Johnny Chow

We are ending the year with a trip to Resorts’ World Manila, and an early lunch at Johnny Chow. I have dined at Johnny Chow during one of my past birthday celebrations, and being wowed by the restaurant’s cool atmosphere.

If I remember correctly, this restaurant is the brainchild of the same people behind Sumo Sam and Mr. Kurosawa, so expect the interiors to be nice and classy.

Menu: Soups from the Southeast, Good karma salads, Starters from Buddha, Raging bulls, Great wall of chicken, Pork dynasty, 20,000 leagues under the sea, From noodles to nirvana, Vegetables of good fortune, Life is like a bowl of rice, Dragon dimsum, Desserts for my concubines(!), and drinks . Almost all of Johnny Chow’s dishes have quirky names that refer to Chinese pop culture and Chinese movies.

… Before we move on to the chow (hehe), I just want to say that I’m really glad their staff service has improved. Coz the last time we ate here, we had to wait for around 30 minutes before all of our food was served -_-

Charlie Chan, which is deep fried beef strips coated with a sticky, citrusy orange sauce, and carrot slices. I like to think of this dish as the opposite of lemon chicken. ^^; Delicious, but the sauce can get a little bit too cloying at times.

Johnny Chow Fried Rice. As the name suggests, this is Johnny Chow’s version of yang chow fried rice.

For some dimsum, we ordered Xiao Long Bao and Har Gao. Accompanied with a glass of cold soya milk.

And finally, the Chuck Norris, which is simply just a piece of grilled salmon fillet and veggies. Bleh. To think this dish was a little bit pricey, too…

The food was great, but it is a little bit overpriced. ._. I wouldn’t mind eating here again, though… Probably if someone treats me for a free lunch or dinner, hehe ^^;

Johnny Chow is located at the 2nd Floor of Newport Mall/Resort’s World Manila, Cybertourism Zone, Newport Blvd Domestic Airport, Pasay City. Tel no: (02) 659-2353.

My Thai

The three of us had a late lunch (or early dinner?) at My Thai earlier today, since I needed to get home early because of work. This isn’t my parents’ first time dining in this restaurant, though… But I myself was a little bit happy since I’ll finally get the opportunity to try their dishes. (and it’s been a while since I had Thai food.)

Menu: Soups & Appetizers (shrimps with hot & sour soup, pork sate with peanut sauce, tom yom goong), Salad (yam so oo, yam pla neua, pomelo & shrimp salad), Pad Thai Noodles (pad see ew), Delicious Thai Curries (fish fillet), Main Courses (Thai style grilled boneless chicken, pork belly with lemon grass, chicken and pandan leaves, stir-fried chicken in hot basil, squid stir fry with garlic and pepperoni), Rice (khau pad goong, khau pad siam, khap pat brou), Desserts (top tim grub, tago haew), and Beverages.

I had a glass of their Thai iced milk tea.

Thai fish cakes. Slightly small, and a bit cold when it was served to us. The texture and taste were alright though.

Crispy fish fingers with green chili dip. This was also served cold. Hmmm. It came with a sweet and tangy dipping sauce, which wasn’t spicy at all, but that’s alright. The fish was a little bit crunchy, with a rather chewy consistency.

Chicken Pad Thai. The noodles were thin, and the peanut sauce didn’t overpower the entire dish. This pad thai was decent. Not good, just decent.

For our dessert, we had their sticky rice with mangoes. The rice was slightly bland, and some of the mango pieces were sour.

I enjoyed my meal here, but the food wasn’t that overwhelming. Basically it’s just your typical Thai restaurant. But if Thai food happens to be your favorite type of cuisine, then feel free to give My Thai a try.

My Thai is located at the G/F of Eastwood Mall Veranda, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave. Bagumbayan, Quezon City. Tel no: (02) 709-2127.

Nomama Artisanal Ramen

On Christmas day, I had an unexpected lunch with some of my relatives here at Nomama’s second branch in Capitol Commons. This branch just opened last week. Since it’s a holiday, the place had to close down really early—Good thing we were fortunate enough to become a part of this ramen place’s hungry lunch crowd.

