena was designed like the one in Bugis Junction, Singapore. I just missed that feeling of being able to visit there during free weekends. Everything in sight was picture-perfect.

    Adjacent to Chatime, Little Asia shined with gigantic chandeliers lit on the ceiling. The nondescript beige wallpapers complemented the bold and intricately-designed red cushioned chairs. Tables were tightly packed, with other Chinese families having dinner. The restaurant was pleasantly decorated, making the ambiance classy, intimate and alluring.

    Service: ★★★★☆

    The waiter graciously sat us. He recommended the best sellers on the menu. When he learned that we’re not exactly meat-eaters, he proposed the idea of taking away poultry and meat from the originally “carnivorous” viands and replacing them with vegetables they had in stock. For the rest of their service, I can’t think of any critical thing to say.

    Food: ★★★★★

    First in our order list was the Japanese Tofu Steak which arrived hot with pan-fried tofu, shredded chicken, broccoli, mushrooms and kuchay. The sauce was delicious with rice. The tofu was soft and tender. Writing about this makes me hungry. Vegetable substitutes did not compromise the integrity of the dish.

    The second a la carte we had was Little Asia’s specialty: sautéed prawns with melted cheese and cream sauce, better known as “Cantonese Prawns.” It’s considered as a classic dish of marinated prawns tasting salty contrasted with a little bit of sweetness. I wasn’t planning on having dairy on a night like this. But small proportion did not do any harm.

    Next up was the Mandarin Orange Chicken, another dish that’s well-celebrated in Little Asia. I have long been restricting my diet to zero portions of chicken because of allergies, but this one came out as an exemption. It’s composed of diced crispy chicken coated in fresh bittersweet orange sauce ~ nothing you will hate. Little Asia’s version of the Mandarin Orange Chicken is a lip-smacking delicacy. Other reviews posted on the net tell likewise.

    Last for the night was a neat plate of steamed fish fillets wrapped in bacon coated with teriyaki glaze. This food should exceed your expectations. It took 20 minutes to cook, but it was worth the wait! The texture, flavor, and aroma of everything in this dish were immaculate.

    Price for Value: ★★★☆☆

    I can’t believe anyone would give this establishment any less than five stars for food. The only downside maybe is the price. Quite costly leh…I guess this just proves that dining experience of this pretty high caliber comes with a hefty price tag.

  • Review of The Burger Project (Taft Avenue, Manila)

    Review of The Burger Project (Taft Avenue, Manila)

    Yesterday I hanged out with two of my best girl friends since college, Gianne and Henshel, who I call by the first letter of their names, G and H, respectively. We always have conflicting and busy schedules. Thank goodness I did not have work this Saturday, hence our wonderful meetup came to pass.

    H recommended The Burger Project. When I learned that it’s a vegan-friendly restaurant and it has a branch near our alma mater, I was really very excited to give it a try.

    After graduation, we had visited DLSU at most only five times. So we are not familiar with new restaurants and buildings in the area anymore. In fact, we were not sure how to get to Grand Towers where The Burger Project (BRGR) is, despite the handy guidelines advised by people on the web and access to online maps. So the three of us said we’d first meet at the South Gate before walking to the venue.

    While waiting for my two girlies, I entered the school with my sister and reminisced sweet memories around every hall and corner in the LS building, the Marian quadrangle, SJ walk and the main library. Oh, everything is still sublime, indeed. This place (in the picture) used to be my sanctuary whenever Planet Gox stresses me out. big grin

    I stayed at the cyber nook and went to the DLSU Alumni Association office to inquire about the renewal of my alumni card. Gosh, the card costs PHp 500 for a year and PHp 3,900 for a lifetime. Benefits include entrance to the school, free use of swimming pool in the Sports Complex, discounts at some affiliate stores and subscription to the Rektikano magazine. I thought I won’t have the luxury of time to visit often so I’d rather spend PHp 500 on other more important stuff.

    Finally at lunch time, we made it to The Burger Project easily!

     

    Review of The Burger Project (Taft Avenue, Manila)

    Ambiance: ★★★★☆

    There are many burger joints in Manila. The Burger Project is one among the many that stands out, as it offers customers personalization — the freedom to choose ingredients to add into the burger. The atmosphere was friendly to youngsters, with colorful walls and accents, big, helpful signages and creatively decorated menu on the wall behind the counter.

    Nice tunes, perfectly dim lights and the sense of modernity added to its all-embracing appeal. Yet what took the rating one star down was the lack of optimal air conditioning in some areas of the restaurant.

    Service: ★★★★☆

    To order food, we had to fill out an order form where items to complete the burger are written already with prices.

