Waffle Burgers at BAP's

Along McArthur Highway at San Fernando City, Pampanga going to Angeles City is a cozy and modern eatery called BAP's Waffle Burger which serves waffle burgers. This is beside Maybank and opposite Jun-Jun's. We have no idea what to expect when we drop by at the place. The ambience is modern with posters of famous people - Abe Lincoln, Einstein, Michael Jordan, Leonardo di Carpio, John Lennon, etc.  Everyone was hungry and very eager to order and have a bite of their burgers. We were not disappointed. It's a better alternative to Army Navy and other pricey burger stores.

Bap's waffle burger - many choices at price ranges from P169 to P230. You can order half.

Our appetizer - "Dynamite" - green pepper with cheese and ground meat. Dip it in tomato and onion salsa. It's awesome.

The B3 Burger has  beef, bacon, barbecued sauce and mushrooms

I love the salt and pepper burger - simple flavor and you can taste the smoke grilled beef

Photo taken by Bap's and posted on their facebook site.

Cafe' Oley: A Taste of Ilocandia

Cafe' Oley opened last July 1, 2015, a new resto in the Baranggay Pinyahan Block in Diliman, QC. Because of the promotion by Maestro Fernando Sena who painted the painting of the resto, we visited it one Sunday. The ambience is antique, homey and seems like a visit to the old houses at Ilocos.

Julia poses infront of the Cafe Oley painting by Master Painter Fernando Sena

The food is obviously Ilocano. Our starters were the crispy tawilis and the malunggay & mongo soup. The soup has tinapa mixed on it. For our main dishes - we had the bagnet-pinakbet, stuffed grilled squid and the lechon kawali. Finally, we ended with a tasty dome cake - a sweet and delightful cake with choco mousse and crisps inside. Yummy. The serving is good for sharing. The price ranges from P150 - P300.  By the way, they have two private rooms that can be reserved for meetings and small seminars for a minimum of P5000.00 consumable. Cafe' Oley is located at#76 Malakas St. almost corner V. Luna St. Tel. No. 02-4338033 or 0905-2635645. Email: Cafeoleymnl@gmail.com. Opens daily 10AM-10PM.

The dome cake was awesome! The resto is on soft opening and the service is excellent.

The crispy tawilis is a nice appetizer. The quid is stuffed with cheese, tomatoes and onions.

Feeling at Home at Qubiertos Grill & Resto

Price range: P75 - P200 for the dishes

 If you want to eat tasty and "lutong bahay" Filipino dishes and experience an ambience like you are in the province, Qubiertos at Kalayaan Ave., QC may be the place to go. We tried this place for lunch on a Sunday and we were not disappointed with the food and the place. Qubiertos has bahay kubo (good for 8) where your group can dine with privacy. The price is reasonable for the food that we ordered. Our only negative comment is the service - there is lack in coordination among the waiters. There should be a manager who should monitor the service and needs of the customers. You will see the waiters and waitresses not very attentive since they're busy making joke among themselves. I think this resto is very busy during the night for beer drinkers. Tara na sa Qubiertos!

Feeling the fresh air while dining at Qubiertos was awesome. Parang nasa bahay ka. Ang sarap mag-relax!

The gambas is spicy but good. The crablets a little bit big but crispy. The baked oysters were creamy, The tuna belly was little bit small but yummy.

The sigarilyas and the bagnet taste the same with the gata. Actually the Bagnet should be binagoongan but maybe this is the Ilocano version. The qubiertos rice is flavored rice with egg.
Rating: Food 4/5, Ambience: 5/5,  Service: 3/5, Price: 4/5

Fluffy & Teddy: Adventures in Japan

Fluffy and Teddy are Julia's favorite stuff dolls. They joined Julia and the family in their Japan Summer trip at Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe last May 2015. Enjoy the trip and the humor of Julia, Teddy and Fluffy. 

Painting and Bonding Time at Sip & Gogh!

Geof & Julia display their masterpieces

If you want to spend two hours of your time with your partner, kids or friends to relieve yourself of stress, then Sip & Gogh at Capitol Hills, QC is the place for you. Last summer 2015, we brought the kids there to experience painting in pastel. You pay the minimum fee and you will be provided with the art materials - canvass and paint and a teacher will guide from sketching to the final painting. While you're busy painting your masterpiece, you will be served with refreshments - wine and cold cuts for the adults, juice, fruits and biscuits for the kids. After the two hour session, you have your own masterpiece which you can display in your home or office.

Refreshments at Sip & Gogh

Muang Thai Revisited: Still the best Thai Resto in QC

Shrimp Tom Yum- not so spicy, the "asim" is just right and shrimps are not small!

2009 was our first time to dine at Muang Thai (MT) and Apple and I had a delightful experience (Read the 2009 blog).  May 31, 2015, we revisited Muang Thai, this time with our two kids for lunch. Actually we were planning to eat in a new Thai resto at Malingap St., QC but the resto was full so we decided to go to Muang Thai instead. And we were not disappointed.  There was one table with a couple and when they left the resto was like reserved for us only.