Interior shots. Wasn’t able to get a shot of the second floor… Oh, and I did I mention that I left my camera AGAIN? Maybe I need to keep it in my room all the time so I won’t forget… I should make that a New Year’s Resolution or something… Grrr -_- Anyway, It was a little bit humid inside, but that’s because they were still working on the air conditioning. And by the way, Nomama owner Chef Him Uy de Baron himself was there to entertain the guests, which was pretty cool. ^^

 

Menu: To Start With (edamame hummus with chips, tuna spring rolls with spicy ponzu and arugula, tuna tataki and soba salad), Noodles (ox tongue and chili tofu ramen, Thai green curry ramen, prawn red curry noodle stir fry), Something Else (kitayama flank steak, tonkatsu pizza, teppanyaki vegetables, Nomama seafood), Sides (organic brown rice, kobacha and potato puree), Dessert (apple gyoza with condiments, flourless chocolate cake with miso salted caramel), Beverages (softdrinks, Bundaberg, beer, bayani brew, tea, loose pouch).

(Many thanks to my uncle and my cousin for helping me with the food pics!!)

For my appetizer, I had their Pork Gyoza.

I also had their Wagyu beef cheek ramen. The milk-based broth had a nice, creamy consistency, with a tiny hint of spiciness. The noodles were thin and chewy too. The square piece of nori and poached egg were alright. But what really stood out was this giant hunk of beef floating in the middle of my bowl. Honestly, I’m still having a hard time believing that this is Wagyu, since this is kinda cheap for a dish with Wagyu in it (and as far as I know, Wagyu is supposed to be suuuuuuper duper expensive). But Wagyu or not … This is definitely one of the most tender pieces of beef that I have eaten. The meat melts in your mouth!

As usual, my dad had the Tantanmen.

My mom had the Sticky tori karaage with orange miso and young garlic with a cup of Japanese rice. This one was good too—The chicken skin was light and crispy, and the sauce was delicious and slightly sweet. I’m planning to order this when we come back.

Meanwhile, my relatives tried the tofu fries, Nomama ramen, all-prawn tempura…

… And also their pork tonkatsu with Japanese slaw, their chilli garlic glazed chicken with soy caramel, and the half-cooked tuna steak. Not too sure if I got those names correctly… >_< Oh, and it also took a while for their orders to arrive, for some reason. Tsk tsk.

Although there’s still room for service improvement, the food at Nomama was absolutely heavenly. And I’m really glad that they decided to open up their second branch at Capitol Commons, so we don’t have to travel all the way to QC just to try their food. I just hope my relatives enjoyed their meal too ^^;

Hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas! Because I sure did ^^

Nomama Artisanal Ramen is located at Capitol Commons, Meralco Ave. corner Shaw Blvd. Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Their original branch can be found at the ground floor of FSS Bldg 2, Scout Tuason cor Scout Castor St., Quezon City.

Zao Vietnamese Bistro

On Sunday, we had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in Eastwood called Zao Vietnamese Bistro. I haven’t had pho soup and spring rolls in a long time, so I decided to just dine here instead of the usual choice (that would be Kogi Bulgogi)….

…. Plus I love their interior too.

Menu: Appetizers (appetizer sampler, fresh rolls, Zao satay platter, sugar cane shrimps), Salads (pomelo salad, tenderloin salad), Soups (shrimp and pork noodle soup), Vietnamese BBQ (Zao barbecue platter, barbecue spareribs, grilled honey tenderloin), Poultry & meat (caramelized chicken wings, shaking beef, Vietnamese beef stew), Seafood (caramelized garlic prawns, firecracker prawns, deep fried catfish, lemongrass fish), House specialties (rib eye steak, Zao’s crispy lapu-lapu, green mango lapu-lapu, tamarind prawns), Char-grilled noodle bowls (Zao bowl, garlic butter glazed shrimps), Vegetables (water spinach with tofu, stuffed tofu), Rice & noodles (Saigon fried rice, seafood in claypot, pork fried rice), Sides, Dessert (calamansi tart, espresso gateau de crepe), and Drinks, which includes Vietnamese gourmet coffee (the Vietnamese filter, Vietnamese iced coffee).

Cool and refreshing Lychee iced tea for my drink, plus Fried spring rolls for our appetizer. Was expecting to taste some sliced veggies and vermicelli noodles after taking the first bite—Instead, I got ground pork. It was good, but we should’ve ordered the fresh rolls instead…

Saigon pork chop. It was alright, the pork was really tender, but I’ve been eating a lot of pork lately so even though I liked this dish, I still felt a tiny amount of queasiness after eating.

Zao Pho. Now, I’ve eaten quite a number of pho soups, but I have to say… This is one of my favorites. The soup wasn’t oily, with a very light taste. The beef slices were tender, as well as the meatballs. It also had the right amount of sliced onions and coriander.

While my dad had the Seafood Pho.

I really wanted to try their Jasmine Rice Pudding for dessert, but unfortunately, it wasn’t available. Ugh! And not everyone in my family is a huge fan of chocolate, so I didn’t get to try their chocolate cake dessert as well.

