Study Spots: Book and Borders Cafe

I only have two weeks left until the first and only summer term of the law school ends. I'm actually trying to finish and do better on one of my final examinations this summer but as expected, I am failing miserably. The heat, my bed, the unlimited wifi at home is making me procrastinate more and more each day. I should have done and finished my last requirement for my accounting elective yesterday, but laziness kicked in and I ended up watching this new series I discovered instead. So today, I decided I needed to get out of the house if I intend to finish this requirement before the deadline.

I tried this new coffee shop along Tomas Morato. I've seen the shop's front a couple of weeks back prior to their soft opening last June 16. The big sign (and the name) caught my intention. Book and Borders Cafe.  I had a feeling this wasn't your usual Starbucks or Coffee Bean so I decided to check it out, I mean, do my homework, there.

Kawayan Massage

Last night, I decided to try this new massage-at-home service that I found online. I really wanted to go to Ahavia but I was too lazy to get my ass up and drive to San Juan so I searched the net and tried to look for a decent, not-so-sketchy-looking massage website and stumbled upon Kawayan Massage.

Kawayan Massage's website is the most decent looking I've seen so far (that's why I clicked it). I haven't seen explicit massage sites but compared to the others, this one gets a G (suitable for young viewers) rating. No reference to Japanese girls, or pictures of men and women half-naked getting a massage. Their website was very straightforward -- services, locations, permits, and contact details. 

Now let's go to the massage. Since this was my first time, I opted to go for a safe choice -- a Swedish-Shiatsu Combo. I was very tired from all the reading and studying that I couldn't resist getting a 2-hour massage. But again, safe choices. Swedish and shiatsu are the two most common massages, who could get it wrong? I didn't have my own therapist yet so I asked them to send an experienced one since I preferred hard massages. 

When the therapist came, she immediately informed me of what she needed. She asked what kind of pressure I preferred and politely asked if we could begin. A few minutes after the massage started, she asked if the pressure was okay. She made sure I was comfortable the whole time. Now to the most important part.. The massage.

It was HEAVENLY.

The therapist knew what she was doing. Every cold spot, every joint, every stressed muscle was de-stressed. The pressure was just the right kind of hard -- not painful, not annoying, very relaxing. She was able to break almost all my protein blocks a.k.a all my "lamig." Words cannot express how amazing that massage felt. It was the best at-home massage service I got.

Apart from the massage itself, their customer service person, who I believe is also the owner, was very nice. He was polite and accommodating. He takes note of your personal information and preference so they can just check it when you book another appointment. They try to make it personal so you'd feel very comfortable and at ease when you get your massage the next time. The overall experience from the booking to the massage to the post-massage service was just amazing. Oh, and they also check up on you after the massage and ask if there were any problems or any way they could improve. :)

How much? Excellent service for only P250/hour. 

Price: P250* (now P300)

5 out of 5 for Kawayan Massage

Kawayan Massage

http://www.kawayanmassage.com/

*The service is now at P300/hour. But it's still worth every cent. 

Something New: Caffe Bene

As I mentioned in my introductory post on Caffe Bene, it has a wide range of pastries and new drinks. During our visit, we didn't really know what to get since we weren't able to familiarize ourselves with their pastries and beverage selection. Instead of wasting time trying to get to know each product on their menu boards, we decided to go with the first thing that caught our attention.

I ordered a scoop of their espresso gelato after trying out other flavors like green tea and strawberry. I also liked the other two flavors but I thought of getting the flavor which I rarely had. The espresso gelato was really good. The coffee flavor wasn't too strong to the point of overcoming the gelato's creaminess, but strong enough just to let you know it is made with coffee.

Gus tried one of their specialty drinks, the Misugaru Latte, a roasted multigrain based beverage . The multigrain part of this latte caught his attention so he wanted to know how it tasted. Luckily, the drink was very good, he and his sister enjoyed it.

Our first Caffe Bene products.

The best thing I liked about our first Caffe Bene experience is that they actually spelled my name correct. Such a shallow reason but this really made me smile.