How was the our dining experience. First, the dining is authentic Thai. The decor shows Thai images and there were green plants which make the envrionment cool. And the food was awesome. Our kids loved the food! So I highly recommend Muang Thai to anybody who wants the taste of Thai. Authentic and still the best! We tried the Thai resto at SM North (Soi Thai) and we were disappointed. Very artificial taste. I wonder if the food at Happy Thai, our original choice can compete with MT?

Chicken Curry

Fish Fillet

Catfish with Mango: Really filled with crispy catfish unlike other Thai restos.

Geof, our food critic enjoyed the food ... pad thai and all!

Muang Thai Restaurant is located at 138 Malakas St.,, Brgy. Central, Quezon City at the back of McDonald's near QC Hall. Tel. 632) 426-4123 , (632) 927-4305. The price ranges between P200-P300 per dish.

Crispy Sun-Dried Tapa! Extraordinary!

 

This is not an ordinary tapa! This tapa which comes from Quezon is made from lean beef, salted and sun-dried. Easy to fry - if you want it to be chewy, use mild heat. If you want it crispy which I like, then fry it longer. I wish the tapsilog restos will use the dried beef tapa. I prefer the salty tasted tapa not the sweet tapa served in popular eateries like Tapa King and Rodic's.

The sun-dried beef tapa is good for "pasalubong."Thanks to Mara for introducing the dried tapa. I wish there are shops that sell the dried tapa. I checked Echo Store at Centris (according to one blog sells the Q brand dried tapa) but they don't have anymore of the Q product. I have to check the Oscar's Malate, Manila Office (see photo for address and tel no.).

Friuli Tratoria - Revisited

On our last visit at Fruili Trattoria along Maginhawa St, Teacher's Village, QC we noticed that it has expanded and occupied the adjacent space. More costumers can now be accommodated. And another good news is that it has a new branch inside Philam Homes, West Ave, QC (See map below).

Revisiting Friuli Trattoria is really worth it. We ordered two pizzas (Funghi and Viva Veneza), two pastas (Carbonara and Tomato), Minestrone soup, appetizer and pitcher of ice tea - Total cost is only PhP 1100 and we have still almost one whole pizza to take home.

The minstrone soup is our favorite

Apple enjoys the food!

The new branch at Philam Homes

Bulalo at Tanay, Rizal

This way to CK!

If you visit Tanay, Rizal make sure you drop by at Cafe Katerina (CK) to try their comfort food - simple and hot beef bulalo and their barbecue pork and chicken. Tanay, Rizal is an unexplored area with a view similar to Tagaytay (except for the volcano). You can see Laguna Lake and the new wind mills.

Bulalo and pork barbecue

CK is a favorite stop-over place of bikers!

Tama-Yaki - Good takoyaki but nerve-racking ambience

I have been searching for the best takoyaki in Metro Manila. One good find is Tama-Yaki at SM North EDSA. Their takoyaki are big and chewy. One order of four pieces will really fill your tummy. Their takoyaki (octopus) is good and I will return to try their other flavors.

The ambience at Tama-Yaki is quite noisy and bright. Whenever I stay there to eat, my head aches because of the bright lights and loud music. I told one of the staff about this - that it's not comfortable eating at their place because of the "noise" and "lights". Probably, they want their costumers to take out their food.

Red Hana - Sushi and Sashimi at Affordable price

Holy Week food trip. No meat. We ended on Maundy Thursday at Red Hana. This a good find at Matalino St., QC, near the city hall.

The kids love sushi and sahimi!

If you crave for affordable Japanese sushi and sasahimi (tuna), I strongly recommend Red Hana.

Seafood tepanyaki - their version has a lot of sauce which is not really "Japanese"

The deep fried tofu is also good with the sauce.

The seafood ramen is a disappointment. There is an artificial taste but the serving is large - good for sharing.

Maki Haus - Home of the Original Maki

Maki Haus along Banawe St., QC is one of our favorite Chinese resto that serves the Maki Soup.

Fish Maki is our favorite. It's a thick soup with chunks of fish meat. Add vinegar or soy sauce for more flavor. They have other flavors - looking forward to try them (beef or pork).

Shrimp Rebosado and Kikiam - they have similar taste because of the sweet and sour sauce but hey have different texture - I like the kikiam more.

Hainanese Chicken is Geof's favorite!

Fish fillet with tofu is nice. The fish is soft. Sauce is good.

Apag Marangle - A Farm Resto at Bacolor, Pampanga

"Apag Marangle" or "Hain sa Bukid" in tagalog is a Kapampangan restaurant at Bacolor, Pampanga along the Olongapo-Gapan Highway.

Posing before tasting the Kapampangan specialties

Chicharon Bulaklak, Nilasing na Hipon, Fried Hito with Buro, Pansit and Sinigang