    The cashier only had to take the sum of all the ingredients, mention them to the one preparing the food, stack the form to the “finished” pile and take the payment. Food was served to our table after a few minutes. The waiter was friendly and accommodating to take our pictures.

    Food: ★★★★★

    Yay! I can now vouch for a vegan burger in the world — to be specific, this one at The Burger Project. Originally, I ordered the concoction of: tofu BRGR, oatmeal bun, garlic cream cheese with pesto sauce. But the oatmeal bun was unavailable, so I chose the potato bun as its substitute. Did it taste like potato? No. That was sad. On the bright side, the put-together ROCH burger (yup, I had to name the burger after me) was immensely satisfying! It tasted beyond the regular vegan-style burger. It’s not fake meat made of gluten but made of tofu with spices and sauce.

    I’m not any bit of a burger harlot, but I have tried burger hither and tither. So far, The Burger Project’s tofu BRGR is first in my list that has actually stood up to its acclaim. I purposely did not choose to add many frills because I wanted to test the tofu, pesto with garlic cream cheese only. This burger, in taste and texture, uniqueness, and presentation, turned out to step up from other fast food type burgers. I bet G and H’s burgers were as fantabuulous! Sizes were big, too, especially G’s.

    Price for Value: ★★★★☆

    Nicely proportioned, perfectly charred, juicy, the right bun, and everything else A+. There’s no more questioning to it; burgers here are the best for the cost. I shelled out PHp 140 in exchange for a great burger, great experience and great catching up with my best pals.

  • Review of Banana Leaf Asian Café (Robinsons Place, Manila)

    Review of Banana Leaf Asian Café (Robinsons Place, Manila)

    For two consecutive Sundays, Louie and I had dined in Banana Leaf Asian Café for dinner at Robinson’s Place Manila (Ermita). From its outside appeal, I thought it was a restaurant only serving Filipino dishes (which I don’t like, sorry). But actually, it’s one that has modern Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, and Indonesian (not men) cuisine housed under one roof. On the table lies a small poster promoting Banana Leaf’s several awards year after year.

    While I don’t get the difference between the two outlets Banana Leaf and Banana Leaf Asian Café (aside from the two additional words there), I can attest to the fact that both of them offer really good food. If you’re craving for a mix of Southeast Asian cuisine delights, this is the place for you.

    In this review, I will combine both our dining experiences yesterday and one Sunday past that.

    Review of Banana Leaf Asian Café (Robinsons Place, Manila)

    Ambiance: ★★★★☆

    The interiors–the chairs, tables and wall ornaments–made us feel somewhere like in Malaysia, Singapore or Indonesia. Everything was nice except for the smell of the air in the restaurant (maybe because of the mix of cuisines). You may get used to it, though, and ignore the weird smell after a few minutes. We called out to the waiters to get us plates.

    We laughed as they pointed that the leaves already on our table were the plates. Oh, so this is the part where Banana Leaf stands by its name! The literal leaf plates contribute more to the authenticity of eating Asian. :> You can eat with your hands if you’re comfortable doing it so. The place is spacious and it can be accommodated by large groups.

    Service: ★★★★★

    We were able to snag a table at once. Upon ordering, the food were delivered to our tables even before the promised time. Their menu has diverse entrees cooked in Indian, Singaporean, Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Indonesian Style. You can be rest assured that there is something you will like. Given this, you may be have a hard time choosing for your order (like we had) from the 8-10 categories. Don’t rush and don’t fret. Waiters can patiently wait for you and/or advise food recommendations with their own stamp of approval. After two visits, I can say with confidence that their service is above satisfactory.

    Food: ★★★★★

    It’s a guarantee at every restaurant that there will be at least one dish standing out among all on the food menu. For Banana Leaf, it was the certainly the case of the Malayan Fish Curry. (You can order this Malayan Curry with choice of chicken, beef, seafood, pork chop or fish fillet.) The curry taste made me remember that of authentic Malaysian curry and made me especially miss the curry rice with fish I order every week after church service in Singapore. Banana Leaf Asian Café’s version was just so epic you just have to also try yourself.

    Another noteworthy among all the food options was the Banana Leaf Spring Rolls, which I describe as small, bite-sized lightly fried Shanghai wrapped rolls with a twist–inside got more noodles instead of the usual pork and other tiny ingredients. It came with sweet and sour sauce which fit the rolls succinctly.

    Next, we had Roti Canai Supreme Chili and Spring Onions, one of the staples on almost every customer’s list. This is an Indian-inspired dish, recommended for those looking for a bit of spice with their meal. I used to cook roti (without the chili) at home by heating only the bread with minimal oil on a pan. Banana Leaf’s rendition of the spicy roti canai is a fair appetizer for your palates.

