Tsoko.Nut: Chocolate, the Filipino Way

The goal of this blog is not exactly to try new restaurants, it's about food experiences that to some may be old but entirely new to me. Discovering new things closer to home is such a great joy that it is meant to be shared

Take Tsoko.Nut for example, established the year 2004, which I often passed by without a second glance. But for some reason that day or because I was more open to new things, we tried it.

Tablea Mousse Cupcake (P45)

Chocolate, the Filipino way, known by most of us as tablea, is incorporated in pretty much all of their menu.

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Tonkatsu by Terazawa: Katsu One More Time!

It was a very unplanned Saturday eat-out with my friends. We wandered around Glorietta for about 30 minutes, tried to look at Buffalo Wings 'N Things but eventually ended up at Tonkatsu by Terazawa. Monica's P500 off from her planner is a big plus in our decision. 

Unfortunately for me, I was still experiencing my blog-hair day at that time. The photos are still a bit low quality and blurry for my taste but what can I do? It helped that my friends pitched in with their cameras. (S4 vs. iPhone moment ha!)

We had French Fries and Fried Chicken Wings for starters.

French Fries (Php 125)

Asian-ized by the flakes of tea or was that some other herb?

Fried Chicken Wings (Php 195)

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Rice Buffet: Zabo Chicken (SM Jazz)

Say "unlimited rice" and people will flock like geese on migration day, myself included. 

So when I heard about this new restaurant in town which offers unlimited rice, I just had to go.

Few streets down from school at the newly opened condominium SM Jazz, the ground floor is converted into a mini mall, hence SM Jazz Mall. 

Zabo's interiors reminiscent of a garden with its comfortable and homey feel. I loved the vine lamps so much, I wanted one for myself.

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Buddy's: Balikbayan Choice

Second night with my tita in town, it's practically an unwritten rule that Filipino food was the best choice.

Buddy's with it's incredibly festive mood, Filipino style. Seats reminiscent of baguio with the sunflowers and wood.

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Conti's: Black Velvet Cake

Black Velvet Cake Mini (Php 430) 

I loved this cake by conti's. It was everything it's name said it was. It was chocolatey, melt in your mouth goodness that only a great cake can achieve. 

The cream cheese and chocolate complimented each other fantastically that it brought fireworks to my mouth. 

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Food Crazy at Yakimix Greenbelt

Oohhh Food Paradise! Welcome to the wonderful world of buffet.

Although a hectic schedule, we managed to finally make time for Yakimix. We went to their Greenbelt branch. 

Suprisingly, this branch opens their dinner buffet earlier than the others. It starts at 5:30 pm and ends at 11:00 pm. We got there by 6 pm and the tables where full.

Yakimix Greenbelt Prices

We got on que and we were told that we were numbered fourth on the list. We should not leave lest our number is called and we're not there, we will be skipped and wait in line again. 

It was okay to wait for 30 mins or so. So I went out to look for cakes. But it was quarter to six when I got back and we still  didn't get to sit. An hour later, we finally got a corner booth. Being a weekend, the place was really packed.

Grill Plate

We started by getting food to grill. It's a bit messy for the picture, sorry. The best tasting for me is the Spicy Pork Slices. It's collored orange, evidence of it being spicy.

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Shakey's: 1954 Pizza

The secret is out! It's in the crust.

To celebrate the opening of its first pizzeria in the USA (1954), Shakey's brings back the vintage feels with its 1954 pizza.

With eye-catching fresh rosemary and basil leaves, delectable cheeses, morsels of sausage and beef, it would surely wakeup the foodie in you.

Yes, the secret's in the crust. It's soft and chewy with crispy edges. I loved the mozarella cheese and the parmesan on top, it gave the pizza its oomph!

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Desserts at Banapple!

The second part of our Ayala Triangle adventure, cakes! 

No meal is really complete without desserts. So after a truly filling time at Chef Lau's, we decided we had room for more. We went next door to Banapple to try their sweet treats.

Oreo Brownie Fudge Cheesecake (Php 120)

Oreos are in everything nowadays, cakes are no exception. It was a sweet pleasure to find my favorite treat not only mixed with the cake but also atop it. It was sweet and cheesy, like a cheesecake should be. This one's for the sweet-tooths! 

Banoffee Pie (Php 110)

The chocolate topping was good. But I preffered Chef Lau's Chunky Monkey. It looked more appealing and the bananas tasted sweeter and fulfilling than this one. It's a shame since I think the bananas are the center of a good banoffee pie.

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Chef Lau's Pugon Roasters

After three months of separation (ha!), my friends and I finally found the time to bond. That is, over food. The initial plan was to go to SM Aura and eat at four fingers. But since it was too much of a hassle if we go there and it rains, we decided to stick closer to home. 

21 runstreet (lol) Does this look like Chef Lau? 

