Okonomiyaki at Little Tokyo’s Kagura

My class took a trip to Little Tokyo at Pasong Tamo a few months ago to experience some authentic Japanese food. I’ve actually heard a lot about the place, but I’ve never been there before. Little Tokyo was really pretty at night, with bright lights illuminating the surroundings, making you feel like you’re in a samurai movie.

Affordable Fine Dining at Chef's Quarter

One day, my father suddenly had a craving for steak. We don't have steak very often, because of the cost and also because my family loves seafood more than meat. However, we do like a good steak once in a while, and it was up to me to find a nice nearby restaurant for us to enjoy some fine dining.

A few Internet searches led me to a restaurant in Robinson's Place Manila called "Chefs' Quarter." I've never heard of the restaurant, despite having been to RP plenty of times before, and when we finally found the restaurant, I realized why. Instead of being inside with all the other food establishments, Chef's Quarter is located outside, and there is no inside entrance. In short, you have to get out of the mall in order to get to the restaurant. No wonder I've never seen it before.

Despite the unfortunate location, its reputation is still enough to attract a hefty customer base, as I had seen from the many positive reviews on its Munchpunch.com page.

A Taste of Homemade Korean Food at Chambyuru Restaurant

Grilled beef with bean paste and sesame oil with salt and pepper

My friend and I were bored one day and decided on a whim to grab some Korean food in the Ortigas area. We wandered around for a bit and found ourselves in a tiny building where various Korean enterprises were crammed together.

We ended up at Chambyuru, a small restaurant that was more like a living room than an actual Korean restaurant. It was lunchtime, yet the place was quite bare. There was a loud group of Korean men at another table enjoying their steaming pot of jigae (spicy Korean stew) and throughout our meal, lots of other Koreans streamed in and out of the store.

Banchan

Vikings Luxury Buffet Restaurant

I'm actually pretty late with this post, seeing as Vikings has already been making waves throughout the Manila all-you-can-eat scene. All real foodies appreciate a good buffet, and Vikings is here to provide us with just that: the chance to dine in luxury without having to pay extravagant amounts of cash.

The moment you enter the restaurant, you already feel the different ambience Vikings has. This isn't just a place to shovel endless amounts of food into your mouth; the spacious area, the bright appealing interiors, and of course, the gorgeous view of the ocean, all of this provide a great environment for not only eating food, but enjoying it as well.

Introduction to Dimsum: Causeway Seafood Restaurant

Chicken Feet with Tausi

It's been a long time since I wrote my last post, sorry for that. But!!! I'm back with some food adventures. For my comeback, I want to share with you my love for dimsum! =D I know a lot of you also love it just as much as I do. The dimsum to be mentioned in this post are from Causeway Seafood Restaurant along Banawe. I've attended their opening before, and they got their chefs from Hongkong so the food are good for its reasonable prices.

Sweet Desserts at Cocktales

(Note: As of May 2012, this Cocktales branch is now closed. :( There are still other branches of Cocktales though (as listed at the end of this post), so be sure to check them out!)

Because it's been a long long time since the last post here on The Lunch Buddies, I've decided to drop a quick mini-review on a little desserts shop called Cocktales. They've already opened several branches around Metro Manila but the one I visited is in Robinson's Place Manila.

Even at first glance, the store (or is it a booth?) is already quite eye-catching. The bright and cheerful ambience just pulls you in as soon as you see it.

Their menu is also super adorable, with gorgeous photos and beautiful lettering. And it fully achieves its purpose since it makes you want to order every single mouth-watering item on the menu!

Modern Korea: Chicken Bonchon and Caffe Ti-amo

I was recently in Greenbelt 1 with my family to watch "Joy Luck Club," an excellent play by Repertory Philippines. We decided to grab some dinner afterwards and my aunt recommended Chicken Bonchon, a new chicken franchise from Korea that also has branches in New York.

After dinner, we had some gelato at Caffe Ti-amo, also another Korean chain. It was franchised by Jollibee and is now opening several branches around Metro Manila. They serve coffee, pastries, and of course, yummy gelato!

More under the cut!