Caffe Bene
Eastwood City Walk (along Coffee bean and Tea Leaf, across People are People)
Libis, Quezon City

Beauty in Every Cup: Caffe Bene

I don't really know the difference between American coffee shops and Korean coffee shops. For me, coffee is coffee no matter where you are. I enjoy drinking it in Manila, I enjoy drinking it in China. I enjoy drinking coffee from the US, I enjoy drinking coffee from Columbia. I enjoy drinking it from a recyclable cup, I enjoy drinking it from a glass cup. I just love drinking coffee and I pretty much don't care where it came from, as long as it's good and clean. :D

But of course, there are times when we just want to relax, enjoy our surroundings with a hot cup of delicious coffee in hand. Sometimes, we just need to get away from our beds to finish projects or study for exams in peace. At other times, we just want to meet up and catch up with friends over a good ol' cup of joe. For these different reasons, we tend to rely on the nearest coffee shop we know and enjoy our coffee there.

The usual coffee shops we go to are the more well-known establishments here in the Philippines, those that have built their name in the country. But for those people who are willing to try something new, I suggest you visit this new coffee shop in Eastwood City called Caffe Bene.

Caffe Bene is a famous coffee shop in South Korea. A few months ago, they opened their first branch here in the Philippines. As I mentioned earlier, I don't really care where I get my coffee, as long as it's good and clean. I've never tried Caffe Bene's products before since I haven't been to South Korea, but friends have been praising it so I had to try it out myself.

The first thing that will catch your attention when you visit this coffee shop is it's wooden interiors. It gives you a different feeling, nothing less of relaxing, but it is something refreshing. It's like being one with nature.

Jesi Mendez Katipunan: Defining Excellent Service

This isn't really a review since I hadn't had anything done, technically. But I do want to write about the excellent service I got from the staff of Jessie Mendez in Katipunan, even if I wasn't really a client.

Last Saturday, as I was about to meet a friend in Katipunan, I noticed that my hair was sort of "tangled" since my brush couldn't glide through it smoothly. When I tried to untangle it, I found out that it wasn't tangled at all. There was gum on my hair! *horror* After feeling so disgusted, I decided I had to get rid of it quickly since people might notice. *embarrassment* I tried looking for a pair of scissors so I can just snip it, but ironically, the clothes alteration store I went to said they didn't have a pair of scissors. I tried looking for other shops that could possibly have a pair somewhere and I ended up in Jessie Mendez. I asked the receptionist if I could borrow a pair of scissors and she asked me what for. When I told her about my dilemma, she directed me to their senior hairstylist. 

Being turned away by the alterations shop was actually a miracle in disguise (c'mon, what kind of clothes repair shop does NOT have a pair of scissors?). My original plan was to just cut the hair strands with gum and get going. But the senior hairstylist didn't agree. Instead of cutting the affected area, he put some kind of cream on my hair and worked the gum out until not a small piece was left! Yup, my hair was saved. He didn't cut it, he just removed the gum. And as a bonus, he even blow dried my hair. 

When I approached the receptionist to ask how much I had to pay, they told me I didn't have to pay for anything. They told me a small gratuity to the stylist would probably be okay, and they just jokingly asked me to have my next hair service done there. Since I was really surprised and amazed with how they accommodated me, I gave the stylist a small thank you for saving my hair without asking for any payment and assured them I would try their salon next time.

Talk about excellent service! If they treat non-clients that way, I wonder how much more they treat their clients. I am definitely going back their for a real service.

Jesi Mendez

Regis Center, Katipunan

Loyola Heights, Quezon City

Pink Guava: Something Different

A few months ago, Gus and I saw this interesting new place along Quezon Avenue. With all the milk tea and coffee shops popping out of every corner, we thought it would be weird to name a milk tea or coffee place with a name of a fruit. After speculating for weeks, we decided to check it out.

Pink Guava is NOT a milk tea or coffee place. It's more like a trio -- juice + coffee + milk tea bar. Their specialty is guava juice mixed with different other juices. They do have other drinks like milk tea and coffee, but their most famous drink is the Guava Lychee.

