11/23 Nomama

By She Said

Nomama by Chef Him Uy de Baron is a modern Japanese restaurant located near Tomas Morato Avenue, a popular food strip in Quezon City. 

Pig Sculpture. Our server informs us that Nomama's Ramen offerings are made with pork based broth.

Serving up Japanese food with a twist, we were excited to try out Nomama's new dishes highlighting their latest partnership with Kitayama, which supplies Wagyu beef from Cagayan de Oro and gourmet mushrooms from Marco Lobregat's Ministry of Mushrooms whose farm can be found in Lipa City, Batangas. 

It's admirable that many restaurants now are sourcing their ingredients locally, proof that Filipinos are competent in developing and providing meat products and fresh produce normally sourced from other countries.

 Pork Gyoza- classic pork and cabbage dumpling.

Soft Shell Crab Salad- crisp soft shell crab, dairy buttermilk dressing, tomato, cucumber, greens.

Mushroom Teppanyaki- shimeji, oyster, shiitake, and king mushrooms stir fried with mirin and soy sauce.  Don't let the photo fool you. This dish was flavorful and the mushrooms were meaty and oh so good!

Prawn Tempura

 Twice Cooked Pork Belly Teriyaki- free range pork belly, apples, apple wood, homemade teriyaki sauce, French beans.

Japanese Steak and Fries- miso butter flavored Kitayama flank steak,tofu fries.

We ended our Sunday dinner with some yummy Apple Gyoza- crisp apple and rum raisin filled dumplings served with yogurt foam & miso salted caramel.

How was your Sunday? : )

Related Posts: 10/23 IHOP

                    One Summer, Twenty Three Restaurants

10/23 IHOP

By She Said

International House of Pancakes, IHOP opened its first branch in the Philippines last February 15, 2013 at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. Met with much excitement and anticipation, the first weeks following its opening indicated long queues, and waiting for a table could take as long as an hour or even more on a busy weekend.

Lucky for us that when we visited last Saturday we didn't have to wait too long and got a table real quick.

Big Steak Omelette- tender and tasty strips of steak, hash browns, fresh green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, salsa on the side.

CINN-A-Stack Pancakes- buttermilk pancakes layered with cinnamon roll filling, drizzled with cream cheese icing, topped with whipped cream.

Splashberry- a blend of juicy red strawberries, lemon lime soda and premium orange juice. The best thing about this is the free refills. They don't scrimp on the berries which makes this the perfect summer thirst quencher :)

Appetizer Sampler- mozzarella sticks, onion rings, crispy chicken strips served with honey mustard & marinara sauces for dipping.

IHOP is a busy, bustling, place with diners lining up to get a taste of this popular restaurant chain's world famous pancakes. So, if you're looking for a quiet, relaxing meal, IHOP is not the place to go. Service is quick and friendly though and we wouldn't mind going back for more of those Splashberries and to try out their other pancake flavors :)

Related Posts: 9/23 Corner Tree Cafe

                    One Summer, Twenty Three Restaurants

9/23 Corner Tree Cafe

By She Said

After all that binge eating just right before the weekend, I was suddenly craving for something healthy. I've already been to Corner Tree Cafe before and enjoyed my vegan meal immensely so I wanted to bring my daughter here so she could give it a try. It took a little bit of prodding to convince her to join me last Friday. We both love our steaks and meat dishes and sure, my daughter eats vegetables, but more of as a side dish and not really as a main course so I was excited for her to try out their food.

Corner Tree Cafe is a cozy little vegetarian cafe along Jupiter Street in Bel-Air Makati. They offer vegan and non-vegan options as well as gluten free and sugar free dishes. I also noticed a note on their menu that they serve and cook with Kangen alkaline water, high in antioxidants. 

Fresh Lemonade & Mango Lassi- a yogurt based drink, high in calcium.

 Spanakopitas- classic Greek appetizer. Light, crisp filo pastry filled with spinach and feta cheese, served with mint yogurt sauce.

Baked Tofu Walnut Burger- a big, healthy burger in a whole wheat bun, slathered with mint yogurt sauce, topped with Gruyere cheese and served with sweet potato fries, homemade mayo.

Arroz ala Cubana- minced tofu, tomatoes, green olives, raisins, fried bananas & fried egg. Served with organic red rice. I loved this! Next time I'll get an extra order of bananas :)

Fresh Fruit with Poppyseed Yogurt- refreshing dessert made with fruits in season.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Torte- I was convincing my daughter to choose a healthier dessert but she wouldn't budge :P

I'm happy she enjoyed our vegan lunch and that she really liked her Tofu Burger. So, I guess she wouldn't mind if we go back for more :)

Related Posts: 8/23 Eat Fresh Hong Kong Famous Street Food
                    One Summer. Twenty Three Restaurants

The Hungry Weekend

By She Said

I was practically cooped up in the house for one whole week last week. This unrelenting, scorching summer heat was giving me migraines and dizzy spells and what seemed like the beginning of a flu, that put a damper on my appetite. All I wanted to do was stay inside an igloo and never come out if that was ever possible. 

