Woodfire Grill Republic, Metrowalk

I have set October 1 as voucher day. After trying out each week to be accommodated at Woodfire Grill Republic in Metrowalk, finally we got to get ourselves a reservation to use the voucher for a monster burger that I purchased at Ensogo.

I bought the voucher for P400.00 which said that it was a 50% off deal since the total cost of the monster burger plus a pitcher of house iced tea or any cocktail of your choice was P800.00. But when we got there and checked out the menu, the burger only costs P400.00. We realized that the deal was really getting a pitcher of drink for free. A pitcher of iced tea would not cost that much to sum up to P800.00, would it?

Anyway, to keep our spirits up, my friends ordered some other food from the menu. They ordered chili cheese sticks, garlic mushroom and pipino juice for the drinks. I did not eat any of them since I was still full from the food that I ate at home before I went to Metrowalk. They said they were good.

Chili cheese sticks

Pipino juice

And now for the main event, the monster burger with a pitcher of iced tea.

Reading their ads, the restaurant served true to the size of the burger. It was an 8-inch burger placed on a large plate with potato chips on the side. I knew how it would taste by its smell as it was served on our table. It was just a giant Jollibee TLC burger. Totally not tasting like pure beef as the ads have said. Too commercialized. They could have at least made it taste like the burgers served at Brothers Burger. I just ate a slice of it. The iced tea, was just not an iced tea. There was nothing special about it but its presentation. It looked good on the photo.

The monster burger, a.k.a. the Giant Jollibee TLC burger

Pitcher of iced tea

It was not a good deal, really.

We watched No Other Woman using our SM Megamall P80.00 vouchers also purchased from Ensogo. This at least was value for the money.

Old Vine Grille, Eastwood Mall

A colleague who now resides in Singapore dropped by Manila  to meet me and my other colleagues in my previous work. I suggested that we try having dinner at the Old Vine Grille at the Eastwood Mall. None of us has eaten here before, but as I have have read in reviews, Old Vine serves good food.

I called in the restaurant the day before to reserve six seats for us. I have learned that you really need to make a reservation if you are dining in the restaurant on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday since a lot of people come to eat there during such days and you may not have a seat and wait for a table to be available.

Old Vine Grille

For appetizer, we ordered the Tessie Tomas Salad. I do not eat vegetables so I was not able to taste it. My friends said that the combination of the vegetables was good.

Tessie Tomas Salad
Small P295.00 / Large P595.00

I ordered fresh pineapple fruit shake for my drink which was kind of expensive for a fruit shake in a small glass. It just looks cute and decorative on the table.

Fresh pineapple fruit shake
P110.00

Then we ordered the heavy part of the dinner. Meat, meat, more meat, and some pasta. It was a good thing that the restaurant had a promo that when you order two main entrees, you get a free entree. There was already a list of entree combinations to choose from.

Our first set of 2+1 meal was a combination of Steak Tagalog, Pork Barbecue Ribs, and Steak and Cheese. The Steak Tagalog was the one I liked the most. You can taste the Filipino traditional way that the beef was cooked but is much tastier and it seemed like it was cooked for a long time to get the flavors all in and made the meat so tender. The Pork Barbecue Ribs tastes like the one served at Uncle Cheffy but not as flavorful (by the way Uncle Cheffy and Old Vine are sister restaurants together with Chef's Quarter). Meanwhile, the Steak and Pasta was round chunks of steak with cheese sauce on top with pasta on the side. It was cooked just right so I still got the steak flavor that I was looking for.

Steak Tagalog
P485.00

Pork Barbecue Ribs
P485.00

Steak and Pasta
Free

We also ordered Baked Cream Dory, which was a famous dish at Old Vine. I did not really much like it because the flavor was so strong.

Baked Cream Dory
P350.00

We ordered another set of 2+1. This time we reordered the Steak Tagalog and the Pork Barbecue Ribs and added for free the Steak and Cheese with Asparagus. I really liked the grilled asparagus with all its flavor and crispness preserved.

Steak and Cheese with Asparagus
Free

Overall, I would recommend dining at the Old Vine Grille, a definite value for your money. We left the restaurants with our stomachs and taste buds contented. It is a restaurant that I would want to go back to.

House of Wagyu Stonegrill, Eastwood Mall

I was never really fond of steaks. The sight of bloody meat served on the plate actually makes me puke.

But not until I have tasted the steak at the House of Wagyu Stonegrill.

This time, the steak was served on top of a very hot stone, thus the term "stonegrill". I could not remember for how many times me and my friends have dined here, but as far as our tummies are concerned, we always leave the restaurant full and very, very satisfied.