B. Wings: The New Buffalo Joint in Town

A few weeks ago, Gus and I discovered this new buffalo place. Actually, it wasn't really a place. It was a stall in the newly opened Manda Centrale near Greenfield District in Mandaluyong. We accidentally discovered the new food bazaar on our way home (since we took the inner route instead of the usual J. Vargas route to EDSA), and decided to stop by since we were already there. As most of you might know through experience, the smell of good food is enough to make anyone hungry or salivate. We ended up craving for some meat. Steak, to be exact.

Once we went in, our craving turned to cravings. We wanted beef, steak, shawarma, Japanese food, soup, and everything else that caught our eye. After a while, Gus decided to get steak and shabu-shabu from two different places. I wanted shawarma but we weren't able to find a stall that sold one so we had to go around one more time to find something for me. We saw this new buffalo wings place the first time we toured the place, but we weren't really interested in it. But the second time we passed by, we just couldn't ignore their staff. They were so nice, we just had to stop and take a look at what they had. 

He offered us one whole chicken wing to taste, while introducing us to their different kinds of wings. Aside from this fellow's very accommodating disposition, the name of their spiciest wing made us even more curious about this new wing place. They called it the "Obama." Out of curiosity, I decided to order that. Unfortunately, the orders got mixed, I think. Instead of the Obama Wings (original name: Barack Opakpak), I was given the Black Mamba.  

A Big No-No for Balikbayans (and regular Pinoys)

A few days ago, we brought our yaya and driver to Cabalen Trinoma for an early Christmas treat. They are very simple people who don't really indulge so we thought a dinner buffet would surprise them. Since it was just a few weeks before Christmas, we had to wait in line for a while since the place was packed. But for P298 only, we thought this would be worth it.

NOT.

Wake Up! Part 2

Another recent discovery was Tapsilog Avenue along Xavierville Avenue. Two weeks ago, Gus and I went to Ababu for a late night snack (yes, we usually eat rice for snack), and we saw this new tapsilog place beside. Since we went all the way to Katipunan from Ortigas just to eat at Ababu, I decided we could try the tapsilog place another time. And so we finally did!

The place was a little hole-in-the-wall. Nothing special. Tables and benches made of wood, an inside and outside area, a small restroom and don't count on parking. There's only enough space for one car in front of the place. But of course, we didn't go there to see/appreciate the place. We went there to try the food.

The place offered different kinds of silog. -silogs are famous breakfast meals in the Philippines. It's a meal with one kind of meat or processed food product, sinangag (fried rice), and egg (itlog). For P45, you can try the ever famous Filipino breakfast tapsilog -- tapa, sinangag, and itlog. Or if you're not a salty type of person, you can try their tocilog (tocino or cured sweet pork), hotsilog (hotdog), porksilog (porkchop), and all the other silogs you can think of. Yes, all kinds of silogs for P45 only. 

Tapsilog

P45

Wake Up! Part 1

To wake my blog from its unplanned hibernation, I am writing about two new places in one blog entry! I never intended to go on hiatus but I guess I'm not a real writer because I don't always have time to write *sob* So now that I have extra time from work, I will write as much as I can before it runs out. Let's go!

A few months back, Gus showed me this dimsum place in SM North EDSA which he described as "new and interesting." But with all the dimsum houses in Manila, I didn't know what to think of. "Another dimsum house? What's new? We could always go to an authentic Chinese restaurant for dimsum." What was so different and interesting about this one?

To satisfy our curiosity, we decided to have dinner there. It was called Dimsum Break. I was still a bit hesitant about going so all the stereotype images of dimsum houses started popping into my head. But when we got there, I was speechless.

The place did somehow remind you of stereotypical dimsum houses you might have been to in the country -- very simple interiors, rectangular tables, and a noisy ambiance. 

But what really stands out is their concept of "serving" food:

Best Friends Pares and Mami House

It's been a while since my last update. I've a lot of entries waiting to be published, but I just don't have the time to finish all of them yet. Fortunately, I've some time to finish one today. 

A few months back, Gus and I decided to try this "pares" house along Aurora Blvd. It looks like your typical pares house -- simple tables and chairs, open air, fancy/colorful designs, and tiled floors. If you haven't seen other pares houses, you might think this is just a fancier eatery, or sidewalk restaurant. But don't let it's cutesy, or simple exterior fool you. Best Friends Pares House offers delicious, inexpensive meals fit for a king! 