I'm glad I'm all better now. And my appetite is back! The first thing I did was to send for some Razon's Halo Halo, a large order of CPK's BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad (which I begrudgingly shared with my daughter, she was hogging all the crunchy tortilla strips!) and 12 pieces of Chowking's Lotus Cream Buchi. I ate 11 pieces, I kid you not. Sorry, I didn't get to take photos. By the time I remembered, I had already gobbled everything up. Thank goodness I have a loving sister who understands my sometimes weird food cravings and braved this desert weather to buy my loot for me. 

I'm planning a very long weekend of eating to make up for lost time. So, if you happen to chance upon a mother & daughter tandem in one of the restaurants with a table filled with food they can't finish because they over ordered, that could be us. Please don't hesitate to say hello :)

Happy Weekend Eating!

8/23 Eat Fresh Hong Kong Famous Street Food

By She Said

I love my family and friends!  Ever since we started our summer restaurant roundup, our dear friends, Gary, Leslie and Ivan have been cheering us on. They never fail to send us words of encouragement and support. Their family loves to eat too, and I always look forward to hearing about the restaurants and good eats they're discovering. I just love swapping food stories with them!

We met up last week to celebrate quite a number of happy occasions: two birthdays, two straight A report cards, and a first paycheck ;) Thanks for the dinner & dessert treat, Gary, Les and Ivan. We had so much fun catching up with all of you and we're looking forward to our next food adventure.

Eat Fresh Hong Kong Famous Street Food  is along J. Abad Santos Street in San Juan City. The busy, narrow street is lined with parked cars on both sides when we get there. But, the difficult parking situation doesn't seem to turn diners away. Instead, I think it's more of a come on because you get curious and wonder what the commotion is all about.

Street food on sticks are prominently displayed in the restaurant's glass enclosed kitchen upfront.

They have a small air conditioned dining area just right behind the kitchen. We were lucky to get a table because the place started filling up fast,  as soon as we were seated.

Salt & Pepper Squid

Yakitori- Asparagus, Enoki & Shiitake Mushrooms wrapped in bacon and glazed in a very addicting sweet sauce.

Fried Spring Rolls

Fried Rice

Hong Kong Noodle Soup

Pork Siomai

Taosi Spareribs & Chicken Feet Claypot Rice

Hong Kong Pancake Balls

White Almond Shake,Lemon Iced Tea, Black Gulaman

Related Posts: 7/23 Brasserie Cicou

                    One Summer, Twenty Three Restaurants

7/23 Brasserie Cicou

By She Said

My daughter and I get giddy with excitement whenever we have family visiting from abroad because it's the best excuse to eat out! My aunt and cousin were recently in town from Canada and we had the pleasure of dining out with them on several occasions.

I made a special request that we try out one of the restaurants on our summer list, and my aunt most willingly obliged. Thank you so much for treating us to a delicious French lunch at Brasserie Cicou. Until your next visit!

Brasserie Cicou by Chef Cyrille Soenen features a very relaxed, casual setting.

 We love the personal little details- colorful shawls for when you're feeling a bit chilly and reading glasses with different grades if you need help reading the menu.

A cozy lounge where you can choose to have your coffee and dessert or just to hang out after your meal.

What we had for lunch... 

Leeks and Goat Cheese Quiche

Coquilletes- bacon, mushroom & parmesan pasta

Pork Chop "a la Charcutiere"- served with mashed potatoes, romaine salad, shallots, pickles, white wine, beef jus, mustard, tomatoes

Seafood Bouillabaisse- fish, prawns, squid, clams, baby potatoes served with croutons, aioli, rouille sauce

Paillard de Boeuf- grilled, flattened US beef with homemade fries, mesclun salad

Croque Madame- white bread, gruyere, butter, bacon, egg

Kouign Amann- caramelized laminated sweet dough, salted caramel ice cream. Definitely one of Manila's best desserts! 

Chocolat Moelluex- fondant, vanilla ice cream, macaron, chocolate sauce

Banana Souffle- light, airy dessert with bananas, nuts and chocolate syrup

We went for a late Saturday lunch so, we practically had the whole place to ourselves. Although service was a bit slow, the food, most especially the Kouign Amann more than made up for it :) Enjoy your weekend!

Related Posts: 6/23 Breakfast at Antonio's

                    One Summer, Twenty Three Restaurants