    Also taking the limelight was our main dish in the evening: Thai-style Coconut Gravy with rice. Our choice for the topping was fish fillet; other available options were chicken, beef, pork chop and seafood. The creamy coconut milk/sauce tasted heavenly and fresh. The texture of the fish fillets’ edges was crisp but was soft and tender in its inner core. It wasn’t anything haute cuisine but indeed really was great food.

    Maybe the only entree that I did not like was the Spicy Korean Barbecue Chicken Steak. I only had one bite with its pinkish sauce and I already know it was not for me.

    Last but not least in this review: The waitress introduced to us the Prawn Toast Singaporean Style, which we thought was literally toasted bread with prawn. What came out was like thin toasted kaya bread filled with sesame seeds. Plum sauce was served as dip. The overall unique presentation looked as appetizing as the real thing.

    Price for Value: ★★★★☆

    Banana Leaf Asian Café has become one of my favorite go-to restaurants whenever I’m in Robinson’s Place. Food is affordable. Prices of most individual dishes don’t go beyond PHp 200, and one dish has ample portions good for two people’s sharing.

    When you don’t have a clue on where to eat and you know your stomach is grumbling for delicious food, try eating here and enjoy varieties of Southeast Asian cuisine.

    Banana Leaf
    G/F, Midtown at Robinson’s Place Manila, Ermita, Manila
    Contact (02) 567-8188
    Other locations

  • Review of Gumbo (Robinsons Place, Manila)

    Review of Gumbo (Robinsons Place, Manila)

    Last Sunday after lunch, Mom, my sister and I went to Robinsons Place – Manila for shopping. It has been quite a while since the three of us did — because of our hectic schedules. We decided to go there to check out the newest Korean shop named CNA (Culture, Nature and Arts) along Pedro Gil in Malate. Another reason was that I intended to claim my free regular milk tea from Serenitea (BDO credit card promo).

    For dinner, we walked around the entire mall, scouting for new restaurants to try. Then I realized I have been to almost every one (except for those with real meaty food options), thanks to Louie (haha). Mom suddenly thought of dining in Gumbo, which now is having a promotion tied up with American Express (AmEx) credit card: Diners can get a plate of Calamari Friti that’s worth PHp 395 for free.

    The catch? At least PHp 500 should be spent. Going through the dizzying list of food on the menu, Mom was elated. So we took a table and prepared to be full with a taste of New Orleans.

    Review of Gumbo (Robinsons Place, Manila)

    Ambiance: ★★★★★

    Gumbo is a sister-restaurant of Burgoo. It is no wonder that their interiors are lovely in the same way. I once thought they were members of a multinational chain. But no, they are proudly Filipino-owned companies! In Gumbo, waiters and waitresses all don uniform colorful headdresses and beaded necklaces.

    These accessories are inspired by the women collecting multicolored beads during the New Orlean’s Mardi Gras. The chefs in the open kitchen shout “Ahh Seafood Jambalaya” as they serve the star dish to their customers. I have dined in Gumbo-SM Megamall branch before with Louie and friends.

    Comparing my observations with regard to ambiance, I can say that their facade, theme and interiors are seamless — very promising and inviting to the eyes.

    Service: ★★★★★

    The place was pretty jammed. But this did not stop the service men to attend to our requests. From the handing out of menu, taking our orders, refilling our glasses with water, taking our picture and giving us food on time to handing out the bill and packing the leftover, their service was excellent.

    Food: ★★★★☆

    First, we were given complementary bread with olive oil and a chopped clove of garlic as appetizer while waiting for our actual orders. It was like any ordinary bread but good enough to ease my hunger.

    Second, the free calamari platter was served. The squid was super tender and juicy inside and nicely coated with special bread crumbs outside. It was insanely nice, just the best calamari I ever had so far!

    Third was the petite (10 inches) smoked salmon pizza, a gourmet dish out of traditional pizza with toppings to die for. I recommend seafood lovers to try this pizza as they’ll never regret it.

    Lastly, we had the belly-busting creamy seafood lasagna served hot. I must say that it cannot be part of my “favorite food list” in any way. One can’t have too much cheese unless he/she is a cheese-asaur. Melted cheese was all over this lasagna and it tasted too salty for me. I had to accompany every bite with a slice of bread or the pizza’s crust to even out the strong milk-like taste.

    Price for Value: ★★★★☆

    The pizza and the lasagna were at the same price of PHp 395. There was a service charge of 10% * the total food cost in the bill. I give four stars out of five for this category because we got one free meal; if not, I’d take out a star.

    I must say three people eating Gumbo food for PHp 869 is reasonable already. I thought we don’t need to travel far to America’s most authentic city, the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana to sample delicious New Orleans recipes! 😀