Bibingkinitan

I've first heard of Bibingkinitan when I was supposed to introduce Mr. Richard Sanz (owner of Bibingkinitan) in an event and heard how successful he made the business. From research, I found out that the main selling point of Bibingkinitan is that it's a smaller version of the Filipino favorite snack Bibingka, which usually bought or served in large quantities. There are a lot of people who could not finish such a big serving, thus the idea of selling smaller portions called Bibingkinitan was born.

So of course after knowing all this, I just had to try it.

Tasty Dumplings

It's time for... more Chinese food! It's been a while since I visited Ongpin, but this time, I was less adventurous and decided to have lunch at an old favorite--Tasty Dumplings. Serving some great yet affordable Taiwanese style food, this place is a refreshing break from the salty, oily, MSG-laden, and not to mention expensive, Cantonese-style cuisine that's common for Chinese restaurants in Manila.

Tasty Dumplings

Wham! Burgers

With so many new burger joints popping up all over Metro Manila, it gets a bit confusing. There's so much you can do to a burger to make it different, but the sheer complexity of some of these variants cause the burger to lose its classic appeal.

And so, today I bring you Wham! Burgers.

Baguio Part 2

So here's Part 2 of Baguio Foods! It's actually kinda hard to look for really good authentic Baguio dishes. We were asking the local people for recommendations, but the only food place that was always directed to us was the ones in Session Road. But there are mostly just fast food here, so we got the most different one. And that's the reason why we ate at the Sizzling Plate Baguio.

The Real Taste of Thailand at Som's Noodle House

Despite Thailand being one of our closest Southeast Asian neighbors, Thai food hasn't really made much of a mark in the Philippines. Which is a shame, because it's one of the most culturally unique cuisines in the world, where Thailand's Indian and Chinese roots melt into a pot of delicious Thai stew. (Please forgive the obscure metaphors.)

So anyway, the point is, although there have been a few Thai establishments popping up occasionally, it's still not as mainstream as Japanese and Chinese food. However, today I'm going to talk about a place that's not exactly popular, but is quite well known for their authentic yet affordable Thai dishes.

Located near Rockwell Center, Makati, Som's Noodle House used to be just a small stall selling home-cooked Thai food, but now it has expanded to an actual restaurant complete with air-conditioning.

Outside Som's

The store interior

Baguio Part 1

Hi everyone! I have something wonderful to share today and of course, it's once again related to food! haha. So today, I'll be sharing you something about the food in Baguio. As most people know, Baguio is known for its strawberries. And guess what! It's strawberry season! hahaha. So here are my strawberry highlights in Baguio:

We ate breakfast one time at the G and C Cafe. The place is just small, but good food and good service =)

One More Chance at Bellini's

Hello there! It's been a while since I posted, but as promised, I'll be telling you about a special restaurant this time. So it was my first time to go to the Cubao Expo for a project in school (I didn't even know such a place existed before, and of course, food will always be part of any adventure haha), and boy, it was really a hidden place with full of really interesting stuff! There isn't much light in the entrance which was why we missed it at first, and the place is alive around 4 to 7 pm, because that's the time that the different stores selling really unique one-of-a-kind clothes and shoes are all open. It's really like a village from a different time all on its own. Then we stumbled upon Bellini's, which my friend said was where John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo shot a scene in their movie One More Chance. Intriguing, huh? We thought so too haha that's why we ate there even if we already ate dinner!

Bellini's Ambiance

This is the exact table where John Lloyd and Bea Alonzo sat, according to the chef

Modern Japanese Cuisine at Omakase

First of all, I'd like to greet everyone a happy new year! I know it's been ages since we last posted, but don't worry because we're back for good! :)

Today I'd like to talk about a place that practically everyone is familiar with and is easily my favorite among the Japanese food offerings in Manila. I'm talking about Omakase, a trendy Japanese restaurant with good food that gives a modern twist to old classics.

Omakase

According to my trusty source, Wikipedia, Omakase is actually a Japanese term meaning "It's up to you", and is a style of serving food in sushi restaurants, where it's "up to" the chef to serve you a complementary (by which I mean they complement each other, not free) series of dishes meant to be eaten one at a time. While this Omakase does not exactly offer this type of service, it's interesting to note because their name suggests that they put utmost importance in the quality, presentation and service that they offer to their customers.

The interior

As you can see from the photos, the place is decorated in a contemporary style that reflects their fusion cuisine, blending old Japanese with modern Western tastes.