Gus ordered the Beef Pares Meal, which came with a bowl of soup, two pieces of siomai, and UNLIMITED rice. All for the very low price of P89.

Beef Pares with UNLIMITED Rice

I ordered their Lechon Kawali Meal, which also came with a bowl of soup, a side dish of chopsuey, and a big cup of rice. As you can see in the photo below, their chopsuey serving was good enough for one more meal, not just as a side dish. Their serving of rice was also bigger than your usual cup of rice. All this for just P89 too.

Lechon Kawali Meal with Chopsuey

Best Friends Pares and Mami House prides itself in serving clean, delicious, and affordable meals, which, in our opinion, they succeeded in doing so. The food was delicious, we had everything we needed and wanted in a meal -- a bowl of hot soup, vegetables, more rice, and the assurance that what we were eating was clean food. For those midnight cravings, or spontaneous dates, drop by Best Friends Pares and Mami House for a delicious and affordable meal. They are located along Aurora Blvd. just a few block away from the Anonas LRT Station. They are open 24 hours. 

Price Range: P50-100/person

5 out of 5 for Best Friends Pares and Mami House

Best Friends Pares and Mami House
972 CDO 
Aurora Blvd. Quezon City
Phone Number: (63 2) 912 8957; 912 9614

Contact details courtesy of: http://bestfriendsparesandcateringservices.com/branches.php 

when cravings attack: Moshi Moshi

Last year was a year of cravings. It was the year I craved for the perfect fresh lumpia, the perfect green mangoes with shrimp paste, the perfect orange quail eggs, and so many more cravings I wanted to satisfy. One of these cravings included a Japanese favorite -- gyudon. It started with one of our foodtrips in Megamall, where the gyudon I had tasted so sweet. From that day on, I've been craving for the perfect gyudon taste that will satisfy my taste buds. Nothing too sweet, nothing too salty, nothing bland. After months and months of searching and trying out different gyudons from different restaurants, I found one very close to home.

for the love of chicken: Kenny Rogers Roasters

Oh, boy. This is one of my most delayed blog entries for the month. Life has been pretty overwhelming that sometimes, my blog entries pile up. I am going to change that today.

A few, or should I say, weeks ago, Gus and I decided to have a simple lunch date in Kenny Rogers. We still haven't changed. It took us a couple of rounds, and a dozen restaurants, before finally deciding to eat at Kenny Rogers. One of the factors that made me choose KRR was my desire to try their version of a famous Chinese dish: the Hainanese Chicken.

We started off with Kenny Rogers's Side Sampler. A side sampler consists of three side dishes and a muffin. We chose the Chicken Noodle Soup, which was really good. It was creamy, and very flavorful, and it had a lot of real chicken chunks, and vegetables; potato salad, and macaroni salad, both of which were good enough to be called potato and macaroni salad, respectively. The last two side dishes didn't give us a WOW moment, but the taste was good enough for us to be able to finish it. It didn't taste bland, like other potato or macaroni salads I've tasted, but I'm still biased towards KFC's macaroni salad, and Gus's mom's potato salad.

 

Chicken Noodle Soup

something new: Chicken Deli

Image courtesy of google.com -- Click photo to get to source

Hello, friends! If ever you're tired of the same old, same old inasal places you see everywhere, then do stop by this new inasal place we discovered in Quezon City! Yes, I am promoting this new inasal place because 1) I really want to help them advertise their restaurant because I enjoyed my first dining experience with them; and 2) they really have good food and service worth sharing with others! :) It's called Chicken Deli, and its specialty include the finest from Bacolod -- Chicken Inasal. Apart from the Star of the Restaurant, Chicken Deli also offers other specialty dishes like batchoy, sisig, and kare-kare.

