Pazzo Rollio

After our weekly trip to the grocery plus mom and dad’s visit to the dentist, we headed over to Pazzo Rollio’s branch in SM Hypermart for a snack. At first, I wanted to go to their branch at Robinson’s Magnolia, but I just visited their branch in Hypermart instead, since it’s nearer.

Pretty small interior.

Menu: Pazzo Rollio specials, Dessert pizza, Breakfast pizza, Pasta, Starters, Salad, and Gelato.

We ordered the Corleone’s Order for our pizza. The pizza itself was unbelievably paper-thin. The pizza toppings are composed of prosciutto ham, mushroom, onion, honey, and truffle oil drizzle.

You sprinkle alfalfa sprouts on your pizza, and roll it up.

And finally, Truffle Madness for our pasta. This dish is good enough for two. Mom really liked this dish, and so did I. The pasta had truffle cream sauce, mixed with parmesan cheese and mushrooms.

I really enjoyed my meal here at Pazzo Rollio, because of the food’s quality, taste, and its cheap price. In fact, I think their pizzas are a nicer, inexpensive alternative to Yellow Cab’s Dear Darla pizza. I think it’s safe to say that this won’t be our last visit to Pazzo Rollio, and I can’t wait to come back for more.

Pazzo Rollio is located at SM Hypermarket, Frontera Dr., Ugong, Pasig city. You can also find them at Robinson’s Magnolia.

Le Family

Le Family is a restaurant whose concept is Vietnamese home-dining. There were still so many restaurants in SM Aura that I wanted to visit, but in the end, I chose this one, even though it hasn’t been that long since my last Vietnamese restaurant post.

Interior.

Menu: Appetizers, Salads, Soups, BBQ, Meats, Seafoods, Noodle soups, Set meals, Vegetables, Fried rice/fried noodles, Vegetarian, Vegetables, Special, and Desserts.

(Fun fact: Le Family in Vietnamese is ‘Nha Le’.)

Clams Soup.

Deep Fried Spring Rolls with Pork. I liked the combination of the crispy skin, ground pork, and the dipping sauce.

Beef Soup Noodles with Brisket. This was a last-minute order. The brisket pieces were so tender and I also loved the thinness of the rice noodles. I added cabbage shreds and bean sprouts into my pho. Oh, and aside from brisket you can also choose if you want to put tenderloin, flank, meatballs, or tripe.

Fried Prawns with Tamarind Sauce.

Bread with Meat. I’m so glad they placed the meat/veggies inside an actual French baguette – It gives it a bit of authenticity. (The name of the dish is so weird though, they could’ve just called it a banh mi sandwich…)

Lastly, Fried Rice with Salted Fish. It had little crunchy pieces of rice mixed in.

Le Family’s main goal is to warm the hearts and stomachs of every diner that steps into their restaurant. For me, they managed to achieve this goal, but at the same time there wasn’t anything special about their food and it felt like I was just dining in a regular Vietnamese restaurant.

Le Family is located at SM Aura Premier, Mckinley Parkway McKinley Hill, Taguig.

Scarsdale Artisanal Delights

Before getting some groceries, we decided to have a light lunch at this small café called Scarsdale Artisanal Delights. This place also serves as a donut and cronut shop. Since it opened last year, it has been getting rave reviews from food bloggers, celebrities, and food magazines so I had to check this place out.

Interior. We ended up sitting at a quiet corner on the café’s second floor.

Of course I couldn’t resist snapping a photo of their yummy pastries.

Menu: Doughnut sandwiches, Croughnut sandwiches, Soup, salad & pastas, Panzerotti, Sides, Doughnuts, Cupcakes, Croughnuts, Cookies, Brownies, By the box, Things that make us go “Weee!”, Beer & wines, Tea & coffee.

Red Velvet Doughnut and Sea Salt Caramel Croughnut. The cronut has a tougher, flakier texture than the donut. But both of them had just the right amount of sweetness, and didn’t feel like I was eating one of those super light and airy donuts. At first I couldn’t decide which flavor of donut to get, since their list included a lot of my favorites (like chocolate mint, the Elvis, and cereal milk!). If they weren’t so pricey, I would’ve bought a box of six.

Pulled Pork Sandwich – Slow BBQ-braised pulled pork, with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and lettuce. Served with a side of fries and ketchup. I’m so glad this sandwich wasn’t greasy, unlike other pulled pork sandwiches that I’ve tried before. The pulled pork has a lovely, smoky flavor as well.