Chef Lau's Pugon Roasters is a little gem tuck inside Ayala Triangle. I think it's sort of new or I just haven't seen it before.

Pugon Roasted Chicken (Php 99)

This is their best seller. At an affordable price of less than Php 100, you wouldn't mind trying. 

The chicken's oil tasted so familiar, like Yabu's Curry. But the chicken itself was okay. 

Chickenini (Php 69)

We were so surprised when this arrived. We all thought that it would be on a stick and without rice, so we got two. Chickenini is fried chicken intestines in adobo sauce. The name is so funny, we just had to see and taste what it was. 

It tasted great for something so affordable. The intestines were not bitter at all. Perfect for pulutan and even as a meal.

Kalderetang Mac (Php 89)

A new twist to our favorite mac, kaldereta sauce instead of tomato sauce. My friends say it's the bomb. The combination of kaldereta sauce, mac and cheese was in perfect sync.

Chunky Chicken Croquetas (Php 89)

Either it was the disappointment of not getting our order right (we wanted cheesy croquetas) or just not liking vegetables but this one did not go down well for us. 

The outside was crispy but the inside tasted like vegetables and chicken that were undercooked. 

Sizzling Pork Liempo Sisig (Php 129)

The most surprising meal of the day for its portion size. This was meant for one person but it fed all five of us. It did not taste greasy like its franchise-made counter parts. It was almost addictive in a way that we finished all of it.

Smokey Chicken BBQ (Php 99)

Tasted like any other chicken bbq meals. It was okay for someone hungry, like we were. 

And for desserts ..

Carabao Milk Icecream (Php 35)

It was creamier than regular ice creams. I just wish we didn't add the chocnut toppings. It made it hard to distinguish the taste. It tasted like chocnut because of it.

Chunky Monkey (Php 108)

What made this different from other banoffee pies is the bananas. They were sweet, soft but not overripe. The whipped cream complimented the bananas, it did not overpower it. I don't like peanut butter but I did not realize that it was present. But the crust was just too tough. 

MUST TRY: Chickenini, Liempo Sisig, Carabao Milk Icecream, Chunky Monkey

Overall, it was a delicious find. It helped that it was also affordable. We left feeling full and satisfied.

Cost for Five (5): Php 954 

no drinks, one meal each

CHEF LAU'S PUGON ROASTERS

Restaurant #3 Ayala Triangle Gardens, Ayala Ave, Makati

Telephone: (632) 621-6100

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Pizza Warehouse: Pizza Groupie

Pizza Warehouse is a newly opened pizza joint at Glorietta 3. I passed by their space last summer and it was still not there. But when my friends and I went there a week ago, we were glad to see it open.

Lucky number 14 for luurrrrvvvv.  Mehhh.

Truthfully, the place reminded me of our school's cafeteria with the white table tops and all.

All Cheese Pizza (Php 99)

Cheese Pizza, hurray for cheese. It tasted  cheesy. Not to salty, slightly creamy and addictive. Great for cravings! 

Pepperoni Pizza (Php 109)

The pizza was hard to cut. The toppings come off when you try to slice it. I don't really know why, maybe because the aircon was on and the pizza was out for a while before we ate it. 

Best eaten when served! 

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Yabu: House of Katsu

The katsu craze has reached Philippine shores, particularly in Manila. Different stores have popped up here and there and the quest for the best has started.

Yabu: House of Katsu is a more high-end type of katsu restaurant. Erwin, my sister and I visited the one at Glorietta 5.



The interior was designed with serenity in mind. I felt like it was wrong to laugh out loud, in a taklesa kind of way. But the place still excuded comfort.

They started us off by telling us about the yabu ritual. We had to grind a combination of regular sesame seeds and black sesame seeds to add more flavor to the katsu sauce. It was a good distraction while waiting for the food.


Hire Pork Curry - Hot

I got the Hire Katsu Curry Set in hot. There were three choices as to the spiciness: regular, hot and very hot. Hire which is pork meat without fat.

I really loved this dish. It was different than what I would call regular curry or that which you normally cook at home. The difference in spices were evident. Japanese curry tasted more pronounced and distinct. The spiciness was just right for my palate. It was appetizing, the taste in your tounge encourages you to eat more.

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Yoshinoya: Beef Ramen

いらっしゃいませ!

Beef Ramen

Irasshaimaise! is a formal way of saying welcome to our store in Japanese. Yoshinoya being a japanese fast-food chain, you can hear this here a lot. The crew is very attentive and as soon as someone enters, they cheerfully greet.

I am not the type of person to be satisfied with noodle/pasta dishes. I always feel hungry afterwards. So Carla and I ordered Beef Ramen and the Beef and Chicken combo plate. I forgot what the rice meal was called so I'll say it's a combo meal, meant for sharing.

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