Pinoy style with a twist : Kanto Freestyle Breakfast

I have been hearing this food place from my friends, but I never really tried to visit it. There was once when I had planned it with my friends, but we never got a chance because there were no longer seats available. And so when another set of friends asked me if I would like to try it, I never have to twice think about it and said a big “YES!”

From what I’ve heard, they offer Filipino known dishes and some American dishes, what’s the catch? Their food presentation and price range. And now that it is happening, I am very excited to see for myself what it really is.

This is the main entrance of Kanto Freestyle Breakfast. It may look so “kanto”, but wait till you their food presentation. Luckily, we arrived there around 11AM, so there were few costumers and we were able to get a table for us. We ordered for tapa rice, chicken rice, strawberry and blueberry pancakes and peanut butter and banana pancakes. We waited for roughly 20-3o minutes, and diiiinnnngg! The food is now served.

Beef tapa with rice

Chicken with rice

Strawberry and blueberry Pancake

Peanut Butter and Banana Pancake

How about the taste? Awesome!! It really tastes good, plus their food presentation, it makes me feel like I am dining in a fine dining place. But wait, how about the price? Very affordable! If I remembered it correctly, most of our orders are all less than a hundred pesos. Yes! Less than a hundred pesos only! I would definitely go back and try their other dish.

Tips:

1. If you want to dine in, go there as early as possible and/or in-between breakfast, lunch and dinner time. It is less crowded and cooking and serving may take faster than their usual 30 minutes waiting time.

2. They don’t have really have any parking space, but you can park your car nearby the establishment.(BTW, it is located in a residential area.)

3. They don’t have air-conditioned rooms for dine ins. But they have well ventilated space for it.

For more information, feel free to visit their Facebook page at Kanto Freestyle Breakfast

KANTO FREESTYLE BREAKFAST
Telephone: (02) 4002268
Address: 549 San Joaquin Street, Plainview, Mandaluyong City

Korean Café along Taft Avenue: Café de Seoul and Noriter

If you are an enthusiastic Korean fanatic, Taft Avenue is a MUST visit place for you. I have featured a Korean Restaurant in my previous blog, SHP Bibimbab Cafe and Restaurant. 

But for today, I will be introducing two of my favourite Korean café’ in the metro, Café de Seoul and Noriter.

Café de Seoul

Café de Seoul is situated in Unit 12, 2/F One Archer’s Building, which is a block away from De LaSalle University. It is open from 8:00 am – 1:00 am during Mondays to Thursdays; and from 9:00 am – 12:30 am during Fridays to Sundays.

The interior is really nice, it may not be as cozy as the other café , but it has this quirky and imaginative design. And once you open the door, you can always hear Kpop music playing, and the staffs will all greet you with a smile, and would even recommend what to drink and eat.

What really stands out with their interior is that each table is equipped with a Samsung tablet wherein you can use to browse the net or even play with the games downloaded in each tablet. You can ask in the counter for the password so that you can access their wifi. When I first saw it, all I can say was “COOOLLL!” 

I have been here for a couple times, I have tried their waffles, bingsoo and some coffee and mocktails. The prices are almost the same as of the other café’s here in the metro. If you would want to check their menu, please check out their website at http://www.cafedeseoul.com/menu.htm .

With great food and drinks, good service, and very accommodating staffs, no wonder I would always and definitely visit Café de Seoul whenever I got the chance to stroll along Taft!

Noriter

Noriter is located at 2nd Floor Reyes Bldg., Estrada St. cor. Taft Ave.and they are open during Mondays to Saturdays, from 10 AM until 9PM. For first timers, it may be hard to locate, it is situated the same building as the Tapa King along Taft, walk straight beside Tapa King and look up and you will see the Noriter signage, and if you see a stair by the door, then you are in the right track.

The interior gives me a cozy feeling, wherein you can just sit back and just chat with your friends while enjoying their coffee and ambiance. You can also bring some electronic device to keep you company. Just asked in the counter for the wifi password and you can now access the net. They also play different Kpop songs for you to enjoy.