We also ordered two pastas – Spaghetti Bolognese made with Angus beef tomato sauce (for mom) and Fettucine Alfredo tossed in creamy bacon & cheese sauce (for me). It could use a little more salt, but it was still delicious, thanks to the mushrooms, bacon, and parsley mixed in. Both pastas were served with a donut-shaped garlic bread.

I’m so glad we decided to eat here first instead of grabbing some pizza since our meal at Scarsdale’s left us feeling full and satisfied. I highly recommend this restaurant if you want to relax after a arduous trip to the grocery with your friends or loved ones.

Scarsdale Artisanal Delights is located at S&R Membership Shopping 514 Shaw Blvd. corner S. Laurel St., Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. Links: Official Website || Twitter.

Mochi Cream Cafe

Mochi Cream’s Japanese deli is very familiar to me since I always pass by their stalls whenever I go to the mall. I have actually tried mochi ice cream before, and I have to say that I like it so much more than the regular ice cream in cones/cups. When I spotted Mochi Cream’s café in SM Megamall, I got curious to find out what they had in store.

Interior.

Some shots of the menu.

Not a lot of food, actually – Just some hot/cold drinks, pastries and of course, their mochi.

Matcha Latte and Hot Chocolate for our drinks. Not bad! I like how they were served in extra-large mugs, hehe.

This dish is called the Baumkuchen. According to their menu, this is supposed to be a combination of eggs Benedict and French toast. The two pieces of bread were extremely light and fluffy, kinda like a cleaning sponge. They used spicy sausage slices instead of ham for their eggs Benedict. The hollandaise sauce was nice and tangy.

Honey Cranberry Mochi for dessert.

I liked the food, but obviously, I didn’t feel very full after my meal so I had to go to the foodcourt to resume my lunch. Also, everything was horribly overpriced – I can’t believe we paid 700 bucks for such small (except for the drinks) servings. It’s like we paid for the food’s presentation, instead of the taste. Maybe they should just stick to selling their mochi in stalls…

Mochi Cream Cafe is located at SM Megamall’s Mega Fashion Hall. You can also find them at Robinson’s Magnolia, and Glorietta 2.

Tambayan sa Kanto

Tambayan sa Kanto, sometimes known as Sa Kanto by Il Ponticello, is a small Filipino restaurant found inside The Podium. It specializes in Ilocos cuisine. We decided to eat at this restaurant after paying a visit to the dentist.

I really don’t like it when I only manage to get one picture of the interior…

Menu: All day breakfast selections, Starters/sizzling lovers & bar chows, Kanto’s signature dishes, Kanto’s regional all-time favorites, Kanto’s short orders, Kanto’s desserts, and Beverages.

I had their Chicharon Bulaklak with a cup of plain rice. I haven’t had chicharon bulaklak in a really long time, so I enjoyed this dish.

Kanto Sidewalk Platter. This platter is an assortment of famous Filipino street food, including kwek-kwek, fishballs, kikiam, cracklings, and squid balls. After eating this, I have to say that I still prefer the greasy version being sold on the streets. But at least you can be 95% certain that the street food found in this platter is safe to eat, and cleanly prepared.

Kanto Style Chicken, which tastes like ordinary deep fried fastfood chicken (complete with pandan gravy dip).

Lastly, some Beef Oxtail Kare-Kare – Beef oxtail and tripe, with peanut sauce and vegetables. I got to try some of the kare-kare’s sauce, and it was… Slightly tasteless.

Well… The food was good, and the staff was accommodating (a little bit TOO accommodating, to be honest <_<) but nothing too special – I think it was good, but I prefer dining at other Filipino restaurants instead. Sorry!

Tambayan sa Kanto is located at G/F The Podium, 12 ADB Ave Highway Hills, Mandaluyong. Tel no: (02) 477-9045.

Basil

Basil is a Thai restaurant situated deep within the quiet, garden-lined suburbs of White Plains. Its name is derived from the popular herb used in most Thai cuisines. Basil takes pride in being a restaurant that serves food using all-natural ingredients.

The interior was small yet so spacious, and nicely decorated. The owners of Basil happen to be plant enthusiasts and foodies, so they decided to combine both by decking the resto with beautiful plants and artworks (with some imported straight from Thailand). Too bad I only got to take a few pictures. Some of the tables were tucked away inside little corners, giving diners a little bit of privacy (and making this restaurant suitable for dates, hohoho).