Zao is a really lovely place with accommodating staff, chic interiors and good food. I would recommend this restaurant if you want to have lunch or dinner with your friends or family at a nice yet classy environment.

Zao Vietnamese Bistro is located at Eastwood City Walk 1, Eastwood Ave, Bagumbayan, Quezon City. You can also find them at Shangri-La Mall and Serendra. Tel nos: (02) 470-7587.

Ba-Be-Q

We ended up having lunch here after finding out that our first choice, Yedang, was closed for their afternoon break and won’t open up until 5PM. Since my dad had a dental appointment at around 4PM, we couldn’t stay and wait until it opened. So we ate at Ba-Be-Q instead. To be honest, I always think about dining in this restaurant whenever I pass by their branch in A-Venue. I was also surprised when I found out that they had a branch in Metrowalk as well.

It was past 12, so as expected; the place was a bit empty.

Not a lot of stuff on their menu… *sigh* They serve both Korean and Filipino grilled dishes. But they focus more on their Korean fare.

I’m not sure what this is, since I only know a handful of Korean characters, but…I’m guessing this is also the menu except translated into Korean?

They didn’t have bulgogi in their menu, so we had samgyupsal instead. It was very flavorful, but I think we cooked it way too much so it ended up getting dry and rather crispy in the end. They also have an eat-all-you-can samgyupsal promo.

We also had their grilled chicken. I didn’t get to try this one, but my mom says that the meat was really tender and had the right amount of saltiness.

So this is my first time trying kimchi jjigae—Its soup had a rather sour, spicy taste. It also had bits of sliced kimchi, pork, and tofu cubes floating in it. I loved it, though, even if I don’t really like sour soups that much. The other thing that I loved is that the ceramic bowl and its contents stay piping hot through the entire meal. I practically burned my tongue while sipping their jjigae soup.

A bowl of steamed eggs!

Lots and lots of banchan, plus cooked rice, lettuce leaves, and a sesame oil dipping sauce for our samgyupsal.

This meal definitely tasted 50% more authentic than the last Korean restaurant that I dined in. However… I was disappointed with the lack of other types of Korean (and Filipino!) food on their menu.

Ba-Be-Q is located at the ground floor of Metrowalk, Ortigas Pasig City. You can also find them at A-Venue in Makati.

Food Truck Park

(Somewhat pic-heavy post ahead!)

After attending Sunday mass, we travelled to Capitol Commons so we could check out their famous Food Truck Park. I was already familiar with the food truck concept thanks to this episode of TLC’s Best Food Ever, so when I heard that they were finally bringing food trucks here in the Philippines, I couldn’t help but feel a little bit excited.

It was also our first time staying at Capitol Commons. Even though there weren’t a lot of stores yet, I have to say that place looks spectacular.

Anyway, I better pipe down now—Here are some pictures!

Look at the hungry crowd!

The trucks that showed up that evening were…

Amazing Cones. I remember these guys coz they used to have a store in Galle.

Ser Chef. Their specialty is lechon, liempo, and other pork rice dishes.

I Have Two Eggs, which serves more than just egg dishes, mind you.

The Cheesesteak Shop. This was my first choice, but I changed my mind coz their sandwiches were kinda expensive. >_<

Kuyang, which also serves rice meals.

I was really disappointed when two of my most anticipated food trucks, Big Bite Avenue and Mio Gelati, weren’t around.

… And so in the end, I had a Turkey Pepper Steak Sandwich (I’m not even sure if this is the exact name… I can’t remember T_T) from The Hungry Rover. The barbecue sauce goes really well with the huge chunks of succulent lean turkey meat. The chips complimented the burger too. As expected, everything tasted great because it was freshly cooked.

Dad and mom both had burgers from Great Burger. Dad’s burger had some chili, while Mom’s Hawaiian burger came with a bag of crinkle fries.

For our drinks, we had Wintermelon milk tea from Cuppa (still wondering if this is the same Cuppa as the one in BGC… Maybe not o_O).

I really had an awesome time at the Food Truck Park. The cool calm atmosphere, plus being surrounded by families and groups of friends who all came there to eat delicious food make this place a really nice, relaxing environment. Also, other restaurants are bound to open in Capitol Commons so I’m pretty sure this won’t be my last time to drop by. ^^;

Capitol Commons is located at Meralco Ave. corner Shaw Blvd. Ortigas Center, Pasig City. Check out Food Truck Park’s Official Facebook page for their daily schedule. 

Wabi-Sabi

I thought it was impossible at first, but we were finally able to locate and eat lunch at the hard-to-find Wabi-Sabi Noodle House in Makati. We found it during our second attempt at trying to spot the building where it was situated… It was not an easy task.