While I was wondering around, these cups really caught my attention. I was amused that there were all hand-drawn by different costumers that went here.

You can also choose if you want to sit on their chairs and tables, or if you want to feel a bit Korean, you can choose to sit on the floor with a little side table for your drinks and foods. But you can only stay for like an hour, in order to give way for other costumers who would also like to enjoy the Korean style of sitting on the floor while enjoying the food and company.

I have tried their best seller Honey Bread, and some of their coffee. The taste is not that good, but it was not bad either, but still I keep on coming back here for the good ambiance and cozy feeling. 

If you are in Cebu, you can also drop by their branch located in One Acacia Place Unit 10-11 Arch Bishop Reyes Ave Cebu City, and they are open from 11AM until 9PM.

Asian Fusion Cafe: Oliva Bistro Cafe

Our main plan of venue for our food trip for our breakfast is somewhere in Mandaluyong City, but when we got there, there is no seat available (roughly around 9:30 AM) and since we all haven’t eaten breakfast yet, my friend decided to bring us to a new place that she recommended and without any second thoughts, we are already heading towards Quezon City. Since it is Sunday morning, it only took us about nearly half an hour drive and tadaaaa! Here we are at Oliva Bistro Café.

Their interior design gives me a cozy and homey feeling. And since we are all very hungry -- especially one friend of mine, we asked and checked for their menu. Their menu is consists of Asian and Western foods. I am really a food enthusiast; I am very excited to try on their dishes. 

APPETIZERS

First on the list is their Roti Prata (P80) that comes with their own curry sauce which is really good! The roti prata’s bread is not too thick, yet not too thin which makes a great balance of taste with the curry sauce.

Potato and Green Pea Samosa (P120) is the vegetarian Indian empanada. I like this food because it does not only look like the empanada which is very Filipino, but its fillings are all vegetables which is very healthy, except for the frying process though.

This is Tandoori Chicken Tikka (P195) which is composed of boneless cubes of chicken breast which is coated with orange color sauce which is chutney and yogurt raita. You can choose the level of spiciness – either mild or spicy.

Buffalo Wings with Deep Blue Cheese (P180)

SALAD

Chef’s Wife Salad (P195) is one of their best-seller foods. It has grilled chicken, caramelized walnuts, sliced mangoes and grapes, drizzled with dill dressing. I really love this dish, the taste, the texture and the dressing is just so flavourful. I might sound exaggerating, but for not a salad-lover like me, I was really enticed by taste of this salad. I would really recommend that this dish is a must-try dish on their menu!

MAIN COURSE

Butter Chicken Masala (P230) is consists of boneless chicken breast cooked with Indian spices in tomato and butter sauce, served with parsley rice. This is also one of my favourite! A must try dish on their menu. What I liked about this dish is the sauce – you can even use the sauce as your dip for your Roti Prata.

Olivia’s Breakfast has strips of bacon, scrambled egg, hotdog with rice.

The food is great; the staffs are also very accommodating and nice. And since we are the only costumers around, we really felt like home – chatting and laughing out loud, in which we can’t do in crowded places. Oliva Bistro Café I located in Unit 101 Ground Floor, 77 Visayas Avenue, Quezon City. For more information, you can check their website at http://www.olivabistrocafe.com/ .

Taiwan's Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken ( 豪大大雞排） is now in the Philippines!

Fried chicken legs or ji pai tui （雞排腿）is one of the common food stalls that you can see in most night markets in Taipei. Unlike here in the Philippines, fried chicken always goes with rice and drinks as a meal, but in Taipei, this kind of fried chicken will be cut into smaller pieces and will be put in into small paper bags with sticks wherein you can munch on it while strolling around their night markets. I am really missing Taiwan’s food when I came to know of this newly opened establishment that was said to be from Taiwan.

 

It was last February 25 of this year that the Taiwan's Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken officially opened their first branch here in the Philippines, and it is situated just here in the Metro.  It is located at the Blue Bay Walk along Macapagal Avenue, few blocks away from SM MOA.  I am very excited to try this one, I may not be able to taste their branch in Taiwan but I was able to try on different  friend chicken legs(雞排腿 ) from different night markets, and I would like to compare the taste from what my taste buds remembers back when I was still in Taiwan. And together with a friend, we gave it a visit.