What makes this inasal place different from the rest? For one, this is the first inasal place I've gone to which offers its specialty inasal in an alternative flavor -- spicy. I know the pioneer inasal restaurants have started to offer its patrons the spicy version of inasal, but I've noticed that they only offer the spicy version on certain chicken parts. In Chicken Deli, you can choose to have your pechopak (breast + wing) or your paa (leg + thigh) part, all spiced up just by adding P5 on top of your desired meal's price. Apart from their spicy version of the inasal, this new inasal restaurant also offers unlimited bowls of rice, and soup, at no extra cost. I know the unlimited rice is nothing new to most of us, but their unlimited soup is. For a change, I wasn't afraid to ask the waiter for seconds and thirds of their hot and flavorful broth soup. And, to top off the good meal, Chicken Deli really has good service. You don't have to raise your hand and call an attendant's attention, or wait forever, just to get your second serving of rice or soup. The attendants come to you and offer!

Don't worry, this place may offer something new to its diners, but rest assured, all the elements of an inasal dinner is kept preserved. The vinegar, soy sauce, and chicken oil bottles one would usually find in any inasal place, are available on each table. The inasal meals come with calamansi and chili too. And of course, the main course is grilled to perfection.

So if you're tired of the same old, same old, visit Chicken Deli at SM Annex, and try their inasal for yourself. It's as affordable as the other inasal places we've tried, maybe even cheaper. For P99, you can enjoy a big piece of inasal chicken with unlimited rice and soup, plus, you get to taste the difference. :)

Price Range: P99-129/person

5 out of 5 for Chicken Deli

Chicken Deli

3/L SM Annex

EDSA, Quezon City, Philippines

South Park: Ma Chicken Mami House

On one of our recent mall tralalas, Gus and I decided to give Ma Chicken Mami House, a shot. We've been seeing this quaint little mami house for quite some time now, first at Trinoma, then most recently at SM The Block, and for some reason, we only always end up talking about it, not trying it out. This time, however, we finally decided to give this mami house a try.

Unlike most Chinese restaurants, Ma Chicken Mami House looked much simpler. No extravagant lighting, or tables and chairs, no table cloths or folded table napkins. No chopsticks or table setting. Just a little store in a hole with simple square tables and chairs.

Hmm.. Now that I think about it, it looks like a more upscale version of small Chinese eateries in Binondo. :)

Moving on to the entry's heart, here's what we decided to try after much deliberation. (By now, I guess most of you know how Gus and I almost, always has a difficult time deciding what to get or what to eat or where to go.)

Gus wanted noodles. I agreed that he should get something with soup since he wasn't feeling well that day. He was torn between the Chicken Mami and the Binondo Mami. In the end, I convinced him to get the Binondo Mami since 1) this was Ma's specialty, 2) he loves Binondo Mami, at least the real Binondo Mami he used to always eat as a child, and 3) I also wanted to see what actual Binondo Mami was.

Binondo Mami

(P128)

fit for two: Tokyo Tokyo's Sumo Meal Remix

A couple of weekends ago, I accompanied Gus to a car shop to have his car fixed. We decided to pass by Shangrila Plaza for a while before heading home, to just look around. We ended up eating (as usual), after hours of walking around, looking at bread, clothes, shoes. We even stumbled upon the Mooncake Festival Celebration held the the mall's atrium. :D

For lunch, we decided to eat at Tokyo Tokyo. There were so many restaurants we checked out, and knowing us, we had a hard time deciding where to go. Fortunately, Gus had been craving for some Tokyo Tokyo for quite some time now, and seeing the restaurant made our lives easier that day.

We only had one thing that day: Tokyo Tokyo's Sumo Meal. Even if the restaurant of the day came to us in 1-2-3, the decision on what food to order, didn't. We switched between bowls and meat, seafood or cow, fried or stir-fried, up to the side dishes, but in the end, we both agreed to just grab a Sumo Meal since we were able to meet halfway with it. How?

I wanted to try Tokyo Tokyo's new kani salad. Gus wanted to try their new ebi sushi. We got both. As for the main course, he wanted the misono, I didn't know what to get. I was choosing between any of the meals that came with soup, or their version of fried chicken. In the end, Gus suggested we go for the sumo meal. We could get soup, both the misono and the fried chicken, plus, it came with a drink! Can you meet me halfway? ;)

So here's what we had and what we thought of it:

Kani Salad

(P69)

ooh.. ow! Las Paellas

Last Thursday, Gus surprised me at the office by popping into the elevator on my way down. Apparently, he was already waiting for me outside, I just didn't know so I didn't look for him. I was so surprised when he barged into the elevator as it was closing. After a ton of hugs and awws, we got off the 2nd floor and walked around.