Only the special steaks are served on a stone, the others are served already cooked. The stonegrill steaks are the priciest ones and the price depends on the quality of the meat. We ordered the "not so expensive".

House of Wagyu Stonegrill is a fine dining restaurant. The waiters first gave us the menu for wines which we were really not interested at so they gave us the main dishes menu after a minute. The order of the steaks already comes with a basket of hot bread, soup and the steak itself.

We also ordered gambas for appetizers, one regular alfredo and one seafood alfredo. They were all good.

Then came the two steaks. As it was served in front of me, I immediately took the knife and began slicing. It was barbaric eating. LOL. When I first ate at the House of Wagyu last year, I made sure that the meat gets well done over the stone. This time, I noticed that I enjoy the meat more when it is just medium rare since it is juicier, softer and tastier. I could not describe eating it more, it makes me hungry just thinking about it.

In conclusion, the table was clean after an hour.

Wagyu means Japanese cow/beef

Top sirloin good for three at P2,500++

New York strip good for three at P3,000++

Medium-rare

Mr. Kurosawa, Eastwood Mall

It was time again to use another deal groupon. For this food trip, I used my CashCash Pinoy coupon which I have purchased months ago. This was just in time to celebrate my birthday last July 4. I invited three friends with me and my sister.

I had four coupons worth P2,000.00 for dine-in at Mr. Kurosawa Euro-Japanese Restaurant at Eastwood Mall which I only bought for P1,000.00. Each coupon is P500.00 worth discounted to 50% the price.

This was just actually my second time in Mr. Kurosawa. I liked some of their dishes when I first went there so I ordered those which I liked again and added some food from their menu which I haven't tried.

One of the things that I like about Mr. Kurosowa is the ambiance. The interior design of the restaurant is great, with combined European and Japanese sense with great color fusion.

Interior

Ceiling

Ceiling artwork

Ceiling artwork

We ordered food and chose from their big menu full of pictures, you would not have to worry about what the food is as every dish has a photo. We did not order drinks anymore to optimize the coupons' worth.

My sister ordered pork tonkatsu bowl with cabbage salad side dish which is only good for one. But when it was served, we were surprised that the actual serving is good for two persons. It was placed hot on our table and really smelled delicious. Mary had their sizzling chicken with mixed vegetables. The sizzling chicken was a disappointment. It was not served sizzling and we could not really find the taste. We just thought that it is a healthy type of recipe which would be very much appreciated by people who are careful with their sodium intake.

Pork tonkatsu

Sizzling chicken

Then I ordered the house specialty pizza Iwo Jima. This is a thin crust pizza loaded with chicken teriyaki strips infused with mango bits topped with supermelt cheese. The combination of the ingredients is really good ans makes the pizza's unique taste. To go with it, I ordered the Japanese carbonara. It is the normal carbonara only enhanced by seaweed flavor and topped with ebi tempura.

Iwo Jima pizza

Japanese carbonara

We also ordered scallop fried rice which is rice mixed with assorted vegetable and scallops. One order of this rice bowl is already good for 3-4 persons. We also had beef teppan cooked medium well with bean sprouts. I loved the beef especially the stir fried sprouts that go with it. We also added ebi tempura. I just found out that ebi means shrimps.

Scallop rice

Beef teppan

Ebi tempura

I just added P300.00 to the bill as the total was over P2,000.00. It was really a great deal and we finished off all our food and came out of the restaurant very full.

Gumbo, The Atrium

It was a great Saturday and Transformers 3 : Dark of the Moon is currently showing in cinemas. Me and my sisters decided to watch the movie in SM Megamall and have dinner there. The lines for the movie tickets were so long even though T3 is being shown in 10 out of 12 cinemas of SM Megamall. I was glad I bought the tickets online at smcinema.com which saved me from the hassle of the long lines. I just had to click a few buttons online and have the code sent via SMS scanned through the machine in the cinema, and voila, instant passes.

T3 tickets printed by myself

And then the much awaited dinner. I purchased a Gumbo groupon from Deal Grocer and I decided to finally use it and try out the food of Gumbo. The whole deal was good for four persons.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, we were immediately greeted by their cheerful staff. I told them that I would be using my Deal Grocer groupon. They have a special menu for the deal as described by Deal Grocer. They also handed us their regular menu for extras.

Gumbo menu

For the Gumbo deal, you get to choose one grande salad, one grande pasta, two main entrees, and one dessert. Drinks are not included. While waiting for our order, we were served with two small loaves of bread.