When I saw their menu, I was surprise to know that it is quite affordable.  Hot Star’s signature deep fried chicken breast comes in three different flavors: the Original Large Fried Chicken, the Crispy Large Fried Chicken, and the BBQ Large Fried Chicken -- all ingredients are from Taiwan. The rest of the menu includes Classic Spaghetti, Chicken Popcorn, a Large Fish Sandwich, and a Large Chicken Sandwich. They also have side dishes and desserts.

I ordered for their BBQ Fried Chicken (125 pesos) and my friend ordered for the Crispy Fried Chicken(110 pesos). We didn’t order for rice as we felt that we couldn’t finish everything, but if you want add rice with drinks, additional 35 pesos will be collected. We ordered separately for a drink (45 pesos). And in few more minutes, we will be able to taste their chicken.

And tadaaaaa! It really smells good that I wasn’t able to resist to pinched a little and taste it before taking a picture. The size is really bigger compared to those commercialized establishments selling chickens. They are indeed LARGE CHICKEN!  As for the taste, I liked the BBQ flavored chicken more than the Crispy one, mainly because the chicken skin was glazed with BBQ sauce. But with the chicken meat, they both have the same taste.  The taste is somewhat close to what I’ve tasted in Taipei, though I still like the Taipei version better.

Affordable price? Check! LARGE CHICKEN? Double check! Sumptuous taste? Check!  Go ahead and check their famous Large Chicken!

New Korean Cafe: SHP Bibimbab Café & Restaurant

Korean craze has been really quite evident here in the Philippines. From their tv dramas, to their K-pop music, even their Korean fashion, and foods; there is no doubt that we are embracing their culture. I, myself is a self-proclaimed Korean fanatic. There had been a lot of new Korean shops , cafés and restaurants, and even supermarket that had been opening around the city. And I will introduce and show you a new found Korean café in the metro.

I had known of this place through some post of my friends over the net. I became curious about this place because the posts that I had been seeing are pictures of the interior designs of this café. Together with some friends, we decided to give it a visit.

SHP Bibimbab Café & Restaurant is located in P.Ocampo Street, Taft, Manila. You wouldn’t miss this place as it is beside College of Saint Benilde’s Design Building and across of St. Scholastica College. You will see a small signage hanging outside the building. You need to go up the second floor,  and there you will see the big blue door. When it opens, all the staff will greet you in Korean, saying “Anyeohaseyo!” .

The interior of the café is really homey and cozy. It is mostly made of woods, with double deck tables and individual dining tables wherein you really need to sit on the mat, which is so Korean! That kind of interior is what really stands out as a trademark of Korean culture. They also have tables with chairs if you wouldn’t like to sit on the mat. But since we are so into Korean culture, we chose to sit in one of the tables with mats. They also have big and small stuff toys that adds cuteness into their interior design. You can actually get it and take pictures with them. We really enjoyed taking pictures all over this café , mainly because there was only few costumers at that time and we really want to make use of all their stuff inside the café.  One more thing that is so Korean about this café is that the music that they are playing are all K-pop. So for those K-pop lovers out there, you should never miss this place!

The food is not that bad either. We ordered their best seller beef bulgogi, ramen, and chicken bibimbab. The price ranges from 160 pesos onwards for the meal and 100 pesos onwards for their drinks. They have a wide variety of food and drink options, but if you would like to just have water, they also have self-service house water.

 It is indeed a very giyomi café – cute, cozy ambiance with good food and nice staffs, I really recommend that you should try this place!

Bacolod and Iloilo Food Adventure

My Bacolod food list that shouldn't be missed!

1. Calea’s Cake

“You must try their cakes, especially their chocolate cake!” This is what my friend to me not to miss during my stay in Bacolod.  They are the household name for pastries, so being known to have a sweet tooth; I definitely didn’t want to miss the opportunity to taste their well-known cakes! They are located at Balay Quince, Lacson Street, just across of the L’Fisher hotel.