He was having a really bad day so I decided to feed [have lunch with] him. We walked around SM North Edsa for a while, looking at stuff, at the same time, scouting for a good place to eat at. We went through all three SM buildings -- The Block, Main Mall, and Annex, before finally deciding to eat at Las Paellas in SM Annex. I figured he'd probably want some clam chowder to relieve him of the negativity he was feeling since he really likes clam chowder. I wish we'd eaten at The French Baker instead. Read through for the why.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we were given a booth. We looked at the menu again to finalize what we were ordering. Since it took us a while to decide, we first ordered some soup since we both had decided on that earlier. Gus ordered Clam Chowder in Sourdough Bread, while I ordered their French Onion Soup.

on impromptu dates: Yam Cha Seafoods and Dumpling Restaurant

Last Saturday, Gus and I were able to meet up despite our busy schedule. I stopped by Tiendesitas to check out the pair of shoes I've been eyeing on for months, then decided to wait for momma in Starbucks while reading the book I've been trying to finish. An hour later, Gus called to ask where I was because he couldn't find me at home. 20 minutes later, we were already talking about our day.

Since he hasn't eaten a decent meal the whole day, we decided to look around for a place to eat. It was already past midnight so our choices were limited. We checked out Tiendesitas but he didn't feel like eating there. It was too crowded and noisy and I think they were closing, since most of the food stalls were already closed. I gave him a list of areas we could check out. He decided to visit Home Depot first but there was nothing he could find there. We decided to eat at the Korean complex behind UA&P since they were open until 2 am and Gus wanted to try the duck ramen I told him about, but when we arrived there, only the fancy Korean restaurants were left open. The simple, carinderia-style stalls, where the duck ramen I told him about could be found, were already closed. Since we were already in the Ortigas area, we decided to head to Banchetto instead. Unfortunately, there was no Banchetto that night. After going around other places, Emepror's Tea House in Wilson, restaurants around the Scout area, Lugawan Republic and Dampa in Timog, we decided to eat at Yam Cha, which was only a couple of restaurants away from Lugawan and Dampa.

When we arrived at Yam Cha, we looked at the menu first, just to see if there was anything that would interest us. After flipping through their menu a couple of times, something caught his attention, and he asked if it was okay if we ate there. Thus, another foodiementary began!

P.S. Forgive the pictures. We were really hungry, we forgot to take pictures of the food when it arrived. >.<

Gus was able to decide what to get immediately. He ordered Peking Duck Noodles, while I, as always, had a more difficult time choosing so I told him to order his first. When the waiter came back with his noodles, I ordered a bowl of Yang Chow fried rice, Kikiam, Spareribs in Tausi, and Spring Rolls.

Peking Duck Noodles 

(P150)

on first dates: Teriyaki Boy

Gus, my best/boyfriend, asked me out yesterday. I know we've been going out for quite some time but he hasn't REALLY asked me out in a while. Yes, we'd go out. Have a beer or two, or maybe a cup of coffee somewhere but it's been a while since he really, formally, asked me the question.

He let me pick which restaurant I'd like to have dinner in but due to unforeseen and unexpected circumstances, I couldn't decide. I had a bit of a tummy trouble earlier and it made it difficult for me to decide or even think about what type of food, or at least, cuisine, I'd like for the night. We began our search in Eastwood, checking out this Korean restaurant on the 2nd floor. They seem to have good food priced reasonably but if I were to eat Korean that day, I'd like to eat authentic Korean food. We weren't sure if they served authentic Korean dishes and I didn't want to waste any time or resource figuring out if they did. We (or maybe it was more of, I) considered McDonald's (because I was really craving for their ice-cold coke) and thought about having burgers but I originally had not considered having any unhealthy meal because of my upset stomach. The smell of the grilled meat was just so enticing, we left before I couldn't resist.