Bread and oil with garlic

The salad was served afterwards. We ordered the Southern Chicken Caesar. It is tossed crisp Romaine lettuce, home made Caesar dressing, with crunchy croutons and lots of grilled chicken breast. I do not really like much salads but I loved the grilled chicken cubes in it.

Southern chicken Caesar salad
Petite 375.00 Grande 595.00 

Next was the pasta. We chose the Sicilian Favorite. It is penne pasta cooked in vodka with andouille sausage, basil and tomatoes, in Creole seasoning garnished with parmesan cheese. It was kind off spicy but is rich in flavor.

Sicilian favorite
Petite 295.00 Grande 475.00

The two main entrees we ordered were both delicious. One is the Bourbon-style baby back ribs which was char-broiled to perfection. The other is the Cajun fried chicken. The two main dishes each comes with side dishes. We had mashed potato which is creamy and tasty and corn on a cob. We ordered extra cajun rice.

Bourbon-style baby back ribs
Petite 495.00 Grande 945.00

Cajun fried chicken
Petite 325.00 Grande 495.00

To cap it all off, hot chocolate cake a la mode was our chosen dessert. It was just right to balance the taste of all the flavorful dishes we ordered.

Hot chocolate cake a la mode
275.00

Over-all, we were all satisfied and full. It was a really great deal. It would have cost us P2800.00 but because of the Deal Grocer groupon, it only cost us half the price.

I will definitely visit Gumbo next time and try out their seafood dishes.

Choi Palace, Eastwood Mall

This was one dinner with Jane and Krissy at Choi Palace in Eastwood City before watching Rio. This was actually our second time at Choi. We ordered the same food as what we have ordered the first time we visited the Chinese restaurant. One order is good for 3-4 persons. I loved the dimsum, especially the hakaw. The soup was great too. All that we have ordered cost Jane P1,400 and Krissy got to take home the left overs.

I had already eaten two hakaws before I thought of taking a photo

Ho Fan

Steamed Fish Fillet In Garlic

Crab Meat And Wintermelon Soup

Sharksfin Siomai

Hakaw

Photos taken with my LG Optimus One

Royce'

I got to taste for the first time this famous chocolate from Japan. My sister brought home two bars of Royce', one milk chocolate variant and one dark chocolate. One bar costs P250. She got these from the Eastwood Mall Royce' store. She also made sure that these chocolates were shipped to the Philippines before the recent nuclear meltdown in Japan.

Royce Milk Chocoloate

Just to give a background on Royce', it was founded in Sapporo, Japan.Royce' chocolate is really outstanding in taste. It has the right sweetness and bitterness. of When you place it in your mouth, you will have to close your eyes and feel its smoothness. The buttery texture of the chocolate feels good to the tongue and you will not be able to resist to have another bite.

"By gradually acquiring better techniques and enriching our experiences, we are dedicated to making real good chocolate of world quality in Hokkaido where the climate and the clean air are suitable for making confectionaries.

The fundamental principle of Royce’ has been and will always be to painstakingly source for high quality ingredients, and to sell its products at prices that customers can afford for daily consumption.

In the course of time, because of increasing demand, Royce’ began taking orders from customers from outside of Hokkaido by telephone. Customers’ names and addresses were recorded and their orders were sent one by one from our factory. That was the beginning of our mail order system.

When we started to bake cookies at a small factory, the smell from the factory tempted and attracted the neighbors. A table was put in front of the factory and cookies were sold. That was the beginning of the direct management stores.

Looking back, the history of Royce’ has been based upon the support of many people.

Royce’ chocolate is enjoyed by many Royce’ chocolate lovers from Hokkaido to other parts of Japan, and now to other countries also.

We will continue to make real good chocolate by observing our fundamental principle, and with our challenging creative spirit."

(www.e-royce.com) 

In the Philippines, there are current five branches:

• Royce' Power Plant Mall
• Royce' Greenbelt 5
• Royce' Trinoma
• Royce' Robinson's Place Manila
• Royce' Eastwood Mall

Dessert

Selecta Gold Label hazelnut Brownie

I was craving for something sweet a while ago after I had lunch. I asked my officemate to come with me to buy dessert. I actually didn't know what I wanted. I was avoiding McDonald's because of the calorie content of what they serve. I had become calorie-conscious lately. There was no place to go but 7-11.


I was thinking of buying just a 202 pineapple juice but forgot about it when I saw the granola bars. I picked up a bar. Just when I was about to pay at the counter, I saw my officemate holding this cup of ice cream. I immediately grabbed one also forgetting about my diet. Maybe I can just reduce my calorie intake tomorrow? Lol.