2. Napolones

What is napolones? It is a small squared -sized layered desert that is glazed with sugar with custard like cream in the center. There are 2 well-known shops that sell napolones in the city. They are Merci and Bong-bong’s --  they are both well-commercialized establishment with may branches that sells “pasalubongs”,  from otap to different flavoured tarts to different kind to piyaya. They even have branches in Silay International  Airport if ever you forgot to buy “pasalubong”. One less commercialized establishment is Virgies that  can only be located in 59 San Sebastian Street , Bacolod City. They are also well-known for their napolones.

The first napolones that I’ve tasted is from Bob Pastries that is located inside Robinson’s place Bacolod. I really don’t know how to describe the taste and the feeling, all I can remember is that it really taste good for me.  

3. Guapple of El Ideal

While strolling around Robinson’s Place Bacolod, I came to pass by a mini branch of El Ideal. Their main branch is located in Silay City, wherein I wasn’t able to visit due to bad weather. So I was really happy and excited when I saw that they have a branch inside Robinson’s. I even asked and confirmed from the sales clerk if it is the real “ EL Ideal”, and indeed, it was! I ordered for the famous guapple pie. It has chunks of guava, wherein you can really taste the guava favour, and since I have been eating guava since young, two thumbs up for the taste!

4.  Erv's Cane Juice

The first time I tasted this sugar cane drink was during our tour inside The Ruins. It is freshly squeezed from sugarcane without adding any flavors or sugar on it. It is 100% pure sugarcane. The biggest size is 50 pesos, and I was surprised when I saw the same clerk from The Ruins selling this inside Robinson's Place. He still remembered and greeted me nicely. And since I really enjoyed this drink, I think I was able to buy 4 big size cup during our last 2 days stay in Bacolod!

5.  Aleah’s Tuluhan in old Pla- Pla Market

The concept of Aleah is the same as dampa here in Manila, you need to buy your food to be cook from the market, and then look for a store and ask them to cook it for you.  Aleah tuluhan is located just across the Pla- Pla Market. But beside the market, there are few more stores that cater the same service of “paluto”. I chose Aleah because I’ve read that they cheaper than the others.

Since it has been raining for the whole week in Bacolod, there are only few sea food choices. We bought ½ kgs of crab, ½ kgs. Of shrimp and ½ kgs. Of Lapu-lapu which cost 600 pesos, and “paluto” in Aleah is around 229 pesos, the bill altogether is 829 pesos. Pricey, eh? But I love how they cooked all the sea food, it was all sumptuous and good, especially the shrimp that was cooked in peanut-like sauce.

5. Manokan County (Please see http://abhuy.blogspot.com/2014/02/bacolod-iloilo-getaway-part-1.html )

Iloilo food list to try on!

1. Batchoy

The only batchoy that I left a spot on my taste buds is the misua batchoy from Netong’s. Netong’s Batchoy is located only inside the La Paz Market. It is clean with wooden furniture inside.  They even had mural painting on their wall. Great affordable food with clean surrounding and nice staff, what else could you ask for? Other stores that sell batchoy are Ted’s Oldtimer La Paz Batchoy and Deco’s La Paz batchoy which has more branches and some are even located in malls.  I tried them both, but nothing beats Netong’s Misua batchoy for me!

2. Roberto’s 

If not for Kuya Paulo( a random guy that we met during our visit in Molo Church)  I wouldn’t have known this place. Roberto’s is situated in Calle Real, near City Hall. Kuya Paulo told us that they are well-known for their jumbo siopao without any sauce needed. And so, we tried to look for it before heading to the port back to Bacolod. If you saw a store that has a long line, then you’ll know you’re on the right direction. We tried to buy one for each 4 flavours, but we only have bought 2 because the rest is already out of stock. The price ranges from 60-90 pesos depending on the flavour. The size is somewhat the same size as “Tai pao” that can be seen on Chinese restaurants in Ongpin. The taste is flavourful and when you checked the inside, it is really full of meat and other ingredients. It is worth all worth it! We even bought 2 more as our snack along the way back to Bacolod.