We looked at the menu of CCA on the way down. I had a certain craving for their Devil's Food Cake at that time too. I felt uncomfortable and had too many tastes that day, we both didn't know where to eat. We eventually decided to go elsewhere, looking at the different restaurants located in the Cubao area (Ali Mall, SM, Araneta Center, Shopwise, and Gateway.) Still no restaurant to satisfy our hunger.

We decided to head home and pick a restaurant somewhere there since it was getting a bit late too, and the rush hour had already started. We ended up in SM North (as always) and Gus brought me to two different Japanese restaurants so I could check their menu to see if they had anything I liked.The first one was Tokyo Cafe but the first thing I saw was their fried dishes (karaage, tonkatsu) and I immediately said no. I really didn't feel like eating anything fried yesterday. He brought me to Kimono Ken next but I didn't find anything interesting in their menu except for their kani salad, which I thought was too overpriced. I remembered another Japanese resto in the other end of the building and asked him if we could check that one out. Sakae Sushi, located on the ground floor of the annex building, is a sushi conveyor type of Japanese resto. It was interesting at first but when I looked at their menu, they didn't have any kani salad, which was what I really wanted. In the end, we decided to go to a more familiar place: Teriyaki Boy.

I ordered my kani salad, which had a generous topping of Japanese mayo, and a cup of yakimeshi rice, which I called kamameshi, thinking about a totally different Japanese resto. Gus ordered a pork dish, sauteed in a ginger-base sauce because the Asupara Bacon Maki was unavailable at that time.

My kani salad

(look at the generous topping of japmayo!)

on trying things

Last Sunday, I went to SM North EDSA with Gus and his good friend, Bruce. We checked out some stores before heading to The Block to eat. Earlier that week, Gus and I stumbled upon this seemingly fair-priced coffee shop on the top floor so we decided to give it a shot. I can't remember the name of the shop because I really wasn't paying attention to it. What caught our eye was that they had a kaya toast and brewed coffee combo for just P75. Uh-huh, a treat! The only kaya toast combo we've ever had the pleasure of tasting was that from Kopi Roti's and it certainly wasn't less than a hundred, so this definitely surprised us. I ordered one combo, just to taste.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as I expected. My kaya toast was made of thin, brown slices of bread, with thin blocks of butter and kaya jam in between, Kopi Roti's version of the famous treat. Theirs was more like, a sandwich. Two slices of Gardenia bread with melted butter (not softened) that seeped through the bread and into the wax wrapper. The kaya jam wasn't as flavorful too but it was okay, if you haven't tried any other kaya toast in the past. Had I known it was as thick as a regular sandwich, I probably would've gotten a real sandwich. It was sloppy but hey, maybe their other products are worth trying.

Expectation

(The photo is not mine. I got it off the internet.)

Reality

The boys, on the other hand, decided to eat at this other place we discovered the same time we saw the coffee shop: The Soya Bar. Gus told Bruce about it on our way to get my toast and they decided to eat there. They had their own version of milk tea with, you guessed right! Soy milk. :D 

Bruce got soya milk tea and hot taho. Gus tried their Spicy Tuna Pasta and got an original soya milk tea (no pearls) for us to share. I also wanted some cold taho but the lady said they were out. Their soya milk tea was actually good. We got the best of both worlds: soya milk for Gus and milk tea for meeeee! Their pearls were bad though. They weren't chewy at all. It felt like biting through soft rocks (weird analogy). Soft on the outside, hard on the core. Their pasta wasn't something I'd try again, too. The tuna tasted different (I'm pretty sure it came from a can but it didn't taste like canned tuna nor did it taste like fresh tuna.) The red sauce itself was a bit off too. It didn't taste garlicky at all. The worst thing, though, was their service. The cashier/order taker was so confused. She didn't know how to deal with the customers. She wasn't sure whose order was for who. She didn't have change. She was a bit of a mess. It's a good thing their main product line was good. Their soya milk tea was something I'd definitely go back for. :)

Yummy Alternative: Soya Milk Tea

2 out of 5 for Caffino

3 out of 5 for Soya Bar: The soya milk tea was definitely good.

Soya Bar

The Block, SM North EDSA

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Philippines

Contact details courtesy of: http://www.munchpunch.com/9916/soya-bar-sm-the-block