Menu: Meat & poultry, Vegetable, Rice & noodle, Dessert, Salad & appetizer, Soup, Seafood, and Curry.

Fresh Spring Rolls (Por Pie Koong Sod). This dish lives up to its name—The ingredients that they used were SO fragrant, it almost felt like I was eating a bouquet of flowers instead of an appetizer.

Pad Thai. Now, in my head I have a list of the top 10 best pad thais that I’ve tried, and the current top placer is the pad thai made by this little stall I found in Makati’s Legazpi Sunday market. But now, it has been pushed to number 2 because of Basil’s pad thai. This is actually one of the best ones I’ve tried! The noodles were firm, and the sauce had the perfect blend of spiciness and nuttiness. It also had the right amount of ingredients.

Crunchy and tasty Thai Shrimp Cake (Tord Man Goong) with a sweet chili sauce dip.

Spicy Seafood Soup (Tom Yum Ta Lay). This is my second time trying tom yum goong, and it’s slowly becoming one of my favorite Thai foods.

A large plate of Sticky Rice with Mango for dessert. The rice itself was excellent, but the mangoes weren’t ripe and tasted bland.

Of course a Thai meal isn’t complete without a refreshing glass of Thai Iced Tea.

Basil is just excellent – From the good food, to the lush scenery, and to the accommodating staff. I can’t wait to take some of my loved ones here so they can experience genuine Thai cuisine and hospitality as well.

Basil is located at Katipunan Avenue, cor. White Plains, Quezon City. Tel no: 911-4158.

Chef’s Noodle

Chef’s Noodle is a restaurant owned by chef Choi In-sun, a popular celebrity chef from South Korea. Chef Choi is a staple in SK’s cooking shows/contests, and has garnered numerous awards for his delicious food. Chef’s Noodle started out as a noodle shop in January 2011. Thanks to chef Choi’s celebrity status, the first branch of Chef’s Noodle became an instant hit, and it even got to the point where five new branches were being opened each month! The restaurant currently has 65 branches in Seoul.

Chef’s Noodle opened their very first branch in Taft last September 2012. Chef Choi himself came over to create the restaurant’s personalized dishes, and to train the restaurant’s staff. Since Taft was too far, I headed over to their branch in Robinson’s Magnolia instead.

Interior. We ate there during lunchtime, but unfortunately, we were the only customers inside.

Menu: Appetizer, Chef’s Choice, Mains to share, Noodles, Rice meals, Donglyo meals.

I only wanted to try several of their dishes, but somehow we ended up ordering one of their Donglyo sets. We tried Option A, which consisted of the following: a bowl of Chef’s Noodle, Beef Curry, Bulgogi Kimbap, two bowls of rice, and two glasses of iced tea.

(Um…. I forgot to take a picture of the Bulgogi Kimbap. *bangs head on wall* Just imagine a regular kimbap with meat in the center instead of veggies!)

Beef Curry, mixed with egg rolls and veggies. You can barely taste the curry’s spiciness, but the beef slices were super tender. It goes well with a bowl of rice.

Chef’s Noodle. I didn’t get to try the resto’s signature dish that much since I was too busy with my sushi/bulgogi/beef curry. But according to my parents, the soup was a tad salty? And the noodles absorbed the soup too quickly, making them thick and soggy.

The money shot…

Blowtorched to perfection!

Starking Fire Sushi, another one of chef Choi’s handcrafted dishes. This one comes in three options – Shrimp, tuna, and beef (which I picked). The meat was a little bit tough, but it was still delicious. And for the K-Entertainment fans out there who think that the name of the dish seems a little bit familiar… Yes, it was named after the famous TV show.

Chocolatey Kitkat for my drink – Thickest bubble tea drink I’ve tried so far.

I felt really bad that this certain branch wasn’t getting the attention that it deserves, since their dishes are delicious, cheap, and unique. If I could, I would come back to Chef’s Noodle very often to try most of their creations.

Chef’s Noodle is located at LG/F Robinsons Magnolia, Aurora Blvd Kaunlaran, Quezon City. Tel no: (02) 656-7033. You can also find them at Greenhills, University Mall, SM City North EDSA, and Z Square Mall. Links: Official Philippine Website || Facebook