Then after that, I got a second wave of hesitation and was secretly close to giving up and picking another restaurant instead, since the building was dark and looked really, really shady (like a dimly-lit, seedy bar/pub area)… But we found it.

Interior. The place was a bit small.

Chopsitcks and condiments.

I’m guessing they sell these to customers….

Menu.

Viet Pho. You can really taste the coriander/cilantro flavor in the broth. It had rice noodles, LOTS of beansprouts, lettuce shreds, tender beef slices, pork cracklings, and tofu. It wasn’t so bad.

Then I had their Banh My. It was good, but the cucumber flavor was quite overpowering (I could still taste it even after removing the cucumber slice). We also ordered some Pot Stickers, but I only got to try once piece… Ugh.

For my drink, I had their Thai iced tea. It was… Meh. It lacked the sweetness that I usually look for in Thai iced tea. On the left, is their Lemongrass iced tea.

My parents had the Shoyu Ramen. Mom also had their kuapao. The kuapao was tasty, and the crushed peanuts give it a nice crunchy texture.

Hmmm. Honestly, the food wasn’t that delicious, but it didn’t taste too nasty either. The location also makes it a bit hard to find, not to mention the surroundings seem quite unwelcoming. But if you want to try Wabi-Sabi’s vegetarian dishes, then feel free to do so. ^^

Wabi-Sabi is located at the The Collective, 774 Malugay St., San Antonio, Makati. Tel no: (02) 519-3950.

Lunchbox

Hi guys! Just a little announcement before we proceed with today’s entry: I don’t really know if you’ve noticed this, but nowadays it takes me a while to update this blog or post some of my entries. Well the reason for this is because I finally got myself a job last month… And sometimes I don’t even have the remaining energy to resume making/editing since I get so exhausted after doing my work. So sorry!! T__T I’m still gonna try my best to keep this blog updated regularly, though >_<

Moving on—I had an early dinner with mom at Lunchbox today. I decided to check this place out after one of my mom’s friends had lunch at this place several months ago. Good thing it wasn’t that hard to find—We actually couldn’t decide at first if we wanted to dine here or the other restaurants in the area.

This is the best I can do with the interior… -_- The walls were super drab. They didn’t even have any posters or pictures on them. I was also trying my best not to get any pictures of the family seated next to us. >_<

They also have a tiny bakery that serves cookies, cakes, bread pudding, and pies.

Menu: Soups & stews (French onion soup, fresh fungus soup), Sweet sandwiches (Berries & cream, PB&J, milquetoast), Salads & starters (Asian slaw, summer salad), Savory sandwiches (Chicken & lime remoulade, grilled cheese please), Hearty meals (Mom’s meatloaf, fish & chips), All-day breakfast, Fresh pastas (Tinapasta), Sweets (Peanut butter chocolate banana cream, warm cookies & almond flavored milk), Bakery goods (Sweet & salty chocolate chip cookies, pain de mie), Caffeine (Minted hot chocolate, iced nutella latte), Sides & extras, Drinks (Pineapple & mint, herbal sodas)

Just look at this thing. CUTEST! MENU! EVER! I couldn’t help but let out a little squee of delight while browsing through it.

Pesto & Shrimp pasta. I love the thinness of the flat pasta noodles. Really savory. It only had a few pieces of shrimp, though. And those pieces were really tiny too. You may think that this is just a small serving, but trust me… There’s a lot!

Big Boy Burger, with a small plate of chips and soup. The patty and buns were delicious (not to mention super filling) but the onions were a tad spicy. Or maybe that’s the garam masala. Don’t expect your hands to be 100% clean after eating this.

… Oh, and I had this potted plant for dessert too. But that’s because this isn’t an actual potted plant, but their Chocolate & mint potted pudding. A thin layer of vanilla cake, topped with a huge helping of chocolate fudge and a crust composing of chocolate bits. Plus a sprig of mint leaves on top. I was hoping that they would infuse more mint flavors into the crust or the fudge, but sadly, there wasn’t any. But I would definitely recommend this dish for chocoholics, hehe.

Graham milkshake. Thank goodness this wasn’t one of those cloying and super-thick milkshakes. Unfortunately I couldn’t finish this since I was already feeling very full, not to mention I was already suffering from a massive sugar coma because of the potted pudding.

Despite the lack of interior decorating, Lunchbox makes up for it their amazing (and affordable!) food. I am looking forward to my second visit there so I could try more of their yummy, home-cooked dishes.

Lunchbox is located at Ronac Art Center, Greenhills.